Facing Fear of the Dark with Heightened Senses

With his Zapato Power sneakers, Freddie Ramos can jump high, hear from far away, and run at top speed. But even a boy with superpowers can be afraid of the dark. When a big storm takes out the electricity at his apartment building and most of the city, Freddie is forced to face his fears. 

A special set of night goggles helps Freddie until he realizes that a friend needs them more than he does. At that point, Freddie relies on what he learned in science class about the five senses. If one sense is not working, you can use the other ones. In the climax of the story, Freddie uses a heightened sense of hearing to navigate in the dark and rescue an elderly neighbor.

Read Freddie Ramos Sees in the Dark with your students. Discuss their own fears and how they have handled them. Ask if they have ever used their sense of hearing or touch to find their way in the dark. Discuss how each of our five senses provides important information.

Writing Prompt: If you could invent a tool to help you face a fear, what would it be? What would this invention do? How would it work? Would you try to sell your invention? If so, how would you advertise it?      

Freddie Ramos Sees in the Dark is book #14 in the Zapato Power series. In each book, Freddie uses his superpowered sneakers to solve a mystery and help his neighbors. Check out the other titles in the series at Albert Whitman, the publisher’s website. 

BIO: Jacqueline Jules is the author of fifty books for young readers including the Zapato Power series, the Sofia Martinez series, My Name is Hamburger, The Porridge-Pot Goblin, Never Say a Mean Word Again, and Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence. The resources page of her website has many activities for educators and parents. Visit www.jacquelinejules.com 

Experimenting with Imagination

guest post by Sue Fliess

The title of my new book Mary Had A Little Lab came to me in a dream—really. So when I visit schools and talk about this book, I tell them that they can dream up any story they want—or any machine they’d like—the only limit is their imagination. 

 My book is about Mary, a scientist and inventor, who makes her own dreams come true. She doesn’t have friends, so she decides she needs a pet. But rather than buy one, she makes one! A sheep, of course.  Once she makes a sheep, she is no longer lonely, and it soon allows her to make friends. Then her friends want sheep as well. But her Sheepinator goes haywire and starts making so many sheep that she and her new friends have to solve this new problem. The story has several problems that Mary and her friends must solve before the end. It’s like any experiment—things don’t always go right the first time. It takes many tries. Just as this book did to get it right!

One fun activity I do with students when I visit schools is to have them line up and recreate the Sheepinator from my book. They each have to choose what function they serve, what simple machine or movement their body must do to perform that function, and what sound it makes. They go in order, until, at last, a sheep pops out in the end—one student getting to be the sheep (I have a costume for this part, but that’s not necessary!). This gets them thinking about machine parts, how things work, and how things must work together.

Another activity is to have students create their own version of a Sheepinator. Draw a schematic on paper, then build it with arts and crafts and explain how it works.

A third, and maybe my favorite, it to ask students “If you could construct a machine to make anything you wanted, what would it be and what would it make?”  This allows them total freedom. Maybe they want to create an ice-cream-o-scooper, which makes any flavor of ice cream with the push of a button. Or a Cash-o-matic that spits out money. They can draw it, explain how it works, and even create a 3-D model of it, if they like.

Let the inventions begin! 

Sue Fliess ("fleece") is the author of numerous children's books including A Fairy Friend, Calling All Cars, Robots, Robots Everywhere!, The Hug Book, Tons of Trucks and Shoes for Me!  Sue lives with her family and a Labrador named Charlie in Northern Virginia. For more information about Sue and to check out her books and song parodies, go to http://www.suefliess.com/

Peep and Egg: I'm Not Trick or Treating

by Laura Gehl

My newest picture book with illustrator Joyce Wan, Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating, is the second book in the Peep and Egg series. Unlike Peep and the other farm animals, poor Egg isn’t excited about Halloween. Egg is terrified of witches, mummies, and vampires; there is absolutely NO WAY that Egg is going trick or treating!

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating can be a fun writing prompt in your classroom.  After you read the book aloud, here are a few ideas to try with your students:

1)    Peep and Egg wear coordinated Halloween costumes. Peep is a butterfly, while Egg is a caterpillar. Challenge your students to make a list of other coordinated Halloween costumes that would be fun for siblings or friends to wear. Some possibilities include salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard, or milk and cookie.  For an extra challenge, see if students can come up with ideas that work especially well for an older sibling and a younger sibling, the way a butterfly and a caterpillar work for Peep and Egg.  A seed and a flower, a tadpole and a frog…how many examples can your students think of?

2)    Peep tells Egg Halloween jokes to help Egg feel less scared. What other strategies can your students think of for helping a friend or younger sibling who finds Halloween frightening?

3)    As a class, brainstorm a list of “scary” Halloween characters—monsters, zombies, etc. Then work with your students to make each character less scary by adding nontraditional traits. How about a monster who loves to sing songs from Disney movies, or a zombie who wears a rainbow bikini? 

4)    For many kids, the best part of trick or treating is the CANDY.  Ask your students to invent their own Best Halloween Candy Ever.  Would it be a dark chocolate bar studded with white chocolate chips in the shape of a skull? Or a lollipop that looks like an eyeball, with an oozing red center that tastes like cherry cola?  Anything goes!

5)    Even though many kids find trick or treating fun, there are plenty of kids who are scared by Halloween in general and trick or treating in particular. Can your students make a list of other activities that are fun for some kids but scary for others? Rock climbing? Horseback riding? Ziplining?

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating reinforces the message introduced in Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching…that sometimes all we need to overcome our fears is someone we love by our side.  Happy early Halloween!

www.lauragehl.com

FERRIS WHEEL DREAMS

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

Have you seen a toy or gadget and thought, “I could make a better one than that!”  That was exactly what George Ferris thought when he lay in the grass as a boy watching a waterwheel move.

“The boy watched, fascinated. Maybe there is another way to make a wheel go around, he thought.” 

Betsy Harvey Kraft tells Ferris’ story in The Fantastic Ferris Wheel: The Story of Inventor George Ferris.

Indeed there was. Ferris became an engineer and designed a spectacular wheel that would carry people over the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

“George must be out of his mind,” thought other engineers when they saw that George intended for people to ride passenger cars attached to his giant wheel.  The public wasn’t sure either.  “Some people were terrified just looking at it. Others couldn’t wait to ride on it.”

Thousands did indeed ride the wheel on the first day. “One thrill was enough for some folks; others raced to the end of the ticket line for another ride.”

There are several ways to turn the exciting (and sometimes sad) story of George Ferris and his invention into a writing workshop.

1) Ask students what they would like to invent.

•        Write a request for money or supplies to create your invention. Explain what the invention does and why it is worth spending money to make it - especially someone else’s money.  Write a persuasive essay or letter to a parent, a local business or even a big foundation.

2) Think about the people who had a chance to ride that very first Ferris wheel.

•        Would you have been terrified just looking at it? Or would you be first in line to ride on the Ferris wheel?  Explain why (or draw a picture of yourself near or on the Ferris wheel).

3) George Ferris’ first wheel was moved from Chicago to St Louis for another world’s fair in 1904, but after that fair, there was “no new home for the wheel. It was destroyed with dynamite and sold for scrap.”

•        What do you think should have happened to the first Ferris wheel instead?

Important inventions often start with dreams. “As long as there are dreamers like George Ferris ready to make big plans, the world can look forward to wonderous new inventions like his.”

http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya

MACHINE DREAMS

by Alison Ashley Formento

Machines are an important part of our lives and they are usually built using rocks and minerals, as I learned in researching my book These Rocks Count! We use computers, phones, and televisions on a daily basis. Doctors and dentists use machines to help keep us healthy. Cars, buses, planes, and trains are machines to help us get where we need to go each day. In winter, we rely on snowplows to help keep our roads and highways clean of snow and ice. Early snowplows were wooden and attached to horse drawn wagons to help push snow aside. In the early 1900’s, engineers wanted a way to help New Yorkers in the winter and designed a shovel type blade, strong and wide enough to clear city streets.

Most great inventions, like the snowplow began with an idea. Some ideas start as drawings scribbled on paper. Many inventions are the result of careful planning and experimentation, like the light bulb. A machine is usually useful, but it is often fun, too, like a giant roller coaster.

Machine Dreams: Writing Prompt

What machine do you wish existed? What if there was a machine to brush your teeth or make your bed? Or one to bring you ice cream just by thinking of your favorite flavor? Use your imagination to write about the machine of your dreams.

• What machine would help you in your daily life?

• Draw a sketch of the machine you imagine building.

• Name your machine.

• What exactly does your machine do?

• Write a description of your machine. Is it made of metal or plastic? Or some other material? Is it a particular color? Does it have many pieces to make it run?

• How does your machine operate? Does it have buttons, levers, or a keypad?

• Is your machine useful for everyone or only something you will use?

• How will your machine help you and others who use it?

www.alisonashleyformento.com

YOUR OWN WEATHER MACHINE: FUN WITH PERSUASIVE WRITING

by Jacqueline Jules

Wishing you were in Hawaii, but can’t pay for those plane tickets? Just bring that wonderful weather to your local area with just a click of a button. That heavy rainfall will transport to Hawaii, or wherever you want, and that wonderful weather will transport to you! Get the Weather Mover Máquinas today! –Laila

Looking for a lesson that combines science, persuasive writing, and fun? Then look no further than the Weather Machine Lesson developed by fourth grade teacher extraordinaire, Jessica Barber.

I had the pleasure of visiting Jessica’s classroom and seeing the pride and excitement over the fantastic Weather Machines her students had created.

Is it too bright outside? Are the clouds that are blocking the sun annoying you? Well then if this is the case the cloud controllinator 8,674 will come in handy. The cloud controllinator 8,674 (CC 8,674) can make or remove clouds in the sky. You have the option of storm clouds, rain clouds or no storm clouds.—Avery

Jessica begins her lesson with a readaloud from an out-of-print book called Everyone Always Complains About the Weather by Truman Vega. However, your own favorite picture book about inventions should do just fine. The idea is to get your students thinking about inventions, particularly fanciful ones.

Next, Jessica tells her students they will be creating their own weather machine. She lets them begin formulating ideas by drawing a picture. Here is an example from a student named Catherine who created the Weather Wisher 2000.

Starting with the fact that this machine only costs $20.00, and if you act now you can get 50% off! Also every customer gets free shipping and handling. It also is solar powered, so it doesn’t make your electric bill go off the chart. But it will still work perfectly when it's raining because it stores half its energy, when it’s charging. — Catherine

The following day, Jessica gives her students a goal. You must describe your machine in a way that will make others want to buy it. The class discusses commercials. She shows a few examples. The commercials for products only available on TV may stimulate the most entertaining pieces.

For a payment of only 75 dollars plus 12 dollars for shipping and handling and an extra 20 dollars, cause we say so. If you chip in a donation of any amount we’ll throw in a free Spongebob limited edition movie! What a snag! –Abi

To develop ideas, Jessica gives her students a graphic organizer to list positive features of their weather invention and ways to refute any possible arguments against its purchase.

You may be wondering, will it run out of fuel eventually? Well your answer is no, the Storm Master 7006 does not even take fuel! It is eco friendly and is charged with electricity. With the plug we provide for you, just plop it into an electrical socket and the power will be up in under 24 hours! It also holds its energy for a week! But if the Storm Master 7006 is low in power while in the air, don't worry! It gains electricity from lightning strikes by redirecting the strikes to its beacon up top, re-powering it completely from a single strike! – Niko

The graphic organizer includes boxes for students to put an introductory paragraph with an interesting lead, the body of the story, and a concluding statement. Jessica spends at least a day on practicing and sharing introductions and day on strong conclusions. Students practice multiple versions of introductions and conclusions, using the class feedback to help to pick their favorite one. 

With the Storm Master 7006, the gloominess of the rain will vanish! Guaranteed a rainbow after every storm!!!!—Niko

Try this lesson today! You won’t be sorry!

www.jacquelinejules.com