HomeMy WebLinkAboutRead Aloud Book Gr. 1-Lesson 21Have you ever lived in a place where the seasons change? If you have, you
probably know that from season to season, the weather can change from hot
to cold and from wet to dry. But did you know that forests can change with the
seasons, too? Let’s fi nd out what happens to a forest as the seasons change from
summer to fall to winter and then to spring.
In the summer, the air in a four-season forest is warm, and the hot sun can
shine for hours during the day. The trees in the forest stretch out their green
leaves toward the light of the sun. This is because the leaves need sunlight to
make food. The trees will take some of this food and store it in their roots. And
when the trees use this food, they can grow taller. They can grow new leaves, too.
This explains why summer is a time of growth for trees.
In the fall, the air cools down in a four-season forest. The sun doesn’t shine
for as long, and the days get shorter and shorter. But as the sky gets darker,
something amazing happens to the trees’ leaves: they become bright with color.
One at a time, the leaves of each tree change. Their green color disappears, and
they begin to turn different shades of orange, yellow, and red. Soon, the bright
colors seem to be spreading all over the forest.
In the winter, the days become very cold and there is not much sun at all. The
leaves on the trees don’t have enough sunlight to make food, so winter is a time
of loss for the trees. Their leaves dry up and fall to the ground. Soon, all the tree
branches in the forest become bare. But even though the trees look dead, they
are still alive. Trees can survive by using the last of the food that they stored in
their roots during the summer.
In the spring, the air slowly gets warmer and warmer, and the sun begins to
shine more and more. The days get longer. New green leaves make an arrival.
They start to grow on the trees. In addition to leaves, fl owers start to grow on
them, too. And with that, the four-season forest is full of life and color again.
COMPREHENSION In what ways is life in the forest different during each
season? What words help you understand how a tree grows and changes
throughout the year?
A Year in a
Four-Season Forest
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Kitten and Squirrel were playing hide-and-seek outside. Kitten was looking
for Squirrel, but she couldn’t fi nd him. She started circling the yard in big, wide
loops. Squirrel was nowhere to be found. But then Kitten saw a tall tree.
Kitten said, “I didn’t see Squirrel in the yard, so he must be hiding in the
tree. I will have to climb the tree to fi nd him.”
Kitten had never climbed a tree before because she was too little. “But I
have grown,” Kitten thought. “My claws are sharper, too.” So Kitten tried to
climb the tree. Soon, she was saying to herself, “I am climbing the tree! My
front claws are pulling me up. My rear claws are pushing me up.”
As Kitten climbed, she felt bits of bark begin to cling to her fur. “I will have
to clean off this bark later,” she thought. As she stopped and looked more
closely at the bark of the tree, she saw a ladybug crawling by. Kitten asked the
ladybug, “Do you know where Squirrel is hiding?”
Ladybug said, “I’ve heard him talking. He must be higher up the tree.”
So Kitten kept climbing. She saw a hole in the tree and looked inside.
Squirrel was not there, but Owl was. Owl was sleeping. She slipped past the
hole so she wouldn’t wake him.
Kitten climbed higher. She saw a nest on a branch. Was Squirrel hiding in it?
Kitten tipped the nest toward her with her paw. But it was empty. When Kitten
let go of the nest, it began to wobble on the branch. Kitten cried, “This nest is
not attached to the tree! It is going to fall, and I am going to fall with it! Help!”
Squirrel heard Kitten’s cry for help. “Hold on to the branch, Kitten! I will call
the fi re department to help you,” he said.
Squirrel called the fi re department. Soon, a fi refi ghter arrived. He climbed
up a ladder to save Kitten.
After the fi refi ghter put Kitten down and her feet contacted the ground, she
thanked him and Squirrel for saving her. Then she said, “I will wait until I am
older before I climb a tree again!”
COMPREHENSION Why does Kitten think she can climb the tree?
Which words help you understand how Kitten climbs the tree?
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