Sunlight and Shades of Green

Summertime is all about sunshine! We soak up the suns rays while we play at the beach or run through the sprinkler. Sunshine lifts our spirits, enables our bodies to produce Vitamin D, and it also grows the food that we eat. All plants need sunshine to grow; it enables them to produce their own food in a process called photosynthesis. Use Project Learning Tree’s “Sunlight and Shades of Green” to explore the process of photosynthesis. Choose a tree, bush or plant in your garden and watch what happens to a leaf when you cover it with cardboard.


Family Fun:
Harness the power of the sun to make sun prints! Gather construction paper, tape and objects to print (I recommend different kinds of leaves). Tape the objects to the construction paper and set in the direct sun for several hours. Remove the object and tape – viola! You now have a sun print!

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Asch, F. 2008. The Sun Is My Favorite Star. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Branley, F.M. and E. Miller. 2002. Sun: Our Nearest Star. HarperCollins Publishers.
Chishilm, P. and M. Bang. 2009. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. Scholastic, Inc.
Gibbons, G. 1987. Sun Up, Sun Down. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Goldish, M. 1990. How Plants Get Food. Steck-Vaughn.
Harrison, D.L. 1986. Wake Up, Sun! (Step into Reading Books Series: A Step 2 Book). Random House Children’s Books.
Ring, S. and J. Moran. 2003. The Sun. Coughlan Publishing.
Simon, S. 1989. The Sun. HarperCollins Publishers.

Grades 3-5
Asimov, I. 1989. How Did We Find Out About Photosynthesis? Walker & Company.
Bailey, J. and M. Lilly. 2004. Sun Up, Sun Down: The Story of Day and Night. Coughlan Publishing.
Branley, F.M. and E. Miller. 2002. Sun: Our Nearest Star. HarperCollins Publishers. Gibbons, G. 1987. Sun Up, Sun Down. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Goldish, M. 1990. How Plants Get Food. Steck-Vaughn.
Grivell, P. The Sunlight Print Kit: Materials, Techniques, and Projects for Homemade Photography. Chronicle Books.
Juettner, B. 2005. Photosynthesis. KidHaven Press.
Notkin, L. 1997. The Magic School Bus Gets Planted: A Book About Photosynthesis. Scholastic Paperbacks.
Ring, S. and J. Moran. 2003. The Sun. Coughlan Publishing.
Simon, S. 1989. The Sun. HarperCollins Publishers.

Grades 6-8
Grivell, P. The Sunlight Print Kit: Materials, Techniques, and Projects for Homemade Photography. Chronicle Books.
Jefferis, D. 2008. The Sun: Our Local Star. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Juettner, B. 2005. Photosynthesis. Thomson Gale.
Kalman, B. 2005. Photosynthesis: Changing Sunlight into Food (Nature’s Changes Series). Crabtree Publishing Company.
Prinja, R.K. 2007. The Sun. Heinemann-Raintree.
Silverstein, A. 1998. Photosynthesis. Lerner Publishing Group.
Staub, F.J. 2004. Photosynthesis. Creative Company.

Grades 9-12
Goldstein, M.J. 2004. The Sun (Our Universe Series). Lerner Publishing Group.
Hill, S. and M.J. Carlowicz. 2006. Sun. Abrams N Harry, Inc.
Jefferis, D. 2008. The Sun: Our Local Star. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Morton, O. 2008. Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet. HarperCollins Publishers.
Silverstein, A., V. Silverstein, and L. Silverstein Nunn. 2007. Photosynthesis. Lerner Publishing Group.