Dandelion Unit Study & Lapbook

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When Dandelion gets an invitation to a party, he’s excited. The invitation is extra fancy, so Dandelion decides to get himself all dressed up. But when he gets to the party, no one recognizes him! Fortunately, it all works out in the end, and Dandelion learns an important lesson about being true to who you are.
from Dandelion at amazon.com

Dandelion by Don Freeman is an important story about being yourself. Our Dandelion unit study lessons provide discussion on this topic and others.

Thanks to Ely Butuyan for contributing this Dandelion unit study to Homeschool Share.

Dandelion Unit Study Lessons

Here are some sample lessons from our Dandelion unit study.

Language Arts

Discussion and Critical Thinking

Ask your child which Dandelion he/she likes better. The plain one or the dandy one?
Notice how Jennifer mentions in the letter “come as you are”. Does Dandelion follow her advice?
Why is the door at Jennifer’s home a “tall door”? Think of other animals at her party and imagine what their front doors would look like!
At the end of the book Dandelion says, “From now on I’ll always be just plain me.” Why is “just plain me” better?

Titles
The author certainly had a lot of fun with this title, Dandelion! Discuss with your child the different ways we see the title in the story. Talk about how he is a “dandy-lion.” What is a dandy person? Someone who is always concerned with clothes and appearance. Also, how is Dandelion similar to the tiny flowers with the same name? Look at the “dandelion” crayon on a Crayola box. Match it with the book’s illustrations and point out this is the color used the most throughout the illustrations.

Listmaking
You can write out a list from your student’s memory or just use this as a discussion lesson. What different things did Dandelion do to get ready for the party?

Real or Pretend?
Ask your student if this story is real or imaginary? Discuss the elements of this story that make it fiction. Introduce the word fiction to your older student (something told or written that is not fact).

Social Studies

Human Relationships
Perhaps your child is too young to identify with Dandelion’s obsession with his looks, but you could point out how sometimes they can become too preoccupied with belongings like their favorite train set, or a particular movie, clothing with favorite character on them. Sometimes we even compared how many of these things our friends or neighbors have that we don’t. This is in a way the same thing Dandelion was doing. Another conversation point could be that in order for Dandelion to get “ready” for the party he had to pay for all those services. He spent a lot of money in things that were not necessary.

Learning Your Address
Miss Giraffe tells Dandelion that he has the wrong address. What is an address? Discuss with your student and help him memorize his own address.

Health and Science

Daily Exercise
At the beginning of the story we learn that Dandelion did his daily exercises. You may want to start your day each day with some basic exercises—jumping jacks, toe-touches, hopping, marching to music, etc.

Math

Shapes
There are so many shapes you can spot on this book! Here are some to get you started: diamonds on Jennifer, her steps and Dandelion’s jacket & cap; rectangles on doors and Lou’s floor; cone on hat; cylinder on rollers.

Counting
How many flowers is Dandelion carrying on his bouquet? How many does he find by Jennifer’s steps? Can you spot where Jennifer places the flowers?

Additional Fun

For fun lion projects and coloring pages visit DLTK Kids.

To access all of the Dandelion unit study lessons and printables, grab a copy at the end of this post.

Dandelion Lapbook Printables

In addition to the unit study lessons, your download will also include these Dandelion lapbook activities:

My Exercise Schedule Flapbook
Vocabulary Cards
Occupation Simple Fold Books
Weather Graph
Mammal Characteristics T-book
Where I Live Shape Book
Bible Verse Printable
Getting Ready for the Party Check List

How to Get Started with the Dandelion Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Dandelion unit study and printables.

Buy a copy of the book, Dandelion, or grab one from your local library.
Print the Dandelion unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Choose and prepare the Dandelion printables you want to use with your student.
Enjoy a week of fun-filled learning with your student.