A Pony Promise, and A Pony Named Patches
Descriptions of the wetlands setting are a large part of each book.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Have students build a diorama with a wetlands scene.
Encourage them to show animals under the water, on top of the water, on land, and in the air.
Even though they are actually feral animals, kids love to include the ponies!
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2. Ask students to draw a picture of Matt riding his bike over the bridge to
Assateague Island (A Pony Named Patches) and looking down at the people crabbing
and the wildlife below. Have them draw and color what Matt might have seen.
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3. Have students pick one animal from the following list, research it
and write a paper to share with the class: Horseshoe Crab; Delmarva Fox Squirrel;
Piping Plover; Cattle Egret: Painted Turtle; Wood Duck; Great Horned Owl: Red Fox;
Raccoon; Sika Deer; White Tailed Deer; Mallard Duck; Golden Eyed Duck; Canada Goose;
Blue Heron; Oystercatcher; Red Bat; Muskrat; River Otter; Virginia Opossum; White footed Mouse
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4. Discuss the cattle egret and his relationship with the ponies. Show students
a picture of a cattle egret eating insects from a pony and discuss
symbiotic relationships in the animal world.
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5. Print and share one of the puzzles below for classroom fun and learning!
Answer Key
Across: 4.Delmarva Fox Squirrel 8.Beaver 9.Cattails
10.Painted Turtle 11.Snowy Goose 12.Great Horned Owl
Down: 1.Chincoteague Ponies 2.myrtle 3.marsh
5.Cattle Egret 6.Deciduous 7.Coniferous
ADDITIONAL WETLANDS BOOKS TO SHARE!
Kindergarten through Grade 2
Box Turtle at Long Pond, William T. George
Come Out, Muskrats, Jim Arnosky
Common Frog, Oxford Scientific Films
Dragonflies, Cynthia Overbeck
Fish Eyes, Lois Ehleert
If You Were a Wild Duck Where Would You Go?, George Mendoza
Let's Find Out About Frogs, Corrine J. Naden
Lily Pad Pond, Bianca Lavies
The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey
The Noisy Counting Book, Susan Schade and Jon Butler O
ld Mother West Wind, Thornton W. Burgess
Puddles and Ponds, Rose Wyler
Rain Drop Splash, Alvin Tresselt
A River Dream, Allen Say
River Parade, Alexandria Day
The Seminole, Emilie U . Lepthier
Spring Peepers, Judy Hawes
The Ugly Duckling, Hans Christian Anderson
Willa in Wetlands, Peyton Lewis and Rory Chalcraft
Grades 3 through 5
Animals and Plants That Trap, Philip Goldstein
Animals of the Ponds and Streams, Julie Becker
Beaver Valley, Walter D. Edmonds
Dragonflies, Hilda Simon
Explore a Spooky Swamp, Wendy W. Cortesi
Frogs, Toads, Lizards and Salamanders, Nancy Winslow Parker and Joan Richards Wright
From Pond to Prairie, Laurence Pringle
Green Darner, Robert M. McClung
In the Middle of the Puddle, Mike Thaler
Island of the Loons, Dayton 0. Hyde
Marshes and Swamps, Linda M. Stone
The Mystery of the Great Swamp, Marjorie A. Sapf
Pond and River, Steve Parker
The Pond Book, Albro Gaal
Scoots the Bag Turtle, Judy Cutchins and Ginny Johnston
The Seminole, Martin Lee
Small Water Mammals, Maxwell Knight
Snails of Land and Sea, Hilda Smith
Swan Lake, Mark Helprin
Water Insects, Sylvia A. Johnson
Wetlands, Linda M. Stone
Wetlands: Bogs, Marshes and Swamps, Lewis Buck
Wonders of the Fields and Ponds at Night, Jacquellyn Berrill
The World of Fishes, Thomas D. Fagely
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For classroom presentations, please email Lois Szymanski at: szymanski3@verizon.net
