Medieval Lesson for the family

I'm on a trip to Seattle, WA to visit my daughter. I checked out several audio books to listen to in the car. One was Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz.

This book is a series of 22 monologues written by Ms. Schlitz for her students. Each character tells a story about his/her life and are good portraits of what life was like in medieval England. I found it quite fascinating.

This summer as you vacation with your family, listen to audio books to help pass the time. The stories can provide opportunities for family bonding, laughter, discussions and education.

Travel safely.

Summer reading challenges

With school out for the summer, how will you keep your children reading? Set a good example. Find some time to relax and curl up with a good book in the backyard. Be sure to visit your local library and learn about summer reading challenges offered for both children and adults.

When my children were young they were allowed their very own library card when they could write their name well enough to sign their card. Our library had no limit on the number of books one could check out, so the limit I set was, "as many as you can carry". We would take home 4 stacks of books, spread them out on the cool wood floor of our living room and read the afternoon away.

Today I checked the internet for some summer reading programs. The Association for Library Services to Children has a list of Notable books. It includes many award winners.

About.com features the "Top 10 Summer Reading List for Kids and Teens: 2010".

Both Borders and Barnes and Noble have summer reading challenges for children that include opportunities for them to earn a free book.

Make reading a priority for your children this summer with quality books and memories they will treasure.

John Newbery Awards

My friend James Burke, asked me "what is the John Newbery Award". This Wikipedia site contains a great explanation. It also includes a complete list of the Medal and Honor Award books, a wonderful reading list.

Even though the official Awards are decided upon by a panel of librarians, each year there are Mock Newbery Award events that ask for participation from readers in the general public to read and choose their favorite books.

Here are three Mock Newbery Award sites that you can participate in throughout the year to choose the Mock Award winners for 2011. Allen County Public Library for teachers, librarians and adults, goodreads, and Wake County Library, a student club that welcomes participation from children outside their county. This could also be a model for a club at your school.

These all provide wonderful opportunities for lovers of children's literature to read and learn about books published this year.

Happy reading.

Newbery Award winners

I'm working on a new goal. I want to read every book that has received the John Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature. I recently finished Holes, by Louis Sachar. Now I'm re-reading Charlottes' Web by E. B. White.

How many have you read? What ones? What is your favorite so far?

Happy reading.

Books for Boys

Are you looking for books of interest to boys?

Here are three books that I think boys in a wide range of ages would enjoy: Crispin: the Cross of Lead by Avi, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick, and The Heart of a Shepard by Roseanne Perry. All are available at www.amazon.com.

These books each tell the story of a young boy during a time of warfare and how it affects their lives.

Some possible topics for discussion or further studies:

1. the country in which the story takes place
2. the time period of the story
3. what kinds of weapons would have been used at that time
4. what medical treatment would be available for wounded soldiers
5. the relationship of the main character to his family and how it moves the plot

Teachers Resource

In the reference section of the children's library I found the Children's Book Award Handbook, by Diana Marks. I spent some time reviewing it and found that it has wonderful lesson plans to encourage young readers.

Please let me know what activities you are doing in your class to make books come alive for your students.

Niagara Falls Study Questions

I'm writing a book about Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive. She was a 63 year old school teacher.

Here are some study questions and activites to learn more about Niagara Falls and its daredevils.

1. Why would Annie Taylor attempt such a feat?
2. Go to http://bay-journal.com/bay/1he/people/fp-taylor-annie.html and read the Bay Journal entry for October 27, 1901.
3. Annie Edson Taylor lived in Bay City, Michigan when she went over the falls. This was booming town with lumber and shipping as growing industries. Draw a map of the city in 1901.
   
4. Who are some of the other daredevils that have attempted to go over the falls? What did they ride in?
5. What other death defying feats did people perform at Niagara Falls?
6. Study the history of Goat Island located between the US and Canadian falls.
7. How were the falls formed?
8. Read Field Trip to Niagara Falls by Geronimo Stilton for a fun adventure to Niagara Falls.
9. What year was the flow of the water over Niagara Fall stopped due to ice jams?
10. Look up the history of the Maid of the Mist boat that takes visitors to the base of the falls. Draw a picture of the boat.
    

I hope you have fun with these questions about one of our most favorite U. S. National Parks. Please share with me the activities you followed and some facts that you learned in your research about Annie Edson Taylor.

First Post

I welcome you to this exciting new adventure.

My blogs will include lesson plans, writing prompts and other activities to make reading and writing fun for children of all ages. Please help me build a community of story lovers by responding to my posts.

I've created this new blog with the encouragement of my wonderful writing teacher Linda Clare, author of The Fence My Father Built.