Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Kim Long’s website: https://kimlongauthor.com/

About Kim Long: https://kimlongauthor.com/about-me/

Activities & Resources:

Author’s Activity Kit: https://kimlongauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Activity-Kit-for-LEXI-MAGILL.pdf

Author’s Curriculum Guide: https://kimlongauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lexi-Magill-Curriculum-Guide.pdf

Teleportation

Quantum Teleportation Facts: https://kids.kiddle.co/Quantum_teleportation

Is Teleportation Possible? https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300854&org=NSF&from=news#:~:text=In%20the%20quantum%20world%2C%20teleportation,to%20the%20two%20entangled%20particles.

Will We Ever Be Able to Teleport? (5:37): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMdO5KyjwAw

Places Team RAM visited

Take a Tour of Linderhof Castle: https://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/palace/rooms.htm

Virtual Tour of Versailles:https://artsandculture.google.com/project/versailles-never-seen-before

Miller Park Sausage Races (2:37): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_3uwAudwA :

People Included in the Tournament Clues

Grace Hopper: https://www.energy.gov/articles/five-fast-facts-about-technologist-grace-hopper#:~:text=Grace%20Murray%20Hopper%20was%20one,programming%20code%20to%20machine%20language.

Alan Turing: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Alan-Turing/625453#:~:text=Alan%20Turing%20was%20a%20British,code%20Germany%20used%20to%20communicate.

MakerSpace Activities:

Build your own model of one of da Vinci’s flying machines using popsicle sticks, straws, or other recycled materials. Use his original sketches for inspiration: https://www.leonardodavinci.net/flyingmachine.jsp

A word scramble was one of the clues used in the tournament. Use this website to create your own word scramble: https://www.education.com/worksheet-generator/reading/word-scramble/

Using details from the book or your own ideas, design a teleportation station with pencil and paper or Google Drawings.

Use Google Maps or Google Earth to track the places Team RAM traveled during the teleportation tournament.

Discussion Questions:

Would you want to participate in a teleportation tournament? Why or why not?

What talents or skills could you contribute to a teleportation tournament team?

What supplies would you take with you to a teleportation tournament? Why would you choose those supplies?

Why was Lexi embarrassed to have a rented Tel-Med?

Do you think the rule that team members have to be from the same school is fair? Why or why not?

How would life be different if teleportation was possible?

What were your first impressions of Ron and Mal? Did you think they would be good teammates? Why or why not?

Team RAM teleported to the wrong castle. How did Lexi react? How would you have reacted if your team went to the wrong place?

How would you have felt if you were Lexi when the Tel-Med was lost in the museum bathroom? What if you were Mal?

Would you have trusted Haley when she gave Lexi the clue at Versailles? Why or why not?

Do you think it is a good idea to form alliances with other teams? Why or why not?

What do you think of the rule that limits traveling during certain times?

Do you agree that Lexi’s mistake was “the worst of them all?” (page 182) Why or why not?

Would you have confronted Haley about purposely giving Team RAM the wrong answer? Why or why not? What would you have said to Haley?

What was your reaction when Tomoka got the internship?

Which of the places Team RAM visited would you want to go to? Why?

Which of the clues do you think was the most difficult? Why?

What do you think Lexi learned about herself from the teleportation tournament? About other people?

If you were in charge of a teleportation tournament, where would you send the competitors? Why?

Book Talk Teasers:

Watch the TBA book trailer for Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament.

Read the Readers Theater for Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament.

Read Alikes:

Science Fiction

Holm, Jennifer L. The Fourteenth Goldfish. Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter. (NoveList Plus)

Patterson, James. Max Einstein: The Genius Experiment. Max Einstein and a group of international geniuses use their creativity and curiosity to help solve some of the world's toughest problems with science. (NoveList Plus)

Yeager, Jackie. Spin the Golden Light Bulb. It’s the year 2071 and eleven year-old Kia Krumpet is determined to build her 67 inventions, but she won't have the opportunity to unless she earns a spot at PIPS, the Piedmont Inventor’s Prep School. Kia, who has trouble making friends at school, has dreamed of winning the Piedmont Challenge and attending PIPS ever since she learned that her Grandma Kitty won the very first Piedmont Challenge. After she and four of her classmates are selected to compete for a spot at PIPS, they travel by aero-bus to Camp Piedmont to solve a task against forty-nine other state teams to earn their place at the best inventor's school in the country. (NoveList Plus)

Puzzles and Problem Solving

Baillett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer. When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal. (NoveList Plus)

Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society. After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament. Long, Kim. Running Press, 2019.

Booklist

Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament.

Long, Kim (author)

Oct. 2019. 288p. Running Press, $16.99 (9780762466986). Grades 4-7.

REVIEW. First published November 15, 2019 (Booklist Online).

After Lexi is forced to withdraw from her beloved science academy due to financial hardship, she devises a plan: win the Wisconsin Teleportation Tournament and use the prize money to reenroll. The contest involves teleporting around the globe and untangling science-based puzzles, and science-savvy Lexi, determined to compete, drags two unenthusiastic classmates along for the ride. The story races from one location to another, but the teammates (and readers) are given breathing room as they pause to solve tests along the way. Long includes actual puzzles in the text, but don’t worry: an answer key is included in the back matter. This entertaining tale, chock full of facts and figures, covers a variety of topics, making a pleasure out of learning. A diverse cast of characters—all ages and backgrounds—highlights the idea that there are many different forms of brilliance. A lively story that stresses the importance of true friendship, a passion for learning, and the beauty of teamwork—fine lessons for any reader. — Emily Graham

Reprinted with Permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal Xpress (November 22, 2019)

Gr 3-7-When Lexi teams up with swag-selling Ron and camera-snapping Mal for the Annual Teleportation Tournament, she knows it's a chance to regain access to her old private school and circle of STEM-loving friends, including best friend Haley. Ron and Mal may not be the ideal teammates, but when the clues come out and the race begins, the trio work together on a mixture of science, brain teasers, and good old-fashioned footraces to beat the other teams for a coveted win. Along the way, Lexi learns that her best friend may not have her best interests at heart. She also realizes that, while Ron and Mal aren't part of a specialized science school, they both have talents that allow the team to shine in other ways. When the trio are unexpectedly sabotaged, they must work together to catch up before the tournament ends. Even readers who aren't science aficionados will appreciate this fast-paced narrative bolstered by details such as teleportation pods and quick changes of scenery. Lexi initially underestimates her teammates, viewing her team's victory as a solo endeavor. Her standoffish determination clashes with Ron's and Mal's easygoing attitudes toward competition, but they find a way to use all of their unique skills by the novel's end. VERDICT For fans of mysteries, science, and everything between, this is a fun twisty tale reminiscent of Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game.-Amanda C. Buschmann, Carroll Elementary School, Houston © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal, 2019. http://www.slj.com.