Your Green Pages April 2004
By Elizabeth Swartz

For a downloadable version of the Green Pages click here. PDF 329KB

Primary Grades
1. Earth Day Picnic
   Social Studies To celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and reinforce lessons on recycling, reusing and reducing, have a school-wide picnic. Encourage students to pack their lunches in such a way as to generate a minimum amount of garbage. Award the class and/or students who had the least amount of garbage.

2. Make a Deck
   Math Have each child or group of students design a set of playing cards. Designate four fruits, animals, etc. to represent the "suits." On each card, place a digit and the correct number of items. Use the cards to play memory match games, put in order from least to greatest and vice versa or separate each others' cards into like categories.
3. Light and Heavy Rain
   Poetry/Creative Dramatics Teach the following finger play to the children:


Light and Heavy Rain

by Jacqueline Schiff

Rain is skipping
From the sky, (raise arms overhead; wiggle fingers downward in a skipping motion)

Drip drip showers
Plopping by. (wiggle fingers all the way to the ground)
Rain is rushing,
Gushing down; (raise arms over head; clap fingers against palms and rapidly move hands downward)

What a downpour (clap fingers all the way to the ground)
Floods my town! (press palms against cheeks and widen eyes, looking surprised; pretend to row a boat through town)

4. A Wordless Picture Story
   Language Fold two sheets of construction paper in half and place them inside each other to make a booklet. Have the students cut pictures from catalogs, magazines, brochures and newspapers to create a storybook without words. The pictures must be related and able to convey a story.
5. The Practiced Eye
   Writing/Science Practice predicting outcomes and descriptive writing by having children observe the morning weather and write a couple of sentences about it on their own. Put the predictions in an envelope. Do the children expect heavy or light rain? Some wind or all sun? Require that they include why they made that prediction, "the clouds were dark and low," etc. At the end of the day as they're lining up to leave, randomly open some of the predictions to see which were on target.
6. A Shower of Vowels
   Phonics Teach the children long and short vowel sounds with these words about rain, then invite the children to draw pictures for each sound.


Vowels of Showers

by Jacqueline Schiff

Rain is a a a gray day.
Rain is e e e deep street.
Rain is i i i I like.
Rain is o o o cold nose.
Rain is u u u June tune.

Rain is a a a a damp.
Rain is e e e e wet.
Rain is i i i i drip.
Rain is o o o o drop.
Rain is u u u u run!


7. Paper Cup Flowers
   Art/Science Step 1: Provide small paper drinking cups with flat bottoms. Students cut slits down the sides of the cup using pinking or scalloping scissors. Step 2: Fold the cut strips outward to make "flower petals." Paint the inside of the cup, first applying white glue if the interior of the cup is waxed. Let the "flowers" dry. Step 3: Glue the flowers to oaktag, paint stems, leaves and seeds at the appropriate places and label if desired. Use a wallpaper sample to make a flowerpot for the flower.
8. Pretty Perimeters
   Math Help students grasp the idea of perimeters by making some that they can see. Measure the perimeter of the classroom, then measure colorful yarn and place it around the perimeter of the room. Measure the teacher's desk space and make a lovely perimeter of decorated tape for the floor. Measure and make perimeter trim for the windows, bulletin board, door, etc.
9. Muscle Power
   Science Stretch and release a rubber band. Ask students to contribute ideas about what part of our bodies acts like a rubber band. Students can feel their muscles by placing their hands on their cheeks and alternately smiling and frowning or by placing their hand on their calf muscles and pointing their toes. What other muscles can they tighten and relax? What jobs do muscles help our bodies do? How can kids use the rubber band and objects around the room to explain how muscles work?
10. My Work Area
    Math Reinforce the meaning of area by having students measure the area encompassed by their desk or work table. Use that measurement to make an "area" rug from large bulletin board paper or ask local carpet dealers to donate samples that students can measure for the closest fit. Require students to keep all their belongings within the area delineated by the area rug. You can extend this activity by making area rugs for a pet center, art center, private reading spot, etc.
11. Fact or Fiction?
    Perception Discuss a favorite TV show in terms of what part of it would be possible and what part would not be possible. Make two columns on the board or overhead and begin brainstorming. If you were discussing "Sponge Bob SquarePants," questions could include: Do friends really stick up for each other? Can it rain underwater? How would you be able to tell if it were raining or not? After brainstorming about one favorite program, try a different one on another day.
12. Real People
    Social Studies/Biographies During School Library Media Month, get to know your favorite authors' favorite foods. Take a look at Writers In The Kitchen: Children's Book Authors Share Memories of their Favorite Recipes compiled by Tricia Gardella (Boyd Mills Press, 1998) and make a Cheerios® necklace as author Paula Danziger liked to do as a child. Make a class list of variations on the peanut butter sandwich, like author/illustrator Mark Teague enjoys (with tomatoes, dill pickles or sliced oranges). Other suggestions, from soups to desserts, are in the book.
13. Everyday Fossils
    Art/Science Provide modeling clay for the students along with some sea shells, small plastic animals, etc. Attach a short piece of fishing line to each object. Then have the children press the object into a flattened piece of clay. Remove the object by gently tugging on the fishing line and study the resulting "fossil." Have real fossils on display in your classroom as well as pictures online or in reference books.
14. Parents Activity
    Sorting Reinforce necessary classification skills while also developing independence. Have your child help pre-sort laundry and then sort it when it's finished. Put each elementary child in charge of sorting, delivering and putting away laundry for a certain amount of time. Perhaps a rotating schedule would work in your home.
15. Alligators in April
    Language Arts Enjoy some funny alligator tales such as the poem for two voices that's the title poem of The Alligator in the Closet and Other Poems Around the House by David Harrison (Boyds Mills Press, 2003). Also check out An Alligator Ate My Brother by Mary Olson (Boyds Mills Press, 2000) as well as the old favorite, There's An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer (Dial, 1987). Then have students decide where to place their April alligator and begin the story with the setting. They can illustrate their stories and read them to one another.
16. Happy Poetry Month
    Reading Assign your students days of the month on which they'll be responsible for reading a newly-discovered poem to the class. Be sure there's a different one for each day. Have the class vote for a favorite poem, then make an award and send it to the author. Plan a "juice-house," like a coffeehouse, at which students can read their own poetry. Go to www.poets.org for other ways to celebrate poetry.

17. Tiled Arrays
    Math Make colored "tiles" out of construction paper, then assign each student an array to portray using the tiles. Students can work on multiple problems using a workboard and unattached tiles or create several finished arrays to display. Have students intermittently identify the array by the fact and then the fact by the array. Use it as a quick review while waiting in line to go to lunch.
18. Weather Matters
    Science/Geography Laminate a large map of the USA or any region that you're studying. Post it within the students' reach and put them in charge of the weather for a particular city. Have them research weather conditions in daily newspapers, on TV or online and post them on the map with water-based pens or sticky notes. Discuss trends and consider reasons for differences, seasons, topography, jet stream, etc. What do the changes in climate dictate about our lifestyles?


Intermediate Grades


19. Weaving with a Wrinkle
    Math/Art Use this weaving idea to have each student create an array of a multiplication fact. First, create a basic basketweave pattern with contrasting shades of construction paper. Then loosely weave in a thinner, brighter-colored strip of paper, leaving enough of it standing upright to create a "loop." You can also use one short strip of paper to weave under only one warp, then tie the ends to create a loose knot. Have students display the arrays with the corresponding fact: 6 x 7 = 42 loops or knots.
20. Hatched Batch
    Poetry/Science Read the following poem with the class, then divide into groups to research turtle eggs and chicken eggs. Compare and contrast how, when and where these animals are born and what their lives are like.


Hatched Batch

by Heidi Roemer

Half a dozen turtle eggs
in a clutch of sand.
Six turtles hatch.
Isn't that grand?

A dozen chicken eggs lay
in a nest of sticks.
Twelve eggs hatch. See?
A dozen downy chicks!

21. It's Off to Work I Go
    Social Studies Prepare students to take part in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day on April 22 by having them write questions they would like to have answered about the educational requirements, advancements, etc. associated with their parents' jobs. Create a rubric together so the students will be prepared to write a summary of the day when they return to class. Go to www.DaughtersandSonstoWork.org for planning tips for the students.
22. Library Scavenger Hunt
    Research Techniques In honor of School Library Media Month, work with your librarian to set up a scavenger hunt in which children look for a fantasy book, a science fiction book, historical fiction, etc. Prepare some questions that students can answer by using the card or electronic catalog and some that can be answered online or with an encyclopedia. Be sure the scavenger hunt touches on all of the resources the library provides.
23. Free Libraries
    Math/Writing Assuming the average price of a hardcover children's library book is $15.95, have students calculate how much it would have cost them to buy all the books they have borrowed from the library in the last several days, weeks or months. Then have students make posters describing the services and benefits of a school library to post in the halls during National Library Week, April 18-24.
24. Dinner, Anyone?
    Social Studies Share the following poem with the class, then have students do library and online research to find dining customs from other cultures.
    

    Dinnertime Around the World

    by Heidi Roemer

    With fork and knife we eat our meat;
    That's how we keep our fingers neat.

    Folks in China choose to use
    chopsticks for their stir-fried foods.

    In India, it's quite all right
    to eat with fingers – that's polite!

    You're our guest, please take a seat.
    Fingers, forks or sticks? Let's eat!

    Challenge students to write another poem or add lines to this one about other customs that they find.

25. Food From Everywhere
    Social Studies/Reading After sharing the previous poem and activity give students a light snack from another country's cuisine. A good resource is Multicultural Meals: Step by Step, Healthy Recipes For Kids by Bobbie Kalman (Crabtree Publishing, 2003). Mexican fajitas, lox roll-ups or tofu steaks make interesting ways to introduce a new culture.
26. National TV Turn-Off Week
    Research Let's do some research to find out just how much of our lives are taken up by TV. Take your class to www.tvturnoff.org and go to the facts sheet. Read the list of TV facts and figures, then do a research study of your own. Compare your classroom's, grade level's or entire school's percentage of homes with multiple TVs, the amount of time watched, etc. with the list from the website. Make charts and graphs to post in the hallway to share your information.
27. Reading Magic
    Reading Read the book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Scholastic, 2003) in a literature circle or reading club. After completing the book, have students write about which characters from books they would like to have come to life. What would the characters' reactions to this world be? Would the characters be able to bring about any changes in our time?
28. Delicious Goals
    Science Purchase vegetable seed packets and work together at designing and completing a "growing season" chart. Help the students to graphically demonstrate how long it takes from the time corn is planted until it can be eaten. After completing the graph or chart, discuss what it means. When is the growing season in your area? What does the ground temperature have to be in order to plant corn? tomatoes? If late frost and heavy rains postpone planting by three weeks, what could that mean for the harvest?
29. Everyday Sports
    Health/Safety Ask students to research their favorite sport online or in the library. Stress the importance of safety measures. Have students make a chart with the things they already know, things they would like to know and the things they found out about their sport. Have each student give a presentation to the class and discuss whether or not the safety suggestions are actually practiced in the community. A good book to start with is Extreme In-line Skating by John Crossingham and Bobbi Kalman (Crabtree Publishing, 2003).
30. Days Gone By
    History/Writing Read with your class the January 2004 issue of Appleseed magazine (available at www.cobblestonepub.com), which is about the life of Breaker Boys, Mill Girls and other children during the Industrial Revolution. Go to www.historylearningsite.co.uk/children.htm to read first-hand accounts about coal mines, factories and diseases. Then have your students write a piece comparing those children's lifestyle with their own.
31. Did You See That?
    Perception Send or take the entire class to a school sporting event. Baseball or soccer works better than track for this activity. All students should watch the event, rather than comparing notes with one another. After the game, have each of them write about the experience in any literary form. Some students may choose an overview and some may choose the play-by-play action of a sports writer. Read the reports aloud and discover how differently each of us sees things. Then select a newspaper article about a local event and discuss the objectivity or subjectivity of the account. Should we believe everything we read?


Middle Grades


32. More Than Coins
    Social Studies During National Coin Week, April 18-24, take your students to the American Numismatic Association website at www.money.org and tour a museum of coins from various parts of the country. Divide into groups to research coins from Denver, tokens that were only minted to be souvenirs for the hobby and purpose of coin collecting. Invite a local collector or banker to class to show and discuss various types of coins. Why are some old coins worth more than others? Why are some coins taken out of circulation? What does the currency used by a society tell you about that society?
33. Musician Shortage
    Music Did you know that the United States is facing a severe shortage of organists? Have your class research the organ, its origin, its design, etc. Research and graph how many students in your class or school take piano lessons. How many take organ lessons? Poll the churches in your area to find out how many have or are in need of organists. Invite a local organist to your class to educate your students about this instrument. Get some cds of organ music to play for the class.
34. Spring Beauty
    Art Find a place in or around your school building that could be beautified. Perhaps you'll find a spot around the flagpole, in a courtyard, a lobby or a cafeteria corner. Get approval from the principal and then challenge your students to bring spring into that place. Begin with sketches and paintings of the proposed project. Enlist the help of parents and/or local nurseries or florists to work together to create a thing of beauty that the whole school can enjoy. Be sure the plants are well-researched so they will be cared for properly and so that only safe plants are brought into the school environment.

35. Poetry Fun
    Language Send your students to a card store for a poetry hunt. Have them copy some poems out of cards and report on what kinds of poetry they find. Classify the poems. Are there particular trends? Is one form of poetry used for a particular genre of cards? Have your students try to write greeting card poetry. Take their original poems to the computer lab and turn them into cards.
36. On the Stands
    Reading Have each student bring in his or her favorite magazine, be it a teen girl magazine, a football magazine or a video game magazine. Discuss how to do an analysis. For what audience is the magazine written? What are its strengths? Its weaknesses? What kind of advertising does it contain? Why? What is the cost of the magazine? Is it worth it? Why or why not? Provide an opportunity for students to trade magazines for a little while, then compare the magazines. Why are there so many different magazines for sale on the newsstand?
37. Love Those Cars
    Science/Writing Machines are marvelous inventions, but they need to be taken care of in order to work properly. April is National Car Care Month. Send students to www.carcare.org for tips on preparing for road trips and how to save fuel. Have students write a nonfiction piece on ways in which they can help maintain the family vehicle and/or prepare it for a trip.
38. Parents Activity
    Math Take your middle schooler grocery shopping and put him or her in charge of some portion of the list, comparing prices, judging quality as well as watching for sales. As practice increases, give your child responsibility for larger parts of the list. Discuss prices of the grocery items individually as well as what percentage the grocery bill is of the household budget.
39. Country Conversion
    Math Check the newspaper or television or call a local bank for the conversion rate for a Mexican peso, Canadian dollar or Euro. Tell your students a dollar amount (American) and have them convert it to another type of currency. In which countries would they get more for their dollar? Check again in a few weeks. Is the exchange rate different? What causes it to change?
40. Prevention
    Health Divide the class into groups and assign each group a different disease to research. What preventive measures can be taken against these illnesses? Ask students to conduct interviews with people who have had the illness they're researching. Have each student write a summary of their group's reports and then an individual essay about their own conclusions in choosing healthful lifestyles. Each group will present its data to the class.

41. Read the Label
    Health There are several new "soft drinks" being advertised in young people's magazines. Bring in a sample of each and have students read and compare the labels. What is the ingredient that manufacturers are adding? What can the effects of caffeine overload be? Which of these drinks are safe? Which might not be? Do the students feel that there is enough information on the labels? If students feel strongly about the content of these new drinks, ask them to write to the drink manufacturers and explain their views.
42. Feel the Mood
    Music For centuries, peoples and cultures have used music to communicate stories and moods. Play selections of rock, blues, rap, country/ western, opera, jazz, classical, etc. Have students listen to the different selections of music (preferably without lyrics) and write descriptive words about how the music makes them feel. What is it about the music that elicits those emotions? Which form of music makes the individual feel most comfortable? How about uncomfortable?
43. Mileage
    Math Go beyond the regular question of how many miles to the gallon a car will get and ask students to figure out if the mileage paid by their parents' employers is enough. Figure out how much someone would be reimbursed for trips of various lengths with the IRS' recommended 50.5 cents a mile and then research what many companies pay – 46 cents, 35 cents, etc. Does that only cover gas mileage? How do you figure in wear on the automobile? How does the IRS come up with the figure that it recommends?
44. Integrated Research
    Social Studies/Research Work with your librarian to plan an in-depth research project during National Library Week, April 18-24. Make sure that your students use the electronic catalog, online searches, magazine guides and video collections to find information that will be meaningful to them. Ask your librarian to work with your class during the beginning stages of research and at the conclusion of the project to aid with the construction of bibliographies. The subject of the research can be any topic or unit you're currently teaching in your classroom.

For a downloadable version of the Green Pages click here. PDF 329KB

ABOUT THE GREEN PAGES: Green Pages activities are for use in teaching grades PreK through 8. Activities are labeled according to basic skill areas.

THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTIONS:
Jacqueline Schiff, Moline, IL, #3, #6; Joan Macey, Binghamton, NY, #7, #19; Sherry Timberman, Sanford, ME, #4, #9.

POETRY: "Light and Heavy Rain," "Vowels of Showers" by Jacqueline Schiff, Moline, IL. "Hatched Batch," "Dinnertime Around the World" by Heidi Roemer, Orland Park, IL.

Illustrations by H. Robert Loomis.

April, 2004, Vol.34, No.7