Pre-Reading
Activities
Using
a world map, help your students locate the different continents
and identify the specific habitats Jack and Annie will be visiting
in these Magic Tree House adventures. Have your students list
the kinds of animals Jack and Annie might encounter in each
of these lands, based on stories they've read and movies they've
seen. Discuss the geography and climates of these habitats,
emphasizing how they lend themselves to certain animal characteristics.
After each story is read, students may add or delete entries
from their list, based on animals included in Jack and Annie's
adventures.
Classroom
Connections
Activities
for use with
Good
Morning, Gorillas
Language of the Hands and the Heart
- Social Studies
- Language Arts
Annie's
"monkey see, monkey do" games with Bu-bu, Ho-ho, and
other gorilla friends demonstrate the natural talents these
primates have for imitating what they see and communicating
through gestures. When Jack tells Annie about a captive gorilla
named Koko who was taught to communicate through sign language,
she remembers the sign for "I love you" and teaches
it to their gorilla friends. Using Internet or library resources,
introduce students to the American Sign Language Alphabet. Have
them practice making the letters and finger spelling "I
love you" and other words and common phrases. Engage students
in a finger-spelling bee in which they are given words of increasing
difficulty to spell using sign language.
Sounds
of the Rain Forest
At first, Jack
is not very happy about the abundant rain that soaks him and
everything around him in the rain forest. But by end of story,
he understands that year round rain makes it possible for many
of the animals and plants to thrive there. With a cardboard
mailing tube, plain poster paper, and a selection of beans,
uncooked rice, popcorn, or gravel, students can enjoy the same
rain sounds that Jack and Annie hear by making a rain stick.
With one end of the tube closed with tape or stopper, have students
pour in selection of beans, etc. until tube is three-quarters
fall. After other end of tube is closed with stopper or tape,
students can wrap the tube in poster paper and decorate it with
an original rain-forest scene. When rain sticks are complete,
students can slowly turn them from end to end to simulate the
sounds of the rainforest.
 Check
out Gorilla: Fact
or Fiction
Answers
to Gorilla: Fact or Fiction:
I . Fiction
2. Fact
3. Fact
4. Fiction
5. Fact
6. Fiction
7. Fact
8. Fiction
9. Fiction
10. Fact
11. Fiction
12. Fact
13. Fact
14. Fiction
15. Fact
Teaching
ideas by Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D., professor of children's
literature at City University of New York, and educational and
editorial consultant to publishers of children's books.
Activities
for use with
Tigers
at Twilight
Animals
Well-Versed
As
a preface to Tigers at Twilight, Mary Pope Osborne quotes
from "The Tyger," a poem by William Blake, written
in 1794. Discuss this poem with the class and how it describes
the tigerÍs graceful beauty as well as his savage nature. Help
students to connect William BlakeÍs thoughts with those of the
hermit who notes, "beauty cannot live without ugliness"
(p. 64). Then have students write their own poems expressing
dualities perceived in an animal of their choice.
Teaching ideas
by Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D., professor of children's literature
at City University of New York, and educational and editorial
consultant to publishers of children's books.
Activities
for use with
Polar
Bears Past Beadtime
The Land Before Time
Frostbite in
the Arctic or snake bites in the Amazon are but a few of the
dangers faced by explorers on journeys to strange and exotic
lands. Those not assisted by Morgan's magic, like Jack and Annie,
must pack supplies and equipment for "survival." Separate students
into five explorer teams, each preparing for a 7-day expedition
to one of the habitats visited by Jack and Annie. Have students
develop an Expedition Checklist of things to pack, based on
animal life and geographic and climatic conditions, including
all food, clothes, medical supplies, camping gear and other
equipment. Have each team present its checklist to the class
and then discuss. Older students can estimate amounts of supplies
needed and approximate costs of their expeditions. DonÍt forget
to include travel costs in the absence of Magic Tree House availability!
Check out Morgan's
Message before each team begins its dangerous expedition.
Answer Key for
Morgan's Message
BE BRAVE. BE WISE. BE CAREFUL.
Teaching ideas
by Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D., professor of children's literature
at City University of New York, and educational and editorial
consultant to publishers of children's books.
Activities
for use with
Polar
Bears and the Arctic:
A
Nonfiction Companion to Polar Bears Past Bedtime
Getting
Started
Students
benefit from seeing that scientists and researchers start with
questions and find answers as well as answer questions that
other people give them. Here are a few questions to use as examples
when getting the students started:
- What
kinds of plants grow in the Arctic ?
- What
nutrients or qualities are needed in soil in order for plants
to be able to grow?
- Are
there ice caps other than the Polar Ice Caps?
- How
do Arctic animals get the water they need?
- Why
are the Northern Lights in different colors?
- Can
we see the Northern Lights where we live?
- What
materials are worn by native people, researchers, and adventure-seekers
around the world to stay warm? Are there any synthetic fabrics
that compare to animal skin or fur? What rating scale is used
to compare materials? How does your winter jacket fare on
the scale?
TIP:
This activity can be done as a class or as independent project.
How
Cold Is Cold?
Use
a thermometer to measure the temperature in your school. Then
use a number line to compare the temperature at school with
the lowest recorded temperature in the Artic. You can also compare
winter and summer temperatures. It is to the students’ benefit
to see that numbers are organized on vertical and horizontal
scales.
Extension
Activity : Find the daily temperature in the Artic and add
that number to your daily chart/graph. Use www.weather.com
and search for North Pole, AK. The site also provides average
daily temperatures for any given month to use for demonstration
purposes in the classroom.
TIP:
Begin with full class instruction. Offer an extension to students
who are ready/willing.
It’s
Dark Outside!
How
does the position of the earth/sun change the amount of daylight
you have in your community throughout the year? Compare the
average amount of daylight your area experiences during each
month of the year and the average amount of daylight in the
Arctic . Contact your local news/weather station to find information
specific to your region. Visit the Anthropolis
Web Site for information on the amount of daylight in the
Arctic on a daily basis as well.
TIP:
This activity can be done as a class or as independent project.
Debunking
Myths
The
Polar Bears and the Arctic research guide gives the
scientific explanation behind many myths we may have believed
about the Artic, its animals, and the people who live there.
Have students contrast myths with reality as they read through
the nonfiction text. You can distribute the Debunking Myths
reproducible activity sheets that will help students organize
their thoughts and findings.
Check
out the corresponding activity sheets:
Debunking
Myths: Part 1
Debunking
Myths: Part 2
TIP:
Read aloud as a class, or divide up and give one myth to each
student to report on, or use as an independent worksheet.
One
Thing Triggers Another: The Effect of Global Warming on Polar
Bears
Have
students describe global warming as a newscaster. They should
include a visual, such as a poster or flip book, to show the
causes and effects of global warming.
TIP:
This activity can be done as a class or as independent project.
Behind
the Northern Lights
In
this research guide, students learn what the Northern Lights
look like, as well as where and when they can be seen. Help
them use the information as part of a fictional story about
how the lights came to be or what they represent. Many cultures
over the years have created myths to explain what they see in
the sky. Encourage the students to be creative and tell a tale
that no one has thought of yet. Give them specific instructions
regarding the quality of writing mechanics you expect according
to their developmental levels.
Here
are a few resources to share with students:
TIP:
This activity can be done as a class or as independent project.
Exploring
Adaptations
The
objective of this activity is to have students classify and
compare animals based on their adaptations for life in the arctic.
This can be done through a few delivery options:
1.
Mystery Animal Game
Describe
an animal from Polar Bears and the Arctic one adaptation
at a time. Have students guess the animal you are thinking of.
To
Simplify :
- Create
a list of animals to choose from on the board. As students
guess, erase options that have been eliminated.
- Use
sentence strips or flashcards to show the adaptations as you
announce them to the class; post them on the board for reference.
- Have
students take notes from the book according to each animal
prior to playing the class review game. As adaptations are
announced, they can mark them off in their notebooks.
To
Increase Difficulty :
- Choose
whether or not to let the students guess as you read the list
of adaptations. Make guessing a high-stakes operation. Have
each student explain his or her rationale for the answer chosen.
2.
Interactive Bulletin Board
Option
1:
Post
the name of each adaptation
discussed in the research guide on one side of the bulletin
board. Post a labeled picture of each animal
discussed on the other side. Set students to the task of connecting
the animals and adaptations with string. Color-code the string
for each animal.
Option
2:
Post
pictures of the animals,
and ask students to select prepared adaptation cards (labels)
to post near each of the animal pictures.
Use
these printer-friendly sheets with the adaptation and animals
for your interactive bulletin board:
Exploring
Adaptations
Adaptations
Discussed in the Research Guide Include: |
Animals
in the Research Guide Include:
|
Fur
coat
Whiskers
Fur
changes color
Dig
under the snow
Fast
runners
Live
in groups
Smelly
Howl
Blubber
Eat
big meals
Sensitive
ears
Big
feet
Great
noses
Hibernation
Migration
Tusks
Hunt
at night
Hunt
during the day
Live
on land
Live
in the water
Heartbeat
slows
Sit
on ice floes
|
Polar
bear
Artic
ground squirrel
Arctic
hare
Arctic
tern
Gray
whale
Arctic
fox
Arctic
weasel
Lemming
Snowy
owl
Arctic
wolf
Wolverine
Narwhal
Seal
Walrus
|
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
for use with
Rain
Forests:
A
Nonfiction Companion to Afternoon on the
Amazon
Where in the
World Are the Rain Forests?
Post a world map in the room so children can see where
the rain forests are located, as well as their vastness. (Use
the map in the book as your source of information.) With your
class, locate and discuss the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer,
and the Tropic of Capricorn. Although there are rain forests
in other parts of the world, this book focuses mainly on the
tropical rain forests.
Just How Big Is the Rain Forest?
The biggest tropical rain forest is the Amazon Rain Forest in
South America. It is larger than the states of Texas, California,
Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Minnesota, and Alaska
combined. Using a map, have students locate and cut out the
outline of each of these states and place them together to visualize
the enormous area they are studying!
Who's at Home
in the Rain Forest? A Knock Knock Riddle Exercise
Have students research the different species of animals
in the rain forest and place them under the correct heading
using an Attribute Web. They then can create Knock Knock Riddles
for their favorite rain forest animal. Write three clues about
the animal on the back of a folded picture of a rain forest
animal. Write three clues about the animal on the back of a
folded picture of a rain forest animal. Cut out a rectangle
to show just the eyes of the animal. When you open the folded
paper, the whole animal is revealed.
How Does It
Measure Up?
Rain forest creatures and plants come in all sizes and shapes.
Have students choose an animal or plant and compare its height
with those of other classmates. Have a contest to discover which
is the largest, which is the smallest, etc. Ask students to
find other things in the classroom or on the playground that
are approximately the same height/length. This information can
be recorded on a class chat and used in word problems.
Once
Upon a Time
- Language Arts
- Theater Arts
Storytelling plays a major part in the rain forest. It
is a tradition that stories are passed down orally from generation
to generation by the Mbuti and Yanomami tribes. Have the students
pick a rain forest animal and incorporate the facts that they
have learned about the animal into a fiction story. The students
can celebrate their stories with a storytelling festival.
If Your Can't
Take the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen
The rain forest climate is very steamy. We use hundreds of products
from the rain forests each year, and some are found right in
our kitchens, or homes. Have students create a survey to find
these exotic products. The survey can be used in a spreadsheet
for date gathering or in creative writing on how these products
are used.
Save the Rain Forests!
- Language Arts
- Science
- Art
- Theater Arts
As a culminating activity, brainstorm with your students all
the different ways that the message "Save the Rain Forests!"
can be spread (radio, TV, magazines, billboards, bumper stickers,
speeches, interviews, etc.). Students can work alone or in groups
to develop a marketing strategy, including displaying posters
in the school and giving short speeches over the PA system or
to other classes.
Teaching ideas
provided by Jamay Johnson, second grade teacher, and Melinda
Murphy, media specialist, Reed Elementary School, Cypress Fairbranks
Independent School District, Houston, Texas.
Activities
for use with multiple titles
Endangered
Species
- Science
- Geography
- Math
- Language Arts
- Social Studies
1. In their
travels, Jack and Annie learn that many animals in our worlds
are threatened by extinction. Drawing on information from these
stories and other sources, have students identify animals categorized
as endangered species. Discuss with them factors that have contributed
to the declining numbers of these animals, such as poachers,
hunters, and disturbance of ecosytems. List ways in which these
animals may be protected. Assign different student groups to
further research interesting facts about one particular endangered
species. Using library and Internet resources, students may
include photos and drawings in reports for class presentation
and display.
2.
Save the Gorillas!: A Letter Campaign
Mountain gorillas like Bu-bu and
Ho-ho, and their families in Good Morning, Gorillas are
on the verge of extinction. Discuss with students the existing
threats to these magnificent, creatures, including poaching,
habitat destruction, and commercial hunting for meat, trophies,
and zoos. Have students mount a letter campaign in which they
write to animal protection groups such as The Bushmeat Crisis
Task Force, The Fund for Animals, or The Doris Day Animal League
on behalf of these apes and their habitat to encourage support
of the Great Ape Conservation Bill signed into law by President
Clinton in November 2000.
Check out the Habitat
Match Column
Answers
to Habitat Match Column
- Arctic
- African Plains
- India
- Rain Forest
- Australia
- Australia
- India
- Arctic
- Rain Forest
- African Plains
- Arctic
- Australia
- Rain Forest
- India
- African Plains
Cultural
Encounters
In
addition to learning a great deal about different animals, Jack
and Annie also become acquainted with diverse peoples who inhabit
our world, such as the African Masai, the Australian Aborigines,
the native Arctic people, the Hindus of India. Add to these
the Yanomamo people of the Amazon Rain Forest, and you are ready
to divide the class into five cultural teams. Using the library
and Internet resources, each group should describe, as much
as possible, beliefs, foods, customs, art, and myths particular
to each group in illustrated reports for class presentation
and display. Students may then role play "cultural encounters"
between members of these different groups, expressing curiosity
and interest in each other.
Check
out Who Turned
the Lights On? and bring the Northern Lights to the
blank skies.
Teaching ideas
by Rosemary B. Stimola, Ph.D., professor of children's literature
at City University of New York, and educational and editorial
consultant to publishers of children's books.
Certificate
of Achievement
*
All activities require Adobe
Acrobat
|
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