What is December 7th?

December 7th is a day that stands out in US History. Do you know why? Do your students know?

On Big Universe Learning, I found World War II by Lisa Zamosky and Wendy Conklin. This book is one of the Primary Source Readers from Teacher Created Materials Publishing. This book starts off talking about December 7, 1941 (that is actually the beginning of the first sentence) in a section called ” Secret Missions and Superbombs.”  This book contains great pictures, captions, news articles, famous leaders, symbols, and extra information to help answer questions and fill in the gaps. You could work on lots of nonfiction characteristics using this book as well.

Here are some great resources that could be used along with this book:

• From PBS: Freedom: A History of US: Pearl Harbor is part of the excellent PBS site based on Joy Hakim’s A History of US,this focuses on the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the ramifications of the attack.  You can access primary sources andphotographs to bring this part of American history come alive.
• From The War Times Journal: Pearl Harbor Animated Maps presents animated Pearl Harbor maps that provide an overview of the areas that were attacked and the actual action that took place.
•  From Scholastic: Relive the Experience Pearl Harbor includes an eyewitness account, timeline, glossary, related web links, and even a teacher’s guide.
• From ThinkQuest: The Pearl Harbor Story shares a very detailed description of the events leading up to the war, the
  Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the outcome. Be sure to check the interactive map and the survivor and eye witness accounts. The site also provides great animated photos.
• From Calisphere: Pearl Harbor includes a broad selection of images featuring Japanese-Americans during World War II can be found on this site by Calisphere. By clicking on individual images you’ll find high quality photographs and image information.
• From Scholastic: Our America: World War II is a way to learn about World War II and the American home front through diaries, interviews with those lived through these times, and writing about what you’ve learned.
• From EDSITEment: Turning the Tide in the Pacific 1941-1943 includes activity sheets, student resources, and media, (This from the We The People program: We the People is an NEH program designed to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles. )
  
• From National Geographic Education: A Date That Will Live in Infamy includes the article and vocabulary. There are also links for further exploration (audio, video, interactives, websites) Grades 5-12
• From National Geographic Society: Remembering Pearl Harbor ~ Multimedia Map and Time Line includes articles, images, audio, and places for more information. 
• From National Geographic Expeditions: The Legacy of Pearl Harbor includes lesson plan and related links.  Grades 3-5
• From ReadWriteThink: Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese in 1941 includes event description, classroom activity/questions, websites, and related resources. This activity really caught my attention:
• On December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy” in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, many Americans were called upon to act as
  heroes. Countless Americans gave their lives in defense of our country and its citizens in Pearl Harbor. Similarly, the surprise attacks on
  America on September 11, 2001, called for heroic acts of selflessness from ordinary citizens, as well as firemen, police, military personnel,
  and other government workers. Ask students to compare these two events using the interactive Venn Diagram. How are they alike? How are they different?How did each event change American citizens’ perspectives on war and the need for war? How did the two different Presidents of the United States
  react? What was different about the media coverage?

Simple Machines on Big Universe

Bellwether publishers will quickly become a favorite of 2nd and 3rd graders studying simple machines. These Level 4 Blastoff Readers contain full color images, labeled diagrams, captions, bold vocabulary words, fun facts, a glossary, and websites to learn more information. These books are perfect for reinforcing the use of text features and research skills. Titles offered on Big Universe include:

Wheels and Axles , Wedges, Ramps, Pulleys, Levers, and Screws.

One of my favorite stories involving simple machines is The 3 Pigs and the Scientific Wolf by Mary Fetzner. In the past, I’ve rewritten the book as a reader’s theater script and had the students create masks and costumes to act it out. This story is perfect for demonstrating the use of simple machines with an added bonus of humor.

Here are a couple of lessons using this book (Lessons can be modified for younger students):

Machines and Work Across the Ages (Grades 6-8)

Solving Problems Using Simple Machines (Grade 5)

Celebrate National Train Day, May 8, 2010!

Who can resist the magic of a train? Saturday, May 8, 2010, is the third annual National Train Day. This is a day to celebrate America’s love of trains. There will be free nationwide events happening all over the country. If you are not able to attend, host your own National Train Day event using these helpful resources.

Check out Bellwether Publishing’s Bullet Train on Big Universe. This book is great for reinforcing text features: table of contents, headings, bold words, visual aids, glossary, & index.

Lesson Resources

On the Valdez Middle School Language Arts website , there are several resources to promote Informational Text reading comprehension skills. Use the “Unlocking the Mysteries of Informational Materials” PowerPoint to introduce or review text features. Then use the “Text Features PowerPoint (pdf)” to model the use of text features and move into a “Text Features Scavenger Hunt” included in this document.