GREAT RESOURCES
Recommended Web sites, Back Issue Catalog,
archived Grammar Cops, and more!
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
Web Resources
Check out these Web sites for ideas and activities to supplement the November/December issue of Storyworks:
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
•Poetry: "A Tomcat Is"
Kids will find fun poems about cats, dogs, cows, pigs, and more here!
www.gigglepoetry.com/poemcategory.aspx?CategoryID=11&CategoryName=Animal%20Poems
•Nonfiction: "Deadly Bites"
This New York Times article and accompanying video on food poisoning tells the story of a 22-year-old girl infected with a rare food-borne illness caused by traces of E. coli found in her hamburger. NOTE: This is a great and informative video, but the content is intense and there is some strong language at the end of the video. We suggest that you screen it first before showing it your students.
www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?em
This page has plenty of links for kids to find out how to keep their food safe and combat food poisoning.
www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/kidsteens/default.htm
•Fiction: "My Homework Ate My Homework"
Patrick Jenning’s Web site is as imaginative as his fiction! Besides learning about his biography and books he has written, students can learn cool, little-known animal facts!
www.patrickjennings.com/home.shtml
•Play: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
If students enjoyed The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, they might also like Washington Irving’s classic, “Rip Van Winkle.” Click here to find a children’s version, written in rhyme!
www.2020site.org/robbinhood/rip.html
•Poetry: "Harlem Night Song"
This PBS Kids Web site provides a concise biography of Langston Hughes, the Poet Laureate of Harlem, along with two of his most loved poems.
www.pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/arts/topic10.html
GRAMMAR COPS, BACK FROM THE ARCHIVES
Some favorites from past issues:
BACK ISSUES OF STORYWORKS!
Are you looking for a list of our fiction stories, nonfiction articles, and plays from past issues? Click here for our Back Issue Catalog.
PAST ISSUES RESOURCES: 2009-2010
OCTOBER 2009
•Poetry: "Superstitions"
Baseball superstitions don’t just exist in poetry! Check out this Web site to find a slew of Major League superstitions.
www.baseball.suite101.com/article.cfm/famous_baseball_superstitions
•Nonfiction: "The Disaster of the Hindenburg"
View photos of the Hindenburg’s construction, its elegant interior, its terrible tragedy, and more at this historical Web site.
www.nlhs.com/hindenburg.htm
•Fiction: "The Haiku Wars"
Click on the link below to find a simple explanation of haikus, especially for children. You can also print out worksheets about syllables and writing your own haiku.
www.kidzone.ws/poetry/haiku.htm
•Play: Where the Wild Things Are
Read this biography of Maurice Sendak, written by kids for kids, to find out lots of cool facts about the author of Where the Wild Things Are.
www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-sendak-maurice.asp
•Poetry: "Autumn Leaves"
Did Eve Merriam’s delightful poem make you want to know more about autumn leaves? Learn why they change color, do science projects with leaves, complete a leaf-themed word scramble and more at this Web site.
www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
SEPTEMBER 2009
•Poetry: "The Bookoceros or Ancient Thesaurus"
You might not be a bookoceros, but you can gobble up some words of your own at this word-filled Web site just for kids! Look up words in a dictionary or thesaurus, play word games, and more!
www.wordcentral.com/
•Nonfiction: "Animal 9-1-1!"
Thinking of a career as a vet? Click on the link below to find out what it takes to become like the doctors in “Animal 9-1-1!”
www.talktothevet.com/faqvetcareer.HTM
Watch fun animated videos here about the roles of pets in our lives.
www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-pppp/child.aspx
•Fiction: "Dad, the Disco King"
Meet the author of “Dad, the Disco King,” and find out about how she started writing in fourth grade, the books she has written, and the pets she has owned!
www.marlanekennedy.com/index.html
•Play: The Curse of King Tut
Get the real scoop on King Tut and the science behind the supposed “curse.”
www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/04/01/1076928.htm
Myth by myth, this Web site uncovers the truth about the stories that have been told over the years about King Tut and his remarkable tomb.
www.mummytombs.com/egypt/kingtut.htm
•Poetry: "I Am the Book"
“I Am the Book” led you through the seasons of the year. Get lost in more seasonal poetry!
www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems.html
PAST ISSUES RESOURCES: 2008-2009
We are so happy that you're using Storyworks issues from past years. Check out the links below for more interesting information and ideas. Please note: Although we'd love to check these links to make sure they're current, the Web is changing at such a rapid rate that some of the links might be outdated. We apologize for the inconvenience!
APRIL/MAY 2009
•Poetry: "Climbing"
Throughout the ages, poets have been inspired by trees. Celebrate the newly blossoming boughs with a collection of poetry about trees, and pick your favorites to share with students.
www.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/poems.htm
•Fiction: "Ol' Dirty Nose"
If your students want to learn more about Ursus maritimus, this is the Web site for them. It offers a broad range of information about the animal, its habitat, the Inuit people, polar bear myths, and much more.
www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/
Click on this photo Web site to see pictures of the real polar bear jail in Churchill, Manitoba, and polar bears being relocated from jail to the wild.
www.photographersdirect.com/stockimages/p/polar_bear_jail.asp
Kids will love this BBC video of wildlife veterinarians capturing a polar bear and transporting it to polar bear jail.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFybPFix1ys
•Historical Fiction: "When the Earth Split Open"
This extensive Web site features links to eyewitness accounts of the Midwestern quakes, newspaper articles from the time, scientific information about earthquakes, and historic maps and photographs of the area.
www.hsv.com/genlintr/newmadrd/
Your students can click here to read a dramatic description of the New Madrid earthquake, and scientists’ predictions for a future quake in the Midwest.
www.essortment.com/all/newmadrideart_pvm.htm
•Play: "The Red-Headed League: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure"
Children who are up to reading the original Sherlock Holmes text will find it here.
http://221bakerstreet.org/adventures/red_headed_league.txt
Invite students on a virtual tour of this London museum dedicated to Britain’s most famous sleuth. They’ll learn about the world of Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/
•Poetry: "Voice from Afar"
Discover more poems and stories by Tony Johnston, the author of “Voice From Afar.”
www.jacketflap.com/persondetail.asp?person=154542
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009
•Poetry: "Tongue Tester"
Kids can keep on enjoying Calef Brown’s whimsical poetry at the author’s Web site. Click on “kids books,” and then surf through samples of his delightful poetry and illustrations:
www.calefbrown.com/homebase_revise.html
•Nonfiction: "Freedom or Death"
Students can explore Robert Smalls’s life and times at his official Web site and information center, which includes his biography, timeline, newspaper clippings about him, and much more:
www.robertsmalls.org/index.htm
•Fiction: "Leghorn"
Visit this fun farm site to learn more about Leghorn’s rooster relatives:
www.kbears.com/farm/rooster/print.html
•Play: The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
Have students log on to this exciting Scholastic Web site to find out more about the
extensive Cahill clan or to register to play the adventure-packed online game that
accompanies the book series:
www.the39clues.com/
•Poetry: "Everything Is Everything"
Guide students to Amazon.com to read more excerpts from Nikki Giovanni’s hit collection,
“Hip Hop Speaks to Children”:
www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1402210485/ref=sib_dp_ptu#reader-link
JANUARY 2009
•Poetry: "Ferris-Wheeling"
Your students will read a delightful story from the point of view of a nine-year-old riding a ferris wheel at the World's Fair of 1893
www.hydeparkhistory.org/kids/wheel.html
•Nonfiction: "A Superhero of the Sea"
Lots of great information about Hardy Jones and his work with sea mammals at:
www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-dolphin-defender/interview-hardy-jones/810/
•Fiction: "Odd, Weird, & Little"
If the bullying in this story hits home for any of your students, have them check out this site filled with practical tips on coping:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/bullies.html
•Play: "Inkheart"
Much fun and information at this site devoted to Cornelia Funke and her books:
www.scholastic.com/inkheart
•Poetry: "Eyes on the Prize"
Discover inspirational songs from the civil rights movement:
www.historynow.org/06_2006/interactive.html
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008
•Poetry: "Instructions for Growing Poetry"
Learn with master poets like Jack Prelutsky and Karla Kuskin at this great Scholastic Web resource:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm
•Nonfiction: "The School at the Edge of the Earth"
For more information about Indian Boarding Schools, go to: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865
•Fiction: "Maxwell's Fabulous Tee Shirts"
If Maxwell inspired your students to have their own art adventures, visit this Web site loaded with online art activities:
www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/for-kids.htm
•Play: "Cidro-ella"
Discover Cinderella stories from around the world at:
www.chapinpinottilearningcenter.com/cinderella_project.htm
•Poetry: "To You"
Discover three more poems by Karla Kuskin, and read what the Children's Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky, has to say about her: www.poetryfoundation.org/features/feature.children.html?id=179550
OCTOBER 2008
•Poetry: "Phoenix"
Encourage your students to explore the myth of the phoenix in the ancient cultures of Egypt, China, Japan, and other countries around the world — and through history.
www.mythicalrealm.com/creatures/phoenix.html
•Nonfiction: "What Happened to Dolly?"
Your students can learn more about polio, its frightening effects, and the polio vaccine at: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/polio.html
•Fiction: "Science Fair Creatures Attack!"
For more information about science fairs to share with your students:
www.sciencebuddies.org/
•Play: "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Introduce students to Edgar Allan Poe and his spooky world (prepare them for the creepy heart beat!)
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
•Poetry: "Untidy Ursula"
Let Ursula inspire your students to become more organized at home and at school (or else someone might write a story about them!) For tips and an on-line quiz, go to: www.kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=KidsHealth&lic=1&article_set=45666&cat_id=20581&
SEPTEMBER 2008
Poetry: “Three Skies”
Click here to learn more about the sky . . . and the Earth, and the world we live in. Check out the daily sky chart; maybe you can see another planet tonight!
www.earthsky.org/kids/
Nonfiction: “Lost in a Blizzard”
View drawings and actual photos of the Blizzard of 1888, and read more gripping accounts from children almost lost in the snow.
http://wintercenter.homestead.com/photoscblizzard.html
Fiction: “The Day the Worms Moved In”
Get the dirt on our slimy friends! Click here to learn all about worms and how they help the earth with their composting abilities.
http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/index.html
Play: “The Tale of Despereaux”
Meet the author of The Tale of Despereaux, and discover what she’s like, how she thinks up her stories, and much more at this kid-friendly Web site.
www.katedicamillo.com
Poetry: “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”
Get to know this well-known and loved poet here. Learn about her remarkable accomplishments, then click on the links to read more of her poetry!
www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/87