Ponderings From Picket Fence Cottage

I received the following press release from Caroline Harris, publicist for Sylvan Dell, and wanted to share! To celebrate TV Turnoff Week and Earth Day, Sylvan Dell is giving schools, libraries and families free access to their 50 eBooks for the week of April 19-25.

What a great opporunity…so check it out and spread the word!

Lose that Remote and Seize the Day!

TV Turnoff Week Overlaps with Earth Day this Year

Mount Pleasant, SC (April 13, 2010) – Join Sylvan Dell in celebrating national TV Turnoff Week April 19-25 and Earth Day, April 22. Every year this week challenges families to turn off their television sets and find an alternate form of entertainment. Earth Day, celebrating its 40^th year, happens to fall right in the middle of TV Turnoff Week this year and provides a perfect excuse to turn off the television and learn about the earth. 

So, instead of channel surfing, do something good for the Earth. Here are some suggestions:

• Visit an animal rehabilitation center near you. Ask what types of animals do they help? Are any of these animals endangered or threatened? What can you do to help?
• Take a trip to the zoo or your local aquarium. Turn it into a learning activity. Draw or make a list of the ways the animals are alike or different.
• Go hiking in a nature reserve. Collect leaves, shells and flower petals. Draw a tree or make a nature journal.
• Visit a nature museum. Quiz yourself after, what do you remember? Write down what you learned.
• Read a book like “Where Should Turtle Be?” or “What’s New At the Zoo?” Sylvan Dell books are great educational resources that promote awareness and appreciation for animals and the environment.

Sylvan Dell is participating by giving schools, libraries and families free access to their 50 eBooks for the week of April 19-25.  More than 40 of these eBooks explore Earth Day related themes including marine animals, habitats, wildlife, zoo animals, earth and physical science, birds, and astronomy. So, before deciding to turn on the TV, read an eBook and learn about the wonders of the Earth!

For more information about Earth Day, visit http://www.earthday.net/earthday2010

For more information about “TV Turnoff Week,” visit: http://tvturnoff.org/

For more information about Sylvan Dell Publishing, visit: http://SylvanDellPublishing.com

eBook access instructions are located on the Sylvan Dell website at: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/TVTurnOffWeek.htm

 About Sylvan Dell Publishing

Sylvan Dell Publishing’s mission is to excite children’s imaginations with artistically spectacular science, math and nature themed stories. Founded in November of 2004, Sylvan Dell has grown to include more than 75 authors and illustrators, in the U.S. and Canada, and 50 titles – honored as finalists or winners of more than 70 book awards. Our Science and Math Through Literature Program integrates reading, science, math, geography, character skills, and language learning through fun, cross-curricular activities. Sylvan Dell provides more online educator resources than any other publisher in the U.S. We offer schools, homeschooling families and public libraries a free one-year access to our ebook site license featuring the most technologically advanced eBooks each with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read, 3D page curling, and selectable English and Spanish text and audio through our School Resource Grant program. For more information, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com.

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It’s Non-Fiction Monday, and today’s round-up is hosted by Lerner Books Blog. The following review is one I previously had published at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine website on their product/curriculum reviews page. I have also reviewed a lot of Sylvan Dell books at the National Writing for Children website.

A Day in the Salt Marsh

By Kevin Kurtz

Sylvan Dell Publishing

976 Houston Northcutt Blvd., Suite 3

Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

1-877-958-2600

www.sylvandellpublishing.com

In our homeschool, we enjoy using whole “living” books as much as possible, especially in the area of science. A Day in the Salt Marsh by Kevin Kurtz is a delightful picture book that certainly falls into that category!

This high-quality, soft cover book (aimed at ages 4-8) gives the reader a peek into the ecology of a salt marsh, and it also introduces the various plants and animals that live in this particular habitat. The ‘focus’ of the book is showing children how a salt marsh can change hour by hour, depending on whether the tide is coming in or going out.

The rhyming verse format of the book is lively and fun, but the scientific information included is far from being ‘fluff’! On the contrary, even I learned about new things such as Spartina grass which is covered by salt water every day, but has special glands to ‘spit’ the salt back out! And the full color illustrations by Consie Powell are outstanding. There are ‘inset’ drawings within the larger drawings, providing the reader with greater detail to view, examine, and study. They give lots of scope for the imagination, yet they are very realistic as well.

There is an educational section at the end of the book called ‘For Creative Minds’ that provides multiple choice questions to check the child’s comprehension if the parent desires to use it. There is also a ‘Tide Animals Activity’ and more information about what causes tides, why salt marshes are important, and an extra page about Spartina grass and its adaptations. Of course, all these extras are optional, and the ‘story’ itself is very enjoyable and can stand alone.

Overall, I highly recommend the book A Day in the Salt Marsh. We have personally had the opportunity to visit a salt marsh in the past, and this book certainly reinforces and expands upon what we learned there. But if you have never had the opportunity to visit one, Mr. Kurtz’s book will allow you to ‘experience’ a salt marsh from the comfort of your own home. And who knows…after reading this book, you may decide that a field trip to a salt marsh needs to be on your homeschool agenda!

*Be sure to visit Lerner Books Blog to check out more Non-Fiction Monday entries!

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Photo by Erin

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Good readers get the big picture. They comprehend the meaning of the text and better understand what the author is trying to convey. In addition, learning to identify a character’s point of view in a simple picture book or story is a great way to introduce children to an important aspect of being a good reader.

It will also prepare them for heavier literature when they get older when identifying a character’s point of view is vital to understanding the plot and the underlying meaning or theme of the story. It is a skill to develop through the years, and having a basic working knowledge of this device will also help students learn about the first person, second person, third person, omniscient, and limited omniscient points of view as they mature as readers and writers.

Point of View (POV):

POV is simply the standpoint or position from which the reader gets to observe, consider, or ‘hear’ the story. For this particular article, I would like to concentrate on a first person narrative POV from a well-known children’s story.

A Simple Way To Teach POV:

Almost everyone knows the story of The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. The pigs are the victims and the wolf is the villain. We ‘hear’ the story from the viewpoint of the three little pigs, and we feel sorry for them—right down to the hairs on their chinny-chin-chins! The wolf is a mean, evil character, and we are happy to see justice served in the end. Obviously, he deserves what he gets!

So gather your students around and read the traditional story of The Three Little Pigs. Or have them act out the story with parts—using appropriate voices and simple costumes if possible. My children always use a high, squeaky voice for the pigs and a low, growly voice for the wolf. Discuss the elements of the story and the perspectives of the characters. Who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’? Who is right and who is wrong? How did the pigs feel and react when the wolf came to each of their doors?

A Twist:

But what if there is a chance that the traditional tale we all know and love might not be the ‘real’ story! What if the wolf has a different version of the story to tell? What about his POV?

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs:

Here is where the fun begins! Purchase or check out Jon Scieszka’s hilarious book, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs from your local library and read it to the students. As Alexander T. Wolf, the narrator, tells his audience on the very first page:

“Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story.”

Of course, in this version, we hear from Alexander T. Wolf. He claims that he had a cold and all that he wanted to do was borrow a cup of sugar from one of his neighbors when all the trouble began. According to him, he was framed!

Now discuss the differences in the two stories and the POVs. Compare and contrast. Make a comparison chart if possible.

The Verdict:

So who is telling the truth, the pigs or the wolf? Who is more believable? Why? Should Alexander T. Wolf have been put in jail?

No matter whose side the students choose, they should all be able to determine the differences in the POV of the characters in the two tales and how it changes the whole story, depending on WHO is doing the telling or whose side is championed!

If you like using the idea of the Big Bad Wolf versus The Three Little Pigs to teach POV, you might also find the book, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, by Eugene Trivizas to be another great resource to use with this lesson. As the title implies, the roles of the characters, as well as the POVs, have been switched. Another fun read!

Other Ideas:

Have students re-tell classic stories—but have them change the POV for some interesting twists.

Cinderella versus her stepsisters.

Little Red Riding Hood versus the wolf.

Goldilocks versus the three bears.

Resources:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/fractured_fairy_true.htm
Scholastic’s site for fractured fairy tales and fables

http://www.shol.com/agita/wolfside.htm
Defendant Testifies: The Wolf’s side of the story

http://www.nancypolette.com/LitGuidesText/truestorypigs.htm
Literature guide to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Nancy Polette

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/fairytales
More fractured fairy tales

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/708.html
Lesson plans/ideas

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Today is Non-Fiction Monday—and my first time participating. The host for this week’s round-up is The Miss Rumphius Effect.

We are literature-based homeschoolers, and my son has been using a Winter Promise course this year called ‘American Culture.’ We have BOTH loved it. Right now he is learning all about the Stock Market Crash of 1929, but recently he learned about immigration and the living conditions in New York City during the late 1800s and early 1900s. One of the core texts for this section was Deborah Hopkinson’s fabulous book, Shutting Out the Sky.

Shutting Out the Sky by Deborah Hopkinson

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Orchard; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439375908
• ISBN-13: 978-0439375900

 Deborah Hopkinson truly captured the immigration experience in her book. She used original writings from immigrants, and the story is told through those ‘voices’ from the past, featuring two women and three men from the countries of Belarus, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania. Those individuals came to America between the years of 1891 and 1901, and their ages at the time of immigration ranged from twelve to sixteen. Most came with family; one came alone.

 Of course, I have studied about immigration in the past, but Hopkinson’s book certainly made an impression on me. As I read about the living conditions, sights, sounds, and smells of the tenements on the Lower East Side of New York City at this time in history, I was appalled and my sympathies stirred. My heart especially went out to the mothers who tried to make their home in one small room of an overcrowded building in a strange city. Most had no grasp of the language and even less money. Add to that a lack of good sanitary conditions, and you have a recipe for possible hopelessness.

 Most immigrants came to America searching for a better life. They believed they were leaving behind poverty and persecution, and they sacrificed to get to the ‘promised land.’ Many were told that gold was scattered in the street, and all they needed was a shovel and a sack! Of course, this ‘golden land’ sounded like paradise.

 Yet, they had no idea what actually lay ahead. Would they have still come if they had known? I believe that, yes, most would have. Because although the parents had a hard time adjusting and the conditions were deplorable, the children adapted more easily. Many had the opportunity to receive an education that had been denied them in the past and a chance to change the course of their lives in the future. Mothers and fathers were willing to sacrifice for their children, and in the end, that is what mattered.

 Hopkinson has interwoven the ‘voices’ of the immigrants to create a complex, yet compelling, book. Yes, she does tell about the poverty, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions; but she also emphasizes the indomitable human spirit and the importance of family ties and traditions.

 The photographs are a huge part of this book, and Hopkinson has chosen well. As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the photos of immigrant families crowded into small rooms, or the countless lines of laundry strung between tenement buildings should make us all thankful for what we have. America has truly been the land of opportunity, and I have great respect for the men and women who worked, scrimped, saved and determined to make better lives for themselves and their descendents.

 My favorite paragraph in the book was about young Leonard Covello. When it was time for his family to leave Italy for America, he tiptoed into his grandmother’s room to say goodbye. He understood he’d never see her again, so he always remembered the words she whispered in his nine-year-old ears. She told him that the gold he would find in America would not be in the streets, but in the dreams he would realize—the golden dreams of the future.

 If you visit Deborah Hopkinson’s website, you will find links and lesson plans to go along with Shutting Out the Sky.

 This book is a fantastic historical resource, yet it touches the heart as well. Highly recommended!

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