The Forest of S.T. Shrew

Habitat is where an animal lives. It is the food, water, shelter, and space that are needed for the animal to survive. Within habitats there are many smaller microhabitats. Microhabitats are areas where the conditions vary slightly but importantly for the animals living there. For example, a fallen log is a microhabitat within the larger habitat of the forest. The fallen log provides food, water, shelter, and space for the small animals and microorganisms  living there.

Use Project Learning Tree’s “The Forest of S.T. Shrew” to take students on a “journey” to the forest floor from the viewpoint of a tiny forest shrew. The activity can be found in the Project Learning Tree guide or at: http://www.nsta.org/elementaryschool/connections/200704HainesConnection.pdf

Before you read “In the Forest of S.T. Shrew” to students, ask them: What is a forest? Have you ever been to a forest? What did you see while you were there? Did you enjoy the forest?

Show them a picture of a shrew and tell them a little about shrews and the other animals featured in the story. Have they ever seen any of these animals? Where? What did they look like?

As you read the story have the children do an action each time they hear a particular animal, i.e. each time they hear the S.T. Shrew they wiggle their fingers by their face like whiskers. When you have finished the story have the children draw pictures of a part of the story or one of the characters in it.

Finish by taking the children on a walk through the woods. Look for microhabitats such as a fallen log, tree bark, leaf litter etc. Are there other microhabitats that are near your school? In your schoolyard? Go on a “microhabitat hunt” and see what you can find!

Book List

Arnosky, J. 1997. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Arnosky, J. 1979. Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs. Penguin Group (USA).

Canizares, S. 1997. Who Lives in a Tree? Scholastic, Inc.

Costian, M. 2001. Life in a Tree: Focus, Habitat. Tandem Library.

Fleming, D. and D. Powers. 1996. Where Once There Was a Wood. Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

Fonte, I. 2007. Animals of the Forest. Barnes & Noble Books.

Galko, F. 2002. Forest Animals (Animals in Their Habitats). Heinemann Library.

George, L.B. 1998. In the Woods: Who's Been Here? HarperCollins Publishers.

Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Hunter, A. 1999. What's Under the Log? Houghton Mifflin Company.

Krupinski, L. 1997. Into the Woods: A Woodland Scrapbook. HarperCollins Children's Books.

Lindeen, C.K. 2003. Life in a Forest. Capstone Press.

Magellan, M. 1990. Home At Last. Humanics Children's House.

McGehee, C. 2006. A Woodland Counting Book. University of Iowa Press.

Nail, J.D. 1994. Whose Tracks Are These?: A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals. Rinehart P.

Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group.

Pfeffer, W. and R. Brickman. 1997. A Log's Life. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Pyers, G. 2004. Forest Explorer. Raintree Publishers.

Rutten, J. 1998. Forests. Child's World, Incorporated.

Ryder, J. 1989. A Chipmunk Song. Lodestar Books.

Ryder, J. 1988. Snail's Spell. Penguin Young Readers Group. 

Silver, D.M. 1997. One Small Square: Woods. McGraw-Hill Companies.