Your Green Pages August/September 2005
By Elizabeth Swartz

Primary Grades
1. Secret Shapes
   Math Cut various shapes out of sandpaper. Give students turns at wearing a blindfold, tracing the shapes and trying to determine what the shapes are.

2. Popular Pianos
   Music Take an indoor field trip to see the pianos in your school. How many are there? Are they all alike? How many children have pianos in their homes? Invite the music teacher or a piano tuner to explain the workings of a piano and allow the children to see the hammers in action. How is an electric keyboard the same and different?

3. Measuring Up
   Math On the back of a door, hang a large piece of paper. Mark each child's height on the first day of school. Remeasure throughout the year, being sure to date the measurements. Have the children measure the difference. Also, trace hands and feet on the inside of a file folder. Repeat throughout the year, tracing on top of the first pattern and measuring growth. Make graphs that illustrate each child's development.

4. Day by Day
   Social Studies/Drama Use the following poem to reinforce the order of the days of the week. Teach corresponding motions for each stanza.
   

   Week Daze

   by Heidi Roemer

   Hip-hop hopscotch Sunday,
   Hooray for family fun day!

   Baseball batting Monday,
   See how fast I run day.

   Egg-and-spoon race Tuesday,
   Someone's win or lose day.

   Cool pool Wednesday,
   Splashing with my friends day.

   Howling, prowling Thursday,
   Pet parade and fur day.

   Kids fly kites on Friday,
   See how high they fly day.

   Sidewalk skating Saturday
   Clomp, clomp, glide and clatter day.

   Rolling, bowling Sunday,
   A new week has begun. Hey!

   

5. Wiggly Worms
   Math Make several construction- paper apples with a numeral written on each. Encourage your students to put the correct number of gummy, paper or rubber worms on the apples. Laminate the apples for repeat usage.

6. The Same, But So Different
   Science Compare and contrast a raw egg with a hard-boiled egg. Make a simple chart or use a Venn Diagram. Reach beyond the physical differences: Can both types of eggs be colored? Cooked? What form(s) of matter are in each?

7. Great Grandparents
   reading/Art Share a picture book about grandparents. What Grandmas Can't Do by Douglas Wood (Simon & Schuster, 2005) highlights a grandmother who can't "make your favorite cookies alone," and "sometimes can't laugh without tears coming out of her eyes." Compare the characters with children's real grandparents. Ask students to draw pictures of the things they do with their grandparents.

8. Spelling Snakes
   Language For a new "twist" on a spelling lesson, provide packages of colored chenille sticks. Encourage the children to form the letters for their spelling words out of the sticks. Use matching colors for similar word types.

9. Picture Perfect
   Reading/Visual Discrimination Clip comic strips out of various newspapers and cut them up, mixing the panels of different comics all together in a pile. Put the pile in the middle of the table and have students sort them by the main characters. Use related panels to form a story sequence.

10. Sticker Pictographs
    Math Provide each student with graph paper and a variety of pre-counted stickers. Model a sticker pictograph, then help the students each make his or her own graph.
    

11. Handy Bodies
    Language/Health Teach the following poem to your children. Act out parts as they recite it. Add other fitness activities that mesh.
    

    My Handy Dandy Anatomy

    by Jacqueline Schiff

    My handy head is heading
    When I'm in a soccer game.
    My handy hands are dribbling
    When a basket is my aim.
    My handy legs are kicking
    When a football is in play.
    My body parts are handy
    When I exercise each day.

12. My Name Is…
    Art/Spelling Provide your students with blank name tags and a pile of alphabet cereal, noodles or paper letters. Have them arrange the letters to spell their names. Provide the names to match, if necessary. Help the children glue the letters onto and decorate the tags.

13. Testy Thermometers
    Math Hang pictures of three thermometers, one depicting a low temperature, one medium and one high. Provide students with a collection of weather-corresponding pictures – kids in swimsuits and ski jackets, colored leaves, snowmen, fireworks – to hang beneath the appropriate thermometer.

14. Inside Out
    Science/Writing Cut apples in half from top to bottom, keeping the stem attached and split lengthwise, and give each student half of an apple. Next, display a large cross-section of an apple. Label each section: skin, flesh, seeds, stem, core. Have the students write essays describing the parts of an apple.

15. Pictures of Pals
    Reading/Art Share the book Ruby Paints A Picture by Susan Hill (HarperCollins, 2005). Children can then create paintings of one another in front of a tree or desk. Make the background something that everyone can draw successfully.

16. Pretty Patterning
    Math/Health Practice patterning by putting cubes of cheese, pineapple chunks, red and green grapes and other bite-sized pieces of fruit on kabob sticks. Model a pattern for students to copy, then ask students to create their own patterns. Finish this activity by enjoying a healthy snack!
    

17. Parent Activity
    Science Attach streamers or lengths of ribbon to a plastic or paper plate. Hang this weather vane somewhere outdoors where it will be protected from rain and snow, yet the wind will blow. Ask your child each day, from which direction is the wind blowing? Where is it heading? Follow up by watching the weather channel to compare your wind-direction readings. What does this tell you about weather patterns in your area? Can you use your weather vane to forecast weather?

18. Outdoor Math
    Math/Poetry Read this poem to the children before going outside for bubble play. How many bubbles can they blow at one time? Which direction do the bubbles go? Are they small, medium or large? Ask the kids to count how many seconds the bubbles are aloft before they pop. What makes them pop too quickly? Take along a small fan for a spectacular finale.
    

    Blowing Bubbles

    by Kimberly M. Hutmacher

    One by one,
    In the sun

    Two by two,
    On my shoe

    Three by three,
    Look at me!

    Four by four,
    Watch them soar!

    POP!

19. Signs and Symbols
    Social Studies Go to the library to look at almanacs. Have students look up international signs and symbols. Discuss the necessity of global symbolism. Talk about your school's symbol, if there is one; if not, create a school symbol together.

20. Wonderful Wheels
    Science Using a doorknob attached to a free-standing board, demonstrate the action of a wheel and axle. What other wheel and axle examples can be found? Bring in skateboards, in-line skates, etc.

21. Informal Interviews
    Reading/Writing This poem is a nice introduction to a lesson about informal interviewing techniques.
    

    School Is...

    by Heidi Roemer

    Buses and backpacks,
    Homework and books.
    Chalkboard and desks,
    Coats hung on hooks.
    My favorite subjects?
    Gym, art, and lunch.
    The best thing about school?
    New friends by the bunch!

22. Treasure Maps
    Art/Math Provide each student with a printed grid. Give as much privacy as possible to students as they cut treasures out of sheets of colored foam and place them at particular coordinates on their grids. Divide students into pairs and have them call out coordinates in an attempt to capture each other's treasure. The first person to seize all of their partner's treasure is the winner.

23. Our Year Ahead
    Social Studies Set up a timeline that can be left up all year. Mark the first day of school, then have students mark significant events, such as holidays, field trips and report card times. Ask students to write descriptive phrases on the timeline about each event. Keep it updated throughout the year.

    Middle Grades

24. Fingerprinting Books
    Reading/Research Show students where to locate a book's ISBN number. Using this number, can they track the book in the library catalog? How would they use it to order a book online? How is the ISBN used in the publishing world?

25. Writing with Purpose
    Language Ask your librarian for back issues of Highlights For Children magazine. Review the "Our Own Pages" selections as well as the "Science Letters." Use these as models to produce a set of "Our Own Class Pages" to send home to parents. Encourage your students to write with questions to their favorite magazines.
    

26. Extraordinary Elephants
    Reading/Science September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN, is home to several elephants retired from show business. The website, www.elephants.com, features a live "Elecam" where students might spot sanctuary residents strolling the 2700-acre land.

    Divide the class into two groups and have them research the question, What is so great about elephants? One group each will research Asian and African elephants. Have students create a research outline that includes what information sources and indices they'll use. This project may culminate in a PowerPoint presentation about elephants.

27. G is for Grandparents
    Reading/Writing Make large "G"s around which students will create a collage of pictures and "G" words that describe their grandparents. On the back of the finished collage, each student should write how and why these particular words, phrases and pictures remind them of their grandparents. Photos from magazines or family photos can be used.

28. Migrating Monarchs
    Science Provide a large map of North America on which to mark the progression of monarch migration this year. The following sites provide updated information: www.monarchwatch.org, www.learner.org/jnorth, www.monarchlab.umn.edu and www.monarchwatch.org

29. Meet the Artist
    Reading/Art Read the book Smart About...Pierre Auguste Renoir: Paintings That Smile by True Kelley (Grosset & Dunlap, 2005). It is structured like a student's class report and includes examples of Renoir's work. Use it as a reference for how to write reports about artists. Have students search the library and online for examples of art to include in their reports.

30. Research Maps
    Reading/Social Studies Take the class to the library with drawing paper, rulers, pencils and highlighters. Make a map of the library, marking the different areas – the reference section, computer area, fiction, nonfiction, periodicals, etc. Make an appointment for your librarian to introduce students to the resources needed for upcoming research.

31. Global Food
    Social Studies During National Rice Month, take time to illustrate for your students how much of the world relies upon rice as a staple. Read aloud how rice is grown. Prepare long-cooking white or brown rice in your classroom the way that many people in the world eat it – overcooked a bit so that it sticks together. Give students bowls of plain rice to eat with their fingers. Research its nutritional value. Discuss how people in the poorest countries of the world use rice to survive.

32. Mathematical Cats
    Math Assemble a collection of liquid measurement containers. Share the following poem with the class, then have students demonstrate the various measurements. How much milk does each cat get?
    

    Meow for Milk

    by Heidi Roemer

    I have sixteen cats that I adore.
    I buy their milk at the grocery store.

    A gallon of milk; they love that stuff!
    My sixteen cats will lap it up.

    I could also buy four quarts, and that
    would feed my sixteen hungry cats.

    And if four quarts are hard to find,
    I'd simply purchase eight cold pints.

    Eight pints equals sixteen cups:
    For sixteen cats, it's just enough.

    Tomorrow they will meow for more -
    And I'll go back to the grocery store.

33. National Parks
    Social Studies Divide the class into groups. Give each group a region of the United States and have them research the National Park land in that region. What type of land is it? What is its history? When was it set aside for a national park? What qualities do all national parks share? Get information from your library, almanacs and at www.nps.gov Make maps illustrating the parks, and put together a large poster or a PowerPoint presentation that can be put in the library.

34. Parent Activity
    Reading/Writing For students who learn best by listening, make a spelling and/or vocabulary audio tape with your child at the beginning of each week. Say the word, then spell and repeat the word. Give a definition and use the word in a sentence. Your child can listen to the tape several times throughout the week. For visual learners, set a time when you and your child can make spelling and/or vocabulary cards that have a word on one side and a definition on the other, as well as a sentence using the word. Related words can be written in the same color.
    

35. Research Keys
    Research Make some large key shapes out of paper. Write a topic word on each – a title, an author or a subject. Give each student a "key to information" to take to the library. Ask students to gather as much information as they can from the electronic or card catalog and write it on the backs of the keys. This is a good time to introduce how to note bibliographic entries.

36. Play Ball
    Social Studies Get a copy of Ballpark: The Story of America's Baseball Fields by Lynn Curlee (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Have students create a timeline that shows the addition of new ballparks, models of each of the parks and a written explanation about the social impact of a park upon a city. Have someone research the return of Major League Baseball to Washington, D.C.

37. Hoist Your Flag, Matie!
    Social Studies/Science Talk about the purposes of flags and proper care of a flag. Design and create one to represent your class. Study the rope-and-pulley system on the school's flagpole. Have students design, produce and install a rope-and-pulley system for your classroom flag. Assign the job of hoisting and lowering the flag each day.

38. Healthy Living
    Health Provide your students with the latest health information by visiting www.mypyramid.gov This is an interactive website where they can get personalized diets, portion sizes and exercise recommendations. Make comparative charts between eating habits prior to visiting this site and those after receiving diet suggestions. Are students willing and able to make the changes? Why or why not?
    

    Intermediate Grades
    
    

39. More Than a Hat
    Social Studies For Labor Day, ask students to bring in items, such as uniforms, that represent particular occupations. Students can then research those occupations to find out what kind of education, training or apprenticeship is required for that career. Encourage students to incorporate occupations that do not require uniforms and decide how to represent them.

40. Jazzin' Along
    Music Visit the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts website, www.jazzatlincolncenter.org Bring in cds of jazz and read biographies of jazz greats throughout history. What instruments are most commonly used in jazz music?

41. Local Safety
    Social Studies/Science Have your students conduct a survey of their schoolmates, asking the question, "Do you wear your seat belt always, sometimes or never?" Create graphs and a written evaluation of the findings. Compare age groups. Research the number of accidents in your county or state in the last year involving occupants wearing or not wearing seat belts. What conclusions can be drawn? Publish the results in the school newspaper.

42. Revolutionary Essays
    Writing/History Encourage students to take part in the annual American History Essay Contest sponsored by their local chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. Go to www.dar.org to read about the topic, and find your local chapter in the phone book or by searching "DAR local chapters" on Google. Submissions are generally accepted August 1 through December 15.

43. Five-a-Day Challenge
    Health Visit www.5aday.com with your students. Do they eat five servings of veggies and fruits a day? Which fruits and vegetables do they like best? In what combinations? Give students a five-a-day challenge: When they increase their fruit and veggie intake, do they experience a noticeable change in energy levels? Set up class trial experiments. Journal the trials and results.
    

44. Trade for the Best
    Social Studies/History Students can make their own trading cards of states and capitals, regions, presidents, etc. for a great study aide. Each student can be responsible for making at least one card. Download or scan pictures, print important information on the back and laminate the cards. Establish class rules for collecting and swapping cards.

45. Refrigerator Research
    Writing/Health Have students take an inventory of what's in their refrigerators. Categorize the findings by food groups, expiration dates and even stages of decay. Encourage detailed, creative descriptions. Have students compile the information into an article, speculating on what the contents of a fridge might reveal about the inhabitants of a house.

46. Constitutional Foundation
    History September 17 is the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Provide students with copies of this awesome document. Discuss differences between the language used when it was written and present-day language. Talk about how the Constitution is upheld daily in our courts and in Congress. Encourage students to collect articles from magazines and newspapers that illustrate constitutional issues that effect our daily lives.
    

47. Hand Signals
    Language/Health A great time to acquaint or reacquaint your students with sign language is during Deaf Awareness Week, the last week of September. Go to www.nad.org for ideas, as well as to your library for books about American Sign Language. Practice signing daily with your students. Select students to prepare phrases and sentences to share with the class. Invite a specialist to your classroom to offer suggestions for learn- ing this language.

48. Stepping into Health
    Math/Health Provide students with personal pedometers. Have them record the number of steps taken on school days and on weekend days. Average these figures. Compare these to the number of steps recommended for adult Americans to take – 10,000. Are your students close to this number? Compare students' exercise amounts to the recommended amount for youths – 60 minutes per day. Are students close to this goal? Make charts and graphs to show results and set goals. Repeat the process in one month to check for growth.

49. U.N. Understood
    Social Studies The United Nations General Assembly has chosen the third Tuesday in September as International Day of Peace. Use this day to introduce your students to the United Nations, its formation, its procedures and our representatives there. Have students pick member nations to research and report on. Check daily news outlets for information about the current session. Visit www.un.org

50. Comprehending Conflict
    Social Studies Use the book Understanding The Holy Land: Answering Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Mitch Frank (Viking, 2005) as a read-aloud or for resource material. The question-and- answer format clearly explains the historical and current conflicts in this part of the world. It has an extensive timeline and glossary that will help students understand both sides of this issue.

51. Morphology Magic
    Language Morphology is the study of word formations. Give each student a word. Have him or her research what it can become as an addend to other words – ant, chant, relevant, for example. How can the word within the word act as a clue to the meaning of the new word? Have students present their findings to the class.

52. Careers of Choice
    Social Studies Near Labor Day, help students research their careers of choice. Go to a site like Ask Jeeves (www.ajkids.com) where they can ask questions like, "What do engineers do?" Get answers that include specifics on educational requirements. Print out the goal careers for the students. Are their educational requirements being met? What future steps do they need to take to reach their career goals?

53. Worn-out Words
    Writing Encourage children to think of specific, descriptive words to substitute for more vague, common terms. Worn-out words in- clude very, bad, go, etc. Hang this list of vague words with their substitutes in a prominent place, or compile them in a three-ring binder to which new words and their alternatives may be added throughout the year. Encourage students to refer to this mini-thesaurus whenever writing.
    

54. Faces of Heroism
    Reading/Social Studies Read Americans Who Tell The Truth by Robert Shetterly (Dutton, 2005) with your students. Inspired by the events surrounding 9/11, this beautiful collection is a combination of 50 portraits, quotes and brief biographies. Profiled are historical and present-day Americans brave enough to challenge the status quo, speak up for their beliefs and take action against injustice here and around the world. Discuss what constitutes a hero. What traits do your students consider heroic? Do they have any "everyday" heroes?

    For information about bringing these portraits to your community, visit www.americanswhotellthetruth.org

55. Parent Activity
    History/Spatial Relations Get a 3-d puzzle of a historical spot to put together with your child. The fine motor coordination involved and the need for good spatial relationships will make the task harder than it seems at first. When the puzzle is finished, spray the finished product with a laminate to preserve its original condition. Have your child do some research on the actual building. Attach an information card to the puzzle and donate it to a children's hospital or local library.

56. Calendar Math
    Math Post the calendar for the current month where everyone can see it. Provide one set of cards marked from 1-30 (or 31). Provide another set of cards marked with these phrases: two weeks ago, 10 days from now, 15 days later. Have students select a date card and future/past time card. When applying the second card to the first, can they determine the date?

57. Say What?
    Language/Writing Ask your students about their special vocabularies – slang words they use, nicknames for friends and favorite expressions. Can they think of other groups of people that have their own special languages? There's the language of sports, for example. Do they know the language of the postal system (fourth class, parcel post, airmail)? Share some language unique to the teaching profession. Encourage students to talk to their parents about the specific language they may use in their occupations. Ask students to write stories with dialog in a specific language different than their own.

58. Changing Rules
    Social Studies/History Discuss how U.S. laws have changed throughout history. Research laws of the early religious settlements that are no longer in place, as well as the most recently established laws. Discuss how laws change from state to state.

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:
Marie Cecchini, West Dundee, IL, #9

POETRY: "Week Daze," "School Is…" and "Meow for Milk" by Heidi Roemer, Orland Park, IL. "My Handy Dandy Anatomy" by Jacqueline Schiff, Moline, IL. "Blowing Bubbles" by Kimberly M. Hutmacher, Springfield, IL.

Illustrations by H. Robert Loomis.

August/September 2005, Vol. 36, No. 1