Rural Exceptional Student Talent Opportunities, Resources, & Experiences
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BOOK SERIES - EXTENSIONS
Geronimo Stilton – World Explorer
Geronimo is a nervous, mild-mannered mouse who prefers a quiet life, yet keeps getting into faraway adventures with Thea, Trap, and Benjamin in both fictional and real locations.
These extension activities are based on the book series about Geronimo Stilton's adventures.
Geronimo Stilton – World Explorer
Focus: Reading comprehension, geography, creative writing
Anchor Activities: Mapping adventures, travel brochures, Geronimo-style story writing.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: How does Geronimo’s personality affect the way he solves problems? Would a different character make different choices?
Evaluate: Which real-world place from Geronimo’s adventures would you most/least want to visit and why?
Create: Write a “missing adventure” where Geronimo travels to a place not in the books. Add puns, fonts, and illustrations.
Theme: Around the World with Geronimo
Core Activities:
Map out Geronimo’s adventures on a giant world map (geography integration).
Research one of the real places from the books and create a “mouse-sized” travel brochure.
Write a “Geronimo-style” story with lots of fonts, puns, and illustrations.
Extension: Build a diorama or Minecraft version of a setting.
Big Idea: Stories can inspire us to learn about the real world.
Student Guide
🧀 Unit 1: Geronimo Stilton – World Explorer
🔵 Must Do
Read/listen to assigned Geronimo chapter.
Journal: Answer one DOK question about Geronimo’s choices.
Create a mini travel brochure for a real place Geronimo visits.
🟢 May Do
🗺️ Make a mouse-sized world map of Geronimo’s trips.
🎨 Draw a comic page of your favorite scene.
🎙️ Record a “mouse news report” about his latest adventure.
📊 Research a country Geronimo visited and share 3 facts.
🎲 Invent a travel game Geronimo could play on his journeys.
⭐ Bonus
Create a “missing adventure” where Geronimo travels to Whitman, Nebraska.
Make a 3D model (LEGO, cardboard, Minecraft) of one book setting.
I Survived – Heroes in History
The I Survived book series by Lauren Tarshis is a collection of historical fiction stories written for young readers. Each book follows a child who experiences and survives a real-life disaster, such as the sinking of the Titanic, the attacks on September 11, or the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The stories combine fast-paced adventure with historical details, helping readers understand what it might have been like to live through these events. The main characters show courage, quick thinking, and resilience as they face danger and overcome challenges. Overall, the series teaches history in an exciting and personal way while inspiring readers to be brave in difficult situations.
I Survived – Heroes in History
Focus: History, resilience, science connections
Anchor Activities: Compare fiction with history, survival science experiments, “What if I survived…?” narrative.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: What survival strategies are most common across different disasters?
Evaluate: Which survival strategy would be most effective in your chosen event, and why?
Create: Invent a survival guide for kids: choose a disaster, explain warning signs, and design 3 survival tips with visuals.
· Theme: Facing Danger, Showing Courage
· Core Activities:
o Read or listen to an I Survived book and identify survival strategies.
o Compare fictional survival stories with real accounts of historical events.
o Create a “What if I survived…?” personal narrative (choice of event: volcano, shipwreck, blizzard, etc.).
· Extension: Science tie-in: build a simple model (volcano, earthquake table, storm in a bottle).
· Big Idea: Stories of survival help us understand history and human resilience.
Student Guide
🌋 Unit 2: I Survived – Heroes in History
🔵 Must Do
Read/listen to assigned chapters.
Journal: Compare survival strategies in 2 events.
Write your own “I Survived” survival story.
🟢 May Do
🧪 Do a simple science experiment (volcano, storm, etc.) and explain.
🎨 Draw a survival kit with 5 must-have items.
🎙️ Create a “radio warning announcement” for an incoming disaster.
📊 Graph data: number of people affected in two disasters.
🧠 Write 3 clues about a disaster for someone to guess.
⭐ Bonus
Interview a family member: “What’s the biggest challenge you survived?”
Make a board game called Survive It!
My Weird School - Humor and Writing
The My Weird School series by Dan Gutman is about a boy named A.J. and his very unusual teachers and classmates. Each book introduces a new teacher who does funny, silly, and often strange things at school. The stories are filled with jokes, wild adventures, and lots of laughs. This series makes school seem wacky and fun while showing that learning can happen in surprising ways.
My Weird School – Humor & Writing
Focus: Writing craft, humor, creativity
Anchor Activities: Humor study, Weird Journal, collaborative class story.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: What techniques does Dan Gutman use to make ordinary events funny?
Evaluate: Which is harder to write: a funny story or a serious one? Why?
Create: Write your own “Weird School” chapter featuring a teacher at your school with an unusual talent or flaw.
· Theme: What Makes a Story Funny?
· Core Activities:
· Study Dan Gutman’s humor techniques (exaggeration, silly names, surprise endings).
· Keep a “Weird Journal” of funny or unusual real-life observations.
· Write & illustrate a class “Weird School” story set in their own school.
· Extension: Record a podcast episode reading aloud their own silly story.
· Big Idea: Humor is a powerful tool for storytelling and creativity.
Student Guide
😂 Unit 3: My Weird School – Humor & Writing
🔵 Must Do
Read one Weird School chapter.
Journal: Write about something funny that happened this week.
Write a new chapter featuring a silly teacher.
🟢 May Do
🎨 Create a silly illustration in Gutman’s style.
🎙️ Record yourself reading a funny passage.
🎲 Invent a weird classroom game (ex: dodgeball with silly rules).
🧠 Write a “weird” riddle or joke to share.
🗺️ Make a map of “Weird School” with all the zany spots.
⭐ Bonus
Write a Weird School scene starring your principal or teacher.
Make a comic strip about a day when the rules are upside down.
Mysteries – Logic & Problem Solving
The Cam Jansen mystery series follows Jennifer “Cam” Jansen, a clever girl with a photographic memory who can remember anything she sees by saying “Click!” like a camera. With the help of her best friend Eric, Cam uses her sharp memory to solve puzzling mysteries in her school and community. Each book presents a new case, often involving missing objects, sneaky suspects, or tricky clues. The series encourages readers to think logically, pay attention to details, and enjoy the fun of solving mysteries alongside Cam.
Focus: Critical thinking, inference, writing
Anchor Activities: Mystery genre study, clue-writing, escape box or puzzle design.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: How do authors hide clues without making the solution too obvious?
Evaluate: Which is more important in solving a mystery: logic, memory, or observation? Defend your answer.
Create: Write a mini-mystery with hidden clues for others to solve.
· Theme: Solving the Case
· Core Activities:
· Read beginner mysteries (A to Z Mysteries, Cam Jansen).
· Learn mystery “tropes”: suspects, clues, red herrings, solutions.
· Write their own mini-mystery (with hidden clues for classmates to solve).
· Extension: Create a “mystery escape box” with riddles and puzzles.
· Big Idea: Mysteries build logic, inference, and critical thinking.
Student Guide
🔍 Unit 4: Mysteries – Detectives & Problem Solving
🔵 Must Do
Read/listen to a mystery story.
Journal: Write about the clues that helped solve it.
Create your own mini-mystery story.
🟢 May Do
🧩 Hide 3 clues around the classroom/home for others to solve.
🎨 Draw a “suspect lineup” with details.
🎲 Make a riddle or logic puzzle.
🎙️ Record a detective “interview” with a suspect.
🧠 Compare two mysteries: How were the clues different?
⭐ Bonus
Build a simple “escape box” with locks/puzzles.
Design a Detective Badge with your name & motto.
Harry Potter – Magic Meets STEM
The Harry Potter series follows a young wizard, Harry, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he belongs to the magical world. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry makes close friends and powerful enemies while learning spells, potions, and the truth about his past. Each book builds on his struggle against the dark wizard Voldemort, who seeks to control the wizarding world. The series combines friendship, courage, and the fight between good and evil in an exciting magical adventure.
Focus: Imagination + science inquiry
Anchor Activities: Science of potions/physics/biology, creature design, sorting quiz.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: How do magical elements in Harry Potter compare to real science?
Evaluate: If you could invent one magical spell to solve a real-world problem, what would it be? Explain its impact.
Create: Design your own magical creature with a fact sheet explaining its special adaptations and how it survives.
· Theme: The Science of Magic
· Core Activities:
· Listen to a chapter and identify magical elements.
· Translate “magic” into science: potions = chemistry (safe kitchen experiments), flying = physics, invisibility = camouflage in nature.
· Design their own “magical creature” with a fact sheet explaining its adaptations.
· Extension: Write a Hogwarts “sorting quiz” for classmates.
· Big Idea: Imagination + science makes wonder.
Student Guide
🧙 Unit 5: Harry Potter – Magic Meets STEM
🔵 Must Do
Listen to a Harry Potter chapter.
Journal: Compare one magical spell with real-world science.
Design your own magical creature fact sheet.
🟢 May Do
🧪 Try a safe kitchen experiment as a “potion.”
🎨 Draw your Hogwarts House crest (or invent your own house).
🎲 Create a wizard duel card game.
🧠 Write a riddle that could be a “common room password.”
🎙️ Record a Sorting Hat poem for your family.
⭐ Bonus
Invent a new spell that solves a real-world problem.
Write a Hogwarts “student handbook” rule page.
Sports Superstars
There are different sports series that explores the lives and careers of some of the greatest athletes alive.
https://bellwethermedia.com/shop/show/12815
Focus: Math, biography, design thinking
Anchor Activities: Stat tracking/graphing, sports biographies, compare/contrast rules, create a new sport.
DOK 3–4 Questions:
Analyze: How does teamwork affect whether a team wins or loses?
Evaluate: Which athlete shows the most perseverance, and how do you know?
Create: Invent a brand-new sport: rules, playing field, scoring, uniforms. Present to peers/family for feedback.
· Theme: Football & Beyond
· Core Activities:
o Track Detroit Lions stats for a week and make simple graphs.
o Read a sports biography (age-appropriate, like Who Was… series).
o Compare football with another sport: rules, strategy, teamwork.
· Extension: Design a “new sport” with invented rules, field, and uniforms.
· Big Idea: Sports teach teamwork, resilience, and creativity.
Student Guide
🏈 Unit 6: Sports Superstars – Teamwork & Perseverance
🔵 Must Do
Track a Detroit Lions game and graph the score.
Journal: Write about an athlete who showed perseverance.
Design your own new sport with rules & a playing field.
🟢 May Do
🎨 Draw a trading card of your favorite athlete.
🎙️ Record a play-by-play of a famous game.
📊 Compare stats of two players and decide who’s better (with evidence).
🎲 Create a “sports trivia” game for family/friends.
🧠 Write about how sports and teamwork connect to real life.
⭐ Bonus
Invent a mascot and cheer for your new sport.
Make a mini highlight reel of your own sports moves.
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