MY GARDENModeling Concepts of Print ‘+ Hove childeen point to the ttle and 10 the name of the ‘author on the cover ond read them os you track the print Identify the ttle page for children, and explain that the rile page olso has the title ond name of the author. Before you read page IM, point to the spaces between the words in the sentence. Then point toa single word. Hove children find the word In the sentence and identity the capital letter. Have them point to the period at the end of the sentence, lingwonders ‘Table of Contents MY GARDEN] My Garden............ Fiction by Kevin Henkes Paired read Poetry About Plants.....For AltieEducationM, mother has a garden. I’m her helper. I water. I weed. And I chase away the rabbits so that they don’t eat all the lettuce. It’s hard work, and my mother’s garden is very nice, but if J had a garden...There would be no weeds, and the flowers would keep blooming and blooming and never die.|,In my garden, the flowers could change color just by my thinking about it— pink, blue, green, purple. Even patterns. .And if you picked a flower, another one would grow right back in its place.|,In my garden, the rabbits wouldn't eat the lettuce because the rabbits would be chocolate and I would eat them,If I planted seashells, ’'d grow seashells. |,If I planted jelly beans, I'd grow a great big jelly bean bush.|,Sometimes in my garden, good, unusual would just pop up—buttons and umbrellas and rusty old keys. . hingsey a %, e | Pes oy ’ a Keys Ae Wd . Ry Wa tee SN / Oe Aue ni pi i. @/ Ste Ai) goneIn my garden, there would be birds and butterflies by the hundreds, so that the air was humming with wings|_The tomatoes would be as big as beach balls, and the carrots would be invisible because I don’t like carrots. .At night, the morning glories would stay open, shining like stars, and the strawberries would glow like lanterns. .Tes night now. Only the fireflies and the porch light are glowing. Before bed, I take one seashell from the shelf in my room and go to the garden. I poke the seashell into the ground. Who knows what might happen? I cover it up with dirt and pat down the dirt with my foot.|,“What are you doing?” asks my mother. “Oh, nothing,” I say. “Just working in the garden.”I put a seed into the ground And said, “I’ll watch it grow.” I watered it and cared for it As well as I could know. One day I walked in my back yard, And oh, what did I see! My seed had popped itself right out, Without consulting me. Gwendolyn BrooksMaytime A little seed For me to sow... A little earth To make it grow... A little hole, A little pat... A little wish, And that is that. A little sun, A little shower... A little while, And then—a flower! Mabel Wattslane Sectely ae How does it know, this little seed,Garden My mother works in a garden growing carnations both red and white. Seeding, watering, and replanting... And when they bloom, it’s pure delight! Alma Flor AdaRespond to Reading Show the Big Book and prompt children to retell the story in thelr ‘own words Ask children: How does the gil inthe story help her mother with the garden? What kinds of things would the girl wont to have in her make-believe gorden? \What did the girl plant in the gorden ot the end ofthe story? About the Author/Illustrator: Kevin Henkes [As achild, Kevin Henkes and his family would make trips 10 the library aften. He would choose books carefully and carry ‘them home. He alzo loved to visit the art museum. His love of reading and art led him to become an author and illustrator of ‘many books.