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o 21st Century Learning Skills: The leading advocacyorganization infusing 21st century skills into education.

o A to Z Teacher: Lesson plans, newsletter, theme units andteacher related news

o Brain Connection: Up-to-date information on how the brainlearns plus student activities.

o Children's Book Council: A comprehensive, annotatedbibliography of election-related titles for young people in grades K-12.

o Children's Literature Web Guide: Internet resources related tobooks for children and young adults.

o Classroom Connect: Learning materials for K-12 Educators andtheir students.

o Discovery Channel: Interesting articles and discovery stories forall ages.

o Kansas Association of School Libraries: A full serviceresearch center with library services.

Q Kansas State Historical Society: Kansas History and referencecenter with activities available for children.

, Kid Lit Children's Literature: A site designed for kids (mostly)and for adults interested in quality children's literature.

Q League of Women Voters: The League of Women Voters'website allows people to search their states and voting districtsfor information on candidates. Be informed about local, state andnational candidates' stance on education before they vote?

Q Marco Polo: Provides K-12 professional development for K-12teachers and students.

, Read.Write.Think: A new website for classroom teachers fromIRA and NCTE.

Q Readinga-z.com: Downloadable materials to teach gUidedreading, phonics, the alphabet, and much more.

Q Reading Lady: Provides 4 blocks of Guided Reading informationand ideas.

Q Reading Recovery

Q Reading Rockets

Q Vocabulary.com: FREEvocabulary puzzles to enhancevocabulary mastery.

, Webquest• Kathy Schrock's Webquest Page

, William Allen White Children's Book Award: Informationconcerning the award and includes online voting for the nextaward.

Character Match Up

There are many interesting characters in Being Frank. We know some things about them from the story,but we can also guess other things about them. In the first column are things we know about the

characters from the story. In the last column are things we can guess about them.Draw lines from the outer columns to the correct characters' names in the middle column.

THINGS WE KNOWFROM THE STORY

Learns to share thetruth with more sugar,

less pepper

Has lots of freckles

Likes to sing very highnotes

Doesn't like wrinkleson her face

Does hair-raisingdance moves

Is Grandpa Ernest'sbest friend

CHARACTER

Dotty

Mr. Wiggins

Mr. Pickles

Carol

Frank

Mrs. Zaroma

Mrs. Peacock

Mom

THINGS WE CANGUESS

Favorite game isTruth or Dare

Likes to get poetryfrom her son

Has a frog namedSpot and a geckonamed Speckle

Doesn't go to thebarber often

Eats relish forbreakfast, lunch, and

dinnerLoves the movie The

Sound of Music

When people are upset, they try different things to help themselves calm down and feel better. Somepeople go for a walk, some sing a song, some call a friend on the phone. In the story Being Frank, whenFrank was upset, he clipped his toenails and alphabetized his bug collection. When that didn't cure hissad mood, he went to visit Grandpa Ernest to talk about his problem,

What are some of the things YOU do to help yourself feel better or calm down when you're upset? Doyou talk to a friend? Read a book? Play an instrument? Fill in your own endings to the sentences below.

He clipped his toenails and alphabetized his bugcdlcct"",. but he dtdn't feci 8I1'j bettor, so he waIkcddown tho blocK to Grandpa's house.

Grandpa Ernest was on tM porch, clipping hiStoc",,'s. "Incoming!- he yoUed.

frank ducked.

To accompany Being Frank, written by Donna Earnhardt, illustrated by Andrea Castellani, Flashlight Presswww.FlashlightPress.com. ISBN 9781936261192

Role-Playing

When awkward situations arise, it can be hard to be honest without hurting someone's feelings. Theserole-playing script starters give students an opportunity to explore approaches to handlinguncomfortable situations. Ask students to pair up. Then hand out the script starters below, one per pair.Instruct the students to create two short skits based on the situation described. The first skit shouldshow a wrong way to handle the situation; the second skit should show a better way.

"New" kid and spelling bee Best friends (girls): Girl wants Two friends at sleepover: Thechamp: New kid wins spelling to share her clothes with sleepover guest gets scared inbee and the champ is having friend but friend thinks the the middle of the night andtrouble offering clothes are ugly. wants to go home.congratulations.

Student and teacher: Student Two classmates: one friend Big and little siblings: Olderdoesn't like the way the knows he/she wasn't invited sibling is left in charge andsubstitute teacher smells. to the other one's birthday younger sibling thinks he/she

party. is bossy.

Two siblings: one sibling Two siblings: One loves to Retired neighbor and

doesn't like other sibling's sing but can't carry a tune ... student: Student doesn't likedrumming and thinks he/she and wants to be in the other neighbor's yappy dog.needs lessons. one's band.

Husband and wife: wife Best friends (boys): One Parent and child: parentforgot about husband's friend thinks other friend thinks child hasn't been doingbirthday. doesn't throw a ball well. his/her homework.

Grandparent and grandchild: Parent and child: Child wants Two friends: When visiting,Child doesn't like the gift a puppy but parent doesn't one doesn't like the lunchgiven by grandparent. think he/she is ready. served at other one's house

To accompany Being Frank, written by Donna Earnhardt, illustrated by Andrea Castellani, Flashlight Presswww.FlashlightPress.com. ISBN 9781936261192

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N K S P R 0 F G N B B EB K K E S E A S H E L LG U T H N B E A C H A 0E A L A F I F R I E N DWAELN A B H N 0 K SW CMW I S M 0 K E E H0 I 0 D S E G I Y I T 00 RNW CAS T L E T VB AAG R P A I L Y AES L D D SWAV E S I LC PER F E C T C Y L GD H Q B o 0 K E H R A S

Circle these words in the Word Search above:

beach castle lemonade shovel

blanket claws ocean smoke

book dragon pail tail

boy family perfect water

brownies friend sand waves

bullies kite seashell wing

CREATURE FEATUREUnscramble the names of these creatures.Then put the special letters in their places below to find the answer.

They are all

ACROSS3. What color is the dragon?5. The sister thinks the dragon's teeth are broken _7. How many bullies are on the beach?8. What are feathers good for?11. The boy orders the dragon to leave until he learns some _12. The father thinks the feather is from a sea _13. The mother hears the of the ocean.

DOWN1. What does the dragon spray all over the sister?2. With a dragon, you have a built-in marshmallow _3. The boy floats on the dragon like a in the water.4. The dragon helps the boy his kite.6. What creature moves into the boy's castle?9. The dragon sneaks into the to nibble the brownies.10. Dragons laugh like this: Heh heh _

"If you build ape rfect sandcaslte, a dragon will move in. "D"aw a sandcastle. Then cut out and paste the d,'agon pa,'ts that best fit you,' castle.

Building a Story is Like Building a SandcastleA Parent/Teacher Guide for using When a Dragon Moves In to introduce the components of a story.

THE BBGINNING

What tools are needed to build a sandcastle?(Possible answers: shovel, pail, various scoops, shapers, molds.)

What tools are needed to write a story?(Possible answers: pencil, pen, paper, computer, imagination, ideas, knowledge.)

For the story, dig for ideas! What are your interests? You can write about what you know,or what you would like to know. Where do writers get their ideas? (Possible answers:books, real life, imagination, research) Now, make a list of ideas for your story.

For a sandcastle, you have to add the proper amount of water to the sand so the castle willstand strong and firm. Too little water, and the castle will crumble; too much, and it willbe a muddy mess. The process of adding water is called a build-up - just like a storyneeds a build-up! Add lots and lots of water to your pile. Mix it with the sand. Keep piling itup to build the base. Repeat the process until your pile is as tall as you want.

For the story, you need a strong foundation or idea to support everything you want to putin it. Then you have to choose the proper words. Too few, and the story may lack details,confuse the reader, and crumble. Too many, and it may be boring to the reader, alsobecoming a muddy mess. Start turning your list of ideas into written paragraphs, usingwell-chosen words.

Sandcastles can have walls, towers, turrets, battlements, moats and more. They can beadded by hand (called "hand-stacking") or sculpted from the pile.

A story needs to have characters, setting, action, plot, and tension or conflict.Let's use When a Dragon Moves In to identify these parts of a story:

Activity Guide to accompany When a Dragon Moves In, written by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam.www.FlashlightPress.comISBN 9780979974670

1. Characters: Who are the main characters in When a Dragon Moves In? Who are the characters inyour story?

2. Setting: Where does Dragon take place? What time of day is it? What is the weather like? Nowanswer these questions about your story.

3. Action: What happens in the Dragon story? What will happen in your story? Make a list of somegood action words to go with your ideas from earlier.

4. Plot: How and why are the actions linked together? Write two related action sentences to go withone of your story ideas and then link them together with "because". For example:

Mickey couldn't wait to play with his new basketball.Mrs. Walker found her new vase smashed on the floor.

Mrs. Walker found her new vase smashed on the floor because Mickey couldn't wait to playwith his new basketball.

5. Tension or Conflict: Every story needs an interesting problem. Who and what is causing thetension in When a Dragon Moves In? Would the story be as exciting if the family could see thedragon? The point where the tension is the strongest is called the climax. What is the climax in Whena Dragon Moves In? What causes the tension in your story? What will happen at the climax?

Toward the end of building your sandcastle, you may need to smooth the sides. Then youmay want to add some shells or stones for decoration, or a twig or straw flag at the top.

At the end of your story, you need a satisfying conclusion - an ending that will make thereader smile or think or want to read the story again. What is the conclusion in Dragon?What will the conclusion be in your story?

But are you really finished? No. Now is the time to re-read and REVISE!(This is like smoothing thesides of the sandcastle!) Find and correct all spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. Then, lookfor weak words and replace them with exciting words. For example, instead of writing "went," use"ran" or "traveled" or "sped" or "trudged" - depending on your story.

WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED:

Show your sandcastle to your friends and family. Maybe take a photo. Invite a dragon tomove in.

Show your story to your friends and family. If you wrote it with a pencil and paper, youcan type it on a computer and then print copies for everyone to read. If your class has abulletin board, ask the teacher if you can hang the story there. If your school has anewspaper, see if they'd like to print your story for the whole school to read.

Activity Guide to accompany When a Dragon Moves In, written by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam.www.FlashlightPress.comISBN 9780979974670