Pumpkin Season is Here!

Learn about Pumpkins! 

Possible Interactive Notebook Activity

1. Pumpkins are thought to have originated in Central America, specifically Mexico. Some seeds found date back to 5500 B.C.

2. Top pumpkin growers are U.S. farmers, growing more than 1.5 billion each year.

3. The word pumpkin comes from the French word for “large melon”,

pompon. The English used “pumpion” and colonists used “pumpkin”.

4. The World’s Largest Pumpkin Pie was made in New Bremen, Ohio, in 2010. 1,212 lbs of canned pumpkin, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 525
pounds of sugar, 14.5 pounds of cinnamon, 7 pounds of salt and 2796 eggs

were used. It weighed 3699 pounds.

5. Did you know that pumpkins are 90 percent water?

6. Some people used to believe that pumpkins could cure snake bites and help remove freckles!

7. In addition to orange, pumpkins can be green, yellow, tan, white,red and
blue.

8. The “Pumpkin Capital of the World” and home to Libby’s Pumpkins is Morton, Illinois.

9. The fibrous strands of string and seeds are called the “brains” of the pumpkin.

10. Carving pumpkins originated in Ireland using potatoes,rutabagas and
turnips. Irish immigrants to America started using pumpkins as they were

easier to carve and hollow!

11. Part of the squash and cucumber family(cucurbita), pumpkins are actually considered fruit!

12. Ohio, Illinois, California and Pennsylvania are the top pumpkin-growing
states.

13. In 2013, Keene, NH, kept the record for the most lit pumpkins! 30,581. It holds the record in 2016, too.

14. Crowned the record heaviest pumpkin grown in North America(2016), a  Rhode Island man grew a pumpkin which weighed in at a whopping 2261.5 pounds.  

15. A pumpkin grown in the country of (2016) Belgium tipped the scale at a whopping 2623.5 pounds!

Pumpkin growers say that a 3000 pound pumpkin is possible in the near future!  It wasn't that many years ago that a 1000 pound pumpkin, now a light weight, would have been news worthy. The problem with growing such jumbos is that gravity often causes them to get smooshed and then they can't qualify for judging.

Need a writing prompt?  The record pumpkin has just arrived in a large truck to your home. What would you do with this pumpkin?  How would you describe it? 


Photograph from http://firstwefeast.com

Illustration from wpclipart.com

Activities:
• Illustrate a picture of one of the facts learned.
• Write a poem about a pumpkin.!• Pretend you are a pumpkin and write about your day in the
pumpkin patch, on a porch or waiting to be purchased at a farmer’s stand.

* Try my webquest on Pumpkins: 10 web questions with several comprehension questions(lots of extension activities).
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Fun-Fun-and-Informative-Webquest-359886                  

Presidential Trivia: The 2016 Election is Coming! Possible Interactive Notebook Activity

Note: I will not be able to update my blog until October 15th.

PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA

Possible Interactive Notebook Activity

The Presidential Election is coming! What do you know about some of our previous Presidents?

1. Dogs, cats and birds  have often found a home in the White House. There have also been some unique pets such as John Quincy Adams’ pet alligator,Martin Van Buren two tiger cubs and James Buchanan’s elephant. President Coolidge had a wallaby and a pygmy hippo and Theodore Roosevelt had a lion, hyena, five bears, a piebald rat, and a zebra. Only Presidents Arthur, Fillmore and Piece had no pets.

2. President Washington was an avid spelunker,enjoying exploring caves. 

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to be elected  four times.The constitution was later changed to allow only two four-year terms.

4. President Theodore Roosevelt named the Executive Mansion or President’s House, the White House.

5. Only President George Washington did  not live in the White House. It was opened in 1800.

6. The Star-Spangled Banner became the National anthem under President Herbert Hoover.

7. President William Henry Harrison only served one month after taking the oath of office, dying from pneumonia.

8. President Van Buren is said to have started the expression OK, signing paper with his “Old Kinderhook” nickname.

9. Left handed President James Garfield  could write with both hands at the same time and in different languages such as Greek and Latin.

10. President John K. Kennedy was the first president who had been a boy scout in his youth.

11. President George W. Bush was appointed President in 2000 by Supreme Court after the election results gave him more electoral votes but his opponent, Al Gore won the popular vote. John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. hayes and Benjamin Harrison also won the presidency without the majority of the voters. 

12. The teddy bear was named after President Theodore Roosevelt. 

13. President Richard Nixon was the first president to resign his presidency over a scandal called Watergate.

14. President Taft became chief justice of the Supreme Court after leaving the White House, saying he preferred this job to that of being President of the United States 

15. Gerald Ford was the only president of the United States to not be elected by the people. He was appointed vice president by President Nixon and later assumed the office of president when President Nixon resigned.

16. President John Quincy Adams liked to swims naked in the Potomac River ...in the early morning.

Extension Activities:

Try this free web quest on the Presidents of the United States: http://www.gailhennessey.com/index.shtml?presidentcyberhunt.html

Pretend you are the President of the United States. Write a diary entry about a day in your life. Who did you meet in the Oval Office? What issue do you address? Etc.

Which president would you like to meet and why? What would you ask of this President?

What are FOUR characteristics you feel that someone who is President should possess? Why are these characteristics important?

Illustrate of of the factoids about the presidents. Write a caption to go with your illustration.

You may wish to check out these resources:

The 2016 Presidential Election! (A Webquest/Extension activities)Students will learn about the election process including who the candidates are, requirements to run for office, requirements to vote, the Succession Act, the Electoral College and more. There are 12 web questions, a Did You Know?Comprehension Questions, Teacher page with extension activities, key, links. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Presidential-Election-2016-A-WebquestExtension-Activities-2695264

With the Presidential Election coming, this would be a great activity to use with your students. Do YOU Know Your Presidents is a series of three challenges. Each challenge worksheet has 25 questions(with 3 choices). The first challenge is the easiest with the third, the hardest.There is also a Presidential Did You Know? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290482244698183779/

Did You know that President John Quincy Adams had an alligator? Martin Van Buren had two tiger cubs and President McKinley's pet parrot could whistle, "Yankee Doodle". Did you know that President Franklin D. Roosevelt served HOT DOGS to the King of England? Did you know that President Garfield could write with both his right and left hand at the SAME time? Presidential Webquest/Extension Activities: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290482244688537382/

Learn about the White House with 10 informative web questions, comprehension and discussion questions and several extension activities.NEW:Check out all my resources(summaries) in one place: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Learn-about-the-White-House-Webquest-359868

Gail

NOTE: Click here for the user friendly version to give out to your students: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PRESIDENTIAL-TRIVIA-FREEBIEInteractive-Notebook-Activity-2212314

Anti-Bullying Month is October

October is National Bullying Prevention Month! 

Although highlighted in this month, anti-bullying awareness should be practiced every day of the year.  If you SEE bullying taking place, SPEAK UP!   Possible activities to use with students to discuss the topic of bullying.

1. Check out this short video at the Cartoon Network about joining the "I Speak Up" campaign. http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/promotion_landing_page/stopbullying/index.html

2. Have kids read this short saying: "Sticks and stones may break your bones but names can never hurt you."  Is this a true statement? Explain your answer. Personally, I never thought this saying to be true. Words are very powerful and negative words can and do hurt....a lot!  

3. Discussion Questions to ask Students:

A. What is your definition of a bully?  What are some examples of bullying?

B. Why do you think some people are bullies?

C. If you see someone being bullied, what could YOU do?

D.  If YOU are being bullied, what could YOU do?

E. Have you ever been bullied? How did you feel? What did you do?

F. Have YOU ever bullied someone else? Have you ever been asked by others to join them in bullying someone else? How did you react to this? Take the "Are YOU Bulling Checklist": http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/kab/do-you-bully/

G. How can you HELP someone that is being bullied. Make a list. Check with this site: http://www.bullying.co.uk/general-advice/how-to-help-someone-being-bullied/

4. A great start to discussing bullying might be to read about Hans Christian Andersen, the author of "The Ugly Duckling". Hans was often teased as a boy. He was very tall and skinny. He was called "scarecrow" by neighborhood children. One day, he actually climbed a tree to get away from bullies who were chasing him. Then, he got tangled and stuck. His father had to come help get Hans out of the tree.  Check out my resource, a play on Hans Christian Andersen: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hans-Christian-AndersenBiographical-play-To-Tell-the-Truth-Play-348807

5. Have students make anti-bullying posters.

6. Have students make up a skit about bullying to share with the rest of the class.

7. Coloring sheets on the topic of bullying: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/pdf/ColorTheCrew.pdf  and http://www.doodle-art-alley.com/bullying-coloring-pages.html

8. Check out this link for lots of great information on Anit-Bullying: http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/kab/do-you-bully/take-the-quiz/

9. Check out this site for "Bullying Myths and Facts". Have students discuss what they read: http://www.bullying.co.uk/general-advice/bullying-myths-and-facts/

10. Newspapers in Education has an online comic book story about bullying: http://niefresnobee.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Bullying.pdf

Other suggestions:
Using Literature to discuss the issue of bullying:
Read the story, the Ugly Duckling to start a discussion on bullying. http://www.best-childrens-books.com/the-ugly-duckling.html

Another story to read is Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm. Find the story
at this link:Best Children's Book(Goose Girl)  http://www.best-childrens-books.com/the-goose-girl.html
Still another story is Cinderella.Find the story online at this link: http://www.togetherweteach.com/TWT%20Reading%20Room/PCIND/PCIND01.HTM

There are also many contemporary books that deal with bullying. Here is a small sampling for elementary and middle school students:
1. Blubber by Judy Blume
2. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
3. Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
4. Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain and Elizabeth Vedick.
5. The Bully from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler with Jared Lee.
6. My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig
7. Roxie and the Hooligans by Phillis Reynolds Naylor
Find more books on bullying and read summaries at this link:
http://www.story-lovers.com/listsbullyingstories.html

Read and listen to a short story about bullying online at this link:
(Ramone Sticks Up for Himself)  http://myyoungchild.org/stories/

ANTI-BULLYING TITLES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS: http://www.counselorresources.com/c/product.web?nocache@0+s@1k31xlWwzJUpE+record@TF42867+Title@BULLYING+ISBN@9780807547861

I hope you find this information of value to use with your students!

Gail Hennessey

http://gailhennessey.com/index.shtml?bullyingresources.html

The International Day of Peace is September 21st.

Children are certainly not seeing the world demonstrating the concept of peace. Is there really anything we can do to foster the concept when our news continually shows just the opposite?

The International Day of Peace is held every year on  September 21st. Also called Peace Day, the first celebration was adopted by the United Nations in 1982. It would be in 2001, that nations of the world established September 21st as International Day of Peace. In 2016, the theme for the  International Day of Peace is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.”  At the United Nations, in New York City, the Japanese Peace Bell is rung to start the day. Made from coins collected by children from sixty countries,  the Peace Bell has the following words engraved on the bell, “Long live absolute world peace”.  There is a minute of silence at noon(at all time zones around the world).

Possible Activities for the International Day of Peace:

1. The dove is the international symbol of peace. Draw/ color a picture of a dove. Write a statement about the International Day of Peace.

2. Write an acrostic poem using the words PEACE.

3. Have students list some of the places in the world where there is conflict. Locate these places on a world map. Ask the students if they have any prior knowledge about the areas .

4. Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Peace Prize. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/  

Learn about some of the people that have been award recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. The youngest was teenager, Malala Yousafzai.

5. Make a Peace Pole(“May Peace Prevail on Earth) and place in the lobby of your school.

6. Read Sadako Sasaki and her One Thousand Paper Cranes. Free online book: http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/15882492/sadako-and-the-thousand-paper-cranes#   Make an origami paper crane.  http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-crane.html

7. Make a pinwheel for peace: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/dailylp/dailylp/dailylp006.shtml

8. Have students illustrate one of these quotes: Write a short paragraph explaining what they think the quote means.

A. “ Peace begins with a smile. “ Mother Teresa

B. "You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.“ Indira Gandhi

C.  "If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”  Nelson Mandela

D.  "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”  Mahatma Gandhi

E.  “It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." Eleanor Roosevelt

F.  "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.”  Francis of Assisi

G.  “If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”  Archbishop Tutu

9. Share with kids how to say "PEACE" in many different languages: Write Peace In Different Languages

10 . Check out my Purple Turtle story, Purple Meets Dovey, the Dove: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Purple-Turtle-Stories-Purple-Meets-Dovey-849071

Note: Illustration from wpclipart.com

World Rhino Day is September 22nd 

Possible Interactive Notebook Activity:

FUN FACTS about RHINOS!

A crash is what you call a group of rhino

A Black rhino can run up to 40 mph...on its toes!

About 50 pounds of manure is produced by an adult white rhino EVERY day.

A white rhino isn't really WHITE. It's name comes from an Afrikaans word meaning wide(for its mouth). The word is wyd. White rhinos are really grey.

A black rhino isn't really BLACK. Also a grey/brownish color, it got its name for the dark wet mud that they often have covering their bodies.

Did you know that a rhino is a relative of the zebra, tapirs and horse?

The word, rhinoceros comes from the Greek words-rhino(nose and ceros(horn)

After the elephant, the white rhino is the largest land mammal. A white rhino can weigh up to 5000 pounds. 

Eating only plants, a rhino is a HERBIVORE.

The horn of a rhino is not ivory but keratin, a material found in fingernails.

Rhinos have VERY bad eyesight! They do have great hearing and a great sense of smell.

Rhino have wandered the earth for over 50 million years(and haven't changed much in their appearance)

Did you know that there are 5 species of rhino? (White, Black, Javan, Sumatran, Indian)

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Ask students why the rhino is endangered. Have students make a list of 10 endangered species. If you can only save 3 on the list, which  would you work to save and why? Make a list of 3 factors that might go into why some creatures might be preferred to be saved over others. Possible answers: "cuteness", reputation, national symbol, if there are other similar species, impact on the environment, etc.

Use a world map and have students locate the areas of the world where rhinos live in the wild. (Rhino can be found in Africa countries including South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania,Kenya and Uganda. They can be found in  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma, Nepal and Vietnam. Rhinos are found on the island of Java. There may still be rhino in  Sumatra and Borneo.

Write a Day in the Life of a rhino. What did you do? What did you see? Feel? Smell? 

Read a story about a rhino  http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/legends/rhinoceros-horn.htm

Read an interview with a Rhino ranger/keeper: http://www.animalanswers.co.uk/blog/interview-with-a-rhino-ranger/ and http://www.blankparkzoo.com/index.cfm/18193/7230/5_questions_with_keeper_lou_keeley_all_about_rhinos  Pretend you work with rhinos and write a diary, including 3 facts learned about rhino.

Illustrate one of the Rhino Facts.

Try my webquest on the Rhino: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhinosaurus-Rotund-Rhinos-A-Webquest-698938

Gail

Photograph from Wpclipart.com 

National Museum of African American History and Culture Opens September 24th

“I, too, am America.” 

by Langston Hughes

A new  eight story museum on the National Mall opens on September 24th and it was 100 years in the making.  Called the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the museum was first discussed back in 1915, when African American Civil War veterans called for a museum to highlight the accomplishments of African Americans.

Congress established such a museum, to be part of the Smithsonian Institution, in 2003.  Groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture began in 2012.

The museum, the only national museum dedicated to African American history, shares the history of African Americas from the days of the slave trade through slavery in the United States. The timeline of history includes the struggles of African Americans seeking civil rights and equality and shares the contributions which African Americans have made which have helped shape our nation.

Some of the 36,000 artifacts on display include a slave cabin from the early 1800s and an 1835 bill of sale for a 16 year old African American girl.  On display are the eating utensils used by Harriet Tubman as well as one of her silk shawls and her hymnal.  Visitors can see the train car used during segregation(Jim Crow era) by African American passengers, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Woolworth’s lunch counter stools where four African American students held a sit-in, in 1960, when denied service, is on display. Jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s Selmer Trumpet as well as boxing equipment of Muhammad Ali and the tennis racket used by the first African American to win at  Wimbledon, Althea Gibson, can also be seen.There is also a training biplane used by the Tuskegee airmen during World War and a dress that dressmaker Rosa Parks was sewing on the day she refused to give up her seat after a day at work.

President Barack Obama will be on hand for the grand opening ceremonies.

Photograph from washington.org

Check out these resources: FREE: Possible Interactive Notebook activity: Factoids of contributions of African Americans: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290482244695480744/ 

Check out this web quest on some of the contributions of African Americans who 

contributed to our country in arts, music,politics, tenchology, civil rights, sports and literature: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Black-History-Month-WebquestResources-491555

Gail

http:www.gailhennessey.com

National Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15-October 15th

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15-October 15th. It was originally established, in 1969, as Hispanic Heritage Week, by President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, it became a month long celebration. Some people say we don't really need an Hispanic Heritage Month, A Black History Month, A Women’s History Month, A Native American Heritage Month and other such months to recognize the achievements of groups which have helped to make this nation great.  I believe we do since history books just can’t address all the different accomplishments of all the people that have contributed to making our country what it is today. Here are some interesting facts to share with your students during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Did You Know?

• Before colonists settled Plymouth Colony, there were people living in St. Augustine, Florida, and Sante Fe, New Mexico.
• Chinese(Mandarin) is spoken by the most people in the world. The second most spoken language is Spanish. A close third is... English.
• The majority of Hispanic people in the United States came from the country of Mexico.
• Pedro Flores was the first to mass-produce the yo yo in the United States.
• in 1989, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen became the first Cuban American to become a member of Congress.
• Learn some Spanish: gracias(Thank you), por favor) (Please)and adios(goodbye)
• Cinco de Mayo(May 5th) is a festive holiday. It celebrates the victory over the French in the Battle of Pueblo(1862). The Mexicans were outnumbered 3-1, yet they won the battle. 
• Have you ever played with a pinata at a birthday party? This is another activity that has its origins in Mexico.  

Check out my webquest, Histanic Heritage Month. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hispanic-Heritage-Month-A-WebquestExtension-Activities-2095906