The Giving Tree

I read the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and even though this book didn't win any major awards that I could find, Shel Silverstein has won many other awards for his other works including a Grammy in 1970. The story of The Giving Tree is about a little boy who who becomes best friends with a tree, and they spend all their time together. However, eventually, the little boy grows up, and needs money, a house, and then a boat, and the tree gives everything it can to the boy who is now all grown up. In the end, all that is left of the tree is the stump, but even then the tree is there for the boy, who is now an old man who all he needs now is to sit and rest. A very valuable lesson can be learned from this book, and that is that true happiness comes from giving. I think the appropriate grade level for this book would be kindergarten to high school because of the important lesson that's imbedded in this simple story. I would definitely use this classroom because the lesson of loving to give is such a valuable lesson to be learned. One way I would incorporate this book in my classroom would be with a focus on comparison on a way they can be like the tree by giving. This book could even be incorporated into a kindergarten financial literacy lesson by focusing on what can be given that costs money and what doesn't cost money.

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