In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, here is a biography of Rachel Carson, the pioneering environmentalist. She wrote Silent Spring to wake people up to the harmful impact humans were having on our planet.
Discover and Protect Nature
Grade Range: K-4
Resource Type(s): Lessons & Activities
Duration: 120 minutes
Date Posted:
9/24/2012
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring changed the way people thought about their relationship to nature. Warning readers of the impact of man-made pesticides on birds, insects, and other wildlife, Carson’s book caused a firestorm of public responses and is considered by some experts to be a major moment in the modern environmental movement. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring this history through children's literature, museum objects, and hands-on activities. Focused around Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World a picture-book biography, the module includes links to hands-on activities and a list of recommended readings for further exploration.
National Standards
Standards in History (Grades K-4)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Standards For English Language Arts (Grades K-12)
Top-Level Standards
1: Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
