Your Green Pages May 2005
By Elizabeth Swartz

Primary Grades
1. Odds & Evens
   Math Place a "town mat" or "road mat" on the floor. Use houses from toy train villages or make houses out of small boxes for the children to line up along the streets. Help them make house numbers on little flags or sticky paper labels to put on the roofs. Have all even-numbered houses on one side of the street, all odd-numbered on the other. Go for a class walk around the neighborhood to observe "real" building numbers. Only the last digit needs to be read for a child to determine if it is odd or even.

2. Colorful Stories
   Writing/Art urchase a coloring book and remove its pages. Give one page to each child to color and write a couple of sentences to explain. Then come together and sequence those picture stories into a longer story. Vote on a title and mount it on a bulletin board. Will the story fit a genre? Did anyone use dialogue? Add little text bubbles as necessary between frames.

3. Mother's Many Names
   Language/Drama Teach this finger play to the children; have them practice it for Mother's Day.
   

   Mother's Many Names

   Her children call her Mommy,
   (Extend five fingers; point to the thumb)
   Her children call her Ma.
   (Point to the index finger)

   Her children call her Mama.
   (Point to the tall finger)
   But never, ever Pa.
   (Shake head "NO!" vigorously)
   Her children call her Mumsy,
   (Point to the ring finger)
   Her children call her Mum.
   (Point to the pinkie finger)
   Their children call them MOTHERS,
   (Wiggle all five fingers)
   And hug them when they come.
   (Wrap fingers of opposite hand around "Mother"fingers)

4. Plink, Plank, Plunk
   Music/Science/Art Use a plastic single-piece pie container and some string or rubber bands to illustrate the various sounds made by different lengths of string. Ask students to design their own object for demonstrating the same principle. Make cardboard, string, various containers, etc. available for their use. Discuss what this tells about stringed instruments and how they are played. Invite a guitarist or violinist to visit your class and demonstrate their skill. See your librarian for books like Making Music With Stringed Instruments by Erica Smith (Rosen, 2003), which is beautifully illustrated and written for the beginning reader.

5. Special Seeds
   Science/Reading Collect as many different kinds of seeds as you can find – maple tree seeds, avocado pits, green peas, cherry pits, wheatberries and even a coconut. Compare them, and talk about how they grow and what they produce. Plant the seeds, care for them and watch them grow. Bring in several books about seeds, including Seeds by Ken Robbins (Atheneum, 2005), and magazines that specialize in outdoor information. Put all of the seeds on display, and challenge the children to find more to bring in and share.

6. Parents Activity
   Math Put a small pile of change on the table. Select a few coins, perhaps 35 cents, then ask your child to show you how he or she can be richer or poorer by counting out more or less money. Write monetary amounts on small cards. Ask your child for more or less.

   This activity can also be played in the classroom. Walk about the room, allowing each student to draw a card. The first student will read the amount out loud. The next student will read the amount and decide if he or she is richer or poorer than the previous student. Or, write one amount on the board and ask each student if they are richer or poorer than the "bank."

7. Outdoor Poetry
   Language Poets have always gotten many of their subjects from the outdoors. Enjoy this poem with the children, ask them to identify what the poem is about and then have them illustrate it.
   

   Marchers

   by Martin Shaw

   Their sound is like the footsteps
   Of one hundred thousand strong,
   First softly and then louder
   They do march the whole day long.

   I peek from 'neath the curtains,
   But, no marchers do I see,
   Just raindrops thump, thump, thumping,
   Two by two and three by three.

8. Inside, Inside, Inside
   Perception Play a game to strengthen directionality as well as memory. Begin with a button. Place it in a film canister, then place the film canister inside a small box, the box inside a coffee can, etc. Start with only four or five containers and see if the children can recall them for you. Then start with a different object and have the children suggest what to put it inside. Finish by reading the story Inside Inside Inside by Holly Meade (Marshall Cavendish, 2005), which is about two siblings playing a game like this.

9. Clubhouse Math
   Math Ask a local store to donate a large freezer or refrigerator box to your class for a clubhouse. Plan the clubhouse and measure for doors, windows, curtains, floor coverings, etc. Design siding or choose exterior paint, making sure that all the plans are completed before beginning the project. What will it cost? How long will it take? When the project is completed, check your estimates. Were they close? Put bean bags or large floor pillows inside the clubhouse and hold a grand opening for your new "Readers' Clubhouse," complete with membership certificates and rotating schedules.
   

10. Springtime Strawberries
    Art/Math In a disposable dish, make a stamp pad out of paper towels and a pile of green tempera paint. Ask students to press the side of a plastic strawberry basket onto the pad and then onto a piece of heavy white paper. After it dries, have the children use strawberry stamps or stickers to fill their baskets with berries. Number the berries in and outside of the basket; compare the number of berries in one student's basket to another. Have the students make up other math problems.

11. Separating the Seasons
    Science Gather a collection of calendar or magazine pictures that illustrate the seasons in various settings: cities, beaches, farms, mountains, etc. Ask the children to create a bulletin board showing the four seasons in different parts of the world. Create borders of colored leaves for the autumn section, snowflakes for winter, etc.

12. Thank You, Police Officers
    Social Studies National Police Week is May 15-21. Get related books from the library and talk about law enforcement as a career. This is also a great time to write some thank-you notes to local officers. Go to www.aphf.org for additional information about police work to share with your class.

13. Telescoping Topics
    Reading/Art Read aloud something like The Four Ugly Cats in Apartment 3D by Marilyn Sachs (Aladdin, 2003), and have the students draw a picture of the topic, in this case, cats. Students then use telescopes they've made from a paper towel roll and black construction paper to "look" more deeply at their pictures. What do they "see" about the cats? They are "ugly;" they make a lot of noise; they all need new homes, and so on. After reading each chapter, have students gaze through the telescope at their original drawings and think about the new information. What else was learned about the cats in this chapter?
    

14. Stars of the U.S.A.
    Art Provide each child with a piece of white paper and two different-sized star templates. Have the larger star traced first and then the smaller one placed inside it. The stars may be colored, painted or cut out and glued onto construction paper. Discuss the word citizen; What does it mean? What does being a citizen entail? Help each child write "Citizen…" followed by his or her name in the center of the star. Display the stars in time for Memorial Day.

15. Fiction or Nonfiction?
    Reading Select several sentences from grade level books. Write one or two sentences on each card. Have students read the cards and divide them into two groups, fiction and nonfiction. Also practice this skill by reading several selections aloud to the class, asking students to mark on a card which are fiction and which are nonfiction. Check them all together at the end.
    

16. Moveable Math
    Math Provide each child with a chenille stick, large beads with center holes and a work mat of some kind. Give each child a math sheet with enough room under the problem to place the chenille stick. Watch as students add and subtract the correct beads. Use these also to introduce multiplication at the concrete level.

17. Shadows Everywhere
    Reading Enjoy together, Guess Whose Shadow? by Steven R. Swinburne (Boyds Mills Press, 1999) and Frank Asch's classic, Bear Shadow (Aladdin, 1985). Then do some shadow experiments with a flashlight and a light background. What kind of objects make a shadow? Plastic? Solid? How can you make a shadow's size change? Go outside on a sunny day, trace one student's shadow on the sidewalk and mark the time. Come back later and stand in the same place. What has happened?

18. Wacky Water
    Science Gather three flat-bottomed pots of the same size and material. Put 4" of water in the first pot, 8" in the second and 12" in the third. Place them all in the sun and record the beginning time and temperature (room temperature). Record the temperature every 30 minutes for the next two hours. Study the results. What might this suggest about the temperature of different-sized bodies of water, like swimming pools, ponds and the ocean? Repeat the same experiment in the shade.

19. Congruent Creations
    Math Place a sheet of white tissue paper on top of any picture or design. Trace the object with a pencil. Place the tissue paper on a clean sheet of poster board or drawing paper. Trace the pencil line with a heavy marker. Remove the tissue paper and see the congruent copy of the original. Use many colors of paint or pastels to fill in the objects and place them on a bulletin board. Make congruent creations of all sizes and shapes.
    

    Middle Grades
    

20. Backyard Games
    Physical Education/History During the month of May, much of our country returns to the joys of outdoor recreation. Ask students to research the history of some favorite backyard games, like horseshoes, croquet and kickball. Then have them invent some new outdoor games that take into account the limitations or resources of their own neighborhood. What objects other than balls could be used? What could be invented for just one or two players?

21. Genres
    Reading When introducing genres, start with what students know by asking them for movie suggestions of mysteries, fantasies, etc. Put illustrations of each on the bulletin board, then send the students out to find a book in the same genre as a favorite movie to read and on which to report. (The book should be in the same genre, but not the same story.) Discuss how genre is determined in books vs. in movies. For example, films use music and lighting to foreshadow a scary scene; what does an author use?

22. Radio Frequencies
    Math Decimal points are important when trying to find the right FM radio station. Have students produce a number line of local FM radio frequencies. Once the line is completed, ask students how many points up the line they must go to reach a particular station, then back down to reach another, etc.

23. Community Pride
    Social Studies/Writing Discuss the layout of your community. Was it planned, or did it just happen? Where are particular points of pride, such as gardens, parks, memorials, public buildings and outdoor sculptures located? Tap into the local history to find out how these places came into existence. Encourage students to interview residents, research public records and read old newspapers. Put together a class report on the findings to share with the community through the public library or the local paper.

24. A Summer Catalog
    Art/Writing Help students create their own catalogs of supplies they will need for the summer. Use various mediums, such as cut-outs from catalogs, drawings, painting, felt and foam to illustrate sleeping bags, clothing, bathing suits, flashlights, bikes, etc. Along with each item should be a written description of the item and the reason it is required this summer. The text could be prepared on a computer, cut out with shaped scissors and mounted alongside the illustrations.

25. Pretty Percentages
    Math When introducing percentages, pass out 100-square paper and two different colored pencils to each student. Play a game, perhaps a spelling bee or a math-facts game. For each correct answer, students fill in one square a particular color, doing the same with the other color for each incorrect answer. When the game is completed, ask each student to calculate his or her own percentage by counting the number of squares of one color. The same project could be done at home using wins and losses on a video game.
    

26. Folding Matters
    Social Studies Take some time to teach the class how to fold the flag of the United States properly and respectfully. The correct method is illustrated well at www.usflag.org/foldflag.html Practice first with rectangular pieces of paper. Mark which end has the stars on it. After practicing with the paper, have students partner and fold a real flag.

27. Video Excitement
    Writing Ask each student to write a nonfiction explanation of his or her favorite video game without using its title. How is it played? What determines the various levels? What is it that makes one want to continue playing? Have the students read their work aloud and see if the description is detailed enough for others in the class to guess the title of the game.

28. Tantalizing Tessellations
    Math/Art
    
    While working on a geometry unit, use those shapes to make interesting and artistic tessellations in fabulous colors.
    www.coolmath.com is an overview of all tessellations; www.jimmcneill.com gives step-by-step directions for a slide tessellation; and www.matti.usu.edu (search word: "tessellations") is an interactive site with instructions to create tessellations on-screen. Mount tessellations on dark construction paper and laminate for the full visual effect.

29. Dial-a-Dialog
    Writing Allow students to develop their script writing and telephone skills at the same time. Set the stage by discussing in what instances a person might need to use the telephone to call for technical assistance, to find a repair person or to make an appointment. Have students work in pairs creating a script, one being the computer tech, one the person with computer trouble; one the patient with the toothache, one the receptionist, etc. Once the scripts are written, proofed, rewritten and practiced, ask students to perform them in front of the class. Borrow two plastic telephones from the kindergarten room for this roleplay.

30. Sensational Symbols
    Social Studies/Art Provide students with a book like O, Say Can You See? America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words by Sheila Keenan (Scholastic Nonfiction, 2004) that explains the importance of our country's symbols. Have students make various kinds of collages of those symbols; some may wish to draw and paint; others may prefer collecting pictures from magazines and calendars; others may want to send away for postcards. Use a digital camera to photograph the collages and intersperse them with text (in the students' own words) in a PowerPoint presentation. Invite other classes in to view it as Memorial Day draws near.

31. Poetry of Time
    Reading/Writing Enjoy the following poem together, noting how the rhythm and the spareness of words add to the meaning. Try writing other poems that express the passing of time by their rhythm and vocabulary. Select poetry books from the library in which students can look for other examples.
    
    
    

    Last Day of School
    

    by Beverly McLoughland
    

    Tick tock,
    Tick tock,
    Drips the clock
    On the wall,
    Drop
    By
    Drop
    By
    Drop
    The loud tocks
    Fall,
    Plop into
    The tub of
    Air,
    Trickle
    Down
    The day,
    Tick tock,
    Tick tock,
    Summer still
    So far away.

32. Time Flies?
    Perception/Writing Ask students to think about when time passes quickly for them and when it passes slowly. Write comparative paragraphs using examples of each. Read them aloud; are there threads of relationships? What particular things seem to take a long time? Do we all experience the same feelings of the passage of time? What might influence individual feelings?

33. Stepping into Health
    Health Doctors have suggested that people need to take at least 10,000 steps a day to maintain their health. Purchase a couple of inexpensive pedometers and have each student wear one for a day, keeping their regular schedule. Make a chart comparing the number of steps students in your class are taking. Discuss ways to increase those numbers. Put the new practices into place and repeat the experiment. Have faculty members try the same experiment.

34. Illustrated Idioms
    Language Give each student a strip of paper on which is written an idiom, such as "walking on eggshells." Ask students to illustrate what the idiom says on the left-hand side of a drawing paper and write what it actually means on the right-hand side. How can these idioms cause difficulty for people just learning our language? What is the purpose of idioms?

35. Spectacular Scrapbooks
    Writing/Art Keeping scrapbooks has become a hobby of children as well as adults. Collect some supplies from a craft store to get your class thinking of ideas. Use the computer lab as well as art supplies to begin a scrapbook for an upcoming events, like summer vacation. Each student should choose a theme or style, plan and prepare text boxes, page frames, dialogue boxes and cover designs. Begin with a plain three-ring binder and see what it can become.

36. Name That Tune
    Science For an experiment with vibrating air columns, give each student a straw. Have them pinch one end of the straw flat, trim it to a diagonal and blow into this pointed end until a sound is produced. Listen to the tone. Have the kids cut about an inch off the straw, blow and compare the tone made. Repeat until this straw is very short and the note very high.

37. Good Graffiti
    Perception/Art Sometimes graffiti shows a great deal of artistic ability and a positive message. Ask students to be on the lookout for that kind of graffiti and to take pictures of it to bring to class. Watch for complete patterns and color combinations. Look for a unity of style to the letters in style and thickness. Take the class to this website for an example of good graffiti en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti. Then, create some on large paper to display in the school.

38. An Adopted Country
    Social Studies/Reading Read aloud or provide books like Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah (Bloomsbury, 2001) that show the struggles and triumphs of children around the world who are seeking freedom. Discuss the strength and courage Alem had to live in England with foster parents because he was not safe in Africa with his own parents. Discuss how someone goes about learning a new language, and ways to help ESL students in your school adapt to the language as well as the culture.

    Intermediate Grades
    

39. Drawing to Scale
    Math/Art Provide graph paper and a stimulating model for students to draw to scale. If possible, ask a local car dealer to bring in a new model car for the class to observe, photograph, measure and then draw to scale. Some students may be more interested in the new town pool, a town monument, etc. Go outside the school as a class to find "real-world" examples whenever possible.

40. Hearing the Clues
    Perception/Writing Ask the students to close their eyes and focus on what they are hearing. Fill a glass of water; move a piece of furniture; breathe slowly; breathe rapidly; whisper; gasp; have someone walk into the room, have someone run into the room. What could each of these things signify in a story? Discuss how interjecting auditory clues into writing might trigger people's memories. Have each student write a paragraph using at least two auditory clues to help set the stage of a story or move the plot along.

41. Rhythm Makes it Happen
    Music Invite a drummer with a complete drum set to come into your classroom. Have various rhythms demonstrated and discuss how rhythm is the foundation of music. Provide an opportunity for the students to try their hand at drumming various rhythms. Discuss where different rhythms come from culturally. Find examples of various kinds of music to play for the students that emphasize rhythm. How is rhythm translated into poetry and prose? What is it that makes rhythm important to people?

42. Worldwide Help
    Social Studies May 8 is the birthday of the Swiss founder of the International Red Cross, Henry Dunant, and marks World Red Cross/Red Crescent Day. Go to www.redcross.org for some introductory information, then research Dunant and Clara Barton, who pioneered its cousin, the American Red Cross. How long has the Red Cross been in existence? What does the Red Cross do? Discuss its international affiliates, such as the Red Crescent. Invite a person from your local Red Cross to come into the school for a presentation. Develop a PowerPoint presentation or a bulletin board display of what was learned.

43. Remembering Rhymes
    Language Often when it is important to remember something, rhyming can be a great help. Here is a poem to help your students remember the steps in the writing process. Next, have your students write poems using other topics they are trying to remember right now.
    

    The Writing Process

    by Elizabeth Smalligan

    First, you need to think, think, think
    Of all the ideas you can pen in ink.

    Then it's time to write, write, write.
    That rough draft gets the thoughts in sight.

    Change, change, change is the next thing to do.
    Revise your paper 'til it looks like new.

    Correct, correct, correct is next on the list.
    Check for grammar you might have missed.

    Finally, it's time to share, share, share
    Your finished paper with people who care.

44. Parents Activity
    Art Go to the Philadelphia Public Art website with your child to learn what pride in one's community means. Visit www.philart.net to see images of 430 sculptures, fountains, mosaics and memorials. Then do some touring around your town, county and state. Take pictures of things that show pride in your area. Put together a display of those items and have your child take it to school to share.

45. I Want It
    Writing Writers are always told to write about things that they are passionate about. Sometimes it is difficult to know what your students are passionate about, but most of them have probably wanted something that belongs to a friend, classmate or sibling. Ask them to write about one possession they'd like for their own. Why do they want it? What would they do to get it? How would having that item improve their life? Would having that one thing extinguish the feelings of wanting?
    

46. Out My Window
    Art/Social Studies Provide students with pictures or show slides of various mountain ranges. Then give them a large piece of drawing paper and several pieces of colored construction paper. Ask them to make a mountain ridge using torn paper. Keep in mind that land forms may differ but still qualify as mountains. Mountains sometimes stand alone, sometimes overlap, have trees or don't. Experiment with rolling ridges and snowcapped peaks. When completed, frame the pictures to look as if the mountains are being viewed through a window.

47. Unusual Ology
    Social Studies/Art The study of flags and their histories is called vexillology. Write a letter to: The Flag Research Center, P.O. Box 580, Winchester, MA 01890 to receive free information, and search on the web using "flags" and "flag histories" as keywords. Ask students to select one particular flag to research, and about which to give a presentation.

48. "Signing" Your Name
    Language Dactylology, or finger spelling, comes from the Greek words daktulos ("finger") and logia ("discourse"). Sign language is an example of dactylology. Research American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE). Invite a sign language specialist to your class. Learn signs together; practice and try to communicate.

49. Get "Caught" Reading
    Reading Encourage students to have disposable cameras ready this month for candid shots of people reading. Ask them to get permission from parents, siblings and people on planes, subways and buses. How many can they catch?

50. Navajo Sand Painting
    Art/Social Studies Have students research the Native American art of sand painting. Visit www.snowwowl.com/naartsandp.html for some beautiful examples of this art form; ask your school librarian and art teachers for their input. Encourage students to create sketches on paper and then trace or copy them onto heavy cardboard. Mix two parts water to six parts glue; paint the glue onto a small section at a time. Sprinkle on the colored sand section by section, using the traditional colors of white, blue, yellow and black. Allow it to dry, then shake off the excess.

51. What's in a Name?
    Social Studies/History Make maps of your local community and list the streets and avenues. Research how the towns and streets got their names. Were they named for places residents immigrated from? Were they at the time (and are they still) geographically descriptive (Wall Street or River Road, for example)?

52. Crazy Craters
    Science Begin a study of craters by providing a large box of wet sand and some rocks of various sizes. Weigh and measure each rock. Drop each rock into the sand from the same height. Measure the crater that each creates. Drop them from a greater height; measure the imprint, and so on. Chart the results. Repeat the experiment with a box of dry sand or another type of soil. What conclusions can be drawn? How might scientists be able to determine what has caused craters or at what speed they were traveling just by studying the hole? Research various craters around the world.

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; Bernice Regenstein, Rochester, NY #10; Joan Macey, Binghamton, NY, #14; Sherry Timberman, Albany Township, ME, #26; Teddy Meister, Orlando, FL, #47, #48.

POETRY: "Marchers," by Martin Shaw, Bronxville, NY. "Last Day of School," by Beverly McLoughland, Williamsburg, VA. "The Writing Process," by Elizabeth Smalligan, Fremont, MI.

Illustrations by H. Robert Loomis.

May 2005, Vol. 35, No. 8