Posts Tagged ‘Current Events’
Posted on April 11, 2011 by Suzan Woodard in Reading Lists.
Tags: Bellwether, Crafts for Children, Current Events, Diversity, Eleanor Coerr, Grief, Hiroshima, Japan Earthquake, Natural disasters, Origami Cranes, Radiation, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Tsunami
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Making origami cranes is the perfect companion activity after reading the children's picture book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes."
It’s been one month since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake shook Japan and caused a devastating tsunami to hit the shoreline, killing thousands, destroying towns and triggering one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.
It’s a lot of sadness and destruction for adults to take in, let alone kids! But, we are the adults, and we need to do what we can to help children cope with tragedy.
Many primary teachers have opted to reread the classic children’s book “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” to their students. It promotes discussion, and talking helps children process scary current events and natural disasters. It develops their vocabularies so they can express their thoughts and work through worries.
Sad, But Hope Filled
Written in 1977 by American author Eleanor Coerr, the non-fiction children’s book tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl, who lived in Hiroshima in 1945 during the atomic bombing. Over time, Sadako develops cancer from radiation exposure. To cope with her overwhelming circumstances, she places her hope and energies into folding 1,000 paper cranes. Folklore said a person who created 1,000 origami cranes would be granted a wish.
Sadako worked diligently, but her illness overcame her. After her death, funds were raised to build a memorial for all the children who died as a result of the nuclear attack. In 1958, a statue of Sadako with an origami crane was dedicated at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial. The statue’s plaque reads: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth.”
Diversity Training
”Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” has been translated into many languages and is used in peace, empathy and diversity training. However, because of the subject matter, the book is generally not recommended for children younger than 8 or those who are extremely sensitive.
A third-grade teacher in Portland, Ore., organized an after-school event a few days ago based on the “thousand cranes” concept to promote compassion for Japan, her native homeland. Attendees made 1,000 cranes and are now aiming for 3,000. Sponsors are donating $2 per origami crane, which will be donated to disaster relief in Japan.
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate in Greenville, S.C., hosted a similar project to help local children express their concern for their peers across the ocean.
“Starting today, we will dedicate a space for visitors to make paper cranes and write notes to show support for the people of Japan,” said museum CEO Mary Sellers in a recent news story by TV station WYFF. “Paper cranes are an important symbol in Japan as they represent good fortune, hope, goodwill, and due to the children’s book ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,’ they have also come to symbolize peace.”
Crane Craft Links
If you’re interested in making paper craft cranes with your children, check out these three instruction resources. (Please use recycled paper.)
Big Universe and Japan
Also, consider “Japan” as a companion read. It’s a children’s picture book authored by Colleen Sexton and published by Bellwether, one of BigUniverse.Com’s publishing partners. Bellwether’s “Tsunamis,” “Bullet Trains” and “Investigating Plate Tectonics” also are featured on Big Universe and all have a Japan link. Or, read “Our Powerful Planet: The Curious Kid’s Guide to Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Other Phenomena.”
Well Worth a Look!
I also highly recommend the expansive children’s book list for children K-8, compiled by the Japan Society of New York. It’s a 39-page PDF, but well worth a look!
Note: If the accident in Japan has prompted you to incorporate the subject during class time, you might be interested in reading the following blogs about current events, natural disasters and global citizenship.
“10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom”
“Good Books Foster Global Citizenship”
“Add Life to Your Teaching with Current Events”
“Dealing with Death Through Books”
The Shuttle Discovery
The wheels of space shuttle Discovery touched down around noon today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, having successfully completed 39 missions and traveled millions of miles over its 27-year service. While the ship will be retired from its forays into outer space, the scientific contributions will continue “to infinity and beyond.”
The space ship will “offer scientific insight to future engineers,” said mission management team chairman Mike Moses in a statement on the NASA website. “‘The vehicle itself is a science platform,’ he said, adding that parts of Discovery will be pulled from the spacecraft and evaluated.”
Two other shuttle missions are in the planning stages for the Endeavour and Atlantis spacecrafts. These current events offer the perfect opportunity to improve literacy by incorporating everyday news into classroom lessons. (For more ideas, read “10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom” or “Add Life to Your Teaching with Current Events.”)
Children can learn more about the shuttle program at Big Universe.com, an educational website with an extensive online library of children’s picture books. Books on the shuttle, astronomy, space, astronauts, planets, technology and other facets of science are only a click away. It’s a great resource for kids who need to write a report about outer space or astronomy, or who need background information for a science project.
Space and Astronomy Books on Big Universe
NOTE: To view additional NASA teaching resource materials for educators, go to the following links: K-4 and Grades 5-8.
Posted on February 2, 2011 by Suzan Woodard in Reading Lists.
Tags: Blizzard, Current Events, Earth Science, Ground Hog Day, Oral History, Oral language skills, Science, Snow, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather, Weather Books for Kids, Winter
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It’s Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil just predicted that we would have an early spring. Try telling that to the folks hunkered down after getting slammed yesterday and today by the Monster Blizzard of 2011.
Chicago got more than 20 inches of snow and high winds, and schools were closed today – the first time in a decade. Texas declared an energy emergency and imposed rolling blackouts as officials fought to handle the extraordinary demand on the energy grid during the cold. Commuter rail service was suspended between New Jersey and New York because of heavy ice. Thousands of flights have been cancelled at airports around the country and shipping has come to a crawl or standstill in many parts of the United States.
That’s a blizzard for ya.
Current events are a marvelous teaching tool, and Bellwether Publishing’s “Blizzards” book by Kay Manolis is a timely read for kids observing the effects of the storm outside their windows. This Level 4 Blastoff! Readers book is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds and contains big photos, interesting fact boxes and some weather diagrams.
My sister has vivid memories of “The Super Storm of 1993” mentioned on Page 20 in “Blizzards.” She was nine months pregnant and had visions of an unplanned home birth. Fortunately, the baby held off a day or two and roads were somewhat passable by the time little Madison made her arrival.
What weather-related stories do you have to tell? Share them with your children and students. Whether funny or suspense-filled, the anecdotes are sure to hold their attention. Sharing oral history can bolster literacy skills by building vocabulary, sharpening listening skills and lighting the imagination – especially if children get the chance to ask questions.
These personal stories make a perfect spring board for other lessons. They add life to science topics which could be dry if not presented with care and imagination. Make your lessons interactive!
Big Universe has an assortment of books that dovetails nicely with weather unit material.
Big Universe’s Weather Books
National Archives photo of Rosa Parks with Martin Luther King Jr. in background.
If Google can mark the 55th anniversary of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks with a Google doodle, I can certainly do my part with an honorable mention and a referral to a Rosa Parks biography featured online at Big Universe’s children’s picture book website.
On Dec. 1, 1955, 42-year-old seamstress Rosa Parks made a bold stand when she refused to give up her seat on the No. 2857 bus in Montgomery, Ala. Racial segregation was still pervasive in the South. She was sitting in her designated section, when the bus’s driver asked her to stand so he could give the seat to a white passenger. Her refusal cost her a job and an arrest record, but sparked a yearlong bus system boycott lead by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Today, people call Rosa the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. She sat down to show the world how to stand up,” reads the text in “Rosa Parks: A Life of Courage,” a children’s book produced by Bellwether Publishing. This leveled biography is a No. 4 Blastoff! Reader with a glossary and additional resources listed on Pages 23-24.
Parks was not only an advocate for civil rights, but also for education. She co-founded the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation for Michigan high schoolers headed for college. Most of her speaking fees were donated to this cause.
“I always encourage children to stay in school, get good grades and to believe in themselves,” said Parks in an interview. “Of course they should take care of their health and keep themselves from certain things that would be detrimental to them either physically or mentally. They should be sure to get the best education that they can and choose careers that they can be progressive in as they go into their adulthood.” (To read more of this interview, click the link below.)
Rosa Parks was the recipient of numerous awards later in life. According to Wikipedia:
“On September 9, 1996, President Bill Clinton presented Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given by the U.S. executive branch. In 1998, she became the first recipient of the International Freedom Conductor Award given by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The next year, Parks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given by the U.S. legislative branch and received the Detroit-Windsor International Freedom Festival Freedom Award.”
Parks lived to 92 years of age. Upon her death she was posthumously honored by the United States Senate, who passed a resolution allowing her to lie in state in the Capitol’s Rotunda. An estimated 50,000 people paid tribute there with additional memorial services following.
Rosa Parks Teaching Tool Links
Hurricanes are a remarkable force of nature. The combination of powerful winds, waves and tides can wreak havoc.
As the country marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Gulf Coast, many are keeping their eyes on Hurricane Earl, which is churning its way through the northern Caribbean. Forecasters say there is a chance the storm will make itself known off the coast of North Carolina about mid-week.
News like this provides an opportunity to teach children. Teachers who keep one ear tuned to current events will find a vast resource to enrich lessons, making them vibrant and relative to life.
It is wise to keep your second ear trained on conversations your students are having amongst themselves. They hear their parents talking and see lots of images on TV. Age-appropriate lessons from a trusted adult can help children sort out facts, fiction and even gale-force worries. Allow adequate time for initial questions and the opportunity for followup conversation.
My family and I experienced a tropical storm firsthand in 2002. We had been living in Barbados for only about six weeks when Lili hit the island. We were in a strong house, but the roar of the storm was deafening on our tin roof. The storm gained momentum after it passed over, eventually reaching Category 4 status over the Gulf of Mexico.
I was schooling my two daughters for the year that we were abroad, so the storm prompted lots of questions and teaching moments.
– How fast is the wind?
– When will the rain stop?
– Where did the hurricane come from?
– Why don’t we have electricity?
– What happened to that person’s house?
– Who will clear the roads?
– Why can’t we go to the beach?
– Where do the birds, sea turtles and monkeys go during the storm?
– Has anyone else ever had a storm like this?
While I could answer some of the questions, it would have been great to pull up an online children’s book to help explore the topic – once the lights came back on. Big Universe now offers several books that would have done nicely!
- The Bellwether book “Hurricanes” by Kay Manolison describes how hurricanes form and behave. Part of Bellwether’s Blastoff! Readers series, the text is aimed at Level 4 readers. The author uses a variety of sentence patterns and expanded vocabulary and punctuation. The graphics are highly appealing. This would have been just right for my new fourth-grader.
- Rourke Publishing’s “Surviving the Galveston Hurricane” by Jo Cleland would have been intriguing to my sixth-grader (AFTER our storm hit and everything quieted down). Cleland, a professor emeritus of reading education at Arizona State University West, worked in public education for 20 years prior to her university work. She continues to engage children through storytelling. “What we learn with delight, we never forget,” she says.
- “Ready, Set…WAIT! What Animals Do Before a Hurricane” is another storm-themed book on Big Universe’s library shelves. The illustrations by Connie McLennan are charming, and the text written by Patti Zelch is insightful. The extra information in the back of the book allows teachers to expand their lesson plans in many directions. Sylvan Dell Publishing also provides quizzes and cross-curricular activities online.
To read more about ways to use current events to add life to your teaching, read “10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom” or Melissa Edwards’ blog titled “It is All About Making Connections …”. She writes, “When students make connections with the books they read, their understanding, comprehension and recall of the information increases.” Preach it, Melissa!
Current events provide a rich resource for building language skills and promote active learning. Vocabulary enrichment, reading comprehension, writing opportunities and improved critical thinking are just a few of the benefits of using a newspaper, magazine or other news source in the classroom. Social awareness and improved listening aptitude and verbal skills are added bonuses.
Here is a list of ideas to get you started.
10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom
1. Take advantage of “Today in History” columns in newspapers and on news websites. Let children take turns reading the history snippets. They’ll love being “news anchor of the day.” Try the Associated Press history page or the BBC’s “On This Day” link.
2. Use news stories to develop reader comprehension. Remember the 5 W’s and the “H” question. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? These six questions give children a simple way to start processing what they have read, heard or seen. Read an article together and have students answer the questions orally. Then give them article handouts and let them circle this core information with colored pencils.
3. Have students watch a TV weather story. They can draw a sun or clouds or a snowman and list the day’s highs and lows or write a paragraph about a weather event such as the recent tornadoes that hit the South.
Pair this exercise with engaging children’s picture books about weather such as “Tornadoes,” “Sunny or Cloudy,” “Droughts,” “Weather,” “Hurricanes,” “Blizzards,” “Countdown to Fall,” “Ice Storms,” “Christmas Eve Blizzard,” “Snow” and “Ocean Seasons” – all available online at Big Universe and perfect for Smart Board application.
4. Ask students to clip a magazine or newspaper article or print a current event from a kid-friendly online news feed like DOGO News. Have them read their articles’ headlines to the class. Then let the class play 20 Questions about a particularly intriguing headline to encourage interaction and investigation into the news story.
5. Talk about big news events and discuss how they affect people locally and around the world. For example, Iceland’s volcanic eruption had widespread impact. Planes couldn’t fly because of the ash cloud over Europe. Tourists couldn’t get home. Delivery of supplies for manufacturing was delayed, so many companies had to shut down production temporarily.
6. Display a “Where in the World?” map on a bulletin board. Discuss a current event and then tack a miniature flag (office supply aisle), identifying the location of the story. Soon you will have a visual reminder of all the places your class “visited,” expanding your students’ global awareness.
7. Find colorful adjectives in news stories. Distribute news clippings and have students highlight the descriptive words. Then have them rewrite a few sentences, substituting their own adjectives and adverbs for each highlighted word.
8. Write a “BigWigs” book. Watch, listen to or read a news story. Identify the names of local or national leaders. Who is your mayor? Who is your governor? Who is the president? Who are the leaders of other countries? Use this to lead into lessons about elections, voting and government. Have your students write a “BigWigs” book using Big Universe’s kid-friendly Author Tool. Don’t forget to explain the term “bigwigs” (aka “the big enchilada” or “the big cheese.”)
9. Let kids create their class spelling list for the week. Split students into groups of five and have them read a news article. They should select five new or interesting words from the story. Have them rewrite their five words and then alphabetize them or use them in a new sentence. Finally, compile a master list. Being involved in the list construction will spark interest and help students take ownership of the learning process.
10. Teach children how to have civil debate. Read an age appropriate news story or editorial. Divide kids into separate groups and let them role play different sides of an issue. Supply hats or other fun physical props to help them identify with people in the news. Act out what happened. The teacher or an outgoing child can portray a news reporter to stimulate conversation and deeper thinking. Switch roles and do it again.
Remember socially aware children armed with a well-rounded education are the peacemakers of tomorrow!
Posted on January 18, 2010 by Suzan Woodard in Personal Experiences, Uncategorized.
Tags: Big Universe, Book lists, Coping with tragedy, Current Events, Dealing with death, Haiti, Kids and Grief, Online Children's Books, picture books
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Haiti has hit me hard. I can’t stand suffering, sadness and the plight of the marginalized. It’s hard for me to make sense of the tragedy on that island nation – and I’m an adult. How much harder it must be for a child to process images on TV and stories they hear at school.
Of course we can turn the channel when little ones are in the room and tuck newspapers and magazines out of sight, but sometimes death and dying become very personal. A friend’s mother dies. A teacher gets cancer. A grandparent has a heart attack.
Tragedy stands at the doorstep, and we must deal with it the best we can. Hugs, prayers and a listening ear are the first line of defense. Diversion has its place and so does role playing with dolls and toys.
I can remember my oldest daughter doing just that with her Playmobil zoo set after watching “The Lion King.” We had strictly monitored her TV watching, but had scooped up a copy of this movie, because she loved lions. Unfortunately we failed to recognize that to her, those animated characters were REAL. That’s when she first learned that loved ones can die – even big strong daddies like Mufasa the lion. (Cue the mommy guilt.)
We talked to her and reassured her, but she coped in her own way – by incorporating the topic of dying in her pretend games with her stuffed animals and zoo set. Her younger sister was able to stay naïve a little longer – that is until Sept. 11, 2001. She learned about the tragedy in New York City at school from other kids. When she got home and walked in while I was watching the news coverage, she thought MORE planes were flying into MORE buildings. (Mommy guilt, Part II.)
I think it’s only natural to try to shield our children from the harsh realities of the world – if only for a short while. However, when troubles come, I believe in naming them and beginning the process of dealing with them. I’m not a fan of sweeping things under the rug. Current events – even the bad ones – can be a learning tool.
Talking and praying were givens for us. Books also proved valuable in helping our kids cope with the fragility of the human condition. They provided a forum for discussion, and the physical contact of sitting on our laps gave comfort. The warmth of our voices soothed away fears and reinstated a sense of safety.
Michael Catchpool’s picture book “Grandpa’s Boat” (Andersen Press) is a warm story that encourages readers to remember loved ones who have passed away and to celebrate their lives rather than forget. The illustrations by Sophy Williams capture the love and happy memories that death can not touch.
Bestselling author Audrey Penn also has written a sensitive book in which the main character comes to understand the loss of a school friend through an “accident.” Check out “Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories,” (Tanglewood Press) illustrated by Barbara Gibson.
“A Mango for Grandpa” by Caroline Hudicourt (International Step by Step Association) is another online story offered in Big Universe’s library of children’s picture books. It also deals with loss by celebrating fond memories and carrying on traditions. Its illustrations by Ismer Saincilus lend themselves to whiteboard display in a classroom setting.
“Saying Goodbye” is “a sad and true story about the death of a pet dog,” written by Carrado G60, a Big Universe member. It is a perfect illustration of how Big Universe’s author tool can help kids deal with grief. The child author was able to memorialize Muffy, a beloved pet, by uploading digital photos and expressing feelings through personalized text. The book includes a parent’s page at the end with hints to help children deal with loss.
“Love is stronger than death even though it can’t stop death from happening. But no matter how hard death tries, it can’t separate people from love. It can’t take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.” – Anonymous
Note: There are many resources available to parents and teachers, who find themselves dealing with the topic of death and tragedy. Don’t be hesitant to get help from a certified grief counselor or clergyman if you feel overwhelmed. The Barr-Harris Children’s Grief Center in Chicago recommends numerous books about death and grief for children and adolescents, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions. Educator Keith Schoch also offers a great list of additional picture books on this topic in his blog.
Update (May 20, 2010): The New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards selected the picture book “Old Hu-Hu” as its supreme award recipient this year. Written by Kyle Mewburn of Central Otago and illustrated by Rachel Driscoll of Wellington, the book tells the story of a huhu beetle family and how it dealt with death by celebrating life, “reassuring children about losing a loved one.”
To learn more about using current events as an educational resource in the classroom, read these Big Universe Blogs by Suzan Woodard.
“10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom”
“Add Life to Your Teaching with Current Events”
