Hearing or reading the book
Sing Down the Rain
may be a student's first encounter with the cultural traditions of the Tohono
O'odham Nation and/or the ecology of the Sonoran Desert. The introduction
to the book provides background information necessary for student and/or
teacher understanding of the text and illustrations. It may also help students
for teachers to begin with a web of the ecology described
in this book.
- Social Studies and Language Arts:
The obvious connection to curriculum
in Sing Down
the Rain
in the study of Tohono O'odham cultural and spiritual traditions. The
choral reading reflects the Tohono
O'odham oral tradition and allows for language arts integration. An Internet
Pathfinder is provided for this study.
- Science:
Using the saguaro cactus as a starting
point, create a web of the ecology described
in the poem. Three books that support the ecology connection are: Cactus
Café: A Story of the Sonoran Desert by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (Trudy, 1997), Desert
Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus
by Barbara Bash (Sierra Club, 1989), and Cactus Hotel
by Brenda Guiberson (Holt, 1991). Use The
Great Kapok
Tree by Lynne Cherry (Harcourt Brace, 1990) to compare rainforest
and desert ecology or compare desert ecology to an ecosystem in your
own community. To learn more about Sonoran Desert ecology, check out
the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's
Web site.
- Language Arts, Science, and Art:
Take students on several "field" studies
to observe clouds. Have them draw different types of clouds and describe
them. (Refer to the cloud stanzas in the poem.) Conduct some research
on clouds and create a chart: cloud picture, type of cloud, weather
indicated, and adjectives to describe them.
- Social Studies, Literature, and Storytelling:
The coming of rain is a theme found
in stories and folktales across cultures. Create a text set and compare
relationships between people, places, and weather. Resources: The
Magic Hummingbird by Ekkehart Malotki
(Kiva, 1996), Thundercake by Patricia Polacco (Philomel, 1990), The
Rain Player by David Wisniewski (Clarion, 1991), and Bringing
the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
(Dial, 1981).
- Art:
Learn more about Southwest Native North American art. Check out the
Heard Museum's Web site.
- Literature:
Visit the Southwest
Children's Literature Web Site for information on these and other
print resources:
- The Same Sun Was in the Sky
by Denise Webb (Northland, 1994)
- A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the
Sonoran Desert
by Virginia Wright-Fierson (Simon
& Schuster, 1996)
- Welcome to the Sea of Sand
by Jane Yolen (Putnam, 1996)
- Desert Trip
by Barbara Steiner (Sierra Club, 1996)
- Soft Child: How Rattlesnake Got Its Fangs retold by Joe Hayes (Harbinger, 1993)
- The Desert is Theirs
by Byrd Baylor (Scribner, 1975)
- For more resources and ideas:
Collaborate with your colleagues,
school and public librarians.
Sing Down the Rain
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