E-Library Activities
Want to Practice your Reading skills and have fun?
Week of March 16th - March 22nd
The Brillant Deep by Kate Messner.
Challenge: Make a poster or drawing to teach people about how we can all help coral and other sea creatures!
Resources:
Coral Restoration Foundation- https://www.coralrestoration.org/
NASA's Kids' Climate Page- https://climatekids.nasa.gov/coral-bleaching/
Smithsonian Ocean -https://ocean.si.edu/conservation/get-involved/helping-kids-help-ocean
Comparative Mythology Lesson with Tracey Baptiste.
Challenge: Compare and contrast different mythologies have traits in common and encourages kids to find those similarities in the mythologies you come across.
Resources:
Jumbies Field Guide- https://traceybaptiste.com/downloads-for-teachers
Jasmine Toguchi Flamingo Keeper by Debbi Michiko Florence.
Challenge: Write a story that starts out - "I wish that..."
Let's Invent with Frankie Sparks by Megan Frazer Blackmore.
Challenge: Choose a pet you want as a class pet. Does it fit into the parameters from the book? Can you think of a problem to solve? Brainstorm a solution using the design process and build your solution.
Make a Diorama - Using a shoebox or another box recreate a scene from the book using things from around the house such as scrap paper and small toys.
Create a Story Map- Draw 6 boxes on a sheet of paper. Put one of the following in each box: Title and author, characters, action, setting, problem and solution. Write/ draw about the parts of the books in each box.
Write a Letter- Write a letter to your teacher or best friend telling him/her if you liked/disliked this book and why.
Create a Play- Either write or act out what this story would look like as a live action play.
Compare and Contrast- Create two circles that intertwine and make a list of how two books are different in the outer circle and how they are the same in the overlapping circles.
What's Next - Write about what you think would happen next if the story continued.
Story Chart- Divide a sheet of paper into 3 parts. Choose an important event from the beginning, middle and end. Write/draw about the part.
Read a Story!
Read your library book or any book you have in your house. Reading is already awesome but to make it even more fun consider…
- Calling/video chatting a friend or family member to surprise them with a story
- Read to a pet (don’t be offended if your pet doesn’t seem too interested!)
- Is it a beautiful day? Take your book outside and read while getting some fresh air.
Explore Me! - I am attaching the link to some of the websites we use in school. Some of these sites have wonderful stories that you can enjoy online while others are databases that you can use to discover even more about topics that you are interested in. Please do not publicly post the passwords for these sites
Username: kaiseres
Password: cowboys
1. Pebble Go - http://bit.ly/2U1h3DK
2. Tumble Books- http://bit.ly/3a47Txr
3. True Flix- http://bit.ly/3d2Nrij
4. Learn 360- http://bit.ly/33j6VL3
Username: S#ID
Password: Last 4 digits of #ID
5. OverDrive Read - http://bit.ly/3d0v7Gr
Library Skills - Below are library-skills based worksheets that you can print and complete.
Scholastic Learn at Home- Scholastic has released a series of really interesting at-home lessons. They are sorted by grade level. Bookflix is usually a paid subscription, but it is temporarily free to support all of our students at home (just choose your grade then follow the instructions)
Story Time with Ryan and Craig- I hope that you are enjoying your extra time at home, but I know this may feel a little scary and stressful. If you need a laugh, check out some of the stories from these kid-friendly comedians, Ryan and Craig.
April 13th - April 17th
The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson
(4th/5th Grade)
Challenge: Find out who Ailey Benjamin Lane is named after. (Hint: His first name comes from an African-American dancer & choreographer with the initials A.A. His middle name comes from an African-American farmer & naturalist who searches out the stars and who created an almanac in 1792. This person’s initials are B.B.) Who could they be?
Tips and Tricks to Draw Anything by Jarrett Lerner.
Challenge: Draw your own robotic creature.
Someday is Now by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.
Challenge: Think, Research and Present -What are the issues that you care about? How can you use your power for justice?”
Resources:
Zinn Education Project-
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/katz-drugstore-sit-ins/
Counter Histories-
Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani.
Challenge: Write a diary entry as your character of choice.
Character Analysis- Choose a character from the story and draw a picture of the character in the center of the paper. Around the character write/ draw about the character's personality traits, actions, special words, thoughts, feelings, problems, challenges and accomplishments.
Create a Comic Strip - Choose a scene in the book and create a four panel comic strip about the scene. Include colorful pictures with dialogue balloons for what each character is saying.
Make a Connections Map - Choose parts of the book that can be compared to the real world, another book or yourself. Write/ drawn the connections.
Make a New Book Cover- Create new cover for the book with your own artwork and blurb (short summary).
April 27th - May 1st
Ghost by Jason Reynolds (4th/ 5th Grade)
Challenge: Imagine ways to break world records at home by writing, drawing and creating posters.
Resources:
Guinness Book of World Records Kids -
https://kids.guinnessworldrecords.com/activities/try-this-at-home/
Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem by Kate Messner.
Challenge: Learn more about invasive species. How would you bring awareness to the problem. Create an advertisement.
Resources:
National Geographic -
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/invasive-species/
National Wildlife Foudation-
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species
Conservationist Kids-
https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/c4k0418invasives.pdf
How to Draw a Chinese Dragon by Grace Lin
Challenge: Do you know the difference between European and Chinese dragons? This is your opportunity to draw a Chinese Dragon!
We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
Challenge: Brainstorm. How many ways do we use water everyday? How can we protect water reserves for the future?
May 4th - May 8th
Where the Heart Is by Jo Knowles.
Challenge: Write a story about the time you met your best friend.
Resources:
Jo Knowles Website -
How to Illustrate a Book Cover with Kelley McMorris.
Challenge: Design a new cover for one of your favorite books.
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
Challenge: What’s in your notebook? Take a little time to write in it today.
Stranded by Chris Tebbetts.
Challenge: Choose a wilderness setting of your own – the Arctic, the desert, the rainforest – and imagine you’re stranded there. How will you survive? Write an imaginary journal documenting your adventure.
Resources:
Survival Skills-
May 11th - 15th
Make a boat that can really float. How can you modify your design so that it would be a fun bath toy?
Fold and fly different styles of paper airplanes. How can the science of flight help you design a better plane?
Look closely at various kitchen tools. How do you think they work? How could they be improved?
Transform a room of your house into a castle! What features do you think are most important in real castle designs?
May 18th -May 22nd
Create the ultimate creative rolling car that can go down a ramp. How many different ideas can you try?
Create a gap that is about 12 inches across. Use different materials to create a simple bridge. How can you determine which bridge is the strongest?
Do batteries really power the world? Go on a scavenger hunt to find things powered by batteries. What kind of batteries can you find?
Transform a sheet of paper into a fan. How many different designs can you come up with? How else can you transform paper?
May 25th - May 28th
Discover how LEGO bricks are made. Can you use your LEGO to make one really big LEGO brick?
Plan and make a model playground. Who will you make a model playground for?
Build a car or house entirely out of edible materials. Consider having an edible car race
Experiment with freezing different mixtures of water and salt. What do you notice about the amount of salt and the time it takes to freeze?