The Dream of the Thylacine
Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks
This arresting and beautiful picture book from Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks is a shimmering encounter with the Tasmanian tiger, a lament for a lost species, and a compelling evocation of the place of animals in Nature.
For more about the book plus acess Curriculum notes => http://bit.ly/mxTf4p
Students make a paper tadpole puppet that turns into a frog and learn the meaning of the term metamorphosis. => http://bit.ly/mrYBbY
There are few things that LMS courses could learn from games design and defeat the cursed scroll of deathly dullness – but hey ‘nice graphic on the header there dude’ kind of activity screams quality does it not. Many LMS courses are there to suit the teacher, the organisation and occasionally the content, not the student. They must battle bravely to overcome crap design, suspect teaching knowledge, ill-thought out assessment demands and use of tools defined by that knowledge and their willingness to learn how to use them. The LMS might be a pillar of technological-wonderment, hey, we’ve put dogs in space, so why not dump content and questions in locked box and call it teaching.
From personal experience of being in LMS course as a student – here are my top 5 things reasons I’d would rather play the Xbox http://bit.ly/mS3ITP
The Giraffe and The Pelly and Me
by Roald Dahl
The giraffe, the pelican and the agile monkey set
out to prove that they are the best window-cleaning
company around. This edition has some new facts
about Roald Dahl, and a great new cover featuring
Quentin Blake's illustrations.
Fiction Activities for The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
... included in this package are links to:
- Activity sheet
- Teacher’s Notes
- Fiction activities
- Trivia Quiz
- Lesson
- Scholastic Book wizard
- Group Project
- Lesson plan
for the whole package, click here => http://bit.ly/dL4eye
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo's debut novel wins a 2001 Newbery Honor and is a NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Bestseller!
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.
Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship--and forgiveness--can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.
Recalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent.
An unforgettable first novel about coming of age one sweet summer--and learning to love what you have.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Webquest for Because of Winn-Dixie
Create printable tests and worksheets from Because of Winn-Dixie questions
Writing encouragement for students
Activity Guide from Walden Media
Information on topics related to the book
Character Education Lesson plan
Review and Discussion Questions
Buy the Book
(Publisher's Price is $15.99)
from Amazon for $5.99
or from me (for $6.05 - your choice will depend on your shipping price from Amazon probably) by clicking this button ...
Movie Trailer
Comics, Power and Society: Q and A with Louis Schubert and Arthur Nishimura
At the City College of San Francisco, two professors have employed their enthusiasm for comics in an innovative approach to teaching. In their course Comics, Power and Society, Arthur Nishimura and Louis Schubert use a variety of comics and graphic novels as a creative and engaging way to introduce students to the social sciences. We were fortunate to get an interview with Schubert and Nishimura about how they use graphic novels and comics in this course.
The Wee Free men
by Terry Pratchett
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland
A Teaching Guide to Terry Pratchett
Spark discussion about A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents with the pre-reading activities and discussion questions in this printable teaching guide to these books by Terry Pratchett.
Secrets of The Wee Free Men and Discworld: The Myths and Legends of Terry Pratchett's Multiverse
You can buy from Amazon for US$9.99
or from me for US$7.50 --- click on the button -=>
by Jackie French
He sleeps. He eats. He gets bored.
He creates havoc wherever he goes!
He?s Mothball?s baby - and he?s even cuter, naughtier and more determined than his mum.
Created by writer Jackie French and illustrator Bruce Whatley, Baby Wombat?s Week is an irresistible new picture book by the award-winning duo of the international bestseller Diary of a Wombat.
The very long awaited follow up to Diary of a Wombat - the illustrations are as beautiful as ever and the simple story will be adored by young children. Best of all, Mothball herself features in the story. Adults with an appreciation of Australian wildlife and children's literature will cherish these books as well. Weaver has the obstinate behaviour of wombats down pat but her affection for the animals is very obvious.
Teachers Notes => bit.ly/er2ur5
Buy the book => http://bit.ly/gLXAkj target="_blank"
The Polar Express
by Chris Van Alsburg
One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion from his sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of several award winners he's produced. The Polar Express rings with vitality and wonder.
Watch the trailer
Ideas, lessons, printables, games, party fun, and much more
Lessons, resources and integrated units
Scholastic Lesson plan
The Jolly Christmas Postman (The Jolly Postman) (Hardback)
By Janet and Allan Ahlberg, Illustrated by Janet Ahlberg
It's Christmas Eve and the Jolly Postman is delivering greetings to various fairy-tale characters - there's a card for Baby Bear, a game appropriately called 'Beware' for Red Riding Hood from Mr Wolf, a get-well jigsaw for hospitalized Humpty Dumpty and three more surprise envelopes containing letters, and cards.
A Genre Study of Letters With The Jolly Postman
Questions to ask before, during, and after reading
Language arts/Reading - Historical fiction
Library Letter Writing Unit Plan