Classroom Activities for World Elephant Day and National Elephant Appreciation Day with The Elephants of Thula Thula

Hello and Welcome! 🐘

You have arrived at the right spot to find information, a puzzle, or fun projects for your students. I hope you enjoy celebrating two special awareness weeks:

• August 12, World Elephant Day  
• September 22, National Elephant Appreciation Day

Here's a list of activity ideas and links. Also, scroll down to find a printable word search puzzle as well as some ecology definitions.

Classroom Activities & Resources

READ: I hope you enjoy reading The Elephants Come Home , a 2024 finalist for several state awards!

LISTEN: Elephant Voices:  How do elephants communicate with one another? What does the position of their trunks mean? Why do they flap their ears?  What is infrasound? Learn all this and more at “Communication between Elephants Voices and Sounds.” Elephants in Zoo and Circus Elephant Encyclopedia. *Bonus, scroll to the bottom of the page and hear recordings of elephants! https://www.upali.ch/communication_en.html. MORE: Ear flapping. Head Waggling. What does it all mean? Check out Elephant Voices.

WATCH: Elephants aren't puppies yet watch eco-warrior Lawrence Anthony call for the herd featured in The Elephants Come Home(seven-minute YouTube video). 

EXPLORE: The five senses: Would you like to learn more about an elephant’s vision, hearing, or their keen sense of smell?  Check out elephant senses: https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/elephants/senses/

Warm Blooded vs. Cold Blooded Creatures: At this link, Sea World features a classroom activity for teachers and students to discuss warm blooded vs. cold blooded animals. Make sure you add elephants to the conversation!

SPELL: Animal Spelling Bee: The SeaWorld website features another fun activity. You can host an  animal-centered spelling bee – just add “elephant” to the list. You’ll discuss words like “conservation”, “habitat”, and more. Consider adding “Zululand, South Africa” to the list, and discuss the difference between a continent and a country.

SCHOOL VISIT: I love chatting with students. Please check out the “Contact” page on my website (KimTomsic.com ) for a full menu of school visit options (live or via Zoom).

MEET: “Meet” the Elephants of Thula Thula (pronounced toola toola). Learn the names of the elephants that live in the wildlife sanctuary.

BECOME AN ECO-WARRIOR: Consider a classroom fundraiser, “Pennies for Protection” and adopt an elephant.

Word Search Puzzle (High-quality Printable version at this link) :

Definitions:

Habitat –A habitat is an environment where an organism lives for normal life and growth. The habitat contains all an animal needs to survive such as food and shelter. 

 

Biome – “A biome is a large area characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife.” – National Geographic. A biome is a community made of all the habitats in a region and climate.

 

Boma – “Boma” is a word borrowed from the Swahili language. It is a coral that is built as a space to help animals get used to their new home prior to letting them enjoy the entire wildlife reserve. Read more about bomas and how they are built at Our Planet, My Lens.

 

Reserve: A “reserve” is a managed area meant to protect wildlife and their habitats. There is no hunting on a wildlife reserve. Lawrence and Francoise Anthony started the wildlife reserve called Thula Thula.   

 

Thula Thula: Lawrence and Francoise Anthony started the wildlife reserve called Thula Thula. Thula Thula is a Zulu word that means “peace and tranquility”.

 

Elephants – seven elephants came to Thula Thula. The matriarch’s name is Nana. Her sister’s name is Frankie.

 

Eco Warrior –someone who makes hands-on effort to protect the environment.

 

South Africa: South Africa is a country just like the United States is a country. It is located on the continent of Africa.

 

Province: Some countries are divided into provinces which are, according to Merriam Webster,  “an administrative district or division of a country.”

 

MAP: From zoomed out to zoomed in (biggest to smallest) here’s where ThulaThula and its elephants are located:

Africa is the continent.

South Africa is one of the 54 countries on the continent of Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the nine provinces within South Africa.

Zululand is the region in KwaZulu-Natal where the elephants lived on the reserve.

Thula Thula is the game reserve in Zululand where the elephants live.

 

 

Awards & Critical Praise:

The Elephants Come Home by Kim Tomsic illustrated by Hadley Hooper. The amazing true story of a herd of elephants, the man who saved them, and the miracle of love that brought them home. One day in 1999, Lawrence Anthony and Françoise Malby Anthony receive word that a herd of wild African elephants need a new home. They welcome the elephants to their wildlife sanctuary—Thula Thula. But the elephants are much less sure they want to stay. How will Lawrence prove to them that they are safe and loved? What follows is a gorgeously illustrated real-life story of friendship . . . and the story of the miraculous way that love given freely will return—greater and more wonderful than it began. Chronicle Books,  ISBN: 978-1452127835

2022 Norman A. Sugarman Children's Biography Honor 

2022-23 Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award Primary Grade Winner

2023 Minnesota Comstock-Gág Book Award Winner

2022 Blue Grass Award Finalist

2022-23 Alabama Children’s Choice Camellia Award Finalist grades 2-3

2023-24 California Young Reader Award Finalist

2023-24 Iowa Goldfinch Award Finalist

2024 Utah Beehive Award Finalist

2024 Connecticut Nutmeg Award Finalist

2024 Illinois Bluestem Award Finalist grades 3-5

Resource - free!

Book available for purchase at:

The Wandering Jellyfish: Click Here

Changing Hands Bookstore: Click Here

Barnes and Noble: Click Here

Indiebound (or to check your local bookstore): Click Here

Red Balloon Bookshop: Click Here

Amazon: Click Here

Or simply ask your local bookseller!

Please reach out if you have any questions!

Awards and Classroom Resources for Elephants!

THE ELEPHANTS COME HOME

(Chronicle Children’s Books, May 18, 2021) ISBN: 978-1452127835

**Printable Classroom Activities & Resources Page

**Book a School Visit 

The amazing true story of a herd of elephants, the man who saved them, and the miracle of love that brought them home.

One day in 1999, Lawrence and Françoise learn that a herd of wild African elephants needs a new home. They welcome the elephants to their wildlife sanctuary in Zululand, South Africa—Thula Thula—with open arms. But the elephants are much less sure they want to stay. How will Lawrence prove to them that they are safe and loved? What follows is a gorgeously illustrated real-life story of a friendship . . . and the story of the miraculous way that love given freely will return—greater and more wonderful than it began.

Classroom Resources and Activities

Elephant Voices: How do elephants communicate with one another? What does the position of their trunks mean? Why do they flap their ears?  What is infrasound? Learn all this and more at “Communication between Elephants Voices and Sounds.” *Bonus, scroll to the bottom of their webpage and hear recordings of elephants! 

THE FIVE SENSES: Would you like to learn more about an elephant’s vision, hearing, or their keen sense of smell?  Check out more about elephant senses.

Warm Blooded vs. Cold Blooded Creatures: At this link, Sea World features a classroom activity for teachers and students to discuss warm blooded vs. cold blooded animals. Make sure you add elephants to the conversation!

Animal Spelling Bee: The Sea World website features another fun activity. You can host an  animal-centered spelling bee – just add “elephant” to the list. You’ll discuss words like “conservation”, “habitat”, and more. Consider adding “Zululand, South Africa” to the list, and discuss the difference between a continent and a country.

Meet the Elephants of Thula Thula (prounounced toola toola). Learn the names of the elephants that live on the wildlife sanctuary. Read about their conservation efforts or the history of the reserve. Perhaps you will decide to work together to save “Pennies for Protection” and adopt an elephant. 

 Video (7:12): See Lawrence Anthony call for the herd like you might call in a puppy from the yard. This seven-minute video titled “Lawrence Anthony's Rehabilitation of Elephants”, will be sure to delight you and your students. You will see all the stars of The Elephants Come Home.

Elephant Voices: This webpage takes a deep dive into identifying elephant behaviors, defining terms, and naming modes of communication.  

Awards & Critical Praise

Awarded the Norman A. Sugarman Honor in Children’s Biography

Winner!    Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award Primary Grade Winner

Winner!  Minnesota Comstock-Gág Book Award Winner

Finalist for Alabama Children’s Choice Camellia Award Finalist grades 2-3

Finalist for CYBILS Award

Finalist for the Kentucky Blue Grass Award

Finalist for the 2024 Connecticut Nutmeg Award

Finalist for the 2023-2024 California Young Readers Medal

Finalist for the 2023-2024 Iowa Goldfinch Award

Finalist for 2024 Illinois Bluestem Award grades 3-5

Finalist 2024 Utah The Beehive Award

Showcased at the Bologna Children’s Book Festival’s BRAW Amazing Bookshelf of “100 publishing gems” chosen from a selection of 2,200 books submitted by publishers from around the globe.

“The story’s flawless, gentle pacing illuminates the animals’ initial fear and the time, patience, and compassion it takes for attentive Lawrence to earn their trust…Hooper’s…shades of rich blue and soft rose heighten the story’s emotional impact.”—Horn Book Magazine

“In brief action-packed sentences, Tomsic informs readers of all the steps taken to bring [the elephants] back, with the text placed against Hooper’s beautifully realized illustrations of African animals and the vast, gorgeous landscape…with its focus on the elephants and the protagonists, this book is lovely, tender, and moving.”  —Kirkus Reviews

This touching true story portrays conservationist Lawrence Anthony’s relationship with a frightened, hunted herd that found a home at his reserve in South Africa, Thula Thula..The importance of conservation shines through the friendship story here, and both themes are beautifully complemented by Hooper’s detailed, atmospheric drawings of the elephants and their surroundings.”—Booklist

 “The illustrations are expansive with a limited color palette of warm oranges and cool greens and blues. The animal characters are dynamic, humorous, and emotive…A sentimental but high-­interest story based on true events of the bond between wild animals and the humans who care for them.”         —School Library Journal

Where to Find:

Your local library. If they don't have a copy available, please request that they carry!

Available at

The Wandering Jellyfish: Click Here

Changing Hands Bookstore: Click Here

Barnes and Noble: Click Here

Indiebound (or to check your local bookstore): Click Here

Red Balloon Bookshop: Click Here

Amazon: Click Here

Or simply ask your local bookseller!

*Printable Resource Page: CLASSROOM RESOURCES available here.  

**Book an in-person or virtual  School Visit!

The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship

 

Winner of the Keystone to Reading Award!

Winner of the Norman A. Sugarman Honor!

Nominated for the2023-2024  California Young Readers Award!

Nominated for the 2024 Beehive Award!

Nominated for the 2024 Nutmeg Award!

The Elephants Come Home (ISBN: 978-1452127835) is the amazing true story of a herd of elephants, the man who saved them, and the miracle of love that brought them home.

DO YOU DO SCHOOL VISITS? Absolutely! I'd love to your speak to your students in person live or via Zoom! Contact me here. We can customize a visit, or you can check out my menu of school visit options here.

One day in 1999, Lawrence Anthony and Françoise Malby Anthony receive word that a herd of wild African elephants need a new home. They welcome the elephants to their wildlife sanctuary—Thula Thula—with open arms. But the elephants are much less sure they want to stay. How will Lawrence prove to them that they are safe and loved? What follows is a gorgeously illustrated real-life story of friendship . . . and the story of the miraculous way that love given freely will return—greater and more wonderful than it began.

Critical Praise:

“[A] moving true story. . . (Have tissues handy.) [The Elephants Come Home’s] flawless, gentle pacing [and] pages with saturated, eye-catching teal, copper, and emerald hues. . . . heighten the story’s emotional impact. . .”—The Horn Book Magazine

“In brief action-packed sentences, Tomsic informs readers of all the steps taken to bring [the elephants] back, with the text placed against Hooper’s beautifully realized illustrations of African animals and the vast, gorgeous landscape…with its focus on the elephants and the protagonists, this book is lovely, tender, and moving.”       —Kirkus Reviews

 This touching true story portrays conservationist Lawrence Anthony’s relationship with a frightened, hunted herd that found a home at his reserve in South Africa, Thula Thula..The importance of conservation shines through the friendship story here, and both themes are beautifully complemented by Hooper’s detailed, atmospheric drawings of the elephants and their surroundings.”—Booklist

“The illustrations are expansive with a limited color palette of warm oranges and cool greens and blues. The animal characters are dynamic, humorous, and emotive. . . . A sentimental but high-­interest story based on true events of the bond between wild animals and the humans who care for them, suitable for early elementary students.”         —School Library Journal

Copies are available at Changing Hands Bookstore

• TOUCHING ANIMAL FRIENDSHIPS: Owen and Mzee, Tarra and Bella, Rescue and Jessica . . . touching true stories of the emotional bonds possible between species are charming, and speak to the limitlessness of love.
• ELEPHANTS: Elephants are one of the most fascinating and charming wild animals in all of nature. This heartwarming true story will intrigue & inspire children, turning the most reluctant readers into elephant enthusiasts.
• CONSERVATION THEME: This book tells the true story of caring for one of the world's most beloved endangered animals: the African elephant. This book is a great, upbeat jumping-off point for discussions of the importance of preserving endangered species and their environments.
• ENGAGING NONFICTION: There's no better way to get readers hooked on factual books than to offer them real-life stories with heart and meaning.
• STRONG CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize learning about animal habitats/biomes in K–2 curriculums, while later grades address topics like conservation and endangered species. With a depth of research and an engaging, highly visual narrative, this book is an excellent resource for librarians and primary school educators.

Perfect for ages 4-9:
• Kindergarten and elementary school teachers           Lovers of animals, wildlife, and the natural world
• Parents and grandparents                                         Zoo and natural history museumgoers
• Librarians                                                                  Parents and Kids of all ages