Your Green Pages February 2004
By Elizabeth Swartz

Primary Grades
1. Sort-a-Thon
   Math Give each child a bag of small items such as coins, erasers, buttons, paper clips, crayons, etc. Call out a category ("Things you use at school," etc.) and set a timer for two minutes, during which the children will take appropriate items out of the bag. Put the items back into the bag and play again.
2. Sledding Safety
   Reading/art/Health Teach the children the following rhyme, then have them draw a sledding adventure. What kind of safety helmet and sledding boots will they design? Talk about their pictures and the safety rules for sledding.


Sledding

by Jacqueline Schiff

Oh, a-sledding I will go,
A-sledding I will go.
''ll wear a helmet on my head,
And cozy boots below.

3. Winter Wellness
   Physical Education Teach the following rhymes and motions to your class. Repeat them during the winter.


Jack and Jill's Winter Exercise



by Jacqueline Schiff

Jack and Jill hiked up the hill,
(pantomime hiking up hill)
And brought with them Miss Muffet.
A winter walk is healthier (pantomime walking, swing arms and smile)
Than sitting (sit)
on your tuffet. (shake head "no")



Four Fit Pigs



by Jacqueline Schiff

This little pig went to ice-skate,
(left pinkie)
This little pig went to ski,
(right pinkie)
This little pig went sledding,
(left thumb)
And this little pig did all three.
(right thumb)
These little pigs built a snowman,
(raise pinkies and thumbs, make a fist with each hand.
On the word "snowman," put one fist on top of the other)
These little pigs didn't sit.
(separate fists, raise pinkies and thumbs)
These little pigs all played snow tag. make each pinkie touch a thumb)
These pigs are happy and fit.
(wiggle pinkies and thumbs)


4. Squiggle Glue Pictures
   Art Give each child a piece of colored paper and a container of glue. Squirt a pattern of glue onto the paper and let it dry overnight. The next day, paint over the glue with watercolor. The glue squiggles will stand out.
5. Sort by Numbers
   Math Mark three paper cups with the numbers 1, 2 and 4. Supply a bag of buttons and let the children sort the buttons into the cups by counting the holes in the centers of the buttons.
6. Building Fact Families
   Math Put the "Digits of the Day" (perhaps 3, 4 and 7) on a table, and challenge the children to use materials to prove the relationships between these numbers. They may glue cereal pieces to a poster board, build an addition sentence with buttons, etc. Change the digits a few days later for a new experience.
7. Better Butter
   Science Pour equal amounts of 2% milk, whole milk and heavy cream into separate jars. How are these products alike? different? Tightly secure lids. Divide the class into three groups and have each group shake their jars vigorously. Which liquid turns into butter? Why? Compare the three samples in the jars to butter bought at the grocery store. How is it similar? Different?
8. New Snow
   Reading/Art As you read this poem, ask the children to think about what kind of "ice cream" covers the speaker's yard.
   

   Winter White

   by Jacqueline Schiff

   My yard's vanilla ice cream,
   So cold and smooth and white.
   But I can't eat it in a cone –
   It's snow that came last night!

   Brainstorm a list of things that snow is like. Invite the class to make snow scenes using cotton and construction paper.


9. Show and Tell
   Writing/Art Give each child a piece of drawing paper with six blank face shapes on it. Under each face, write one sentence such as, "I can't find my bike" or "I heard a noise behind the door." Have the children draw the expression that best represents the emotions.
10. Create a Bird
    Science/Art/Language Arts When working with a unit on birds, invite students to create a new bird. Their bird must have a beak, wings, two feet and a body. After completing their bird, students write about their bird including its name, eggs, call, interesting habits and what it likes to eat.
11. Seeds of Friendship
    Science Find somewhere around your school building where students can leave gifts of seeds for the birds during this National Birdfeeding Month. Try to find a spot near a window, so students can observe visiting birds and record their visits.
12. The Shrinking Machine
    Writing Decorate the outside of a large box to look like a machine. Have children crawl through the box into an area decorated to make it look like they have shrunk. The area could contain a huge tree, a large chair, a blade of grass as large as a bush, etc. Have students write a story about what happens to them now that they have been shrunk.
13. Parents Activity
    Math Reinforce important classification and grouping skills at home while developing your child's independence by having your child sort dirty laundry. Then put your child in charge of delivering and putting away the family's clean laundry.

14. Secret Admiration
    Reading/Art Read the book Little Bear's Valentine by Else Minarik (HarperCollins, 2003), which is about a secret admirer. Talk about what it feels like to have and to be a secret admirer. Do the following art project for someone special, sign it, "Your secret admirer" and watch a smile appear on his or her face! Step 1: Prepare cardboard box sides for the children. Cut slits about one inch long on all sides. Step 2: Students paint the cardboard a Valentine color; red, pink, purple. etc. Step 3: When the paint is dry, glue on paper hearts and the name of the person receiving this Valentine. Step 4: Students string colored yarn into the slits and add a yarn handle.
15. Read to Laugh
    Reading Write jokes on index cards and put them in a learning center along with joke books. Invite students to read the jokes and to write a favorite or two on cards for the next visitors to the center to enjoy. Invite students to write their own jokes and riddles as well. Later, vote on the favorites and compile them in a class joke book.
16. E-I-E-I-Roll
    Music Take your class outside to sing the following rhyme to the tune of "Old MacDonald" and act it out in the snow. If you're in a warmer climate, make white paper snowflakes and roll in those!


Old MacDonald's Snow

by Jacqueline Schiff

Old MacDonald loved the snow,
E-I-E-I-O.
And in the snow he loved to crow,
"E-I-E-I-O!" (shout with joy)
And build build here.
And build build there.
Here a fort, there a fort,
A snowman and an airport.
(build in the snow)
Old MacDonald loved the snow,
E-I-E-I-ROLL! (roll in the snow)


17. Swinging Snakes
    Science/Art Let students prove that cold air displaces warm air in an upward direction by making mobiles or just a simple spiral snake to hang above a heating register. Note what happens when the heat is on and what changes when the heat is off. Discuss the use of ceiling fans in the winter months.
18. Noun Mural
    Writing Students work in groups with poster board, markers and a book they're all reading. Each group selects a different page, finds all the nouns on that page and writes and illustrates the nouns on the poster board. Groups trade posters and write stories using the nouns on their new poster.
19. Look Through My Window
    Art Cut a border from construction paper and glue it to a sheet of drawing paper. Have children draw what is outside their window at home, display and share with the class. Then send each child, with another framed paper, to one window in the school. After they have each drawn the scene, display and discuss. Do we all see the same things outside the same window? Why do we sometimes see things differently?

20. Fantasy Fishbowls
    Art Staple blue fabric to a 9"x12" piece of cardboard or oaktag. Students then make paper fish, seaweed, castles, boats, treasure chests, etc., and glue them to the fabric "sea." Fold a piece of 9"x12" white or black paper in half and cut a "port hole" in the paper. Staple or glue the port hole on the outside of the sea as a frame.

Intermediate Grades

21. Transportation Timelines
    Social Studies Assign pairs of students a period in history to research. The partners should gather information about that period's modes of transportation, transportation issues, historical events in transportation, etc. and construct a portion of a transportation timeline. When the research is completed, combine the work from all of the groups into an extended transportation timeline to post in the hallway.
22. Make One
    Math Cut 18 index cards in half. On each half write a fraction, decimal or percent that is a portion of 1. Shuffle the cards and lay them out face up. Players take turns choosing two or three cards that will add up to 1. Each card used counts as one point. The game ends when all possible combinations have been used.
23. Parents Activity
    Math Give your child paper and colored pencils and invite him or her to make a graph that depicts each family member's responsibility for household chores. Who does the most? Who does the least? Can some chores be reassigned to make things fair?
24. Reality's Woes
    Reading Read and discuss the poem below, then discuss things the students have imagined doing without having tried them. Do those things turn out as expected? Ask for examples.


The Skater

by Heidi Roemer

I'd like to skim across the crystal lake,
to glide on it like eagles ride the breeze.
My glinting blades would crisply
slice the ice;
I'd pirouette with flawless, fluid ease.
My skates – a blur of silver –
how they'd flash!
I'd trace some graceful arcs
and figure eights
and kick up flecks of ice into the air –
I wish, I only wish...
I had some skates.

25. Fraction Wars
    Math Write a different fraction on each of 60 index cards. Shuffle and deal all the cards to the players. Each player places his or her cards face down in a pile. Players turn over the top cards at the same time. The player with the largest fraction wins all the cards. A player is "out" when he or she is out of cards. The one with the most cards wins.

26. Sneaky Patterns
    Science/Art Have each student clean and dry the bottom of one of their sneakers, place it in a pan of tempera paint and press it onto paper. Research how and why sneaker soles are made. Do the patterns have a purpose? Do they all wear out in the same ways?
27. Crystal Balls
    Science Take a jar of bubbles outside on a cold, windless day and blow a large bubble on the bubble holder. Don't let it blow away! If it's cold enough, the bubble will turn into a ball of ice. Do several, comparing and contrasting them. What patterns are seen on the balls? What happens when they break?
28. The Anti-Boredom Board
    Language Arts Title a bulletin board "The Anti-Boredom Board" and decorate it with smiley faces and hands that the students have made. Brainstorm ways to overcome boredom, and write each one on a face or hand. Days later discuss which ones have been tried and which are the most successful.
29. My Own Island
    Geography Have each student design and map his or her own island. They should include attributes such as: ocean, peninsula, plateau, volcano, bay and cove. Use clay, salt/flour dough or papier mâché to make a model. Name each island after its creator.
30. Look Quick!
    Science Read aloud to your students the book, Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, (Houghton Mifflin, 1998), then take pieces of cold black cloth or black cardboard outside to catch snowflakes. Use a magnifying glass to study them. Are they all different? Are they all six-sided?
31. Ice Types
    Science Observe and gather samples of different types of frozen water (snowflakes, icicles, ice crystals from windows, ice from lakes, puddles or pails, etc.). Compare and contrast these samples. What determining factor decides what form the ice will take?
32. Hidden Codes
    Science/Art Many documents have invisible watermarks. To make these marks, dip a piece of paper into water, then flatten it against a window or mirror. Place a dry sheet of paper over the wet sheet. Make your watermark design on the dry sheet using a ball-point pen and pressure. When you are done the design will be visible on the wet sheet, but when the paper dries, the mark will be invisible. To reveal it, dip the paper in water and the design will reappear. Why are there watermarks on our new money? Can the students see them?
33. Woven Hearts
    Art Step 1: Give each child two sheets of 12" x 18" construction paper. Step 2: Cut shapes as shown below, with slits 1" wide and 12" long.
    

    Step 3: Weave the pieces together and staple, paste or tape them securely. Trim excess from the ends. Write a Valentine message on the heart. Step 4: Streamers with hearts on them may be attached.


34. The Freedom of Words
    Reading/Writing/History In honor of Black History Month, read the book A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Kathryn Lasky (Candlewick, 2003). It tells the story of the first book published by an African-American woman, albeit a woman who had been kidnapped in Africa to be slave in America. How much had Phillis wanted to learn? What did education mean then? What does it mean to your students now? Do they equate education with freedom? How?
35. Groundhogs Rule!
    Science/Reading On February 2, the groundhog will predict the arrival of spring. Follow the festivities through the media, and prepare your class with background information on groundhogs and woodchucks, as they are called in some parts of the country. Check out www.hoghaven.com and www.groundhogs.com. After getting the "official report," mark it on your calendar and wait to see if the groundhog was right!
36. More Than Anything Else
    Science/Reading/History During Black History Month, it's important to celebrate the lives of George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington. Read the book More Than Anything Else, by Marie Bradby (Orchard, 1995), which is about a young Booker T. teaching himself to read with the help of a parent who believed in him. Likewise, George Washington Carver was taught to read by the caring people who raised him and he grew to be a famous scientist. Who is teaching your students to read? Do any of your students want to be scientists? Have students research these two men. Carver found over 300 uses for the peanut, including face powder, printer's ink and soap. See how many of the products your students can come up with.

Middle Grades

37. Your Editorial
    Writing Read to your class several editorials from local papers, as well as a newspaper article of current local interest. Have each student write his or her own editorial to read aloud to the class. Have an open discussion on the pros and cons of each issue.
38. Reduce It!
    Math Cut 40 index cards in half and write a fraction on each half. Shuffle the cards and lay them face down in a pile. Students turn over one card. The first player who sees that the fraction can be reduced slaps the card and says, "Reduce it to ___," and says the lowest term possible. If the fraction cannot be reduced, the first player to recognize that slaps the card and says, "no." The first player with the correct answer keeps the card, and the player with most cards wins.
39. Parents Activity
    Math Take your child along on your weekly grocery shopping trip and give him or her some new responsibilities, such as comparing prices, judging the quality of products and looking for sale prices. Discuss the prices of individual items as well as the percentage of the grocery bill in the family's budget.
40. Good News/Bad News
    Reading/Social Studies Gather pictures and headlines that show positive and negative aspects of life and make two collages. What do the collages tell about the world? What do the collages illustrate about media coverage of the world?
41. Marvelous Mushrooms
    Reading/Science Read the following poem with your students, and tell them to refer the poem as they research mushrooms, sketching the various parts and describing the growing process. Is the poem accurate? How were descriptive words used to educate? Challenge your students to write a non-fiction poem about another kind of plant.


Mushroom Magic

by Heidi Roemer

The mushroom wears a rounded cap.
Beneath the cap are little flaps.
These flaps, called gills,
are filled with scores
of microscopic mushroom spores.

Breezes blow them in the air.
Mushroom spores land everywhere –
on rotting logs, on grassy patches,
forest floors and leafy thatches.

Each spore dispatches tiny threads.
In spongy soil, the threads grow webs.
From the webs, a globe-shaped bud
pushes upward through the mud.

Upon a slender stalk so small
grows a luscious parasol.
See the little mushroom-ling
nodding and umbrella-ing?

42. Not for the Faint-Hearted
    Reading February 24 is Once Upon A Time Day because it's the birthday of Wilhelm Grimm. He and his brother collected fairy tales, but the Grimms' original tales are not recommended for the faint of heart. These fairy tales were told by adults, to adults. Have students research, read and report on some of the lesser-known Grimm tales.
43. Keep the Beat
    Health During February, visit the American Heart Association's website at: www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200014. Ask a local butcher for a beef, pork or chicken heart to show to your class as you discuss the working parts of a heart.
44. Metal Mouths
    Health During Dental Health Month, invite an orthodontist to class for an explanation of braces. The information may help those who don't have braces to be kinder to those who do. Also have the orthodontist discuss mouth safety for sports enthusiasts.
45. Powerful Poetry
    Reading/Writing Read the following poem several times. First, to answer the riddle (the speaker is a magnet), then to study the vocabulary Read the poem once more for fun.
    

    Stuck On Himself

    by Heidi Roemer

    I am simply irresistible!
    Though it sounds a bit braggadocious,
    I'm powerfully attractive
    and I don't use hocus pocus.

    I'm alluring. I am charming.
    I'm pure congeniality.
    I'm so lucky that I have
    a magnetic personality.

    What am I?

    Challenge students to write a riddle poem of their own using the above poem as a pattern. Then take them to www.teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry for "Writing with Writers: Poetry," where they'll find poems as well as writing tips from poets like Karla Kuskin and Jack Prelutsky.


A Flash in the pan

46. Picture This!
    Language Arts/Art Make a bulletin board of idioms. First have students collect as many as possible and then select which ones they will illustrate. Start with the easy ones, such as a flash in the pan, footing the bill, in the nick of time, raining cats and dogs.
47. Calling All Historians
    History/Social Studies/Writing Students can create a video, poster or essay telling why a person from your community played an important role in the community's history. Students can begin their research by conducting interviews. Make several videos and posters to celebrate the history of your community. Have a community open house to share your information.

48. Winning Words
    Writing Have students set parameters for awarding writing awards in their class at the end of a marking period and/or school year. Write to local businesses for support and to provide the trophies, medals or money for the winners. Discuss the Newberys, Caldecotts, Grammys, sports awards and other awards. What do they mean? What do they accomplish within a field of work?
49. Personal Budget
    Math Have your students list the things on which they spend money during any given week, such as movies, snacks, clothes, etc. Ask each student to create a budget based on a weekly allowance of $20. Where would that money go? Is $20 enough to sustain your students for a week? What is $20 worth? How can your students earn $20? What is the comparison between how long it takes to earn $20 and how long it takes to spend $20? Once students know that, does it change their thinking about how they will spend their money in the future?
50. Do You Hear That?
    Math Have each student listen to their favorite radio station for one hour and graph the amount of time spent that the station gives to music, news, talk, advertisements, etc. Display all the graphs. How do different stations compare? Would listening at a different time of day change the results?

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:
Sherry Timberman, Sanford, ME, #1, #5, #18, #19, #21, #22, #25, #28, #32, #37, #38, #40; Joanne Calcagno, Jackson Heights, NY, #4; Genevieve Bylinowski, Byron, IL, #9; Julie Bulver, Des Moines, IA, #10, #15; Marie Cecchini, West Dundee, IL, #7; Joan Macey, Binghamton, NY, #14, #20, #33; Karen Birt, Goshen, IN, #12; Carol Brown, Corvallis, OR, #29.

POETRY: "Sledding," "Jack & Jill's Winter Exercise," "Four Fit Pigs," "Winter White," "Old MacDonald's Snow" by Jacqueline Schiff, Moline, IL. "The Skater," "Mushroom Magic," "Stuck on Himself" by Heidi Roemer, Orland Park, IL.

Illustrations by H. Robert Loomis.

February, 2004, Vol.34, No.5