| Classroom
Connections
Activities
to use with
Dragon
of the Red Dawn
Pre-Reading
Activities
Read
the prologue and explain what kinds of adventures Jack and Annie
have been on before. What does the word mythical mean?
What adventures were mythical for them and which ones were from
actual history? How do you know the difference?
Ask
students: Have you ever read a Magic Tree House book before?
How does the magic in the story work? Do Jack and Annie ever
get in trouble at home for their adventures far away? How do
they get back in forth in time? Where would you like to go if
you could visit any place in history?
Have
students fill out a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) Chart
based on the book.
| What
I KNOW about Japan : |
What
I WANT to know: |
What
I LEARNED by reading
Dragon
of the Red Dawn : |
|
|
|
|
Questions for Class Discussion
- What
do Jack and Annie need to discover as they visit ancient Japan
? Who needs this information? Why? What things make you happiest?
-
Describe Edo ( Tokyo ) in the 17th century.
What made this a dangerous location for foreigners during
this time? Why did this put Jack and Annie in a difficult
position to help Merlin?
- What
did Basho teach his students? Why was poetry considered important
for a samurai to learn? Would you like to study with Basho?
What does Basho mean when he says, “Words can outlive their
creators.”
- Why
is the dry spell frightening for the residents of Edo ? How
can they fight fires? Why does Basho tell Jack and Annie to
stay near the river?
- What
is the most fascinating fact you learned about Japan while
reading this book? What more would you like to learn about
Japan and its people?
- How
do Jack and Annie use the wand of Dianthus? Why doesn’t it
work at first? What rules must they follow? How does it help
the people of Edo ?
Basho’s
Best Students
Lead
a class walk in a nature area or display a wildlife photograph
( National Geographic magazines are ideal) that will
inspire students to write a haiku like Basho.
Haiku
is a traditional three-line Japanese poem that consists of counted
syllables: five for the first line, seven for the second, and
five again for the third. It often gives a hint to the season
or reflects on nature. Haiku is always created by close observation.
Great
Haiku Poets
Have
the class research and read other books written by these great
Japanese poets of Japan : Basho, Buson, Issa, Izumi Shikibu,
Ono No Komachi. Then, find your favorite haiku and illustrate
it using a piece of poster board. These pieces can be displayed
to create an entire hall of haiku.
A
View of Japan
Sal
Murdocca, the illustrator of Dragon of the Red Dawn,
creates pictures with fascinating detail about Japan . In addition,
he plays with the perspective (or view) of his topic. (Look
on p. 64 for a terrific aerial view of Basho’s home.) Have students
sketch their own scene from ancient Japan from at least two
different perspectives, trying to show as much detail as they
can on the topics of food, dress, architecture, or entertainment.
Encourage them to share their sketches with a partner.
Perspectives
to explore: from the sky or ceiling, child level, bottom up,
widescreen, zoom in, landscape, or portrait.
 The
Secret Path to Happiness
Answers:
9, 5, 11, 1, 13, 4, 10, 2, 7, 12, 6, 8, 3
Understanding
Conflict
Understanding
Basho
Prepared
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and children’s
author.
Activities
to use with
Blizzard
of the Blue Moon
Pre-Reading
Activity
Discuss with your
students: How do you know if a book is a fantasy or if it is
realistic fiction? What clues does the author give? Do you read
these two kinds of books differently? How? How do you know if
something is real or imaginary?
Create a Blizzard
of the Blue Moon environment in your classroom!
Blizzard of the
Blue Moon has many beautiful images: from a snowy New York
City to a unicorn tapestry at the Cloister’s Museum. Have students
create a collage of buildings using a wide variety of papers
(newsprint, construction paper, even wrapping paper) that run
an entire length of a wall (or hallway). Then, add students’
haiku snowflakes from the Blizzard
Haiku printer-friendly activity sheet to the top of the
mural.
Remind your students
that a haiku is a traditional three-line Japanese poem, which
consists of counted syllables: five for the first line, seven
for the second, and five again for the third. Haiku often gives
a hint to the season or reflects on nature so it is a perfect
fit for this classroom environment.
Questions
for Class Discussion
- What must Annie and Jack understand to be able to find the
unicorn? How do they figure out its meaning? Is poetry always
difficult to understand?
- Why does the weather play an important part in this story?
How would the story be different if it was set in the summer?
How does it add to the conflict?
- Who comes to the aid of Jack and Annie? How do they steer
our young explorers in the right direction? Would you want
to travel into the past in New York with just your sibling?
Why or why not?
- A nemesis is someone who works against your goal. Who is
the nemesis to Jack and Annie’s goal of finding the Flower
of Rome? What do they do? Who ultimately wins? Why?
- How are Jack and Annie rewarded by Merlin? Why do you think
he is testing them in such difficult ways? Do you think they
have proven themselves to be wise in their use of magic? How?
New York City
in Words and Pictures
Have students create
illustrated brochures with facts about New York City . They
may use the ones that Jack reads aloud in the novel as long
as they also do research and add at least five new facts. The
brochures can highlight any of the topics from the book: museums,
history, parks, city transportation, or the Rockefellers.
Blizzard
Haiku Activity Sheet
Steps
to the Unicorn
New
York City: Then and Now
Activities
prepared by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and author
of the
poetry
book Sketches from a Spy Tree.
Activities
to use with
Night
of the New Magicians
They Could
Do Magic
- Science
- Social Studies
- Language Arts
A magician is defined
as someone with “an extraordinary power or influence” (Merriam
Webster). The four men who are the magicians in this story each
developed something that was an engineering advance. Discuss
with students how the inventions of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas
Edison, and Louis Pasteur still influence their lives today,
focusing on why the men were viewed as magicians.
Have students write an update to these men, indicating how their
own lives are better because of their inventiveness. Encourage
them to use a news story format to describe how the invention
played a role in a situation in their lives. Remind them to
include the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story
and how the inventor’s achievements started it all.
World’s Fair Wonders
A world’s fair is an exposition of new products and inventions.
Stage a “world’s fair” in your classroom where students reveal
the products they use. Have them research the origin of the
product and make a display highlighting the product’s history
and uses. Encourage them to identify a new way that others can
use the specific product. Some products include televisions,
telephones, automobiles, bicycles, backpacks, etc.
A world’s fair is also
an exposition of cultures from around the world. Have students
research their cultural backgrounds and identify something to
share that is a part of their family heritage. They then make
a display featuring the tradition and item, and explain why
it is important to the specific culture and to the rest of the
world.
Since new inventions
were highlighted at the world’s fair, challenge students to
invent something they think would be useful. They can make a
model or draw a picture of a prototype of their invention, and
demonstrate its use. Encourage them to plan a presentation that
would convince the other students that they need this new invention.
Parisian Pleasures
- Social Studies
- Art
- Language Arts
Jack and Annie travel to Paris in 1889. Have students use the
information in this book and do other research to identify the
sites and activities that made Paris so special in the late
19th century. Then have them make a travel brochure encourage
others to visit the city.
A trifold format for the brochure might include a picture of
the most significant feature of Paris in 1889 on the outside
front cover; a description of the unique cultural aspects (food,
entertainment, art, shopping) on the inside left flap; main
1889 Paris attractions to visit on the inside center; a possible
three-day itinerary on the inside right cover; and a description
on how to travel to Paris (with illustrations) on the back cover.
Readers who travel
to 1889 Paris with Jack and Annie can send a postcard home.
Have them draw a Parisian scene on one side of a 5" x 8"
file card. Divide the back side of the card into two sections
for a message to a friend or family member about their trip
on the left side, and the address on the right side.
Magical Secrets
Each of the magicians in this story had a secret. Make a magic
hat for each magician from a gallon ice cream container. Cover
the container with black construction paper, and make a construction
paper brim to attach to the top (opening) of the container.
Write one of the magician’s magic secrets on each hat along
with the magician’s name:
• Gustave
Eiffel: “I have a taste for adventure and a love of work and
responsibility.”
• Louis
Pasteur: “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
• Thomas
Edison: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine
percent perspiration.”
• Alexander
Bell: “When one door closes, another door opens.”
As a class, discuss the meanings of these secrets.
Then, as students do
something that reflects one of these magic secrets, they write
a description of the situation on a construction paper rabbit
with their name on the reverse side. On a regular basis pull
a rabbit out of the magician’s hat, and ask the students to
share their magical moment with others.
More
Than a Name Activity Sheet
Guide prepared
by Dr. Peggy A Sharp, a national children's literature consultant.
Activities
to use with
Season
of the Sandstorm
Wise Wisdom
The Bedouins believed
that knowledge belongs to all and that wisdom is to be shared.
Wisdom is defined as accumulated learning (Merriam-Webster).
Ask students to identify a piece of wisdom they have gained
and then brainstorm ways to spread the wisdom—e.g., writing
about it, talking about it, demonstrating it.
May I Have This Date?
Dates are a very important
and popular food of the desert. For more information about this
important food source, visit the All
About Dates Web site. Bring in several different types of
dates for students to sample, including dates in their natural
form, date ice cream, date nut bread, date shakes, and other
foods that include dates. Have students identify which dates
they prefer, and graph their preferences.
Sands of Time
Students can better understand
how long it takes to accomplish tasks by using a sand timer.
Have the students determine/watch how long it takes for the
sand to flow through the timer. Then have them predict how many
times they can do a variety of actions in the time it takes
for the sand to flow from the top to the bottom of the timer.
Some possible activities include jumping, standing and sitting,
reading pages, doing math problems, and writing words.
Compare their predictions
with the actual number of actions accomplished. Discuss how
the knowledge that they were being timed influenced their reactions
and feelings, and whether speed is the only determining factor
in accomplishment.
Camels Can
A metaphor used in this story is the camel as the ship of the
desert. Discuss the meaning of this metaphor with your
class and why it is appropriate. Have students draw a literal
interpretation of this metaphor. Finally, have students come
up with their own metaphors and use them in the context of a
short story. You may want to start them off with a few ideas:
“My brother is a hog at the dinner table ” or “My sister
is a mule when it comes to bedtime.”
Titles
to Treasure Activity Sheet
Guide prepared by Dr. Peggy A Sharp, a national children's
literature consultant.
Activities
to use with
Monday
with a Mad Genius
About
the book
Merlin
is not well and he needs Jack and Annie’s help to discover the
four secrets to happiness from one of the world’s most creative
people that ever lived, Leonardo Da Vinci. Jack and Annie explore
Florence , Italy 500 years ago and apprentice with Leonardo
for a day. Can they keep him from hurting himself as he tries
out his great flying machine? Will he discover more about happiness
as one of his own paintings is destroyed?
Pre-Reading
Activities
Read
the prologue and explain what kinds of adventures Jack and Annie
have been on before. Will this be a mythical journey or a historical
one? What is the difference between the two?
Have
you ever read a Magic Tree House book before? How does the magic
in the story work? Do Jack and Annie ever get in trouble at
home for their adventures far away? How do they move across
time and place? If you could go anywhere in history, where would
you land?
What
is a “mad genius”? What does it mean to be a genius at something?
Can you brainstorm a list of people who are considered geniuses
in the following fields: music, art, history, science, literature?
Predict what the children might learn from Leonardo about happiness.
Questions
for Class Discussion
- What
are Jack and Annie trying to discover for Merlin? What do
you think is the secret to happiness? What makes you happy?
- How
do Jack and Annie find Leonardo? Why is it more difficult
than they imagined? What do they learn along the way?
- Leonardo
gives the siblings a quick and easy answer about the secret
to happiness. What does he say? Do you agree with him? What
would be great about being famous? What would not be that
terrific about it?
- Where
does Leonardo get his ideas for his paintings and experiments?
Where do you get your own best ideas? What does he study when
he’s out in the village?
- How
does Leonardo try to improve the drying time of his battle
scene fresco? What happens? How does he react to this event?
How would you feel if something you had created for hours
was ruined?
- Describe
Leonardo’s home. What do Jack and Annie discover about their
new friend? What is the most interesting fact you learned
about this great Renaissance man?
- Some
of Leonardo’s ideas seem silly. Why do Jack and Annie know
so much more about certain topics than this very learned scholar?
What do you think scientists will discover in the next 500
years?
- What
is the Great Bird? Describe what happens when Leonardo tries
to take it out for a test. Why doesn’t it work yet? How do
Jack and Annie make him feel better about his failures?
- In
the end, Leonardo changes his mind about the true secret of
happiness. What does he say is the most important thing about
being happy? Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Who is
sitting for a portrait with Leonardo? Why won’t she smile
for him? How does Annie help resolve the situation?
Comprehension
Connections
Great
readers make connections to what they’re reading. As students
read the novel have them write down any connections they make—between
other books, things in their lives, and things in the world—
they make that will help them remember what the book is about.
You may want to use a graphic organizer like the one below.
| |
This made me think about. . . |
| Types of connections |
|
| Connections with other books |
|
| Connections from things in your own life |
|
| Connections to things from the world around you |
|
Florence
or Bust Activity Sheet
Answers:
7, 5, 1, 3, 8, 6, 2, 4
What
a Wonderful World! Activity Sheet
Worlds
Apart Activity Sheet
Discovering
Da Vinci Activity Sheet
Activities
prepared by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and author
of the
poetry
book Sketches from a Spy Tree.
Certificate
of Achievement
* All activities
require Adobe
Acrobat
Activities
to use with
Dark
Day in the Deep Sea
Thesaurus
Have the class create
a thesaurus for words used in Dark Day in the Deep Sea .
Some of the commonly misunderstood words are listed below,
and there are a few options as to how to present this task to
students:
Simple: Prior
to reading, give students the basic words on the left. Have
them work in groups to list at least three thesaurus entries
to go along with each starter word. (You can have students actually
use a thesaurus if this is difficult to do based on prior knowledge.)
While reading Dark Day in the Deep Sea , point out
the more complex words ( sorrow, gawking, etc.) and
have the students record them with the starter words.
More Complex:
Prior to reading, give students the basic words on the left.
Allow them to list as many thesaurus options for the simple
words. Challenge them to find complex words in Dark Day
in the Deep Sea that could be added to the thesaurus they’ve
started. This can be broken down into more manageable parts
by doing this one chapter at a time.
BASIC WORD -->
COMPLEX WORD USED IN THE BOOK
Sadness --> sorrow
Stare --> gawking
Humor --> wit
See --> glimpse
Allowed --> permissible
Trip --> expedition
Walk --> strode
Speech --> lecture
Confused --> baffled
Change --> converted
Glossary
Create a class glossary
to define the following words used in Dark Day in the Deep
Sea: dredging, grudgingly, capsize, vigorously, nausea,
species/specimen, squall, wardroom, scurvy, and harpoon.
To add complexity,
offer to let students define these words using context clues
instead of defining the words for them. Have students check
their context-clue guesses with the actual definition of the
words above.
Personification
Highlight the uses
of personification in Dark Day in the Deep Sea. Have
students find more examples of personification in the text or
in other reading material. Give them the opportunity to find
and illustrate the personification examples. This could be an
illustration of the waves rising and falling, or a wave actually
holding a hammer. . .
Examples from Dark
Day in the Deep Sea:
“The wind was screaming.”
(p. 60)
“…but the waves kept
hammering him.” (p. 62)
Discussion
Questions/Writing Prompts
• Jack
and Annie learn to conquer fear through knowledge, or through
compassion. Give an example of how you have conquered fear through
knowledge. Give an example of how you have conquered fear through
compassion. Do you think one way to conquer fear is better than
the other?
• What
do you think would have happened if Jack had not been seasick
during the storm?
Check out the corresponding
activity sheet:
Using
Prefixes
Prepared
by Beth Fawley, the 2006 Magic Tree House Educator of the Year,
who is the K–12 Gifted and Talented Coordinator at Columbia
Heights Public Schools in Minnesota.
Activities
to use with
Sea
Monsters
Vocabulary
Here
are words to teach before students read Sea Monsters or
to highlight while they are reading: carnivore, nocturnal,
marine, prey, hoax, and legend
Discussion
Questions/Writing Prompts
Knowledge
•
How do giant squids propel themselves?
•
What have we yet to discover about the colossal squid?
•
What causes trenches in the ocean floor?
Comprehension
•
How do scientists find out about marine animals that are no
longer living?
•
How did Dr. William Beebe record what he saw when he was in
the bathysphere?
•
What is Jacques Cousteau remembered for?
•
What animals use bioluminescence? What do they use it for?
•
What is a legend?
Application
•
Are there any other animals or machines that propel themselves
through the water like a giant squid?
Analysis
•
Compare and contrast a squid and an octopus. (Students could
use a Venn diagram to organize points.)
•
How can we tell if the stories of sea creatures from the past
are reputable—that we should believe them—or not? What criteria
should be used when making these kinds of decisions?
•
Do you think sea monsters actually exist? What reasons do
you have to support your opinion?
Synthesis
•
Give an example to support or refute Cousteau’s quote, “People
protect what they love.”
Evaluation
•
Is it okay to study animals if it causes them to die in the
process?
Storytelling
Explain
how rumors begin and grow by telling the story of an imaginary
sighting of an unfamiliar animal as a group. Each child adds
a sentence to the story aloud. This may be a good point for
discussion in the classroom about how people can easily create
gossip that may or may not be true.
Math
As
a class, calculate the expenses associated with a deep-sea expedition
to find out more about the creatures that live in the ocean.
Next create an opportunity for students to test the method used
by scientists in measuring the depth of the ocean. To accomplish
this, have students create a sort of fishing pole by cutting
a long piece of string, tying it to the end of a stick, and
tying a small weighted object to the other end of the string.
Then ask students to measure the string as closely as possible
from the tip of the stick to the bottom of the weighted object.
Tip a table over on its side (it must be tall enough that the
people performing the demonstration wouldn’t be able to see
over it). Set several different boxes on the other side of the
table to create different “depths” to measure. To measure each
depth, students should lower their poles over the table until
they reach the “ocean floor,” and then subtract the length of
string that stays “above water” (above the table) from the full
length of the string. Have students record their measurements
on a chart and compare their results to the actual depth measurements,
which they can find using a ruler. This activity can be conducted
as a teacher-led demonstration, or as a problem-solving puzzle
for students to solve on their own.
For
more ideas, visit the Creatures
of the Deep Web Site.
Writing
Let
students choose one of the following writing activities:
•
A “sea monster sighting” newspaper
•
A day in the life of a specific sea creature from the book
•
A Little Red Riding Hood–type story with a marine creature
instead of a wolf. Students should include details on the
size of the animal’s body and its specialized characteristics.
As an extension activity, have students portray these details
through a puppet show, an auditory presentation, or a comic-style
drawing with speech bubbles.
To
simplify: The teacher models, the students observe.
To
increase difficulty: The teacher models, the students observe
and then imitate.
To
increase difficulty further: The teacher describes the task,
the students create.
Art
Using
the descriptions provided in Sea Monsters , set the
students to task creating their own 3-D version of a sea creature.
You may choose to require students to create animals to scale,
or add their imagination to the task, as not all animals are
well known, even to aquatic explorers and scientists.
The
piecemeal information we know about sea creatures often leaves
us feeling like Picasso. Using images of Picasso’s work, challenge
the students to create a sea monster in the spirit of Picasso
on paper.
Questions
for Further Exploration
•
What defines a reptile?
•
What do we call mapmakers? Is there a fancy name for their
job?
•
How exactly do scientists measure the depth of the ocean?
•
Four hundred years ago, people drew what they thought the
ocean floor looked like. Based on
that drawing, make an educated guess: what ocean might they
be mapping? Do you think any of the items shown on the map
actually exist?
•
Why do different animals live at different depths of the ocean?
•
Do people swim in the ocean today like Jacques Cousteau did
years
ago?
•
How do scientists hear underwater animals?
•
How does a python consume its prey?
•
Are there other uses for water propulsion besides what is
mentioned
in
the book?
•
How do diving and snorkeling differ?
Check
out the corresponding activity sheet:
Sort
Invertebrates and Vertebrates
Ethics
of Research
Prepared
by Beth Fawley, the 2006 Magic Tree House Educator of the Year,
who is the K–12 Gifted and Talented Coordinator at Columbia
Heights Public Schools in Minnesota.
Activities
to use with
Eve
of the Emperor Penguin
Comprehension
Have
students locate word pictures in the text. An example could
be “a carpet of fallen leaves,” or “the big penguins looked
like a committee of little men in black suits.” Discuss how
authors use words to create a feeling or appeal to the senses.
Sequence
the events in the story. Have students differentiate between
the real and the imaginary portions of the story.
Math
Research
and compare heights of famous mountains using a graph or drawing
on graph paper. Decide if you want students to graph the tallest
mountains in the world or the tallest mountains from each continent.
The majority of the massive mountains are found in Asia.
Here
is a list of the tallest mountain on each continent and one
region:
- Asia: Mount Everest 8850 m (29,035 ft.)
- South America: Aconcagua 6959 m (22,831 ft.)
- North America: Mount McKinley 6194 m (20,320 ft.)
- Africa : Kilimanjaro 5963 m (19,563 ft.)
- Europe: Mount Elbrus 5633 m (18,481 ft.)
- Antarctica: Vinson Massif 4897 m (16,066 ft.)
- Australia: Mount Kosciusko 2228 m (7,310 ft.)
Simple: Distribute sheets for the graph with the axis,
categories, and title labeled. Give students the heights to
graph in a chart form. Choose whether or not to have the students
do the rounding to the nearest 1000 meters. Limit the number
of mountains to graph to what seems within reach for the students.
More
complex: Choose some or all of the modifications.
- Students set up their own graph using graph paper.
They label the axis, the title, the key, and the units (in
thousands of meters).
- Add to the number of mountains available to graph.
- Students suggest and research several mountains on
their own.
- Include mountains in the oceans if they are comparable
height to the ones students are graphing.
- Suggest that students include a local mountain in
the graph for comparison if applicable.
Here
is a list of other mountains that students may want to research:
- Gannett Peak
- Grand Teton
- Mauna Loa
- Mount Elbert
- Mount Erebus
- Mount Muir
- Mount Rainier
- Mount Shasta
- Mount Whitney
- A local mountain of your choosing
Social
Studies
As
a class, map the countries represented by researchers in the
story. Have students research spots where active volcanoes can
be found today.
Science
Provide
this research prompt to the class: What happens when animals
from other species are orphaned? Are all orphans treated the
same way as young orphan penguins?
Language
Rewrite
the ending of the fictional story from the point where Annie
walks away from Jack and comes upon a crack in the ice. Illustrate
if you wish to.
Locate
pictures of similarly perilous situations in magazines, newspapers,
or comics and write captions to go with the pictures. The objective
would be to develop a sense of choosing words to create a specific
tone or vividly describe a scene. Use action scenes from the
book as examples—e.g., when Jack dove toward the penguin to
protect it from danger.
Use
a thesaurus and your mind to list as many words as can be used
to say something is cold. Ideas: chilly, icy bitter, artic,
nippy, frigid, glacial, frosty, gelid, bleak, biting, polar,
sharp, crisp, numbing, boreal, brisk
Creative
and Critical thinking
Answer
the questions: Who needs me? Who do I need? Who could I take
care of?
Make
wind chimes (click here
for ideas)
Jack
and Annie choose to take Penny with them as they leave Antarctica
though Nancy had told them the animals were to be left undisturbed.
What reasons did Jack and Annie have for taking the penguin
away from its home? Do you think they made a wise decision?
Support your opinion with details.
Embellish
on the secrets of happiness. Make a book or visual to describe
each secret and show an example of how a person can practice
the secrets of happiness: nature, curiosity, compassion, and
taking care of someone who needs you.
Check
out the corresponding activity sheet:
Roles
in a Classroom and Home
Activities
to use with
Penguins
and Antarctica
Comprehension
Draw
a web to connect the prey and predators in the ocean that are
mentioned in the research guide. Add other organisms the students
may already be familiar with.
Have
each student adopt the persona of an explorer mentioned in the
research guide. Conduct a letter exchange where the explorers
write to one another about their expeditions, things they have
in common, and their role models.
The
research guide includes specific information about why the penguin
is well prepared for life in Antarctica. Discuss with students
that some of the reasons can be seen with our eyes, and some
are inside the penguin’s body. Draw an outline of a penguin
on the board and have student volunteers come up and label the
physical characteristics of the animal that make it well suited
for life on Antarctica. Then make a list next to the drawing
of characteristics you may not be able to see with your eyes
when you look at a penguin.
Here
is a list of penguin characteristics that may come up in the
discussion:
•
Heavy bones
•
Flipper tail
•
Wings to help with swimming
•
Jump and swim quickly
•
Can store food and live off it for months
•
Coloration that confuses predators in the water and helps
warm or cool them
•
Neck feathers that fluff up to cool them down
•
Bob in and out of the water
•
Blubber
•
Webbed feet
•
Oil sacs help their feathers become waterproof
•
Slide downhill on their stomachs
•
Can jump on land (up to 6 feet high)
•
Males have a brood patch to keep the egg warm
•
Form groups for protection against cold and predators
•
Parents trade places taking care of the young
•
Can walk/waddle long distances
Here
are some of the facts your students may come up with for the
Thank
You, Explorers! activity:
(activity
sheet located further below)
Captain
James Cook
•
Never actually made it to Antarctica (technically, never saw
land there)
•
Took note of the causes of scurvy
•
British
•
Mapped coastlines
•
Studied movement of stars
•
Used flat-bottom ships
Robert
Scott
•
British
•
Landed on Ross Island and spent the winter there
•
Men got sick
•
Hailed as a hero at home
•
First to fly over part of Antarctica in hot-air balloon
•
Raced Roald Amundsen to the south pole; ran into trouble with
horses, motors, starvation, froze to death
•
Made the error of wearing wool and cotton, and eating canned
meat
Roald
Amundsen
•
Norwegian
•
Explored North Pole first
•
Raced Robert Scott to the South Pole; took dogsleds and beat
Scott’s team by two weeks
•
Made good choices: wore furs, ate seal meat, took shorter
route, and stored supplies along the way
Ernest
Shackleton
•
Got 97 miles from the South Pole before running out of supplies
•
Trapped in ice at Weddell Sea, lived on ship for nine months,
rowboats for five months, then took lifeboats to Elephant
Island, and finally got help at South Georgia Island
•
Made an 800-mile trek in 17 days; his men were rescued
Questions
to Investigate
•
How did the other continents get their names?
•
How does freshwater stay separate from the saltwater ocean
nearby?
•
Why does ice float? Why does an iceberg partially float?
•
Where can active volcanoes be found today? There are some
in the sea as well as on land.
•
What kind of research is done in Antarctica today (other than
is mentioned in the book)? What kinds of researchers work
there?
•
What makes water pure? How do we test for water purity? How
does your area’s water supply compare with that of another
city?
•
What does the future look like for the penguin? Is their population
stable and protected from harm? Are there things we could
be doing to preserve the number of penguins on earth today?
Skill
Development Activities
Locate
and label the oceans of the world on a map. Be sure to point
out the Southern Ocean.
Use
large sheets of paper to draw life-sized replicas of animals
mentioned in the book. Use measurement tools so the animals
can be compared using the same scale.
Creative
and Critical Thinking
Have
students research an animal not mentioned in the research guide.
Compare penguin life patterns with this other animal. Use a
chart or Venn diagram to organize the information. Interesting
animals to contrast the penguin with may include: wolves, Canadian
geese, salmon, komodo dragons, sea turtles, and koalas. The
information found could be shared in a variety of final products,
as determined by the student and teacher.
Check
out the corresponding activity sheets:
Charting
Animals
Charting
Animals Answer Key
Thank
You, Explorers!
Activities
to use with both
EVE
OF THE EMPEROR PENGUIN and PENGUINS AND ANTARCTICA
Vocabulary Search
Use
the list belowas a starting point for bringing some of the quality
words out of the fiction adventure and research guide. The words
could be used for a number of things:
•
Locate the root words; identify the prefix or suffix that
has been added to it.
•
Pre-teach the meaning of words your students may not have
been exposed to before.
•
Have students look specifically for these words as they read
in order to define them in context.
•
Point out the words as you read aloud to them.
•
Give students simple definitions of the words before they
read a section, with the job of finding the vocabulary word
that match the given definition. (In this case, do not show
them the actual vocabulary word before reading.)
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