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Teachers are busy, lesson planning is overwhelming, and finding engaging new resources for habitat and ecosystems lessons isn’t easy. That’s why we created this guide for The Big Empty teaching guide.

The educator guide is a classroom resource with ready-to-use printable worksheets and activities that make teaching K-4 students about North American grasslands, resilience, and conservation simple and exciting. 

The Big Empty by author-illustrator Kirbi Fagan is “a sagebrush survival story” that teachers and homeschoolers can use to introduce SEL through picture books. Told from the perspective of a sagebrush who calls “the big empty” home, readers are taken on a journey of the plant’s resilience despite the harsh environment and discover the importance it plays in helping the animals around it survive. 

A Look Inside: Unleash the Learning Layers of The Big Empty

The educator guide provides the tools you need to create a no-prep, 3-5 day lesson plan focused on ecosystems and environments. Inside, you will find photocopy-ready worksheets and activities that align with Common Core skills and can be used as a cross-curricular application.

The Big Empty teaching guide contents:

• Creative Writing Activities: Creative writing reflection questions (answer key included), a “write from the animals perspective” story prompt, and a Haiku worksheet

• Science Activities: Science-themed reflection questions with answer key and vocabulary

• Artwork Discussion and Activities: Behind-the-scenes pictures, techniques and tools from the artist, an exclusive look at unused cover sketches, and art activity ideas like sketching a sagebrush and creating your own book cover 

Your Lesson Map: Pacing Your 3–5 Day Lesson

Just like the book itself, the educator guide can be used for grades K-4. 

For younger students (grades K-2), the creative writing and science reflection questions can be read out orally instead of being answered in written form. The haiku worksheet is an excellent way to introduce rhythm and descriptive language.

For older elementary students (grades 2-4), elevate the lesson by focusing on application. Students can use the grasslands science vocabulary and “exploring grasslands” questions to activate critical thinking. Pair this work with a research assignment, challenging students to study a grassland species of their choice. The story prompt then serves as a creative outlet, encouraging them to write descriptive, multi-paragraph stories about “animals from the big empty.”

Step-by-Step: Teaching Ecosystems with The Big Empty

1. Before Reading The Big Empty

When creating an ecosystem lesson plan for elementary-grade students, the goal is to build background knowledge, introduce key vocabulary, and spark their curiosity about the topic. 

To accomplish this, use the “Exploring Grasslands” and “Letter from the Author” sections of The Big Empty teaching guide:

• Build background knowledge by
  • Showing photos or maps of North American grasslands along with the “Exploring Grasslands” section to describe what the landscape looks like.
  • Read the author’s note to discuss what inspired the story and what sagebrush is.
• Introduce key vocabulary by
  • Pre-teaching the vocabulary science words from the “Exploring Grasslands” section
  • Use the keywords provided to create a visual word wall or vocabulary matching game.
• Spark curiosity by:
  • Asking your students: “What do you think life is like for plants and animals in a place called The Big Empty?”
  • Have students predict what the story might teach about survival or resilience.

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2. While Reading The Big Empty

With your class now equipped with the vocabulary and background on the Big Empty landscape, you are ready to begin the read-aloud. The key goal during this phase is to turn listening into active participation:

• Guided questions:
  • Use the worksheet from the creative writing section and have students answer the questions as you read through the book. 
• Read-aloud prompts:
  • Pause to discuss sensory details: “What colors do you imagine?” “What might you hear in the wind?”
  • Have students act out how animals might move or react to changes in weather.
• Class discussions:
  • Explore themes of resilience and hope.
  • Connect to real-world topics, such as wildfires, conservation, or climate.

3. Wrapping Up The Lesson Plan

After reading through The Big Empty, you can deepen students’ understanding through reflection and cross-curricular connections. You can use pieces of all three sections from the educator’s guide:

• Reflection activities:
  • Have students write or share “If I were an animal in The Big Empty…” stories
  • Discuss what “hope” means to them personally, as a class or in small groups.
• Writing projects:
  • Use the Haiku worksheet for poetry inspired by the book’s artwork.
  • The story prompt challenges students to apply the new vocabulary as they write from an animal’s perspective.
• Art projects:

• Ask students to recreate sagebrush using pastel, pencil, or linocut-style printing.
• Using the unused book covers provided in the educator packet, students can create their own book cover. 

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Beyond the Book: Cross-Curricular Applications for The Big Empty

The Big Empty educator guide goes beyond a traditional reading activity. It connects every subject like pieces of an ecosystem. With one story, teachers and homeschoolers can nurture creativity, curiosity, and compassion across multiple subjects, including SEL.

• Science: Students can connect how environmental changes within ecosystems affect the plants and animals that call it home through critical thinking. 
• Language Arts: The creative writing prompt encourages students to reflect on their role while developing narratives about protecting the environment.
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): By focusing discussion questions on the sagebrush’s internal dialogue and external survival, educators can easily transform science and ELA activities into powerful lessons on perseverance and the ability to find hope even after loss.

Why Teachers Love No-Prep Educator Guides

There are many reasons teachers and homeschoolers alike lean on a ready-made educator’s guide… and The Big Empty teaching guide is no exception. It’s designed to make planning easy, instruction engaging, and learning meaningful across multiple subjects.

• Saves valuable prep time, leaving more time for teaching, interacting with students, and grading previous work.
• The guide is flexible and works in any learning environment (in-person, remote, and hybrid). 
• The activities encourage creativity and critical thinking, which promote deeper comprehension and self-expression.
• They can also be adapted to work multiple grade levels, which is great for mixed-grade classrooms. 

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The Lasting Learning Outcomes of The Big Empty

The Big Empty educator guide is powerful because it easily brings learning to life across multiple subjects. Whether your focus is science, writing, or social-emotional growth, each activity encourages curiosity, creativity, and meaningful connections.

Here is a clear look at the lasting skills and comprehension goals your students will achieve across each subject area. 

• Language Arts & Writing – The student will be able to:
  • Analyze the story’s message about resilience, survival, and hope in nature.
  • Make text-to-world connections by discussing real-world topics such as wildfires, conservation, and climate.
  • Use sensory details and emotional language to write from an animal’s perspective in the grasslands.
  • Integrate science concepts into creative writing (using learned vocabulary within stories or poems)
• Science – The student will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of ecosystems and habitats, specifically grassland environments.
  • Use key science vocabulary accurately in speech and writing.
  • Explain how plants and animals adapt to the grassland ecosystem while also depending on each other for survival.
  • Recognize the importance of environmental conservation and how small changes affect ecosystems
• Art & Visual Literacy – The student will be able to:
  • Explore the process of book illustration through behind-the-scenes artwork, unused cover sketches, and artist techniques.
  • Experiment with artistic methods such as pastel, pencil, or printmaking to recreate textures found in nature.
  • Spark their creativity by designing their own book covers inspired by the story’s themes or setting.
  • Develop an appreciation for how art and text work together to communicate the story and create emotion.
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) – The student will be able to:
  • Practice empathy by adopting the perspective of a plant or animal to imagine its emotional state and survival needs.
  • Reflect on the concept of hope and resilience both in nature and their personal lives.
  • Collaborate respectfully in partner or group discussions and art projects.
  • Build confidence in self-expression through creative writing and visual storytelling activities.

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Your Complete, Cross-Curricular Resource Awaits!

The FREE Big Empty teaching guide from Lerner Publishing Group is a ready-to-go resource that helps turn any classroom into an ecosystem of learning. With creative writing, science, and art activities already planned out, it’s one less thing to prep, and one more way to nurture curiosity in every student.

Get Your Free Educator Packet Here!

Share the guide with a fellow educator and keep the learning going by exploring more children’s books about ecosystems and the powerful connections between plants, animals, and people.