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Activities for the Reading Club's Featured Books | |
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Our featured selections are award-winning books that are obtainable in print from libraries and bookstores, and are also available in alternate formats (electronic or braille). Grade levels are approximate. | |
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1st Quarter 2004 - North | |
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Grades 3-6 Pippi Longstocking |
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By Astrid Lindgren | |
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1950. The Viking Press, NY | |
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Available in braille from the following sources: 1. Borrow from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, www.loc.gov/nls or call 800-424-8567 (must be a registered user). 2. Available for purchase from The Braille Institute for $13.00, www.brailleinstitute.org/UniversalMedia/ChildrensBooks.htm or 1-800-BRAILLE (800-272-4553). 3. Available in electronic format from Bookshare.org, www.bookshare.org (must pay a small fee to be a registered user). |
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Related web sites:
• http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/astridlindgren.htm • http://www.astrid-lindgren.com/indexx.htm - Includes a short memoir written by Astrid Lindgren. Also shows photos of her as a small child. • www.astridlindgrensworld.com - In several languages, but has an English version. This site also includes a short memoir written by Astrid Lindgren. •For a map of Sweden for children, visit www.map4kids.com/world/europe/sweden/index.php • Learn more about Sweden at www.4learning.co.uk/wearefrom/sweden/teachers_notes.html |
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Activity:
Pippi likes to cook! In chapter 2 of Pippi Longstocking, Pippi is making pepparkakor, a type of Swedish ginger snap. You can make these cookies, too! The following recipe is from www.cookierecipes.com. Ingredients: 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup molasses 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 tablespoon baking soda 2/3 cup butter 1 egg 3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour Directions: 1. Place butter in a large, heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat brown sugar, molasses and spices just to boiling point. Add baking soda and stir in. Pour this mixture over the butter and stir until it melts. 2. Beat egg and mix in; add flour, a cup at a time, and blend thoroughly. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 1-2 minutes. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm (about an hour). 3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). 4. Roll out to approximately 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board and cut into desired shapes. Place on greased baking sheets and bake for 8 - 10 minutes. 5. Remove from sheets and cool on racks; may be decorated with piped icing or whatever else you like! |
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Hatchet | |
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by Gary Paulsen | |
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1987. Bradbury Press, NY | |
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Available in braille from the
following sources: 1. Available to borrow in braille and download in Web-braille from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, www.loc.gov/nls or call 800-424-8567 (must be a registered user). 2. Available for purchase from Seedlings for $18.50, www.seedlings.org or 800-777-8552. |
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Related web sites:
• www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/about.html • http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/paulsen.htm • www.webenglishteacher.com/paulsen.html • For a map of and more information about Canada: http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/index.html |
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Activity:
One skill that can come in handy in many survival situations is learning how to tie different knots. The web site, from a scout troup in England, not only includes clear directions, but also animated lines in different colors to demonstrate how to tie many special knots. It also describes situations in which to use the knots: www.42brghtn.mistral.co.uk/knots/42ktmenu.html This web site has more about knots as well: www.2020site.org/knots Learn more about wilderness areas and safe camping from this Boy Scouts of America site: www.scouting.org/pubs/gss/toc.html |
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2nd Quarter 2004 - East | |
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Grades 4-6 Shipwrecked: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy |
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by Rhoda Blumberg | |
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2001. HarperCollins Publishers | |
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Available in braille from the following sources: 1. Available to borrow in braille and download in Web-braille from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, www.loc.gov/nls or call 800-424-8567 (must be a registered user). 2. Available for purchase from The Braille Institute for $8.00, www.brailleinstitute.org/UniversalMedia/ChildrensBooks.htm or 1-800-BRAILLE (800-272-4553). |
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Related Web Sites
To read more about the author, visit: • www.rhodablumberg.com • http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/blumberg.htm For more about this particular book, visit: •www.embracingthechild.org/Bookshopmainshipwrecked.html Manjiro, the person in the book, is from the province of Tosa, in Japan. For a map of Japan, visit: • http://kids.mapzones.com/world/japan/ |
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Activities:
1. Manjiro and his friends are saved by the crew of a whaling ship. Manjiro himself later becomes a ship captain. To read more about the history of whaling, visit these two web sites: • www.explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/bl-whaling.htm • www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/amwhale/am_arctic.html 2. Origami is the Japanese art of paperfolding. Origami designs are available to make all kinds of animals, people, and other things using just a single piece of paper. While some designs are complicated, many are quite simple and great for beginners. For some easy origami designs and directions for making them visit: • www.folds.net/tutorial/ - Most of the origami designs on this web site are diagrams only, without written descriptions. • www.empnet.com/woodmansee/origami.htm - This is another good resource for beginners, with excellent written descriptions of basic folds found at www.empnet.com/woodmansee/origuide.htm 3. As mentioned above, Helen Keller visited Japan and brought the first akita dog to the United States. The akita is a breed that comes originally from Japan. One story that made the front page of the Tokyo newspapers in 1932 made the breed famous—the story of Hachi-Ko. To read this story of a very loyal dog visit: • www.akitaclub.org/web/history/hachiko.html For more about Helen Keller's visit to Japan and her akita, visit: • www.akitaclub.org/web/history/keller.html 4. Students may be fascinated to know how braille is written in Japanese. Since Japanese does not have an alphabet but instead has three systems for writing characters, the Japanese braille code is based on the sounds of the language. Visit this web site to take a look at the braille code used in Japan: • http://homepages.cwi.nl/~dik/english/codes/braille.html#Japanese |
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Homesick: My Own Story | |
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by Jean Fritz | |
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1982. G.P Putnam's Sons, NY | |
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Available in braille from the
following sources: 1. Available for purchase from Seedlings for $19.00, www.seedlings.org or 800-777-8552. 2. Available in electronic format from Bookshare.org, www.bookshare.org (must pay a small fee to be a registered user). |
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Related Web Sites
To read more about the author: • www.cbcbooks.org/html/jeanfritz.html • www.carolhurst.com/authors/jfritz.html • www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/fritz.html • www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jhtml?authorID=39&collateralID=5161&displayName=Biography |
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Activities:
1. In the book, which takes place in the 1920s, Jean's friend Andrea thinks she knows much more about what is going on in the United States than Jean does. She listens to American popular music on the Victrola (an early brand of record player), and even teaches Jean the latest dance, the Charleston. You can learn the Charleston, too. Visit these web sites for directions on how to dance the Charleston: • www.homesteadmuseum.org/jtt/1920s%20charleston.pdf • www.park-ridge.il.us/deines/gatsby97/mdance/charlstn.html For a short Quick Time movie of a couple dancing the Charleston, visit • www.ballroomdancers.com/Dances/media.asp?Dance=LH&StepNum=381 This web site gives more variations and close up photos of the feet of someone dancing the Charleston: • www.jitterbuzz.com/less3.html 2. Fortune cookies are not truly Chinese, but an American invention! In the United States, fortune cookies have become part of the experience of going to a Chinese restaurant. Many restaurants will bring these crispy treats at the end of the meal, where the secret message is revealed when the cookies are cracked open. You can make your own fortune cookies—and can put "fortunes" in print and in braille inside your cookies! For one recipe, visit this web site: • http://hicards.com/pagesc/fcrecipe.html 3. Students may be fascinated to know how braille is written in Chinese. Since Chinese does not have an alphabet, the Chinese braille code is based on the sounds of the language. Visit this web site to compare English braille to the code used in China: • www.braille.ch/pschin-e.htm |
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3rd Quarter 2005 - West | |
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Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa | |
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by Don Brown | |
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2000. Houghton Mifflin, Boston | |
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Available to purchase in print/braille from National Braille Press for $5.95, www.nbp.org or 888-965-8965. | |
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Related web sites:
• For more information about the author visit www.booksbybrown.com • For more information about Mary Kingsley, visit http://africanhistory.about.com/library/biographies/blbio-marykingsley.htm |
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Activities:
1. At the time Mary Kingsley traveled in Africa much of it was unexplored by Europeans. Look on a map for what countries are now in West Africa. What country is the Ogooué river in? Where is the Remboué River? Find out about those countries—what languages do they speak? The book mentioned the Adjoumba, Igalwa, M'ponwe, and Fang tribes. Do they still exist? What countries do they live in? For more about Mary Kingsley's trip, visit http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa011002b.htm 2. Some of the animals Mary saw included crocodiles, snakes, gorillas, elephants, and hippopotamuses. Your students can learn more about these animals and how they are faring in the wild today. One web site that has information about West African wildlife and conservation efforts is the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund: www.cepf.net/xp/cepf/news/guinean_forest.xml. A kid-friendly site about wild animals of Western Africa can be found at http://wildnetafrica.co.za/wildlife/learning/library.html 3. Mary Kingsley lived during what is called the Victorian era in England. Life was very different back then, especially for girls and women. For a kid-friendly web site that includes details of living, school, toys, inventions, etc., visit: www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians.html More can be found for teachers at this site, as well: www.gfy.ku.dk/~ams/sh/victorian.html |
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Walk Two Moons | |
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by Sharon Creech | |
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1994. HarperCollins, NY | |
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Available in braille from the
following sources: 1. Available to borrow in braille and download in Web-braille from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, www.loc.gov/nls or call 800-424-8567 (must be a registered user). 2. Available for purchase from Seedlings for $21.00, www.seedlings.org or 800-777-8552. 3. Available for purchase from The Braille Institute for $27.00, www.brailleinstitute.org/UniversalMedia/ChildrensBooks.htm or 1-800-BRAILLE (800-272-4553). 4. Available in electronic format from Bookshare.org, www.bookshare.org (must pay a small fee to be a registered user). |
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Related web sites:
• A Teacher's Guide for all of the author's books: www.sharoncreech.com • www.harpercollins.com/catalog/author_xml.asp?authorid=11974 |
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Activities:
1. Look at a map and follow the route Sal and her grandparents traveled from Kentucky to Idaho. Some of the places they visited were Elkhart and Southbend, Indiana; Chicago and Lake Michigan in Illinois; Madison, Lake Mendota, and Lake Monona, Wisconsin, along with the Wisconsin Dells fort; across the state of Minnesota; Pipestone National Monument, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Wall, the Badlands, Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; Yellowstone, Wyoming; through the Rockies in Montana; Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston, Idaho. Create your own map of the journey with pictures or tactile symbols to represent the highlights of their trip. 2. Sal not only makes a physical journey, she makes a personal one as well from denial to acceptance of her mother's death. Create a personal map or timeline of Sal's internal journey as she walked "two moons in someone else's moccasins," listing events that helped her along the way. How did her friend Phoebe help her understand? What about Ben? How does walking in someone else's moccasins help you understand yourself? |
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Selections for the 2004-2005 School Year | Past Reading Club Activities | |
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Back to Reading Club |
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