July 15

July 15

"Big Lobster Tales, $5 each."
A guy was down on a wharf in Maine when he saw a seafood restaurant and a sign on the Specials Board which read, "Big Lobster Tales, $5 each."
Amazed at the great value, he said to the waitress, "$5 each for lobster tails . . . is that correct?"
"Yes", she said, "It's our special just for today."
"Well", he said, "they must be little lobster tails."
"No," she replied, "they're really big!"
"Are you sure they aren't green lobster tails - and a little bit tough?"
"No", she said, "they're really big, red lobster tails"
"Big red lobster tails, $5 each?", he said, amazed.
"They must be old lobster tails!"
"No, they're definitely today's."
"Today's big red lobster tails - $5 each?" he repeated, astounded.
"Yes", she insisted.
"Well, here's my five dollars," he said, "I'll take one."
She took the money and led him to a table where she invited him to sit down.
She then sat down next to him, put her hand on his shoulder, leaned over close to him and said,
"Once upon a time there was this really big red lobster ..."

In the News
Broadway: The American Musical premieres on THIRTEEN October 19th-21st.
Act now and sign up for a unique packet of educational resource materials. With song lyrics, biographies, historical references, and writing and research activities, you and your students can use the materials to examine American history, culture, and the arts through the experience of American musical theater. If you would like to receive a free BROADWAY Education Packet, please e-mail your name, street address, and the name of your teaching institution to guiderequest@thirteen.org. To receive multiple copies, please describe how you plan to use the materials. And be sure to include how
you heard about this special offer.

How do you teach a child to R-E-A-D?: http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/04/Tampabay/How_do_you_teach_a_ch.shtml
The camps are "a stop-gap measure," says Dick Allington, a University of Florida education professor and president-elect of the International Reading Association. "The state needs to be doing a lot more than trying to solve kids' problems in a three or four-week period."

It's summertime and the reading is easy: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/658190591.html?MAC=ce6d97e17b0e894dfe28cb
0b98f4315a&did=658190591&FMT=FT&FMTS=FT&date=
Jul+2,+2004&author=LORRI+HELFAND&printformat=&desc=
It's+summertime+and+the+reading+is+easy
Her progress and the progress of more than 40 of her classmates at a summer reading workshop impressed the staff at the Safety Harbor Public Library, too. So much so that they hosted the first graduation ceremony for the workshop, which incorporates phonics, music and games.

MOHEGAN COLONY STORYTELLING AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
A Pavilion of Tales and a Bonfire of Ghost Stories!
For Families and Grown-ups!
8/14 (Saturday) 1:00 - 10:00 pm ~ Rain or Shine
Crompond, NY 10517, near Peekskill and Yorktown Heights (in Westchester), one hour north of NYC - Hudson Line to Peekskill (Off Lexington Avenue between routes 6 and 202 in the Colony)
Be entertained and entranced by renowned storytellers and musicians at the charming Colony at Lake Mohegan rain or shine! Sit spellbound as they bring to life historical moments, characters, and events from literature, as well as their own personal tales under the Pavilion or in the Stone School House. A geodesic dome will also house family stories. Then bring your blankets to keep you warm from the "chilling" ghost stories we will tell around a bonfire on the beach in the evening! (In the case of rain this will be held under the pavilion).
Featured artists will appear from as far away as Minnesota and Chicago as well as close to home, including the Hudson River Valley's, "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Jonathan Kruk, who is returning for his third time at the festival. Bellydancer and storyteller Gina Bergamini will have you moving and shaking for the fourth year in a row. Regi Carpenter and Sandi Sylver, accompanied by Tootles, her puppet, will delight you with music and tales. Loren Niemi tells offbeat and sometimes improvisational stories from his personal experiences. Thelma Thomas and Venecia Stevenson, Rona Leventhal and Jack Maguire add to the mix. New York City mover and shaker Barbara Aliprantis tells tales from her Greek heritage and Peg O'Sullivan and Judith Heineman round out the program with their interactive style of engaging the audience in world tales. Terese Giammarco, founder of Teatro Imperfecto, creates charming mini-musicals out of stories that entertain and teach subtle lessons on being human.
Tickets: Volunteers are free!
$10 adults - $5 children day OR night,
$15 adults - $6 children all day and night. Special group rates available.
Bring blankets, a bathing suit, towel, a picnic and lots of friends!
Ads in our program book and Donations appreciated. Reservations highly recommended. Write for ad rates.
Don't miss a word!
For information, reservations, directions, or to volunteer contact Judith Heineman
JuHeStories@aol.com, 914-528-1446

Book Reviews
The Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids: http://www.spaghettibookclub.com/

Folk Tales and Fairy Tales
A Europe of Tales: http://www.europeoftales.net/
Travel through time with this site exploring Europe's folk tales.
Explore traditional tales from Scotland, Finland, Iceland, Italy and Brittany -- written in eight different languages -- access special features including background information, photo galleries, teacher's guides and more.

Fairy Tales Mural: http://putnamvalleyschools.org/ft/04Mural.html
Illustrate the characters, sequencing, or plot of fairy tales with this lesson idea. The basic concept can
be used across all grade levels; try illustrating (or sequencing through illustration) a Shakespeare play
for middle to high school classes.

Fairy Tales, Then And Now: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/10/g35/grimm.html

Stories, Folklore, and Fairy Tales Theme Page: http://www.cln.org/themes/fairytales.html
Storytelling isn't just for little kids. From Grimm's fairy tales to Zen and Taoist ones, this site offers a large number of compelling stories for older students. The site also links to sites offering tales from the Basque region to Guam to Russia to Japan. The high points of the site are the interdisciplinary lesson plans, including one in which students discuss heroic actions
using the newspaper and another where they study Native American culture through the reading of folktales.

Unit on the Six Types of Folk Stories
Objectives: Students will be able to identify some key elements of folktales, fables, fairy tales, legends, myths and tall tales, and be able to differentiate between them.
Materials: Selections from each genre, chart paper, markers.
Procedure: Define genres (7 minutes). Say, "Today we're going to play a game to learn the differences between these six genres of literature, called folk stories. They are stories that were told aloud, passed down by communities in every country of the world. Each of these six genres are pretty similar, but there are some important differences."
Go over each genre:
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters, which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people. There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation, weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous, impossible things.
Ask students to suggest examples of each type as it is described. Describe the game (3 minutes). Divide the students into teams and give each team a genre. Say, "On the floor are some books. Each book is a kind of folk story. You have to look through the books and try to find all the folk stories that fit your team's genre. Bring the book back to your team's table when you think you have one that fits. Then you have to explain why you think the folk story falls into that genre. It's not enough to just say 'The cover says so!' Use the reasons we have listed here on this chart. In ten minutes, your team will present one of the books you chose to the class. Any questions?"
Do it (15 minutes). Assist the students as they browse the books. Listen to their discussions and offer suggestions if they seem stuck. Wrap up when most books have been brought to the tables, then go around and have each table present a justification for the books they selected.

Fractured Fairy Tales
Traditional Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka - Venn diagram comparing two, write letters to Big Bad Wolf in Jail, discuss point of view.
Traditional Cinderella and Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Ketteman
Traditional Jack and the Bean Stalk and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne
Traditional Little Red Hen and Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges

Childhood Reading: http://childhoodreading.com/
Childhood Reading is a mix of fairy tales, fables and poetry accompanied by original early-twentieth century illustrations. The illustrated tales are indexed by both author (such as Hans Christian Andersen, Robert Louis Stevenson and Aesop) and illustrator (including Maxfield Parrish and Edmund Dulac.) The simple design and artwork make this site special.

Grimm's Fairy Tales: From Folklore to Forever: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German patriots of the early nineteenth century who set out to preserve their country's folk tales. The stories were often cruel, but once the brothers saw how popular the tales were with young readers, they started making them softer and sweeter. National Geographic serves up a graphically-rich adventure into twelve "unvarnished" Grimm fairy tales, some of which include audio. Click on the treasure box for a biography, resource links, and a kid's activity page.

Scholastic: Myths, Folktales, Fairy Tales: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/
As part of their Writing with Writers series, this Scholastic project is a multi-grade resource for learning about and writing myths, folktales and fairytales. Grades one to three explore fairy tales and meet two authors who have re-written classic fairy tales: Jon Scieska (author of "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs") and Diane Good (author and illustrator of "Cinderella: The Dog and her Little Glass Slipper.") Similarly, grades three to six dive into folk tales while grades five through eight learn about myths. There even is an opportunity to submit your own tales for possible publication on the Scholastic site.

Historical Fiction
200 Historical Novels for Teens: http://welchenglish.com/historical-fiction-for-teens.htm
These include historical-fiction novels (and some nonfiction) sorted by the "setting" year.

Ann Arbor District Library Kid's Page - Historical Fiction: The Old World: http://www.aadl.org/kidspg/bibs/histfic1.htm

Historical Fiction for Children: http://bookgirl3.tripod.com/historicalfiction.html

Historical Fiction Listed by Date: http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/FranklinMS/research/hisfic.htm

Mysteries
The Dakota Meadows Eighth Grade Mini-mysteries: http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/mystery/contents.html

Millennium Mystery Madness: http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/index.html
This award-winning ThinkQuest Jr. site takes an in-depth look at mysteries and how they're written. Teach your students about some of the world's most famous mystery writers. Then walk through the step-by-step guide to the various elements good mysteries need. Finally, get some reading assignment ideas from the list of favorite mystery books and stories.

Mysterynet.com: http://mysterynet.com/
This site gives you ideas on how to use the mystery genre to encourage critical thinking and take the mystery out of improving language and reading comprehension.

Mysterynet's Kids Mysteries: http://kids.mysterynet.com/
Mysteries to solve, scary stories, and magic tricks

Author interviews
Exclusive Interviews: http://www.readingrockets.org/books/authorinterviews.php
Many of the interviews have audio and/or video.

Wired for Books: http://wiredforbooks.org/
Wired for Books has interviews with noted writers.

Prize winning books
40 Books about Survival: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/bibs/40books/survival.htm

40 Wordless (and Nearly Wordless) Books: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/bibs/40books/wordless.htm

The 50 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time: http://www.bookmagazine.com/issue28/adventure.shtml

100 Picture Books Eveeryone Should Know: http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=61
Challenge your class to read these honored books in home and in class. You can keep a class chart to check off when you have read each book, and have a celebration when you complete them all. Make bookmarks with each of your students' pictures glued on to kick off your efforts.
This is the website of the New York Public Library. There are many other catagories of booklists at this site.

300 Top Books for Teens: http://www.welchenglish.com/top-books-for-teens.htm

Awards for Children's and YA Books by State (and National): http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/newreadingd.htm

Book Awards: http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/fiction/awards/index.htm

Boston Globe Horn Book Awards: http://www.hbook.com/bghb.shtml
First presented in 1967, the Boston Globe Horn Book Awards are given annually to winners in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction.

Caldecott Medal: http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html

Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award: http://www.cla.ca/awards/boyc.htm

The Children's Literature Web Guide: http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
Links to many other websites, including commentaries on children's books, book award winners from around the world, and ideas for parents, teachers, and storytellers.

Coretta Scott King Award: http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking/

Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature: http://www.dawcl.com
Enter your age, gender preference, favorite genre, desired historical period, preferred setting, and even a keyword or phrase, and press "Search." Results include winners from more than thirty different awards.

Fiction Books for Students with Learning Disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_store/bibliotherapy/ldbooks.html

Jane Addams Children's Book Awards: http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/public/jaddams.htm

Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award: http://www.reading.org/awards/Lee.html

Michael L. Printz Award: http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz,_Michael_L__Award.htm

Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award Winners: http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/lovelace/lovelace.html

Miss Rumphius Award: http://www.reading.org/awards/rumphius.html

NASA at Your Library Reading List: https://members.ala.org/nasa/lists/adultlist.html

Nebraska's Golden Sower Home: http://www.state.ne.us/home/NLA/golden/sower.htm

Newbery Medal: http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
The Newbery Medal, named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, is awarded annually to "the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Teenreads.com: http://www.teenreads.com/

The Texas Lone Star Reading List: http://www.txla.org/groups/yart/lonecom.html

Young Adult Canadian Book Award: http://www.cla.ca/awards/yac.htm

Young Australian Readers' Awards: http://www.yara-online.org/

Reader's Theater
Internet Resources for Conducting Readers Theatre: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/carrick/

Book Report Ideas
Better Book Reports: 25 More Ideas!: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson289.shtml

Bingo Card
Use a bingo card system to read a book a quarter. They can select across, down, etc. and read the genres in that row (animal story, historical fiction, etc.) or if they want a challenge they can read the four corners (mystery, biography, etc.).

Biography Clothesline: http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/bios/bios.htm

Book in A ...:
http://www.derby.k12.ks.us/dms/BOOK_IN_A.html
http://www.mrslusk.com/bookina.html

Bookmark: Each student creates a bookmark about their favorite book or a book they have read. On one side is a drawing or picture (clip art or original artwork) that relates to the book and the book's title. On the other side the student writes the book's title, author, and a short (2-3 sentence) summary/recommendation. These bookmarks are punched at the top, placed on a ring, and hung on the bulletin board.

Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=138

Book Report Recipe: http://www.teachersdesk.org/readreport.html
Try this alternative book report, in recipe formula, for a fresh change of pace. All the usual ingredients
for reviewing books are still included. These cards would make a nice introductory back-to-school exercise and bulletin board display--students can illustrate their cards and report a recipe on a special
book they read over the summer.

Cartoon Strip Book Report: Students make "cartoon strips" for the chapter being read, or a panel for each chapter, highlighting the important parts. To do this, take a sheet of paper and fold into six blocks. It will look just like the Sunday funnies. The class can make a rubric together and to let them know what is expected so that they can add on to their comic strip as you read aloud or they read a book.

CD book project
Students design a CD case for their favorite at-home reading book. The liner notes held the usual, plot, characters, etc. The front can be whatever they want, the back has a list of possible song titles (either real or made up) that would go well with the book. Put them up with Velcro tape with the title, "Heard of a Good Book Lately?"

Internet "shoebox" project
Students in different schools around the world create diorama about their favorite books and mail it. Pictures are taken and put on Internet. OR Dioramas are created and pictures email to one site where they are put on webpage.

The Macbeth Photographic Book Report
Working in groups the students use photographs (4 per act minimum) to "tell" the story of Macbeth (Power Point slide show). Each slide has an accompanying caption that is either a direct quote or paraphrase (properly cited) from the play. In addition, each group writes two paragraphs: a concept/definition paragraph explaining their project and a proposition/support paragraph arguing what grade they deserved (based on the detailed rubric). They can use Photo Shop to edit the photos (most notably for the scene with the three apparitions).

More Ideas Than You'll Ever Use For Book Reports: http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/bookrepts1.html

Oral report suggestions
Use a clear and confident speaking voice that is loud enough for the audience to hear you. Know about your book well enough so you are able to maintain good eye content with the audience. Maintain the interest of the audience through appropriate variation of voice and body language. Have an interesting opening referring to the name of the book and the author, then
explaining who your book is about. Have an orientation indicating why this person merited a book being written about them, or why they wrote a book about themselves. Have a good clear structure to your presentation: introduction/orientation, main points made clearly and elaborated on (probably in chronological order, referring to the timeline of achievements and highlights), a strong conclusion summarizing the person's achievements. Tell your opinion of the person and their activities. Share your opinion of the book and who you would recommend it to. Use your book and one note card as the only notes or prompts to your presentation. You might consider using a quote from the book to illustrate a key point. If pictures are included in the book, select one or two to share with that class that reveal something special about your subject. Encourage and respect questions from your classmates and effectively answer their questions about the book. Above all, BE PREPARED!

The Pocket Book Report
The students chose items that are representative characters or props from the books they read. These might be "army guys", matchbox cars, Barbie accessories. They chose five items and those items had to fit in some kind of pocket. Some of the pockets might be from old jeans, quilt pieces, saddle bag. As each piece is taken from the "pocket" the student explains the significance and the reason he/she included it in the pack. They make the props that they cannot find.

Questions for book reports:
If you were *a characters name* how might you have reacted to *situations*.
What made *character* react the way he did?
Explore the relationships in the book - what circumstances led to their
development or demise?
Explore the language used in the novel - choose a paragraph and rewrite it using your own words, would your paragraph fit in with the rest of the novel? Why or why not?
Compare two books (the required one, plus one of their choice).
Compare the characters in each book, saying how they are similar and how they are different.
Compare the plot from each book, (similarities and differences again).
Require that specific page numbers be quoted with examples.
Ask them to compare the characters and plots from the required book with stories from TODAY'S newspaper.
Pretend you are a character in this book and write a letter to Dear Abby asking for advice on how to handle the situation that has emerged in the book.

Skinny Book
This is a book that the kids put together. The teacher chooses what goes on each page. They start with a large piece of construction paper folded in half for the cover and 7 blank sheets for the inside. Ideas for each page ranged from character traits for the main character, analyzing a quote, writing about 3 themes from the book, changing the ending, asking the author 3 questions, reading an article/short story/poem that was related to the novel and asking how it fit with the larger work. They also include art work on each page.

Students make cubes using a pattern. Each side of the cube has a picture of fact (or both) about the biographee. Inside the cube is a little clue about the person. For example, apple seeds for Johnny Appleseed. Oral reports are given, but the name of the person was not on the cube. Each cube was given a number and students had a quiz to see how many people they could identify based on the cube and or the clue.

Summation Board
In cooperative learning groups, have each group discuss the book and create a summation board. A summation board is artistically designed by the students and may include computer generated work, hand written work, collage type designs, etc., but the board must reflect their summary of the book. It incorporates active learning and creative thinking.

Wax museum with biographies
Students read the book, prepare a report on the person and then invite parents. They come in character and stay in character for the entire presentation, which is about 45 minutes. Parents and staff members then press a "button" on their hand (round sticker) and they start off ...I am...

Book Report Alternatives
Ad Campaign- Your job is to design an ad campaign to promote your book. Think of ideas for a cover, inside jacket, poster, window banner and display cartoon. Sketch your ideas or put them together to form a window display. Some of you may want to present your ideas in the form of a
60-second TV or radio commercial.
Adding- Add a chapter or incident to the story. You may include new characters, new incidents or new settings.
Advertising- You work in the advertising department of a publisher. Your job is to create an advertising display for the book. This display will be set up in bookstores across the country. For your display, consider using author photos, posters, dioramas, or cardboard display cases. Aging Character- Pretend you are the major character at age sixty, tell about your life as a young person and as an adult.
Alien Encounter- Pretend you have landed on another planet and you are going to convince them the book you just read is a good one to read. How would you do it? Remember they cannot speak the English language.
Author- Write a letter to the author about certain aspects of the book you did not like. Site the book to back up what you say. Offer suggestions for improvement.
Author Comparison- Compare this book to another written by the same author.
Author Research- Find out about the author; present a brief biography of him and tell about his book. What else has he written?
Balloon- Blow up a balloon and decorate the sides of it so it tells about the book you read.
Book Designer- You are a book designer, and the publisher wants to come out with a new edition of the book. Design a new cover or book jacket, and illustrate the first page of each chapter.
Box Design- Design a box (it can be square or 3-D). Put something about the book on all sides of it. Cartoon Strip- Draw a cartoon strip of the most important events in the story.
Character Construction- Use a 2-liter plastic bottle for the body (partially filled with sand or pebbles to stay upright), a plastic foam ball for the head and poster board for the feet and clothes. Explain why
you choose this character to design. Use lines from the book to back up your character.
Character Conversation- Choose two characters from the story and write about a conversation they might have.
Characters Meet- create a scene in which the main characters from TWO novels meet.
Chinese Restaurant- You are out with the main characters from your book at a Chinese restaurant. On this particular night, the fortune cookies are amazingly appropriate. Describe each character and tell what his/her fortune cookie said and why it is fitting. Do not forget to include yourself! Clay Characters- make clay figures that go along with your book. Collage- Use old magazines as a source for pictures which represent some event of part of your book. Make a collage to show and explain your choices to the group.
Compare/Contrast- Compare and contrast yourself with the main character of the book.
Crossword Puzzle- Select 20 difficult words from the book and look up their synonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus. Using these synonyms as well as facts about the plot and characters, design a crossword puzzle.
Draw- Draw a mural depicting the major scenes from the book.
Descriptive Words- Find as many descriptive words as you can in one chapter that are used for people or a place. Be sure to specify which.
Desert Island- Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island with an important character from your book. Which one would you choose and why?
Detective Game- Make a detective game about the book you read. Give clues. You may use page numbers, etc.
Diary- Pretend you are the main character and write several diary pages
describing an important event in the book.
Diorama- Make a diorama of an important happening in the book.
Ending- Make up a new ending for the book.
Epilogue- Write an epilogue to the story.
Felt Board Characters- Make a set of felt board characters and tell part of the book with them. Highlight- For each chapter, pick a highlight or point that you felt made that chapter exciting. Illustrate each highlight.
Historical Background- Present the historical background for this novel.
Hundred Year Test- Explain why you think this book will or will not be read a hundred years from now. Support your opinion by stating specific events from the story.
Greeting Card- Design an original greeting card(s) that your character could send to a friend/foe/relative or someone else in the book.
Illustrations- Draw your own set of illustrations for the book.
Interior Decorator- Design a new home for the main characters in your book.
Limerick- Write a limerick about your book.
Lost and Found- Make up a lost and found as for a person or object in your book.
Main Character- Describe the main character in 150 words.
Main Character Design- Use butcher paper and make a life-size picture of the main character of your book.
Map- Make an illustrated map showing a character's travels or the area encompassed by your book. Mobile- Design and build a mobile that conveys scenes, characters, or events from the book. Monologue- Prepare a monologue from the story. Memorize it and present it to the class.
Movie Script- Write a movie script for one of the scenes in your book. Act it out in front of the class with the help of other students.
Photos- Take photos which reflect your understanding of the novel.
Pictures- Bring in pictures, drawings, posters or objects that represent some aspect of the novel. Poem- Make up a poem about your book.
Problem- Describe the problem or conflict existing for the main character in the book. Tell how the conflict was or was not resolved.
Pulitzer Prize- Pretend you are one of the judges for the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, an annual award honoring excellence in writing. Decide whether you would nominate the book you have just read for such an award. Then write a letter to the author explaining why you have accepted or rejected his book to compete for such high honors.
Puppet- Create a puppet to represent your favorite character in the story.
Puzzle- Make a put-together puzzle. Make it in the shape of a main object or character of the book. When put together it has on it the name of the book and the author.
Questions- Write 10 question which could be used to test other students understanding of the story. Make sure to include a list of answers.
Roll Story- Make a roll (like those you see on a cash register) and use words and pictures to tell about your book. It will be told as they unroll this.
Scrapbook- Make a scrapbook about the book.
Seed Mosaic- Make a seed mosaic to illustrate part of the book.
Setting- Research the geography of the setting of the novel.
Shoebox Picture Scene- Make a shoebox picture scene.
Song- Write a ballad or song about the characters and events in your story. Set the words to the music of a popular song and sing it in class.
Stamp- Design a stamp that could be the crest or symbol to represent either the book or the main character.
Television commercial- Make a television commercial about your book. Act out the commercial for the class.
TV Talk Show- Interview a character for a TV talk show, creating questions and answers consistent with the novel.
Timeline- Make a timeline of what happens during the book.
Title- Using the title of the book, write a phrase about the book for each letter.
Travel Poster- Make a travel poster inviting tourists to visit the setting of the book.
Turning Point- Pick out what you felt was the "turning point" in the book. Write about the incidents that led the reader to that point.
Word Power- Make a list of new, unusual or interesting words or phrases found in your book.

Comparing books and movies
Compare/Contrast Diagram...
The top box is for things the two things have in common.
Down the center are 2 sets of boxes with a line in the center connecting them... this is to write how things are different "in regards" to a certain criteria.
Then a box on the bottom is for conclusion drawn from the information.
This is an ideal "prewrite" for a follow up essay.
Might look something like:
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________ Things in common, like setting.
_____________________________

_________ ______ ___________ examples of "in regards"
_________ ______ ___________ Character Appearance
_________ ______ ___________ Settings
_______________________________ Use of imagination
_______________________________
________________________________ Conclusions drawn by
_______________________________ comparisons.

Lesson Plan for Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Objective: to study comedy, sarcasm, wit
a.. How do the camera shots affect certain scenes?
b.. How is Ferris (and others) characterized?
c.. What techniques of characterization (direct, indirect) does the filmmaker use to create this persona of Ferris? Consider actions of others as well as the actions of Ferris himself to determine how we as an audience are expected to view and relate to his character.
d.. Music - how does the musical score / soundtrack of the film add to its overall presentation?
e.. Persuasion - How does Ferris manage to swing people over to "his side"?
f.. Comic effect - While the film is clearly not belly-laugh funny, it is a comedy of wit and sarcasm. What humorous parts of the film were the most effective? Least effective? Why?
g.. Art - Create a promotional movie poster of this film. What scene should be depicted, if any? How should the characters be positioned to reflect their personalities and roles within the film?
h.. Writing - Write a critical review of the film after finishing it. Have students read other 'reviews' in newspapers or magazines, and use these as a guide to write one of their own. Of course, they will have to pay close enough attention to the film to recall scenes and lines that will be used in the reviews.
§ Watch the movie upon completing the book and use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the book and movie. It is always fascinating to see how the book has been made into a movie and to speculate why the changes were made. The Wizard of Oz is great for this because the movie has many
differences from the book.

Storytelling
The BookHive - Your Guide to Children's Literature and Books: http://www.bookhive.org/

A Story About Teaching Digital Storytelling at Scottsdale Community College: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/forum/spr04/dstory.html

Story Arts Online: http://www.storyarts.org/
Story Arts Online not only tells you why storytelling is so important, but also gives you tips and advice on how you and your students can become better storytellers. Also included are lesson plans and activities, a curriculum ideas exchange, related links, and more.

Tellebaration!2003: http://www.tellabration.org/
"Enjoy the thousands of storytelling enthusiasts around the world without even leaving your own community. Visit the Events section to find a Tellabration! nearest you." Also, you can host a Tellebration and this site gives you lots of help.

Books on line
Aaron's Books: Classic Tales: http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/classic.html

Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By: http://hazel.forest.net/whootie/default.html
Whootie the Owl guides you through this site, which is filled with international legends, folk stories, and fairy tales for younger students. Search for stories geared toward 10- to 12-year-olds; then check to see if your choices have accompanying worksheets to hand out in class. There are also related games and puzzles for kids to try. Many of the stories incorporate character education themes.

The Amazing Adventure Series: http://www.amazingadventure.com/
The site immediately prepares readers for a workout of the imagination with its majestic music and animated graphics. The stories don't fail to entertain either, with their easy-to-read font, text and illustrations, and the option to listen to the text.

Blackmask Online: http://www.blackmask.com/page.php

Books relating to the Ancient Near East: http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/abzu-processquery.pl?SID=&UID=&CID=&auth=&selectsearch=etana&searchstring=active

The Celebration of Women Writers: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html
"on-line editions of older, often rare, out-of-copyright works."

The Censors by Luisa Valenzuela: http://www.southerncrossreview.org/3/censorseng.html

Childrenstory.com: http://www.childrenstory.com/
Great for beginning readers, this site adapts a number of well-known fairy tales and nursery rhymes and gives youngsters the option of reading the text or listening to the stories in their entirety. It has short stories like Cinderella and Snow White and interactive reading and listening options.

Children's Storybooks Online: http://www.magickeys.com/books/
Although parts of this site feel like they were built for very young kids, they actually include content that is appropriate for middle schoolers. Students can read illustrated stories or religious parables on the site, as well as take quizzes or solve riddles.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html

CyberEnglish-The Web-Book: http://www.tnellen.net/cyberenglish/

Day One and Beyond-Practical Matters for New Middle-Level Teachers by Rick Wormeli: http://www.stenhouse.com/storefront/scripts/product/ProductView.asp?prodID=0355

Etexts: http://www.infomotions.com/etexts/

Fantastic Fiction Electronic Texts: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/etexts/index.htm

GutenMark: Pretty Printable Material: http://www.sandroid.org/GutenMark/MarkedTexts.html

HarperAudio!: http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/IMS/HarperAudio/
HarperAudio! is a sound file database of poetry and literature selections read by the authors or actors.Choose from a wide variety of authors and poets -- including Poe, Vonnegut, Hemingway, Shakespeare, and Frost -- to see the available works. Then click on your selection to hear the work read out loud. This is a great way to get your students excited about what they're reading.

International Children's Digital Library: http://www.icdlbooks.org/

Josie has a Secret: http://www.jitterbug.com/josie/index.html

Knowledgerush Book Directory: http://www.knowledgerush.com/

The Last Flower: a Parable by James Thurber: http://www.concentric.net/~Wkiernan/text/Thurber/Thurber.html#Flower0

Light Up Your Brain: http://lightupyourbrain.com/home.html
Stories read online, music, games and more.

Microsoft Catalog of eBooks: http://www.mslit.com/default.asp?mjr=FRE

Oregon School Library Information System Elementary Books Online: http://www.oslis.k12.or.us/elem/books.html

Pennsylvania State University: http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/jimspdf.htm

Plastic Fork Diaries: http://www.plasticforkdiaries.org/index_flash.cfm
This is not truly a book but contains a serial story about a group of sixth graders. A new section is published each Wednesday. There are activities and many things to do at the site.

Stenhouse Publishing posts many of their education books online: http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfbooks.htm

Storyline Online: http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/index.html
Storyline Online is an on-line streaming video program featuring SAG members reading childrens books aloud. Hand-picked by BookPALS National Program Director Ellen Nathan, a former teacher and librarian, each of the books on this site offer an accompanying lesson plan and activity guide.

The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real: http://www.writepage.com/velvet.htm

The War Prayer: http://members.aol.com/rasphila/war_prayer.pdf
Lesson for The War Prayer: http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/BuilderV03/lptools/lpshared/lpdisplay.asp?Session_Stamp=&LPID=30807

Make your own online books
Students first brainstorm ideas for a story, working in groups of two to four people or own their own. They work up the writing for their stories and their illustrations together, on paper. For the illustrations, the students first use a regular pencil to get their drawing down, then go over their drawing either with markers or colored pencils. (Pencil lines by themselves do not show up well on the computer--they need to ink them and/or color them).
Next, they take pictures of their illustrations with a SONY Mavica Digital Camera. These take floppy disks--and each group has their own floppy disk for their work. After their pictures are taken, they go to the computer.
They start a PowerPoint and insert the pictures from their floppy disk.
They can crop their pictures if necessary using the crop tool in the picture toolbar. They type their story into their slides. Then they narrate their story into a computer microphone.
They work on the timings and transitions for their slides by going into "slide show/custom animation" on the menu at the top of the screen.
Then they go to a website http://www.ifni.com to select music they feel will go best with their story. They download this music and insert the sound file into their PowerPoint and program it to play for the entire slide show.
When they have their PowerPoint working correctly, they burn their PowerPoint onto a CD. We include a PowerPoint viewer in the files by using the "Pack and Go" function found under the File menu.
Next, they make a cover for their CD. This can be done by taking a picture from one of their PowerPoint slides, copying and pasting it into Microsoft Publisher, and sizing it so that it will fit into the jewel case for the CD.
Next, they make a label for the CD. You can get a free 15 day trial version for a label maker from Sure Thing CD Labeler (do a search on Google for it). Any label maker will work.
The students either take a picture from their PowerPoint for their label, importing it, or they design a label using the label making software.
To put them up on our class web site, the PowerPoints need to be converted to Macromedia Flash.

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