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TITLE Basics. [A Compilation of Learning Activities Pagez---,from Seven Issues of Instructor Magazine, September1982 through March 1983-and May_1983.].`

INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, Washington,D.C.

PUB DATE 83NOTE 20p. i _

PUB TYTE Guides Classroom Use Guides (For Teachers) 0=52)

Journal Articules (080)JOURNAL CIT Instructor; v92 n2-7,9 Sept 1 82 -Mar, May 1983

EDRS PRICE,_DESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

ABSTRACTThis collection of 18 learning activities pages

focuses on the subject areas of science, language arts, mathematics,and social studies. The science-activities pages concern the study ofearthquakes, sound, environmental changes, snails. and slugs,=,andfriction. Many of the activities are in the form of experiments forthe studenis to perform. Language arts activities cover folktales(specifically "The Blue Jackal" by Marcia Brown), the study of words,writing with an outer-space theme, reading comprehension, and the useof-comics as motivators. The three mathematics pages containactivities on metrics, division, and the use of mathematics in theoutdoors. Map= study-skills and a study of Ale rxande the Great are thetwo social studies topics provided. Two pages of multidisciplinaryactivities cover teaching.the concept of time and teaching abouttransportation and travel The final page in this compilationcontains music activities designed to give students a break wben theyare restless. (EM)

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Eletary Education;, *Elementary School Mathematics;*EleMentary School' Science; *Language Arts; Learning.Activities; *Social Studies; Teaching MethodsPF Project -

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t=3 BASICS. ACompilation of Learning Activities Pages from Seven TeasesInstructor MaAazine,, September 19 &Z through Mardh 1983 and May 1983.1

Compiled by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, Washington, RC.

Reprinted from'INSTRUCTOR, September '1982 through March -1983 and May 1983Copyright (0- 1982/83 by the Instructor Publications, Inc. Used by permis

Throughout history. different cultures haveheld their own beliefs about why the earthquakes For instance, the ancient Greeks.thought earthquakes -resulted from spiritsfighting among themselves. The Japaneseonce believed that the earth was carriedon the back of a giant spiderwhen thespider moved, the earth shook. Today. ofcourse, geologists understand the reasonswhy earthquakes occur. And while it's.still difficult to predict exactly when they'llstrike, much has been learned about thecauses of earthquakes and where they'remost apt to happen.

In this article, you'll find several hands-on experiments that will help your studentsunderstand this earth- shaking, and often'disastrous phenomenon.

Why does the earth's crust move?Materials needed One hard-boiled egg, akitchen knife, paper towels, an-electric

--skillet_lood_solorivater, and fivegrains of uncooked rice.Directions Place the egg on a paper toweland tap the shell several times until itcracks- Then, carefully slice the egg inhalf. Use this as a model of the earth.

Explain that geologists (people whostudy the earth) believe that the earth'scrust (egg shell) issomposed of 20 giantplates, each thousands of miles long,thousands of miles wide, and about 40miles thick. These plates float, closelypacked together, oh top of a thick layercalled the mantle (egg white). This mantleis believed to be about two thousand milesthick and is composed of molten (melted)and semimolteli rock, which resembles the

__ consistency ofsoft taffy. The molten rockis known as {magma.

Deep Within the- there is a core(egg yolk) of very hot. heavy Metals. Heatfrom these metals causes slow, circularcunenis, called convection currents, whichflow through the mantle. These- currentscarry the magma Upward, after it is heatednear the core, to cool just below the earth's

.'crust. When it cools, the magma sinksback toward the core again, k.

Fill the skillet with water and -turn the. .

heat or making sure to follow all safetyPrecautions.' When the Water begins boil

add a few drops of red food coloring and a spiral notebook. (Any size will do.)' let students observe the color spreading. Dirictions First explain' that the energy

through the water on convection currents. released dude,/ an earthquake travels awayThen add the rice and let kids watch the from the fault in waves called seismicgrains' move in the boiling water. Explain waves.that they are carried along by the con- There are three types of seismic wavervection currents. Like the -magma in the compressional waves. shear waves. andearth's mantle, they move upward, then surface Compressional-waves areback down toward the bottom of the skillet. actually' sound waves and they travel atWhen magma moves this way! it causes. the speed of five miles per second. Theythe plates in the earth's crust to shift. cause rocks in their paths to vibrate and

change in Oolume (the amount of spaceWhat happens when the plates shift? they occupy). Demonstrate compressionalMaterials needed Two thin. hardcover waves for your students by holding onebooki that are about the same size and end of the spring still and using your fingerssmall enough to be held- comfortably In to push .the other end toward the fixedyour hands. a end. This movement will cause the springDirections Start by reminding your suidents to compress and change in volume.that the giant plates which form the earth's Shear waves travel at approximately halfcrust arc constantly moving past one an the speed of compressional waves. Theyother. This motion squeezes and stretches.- `cause rocks and buildings to vibrate verreeks at the edges of the plates. If the tically from left to right. Your studentspressure becomes too great, the rocks rup- can feel the effects of shear waves by takingturn and shift: and -an earthquake- results turns_toldrng_ot Bend of thsp-ing stillThe point at which the rock. ruptures is while snapping the other end from left tqcalled afault, EarthquakeS are most likely .rlght. They'll see vertical vibrationa in theto occur along the hOtindaries of faults. 'spring-in-addition-to- .

Stand in front of the class, holding one Surface waves move a little More slowlybook in each hand, spines touching. Press than shear waves and roll along the surfacethe two books together as hard as you can of the ground in much the same. thatThenbegin to slide one book forward and ocean waves roll along the surface of theaway from your body as you continue sea. Demonstrate the motion of -surfacepressing the spines together,. Students waves by holding one end of the springshould notice' that you're having trouble still while gently pushing the other endsliding the book forward. EXplain that this dowhwat-L then' releasing it slowly.-ii because pressure increases the amountof friction between the two surfaces. Keep The earth's crust appears to be sturdysliding until one book suddenly .'pops up but in reality, it is not much stronger thanover the other.- Students -will=will- notice that the shell of an egg. Convection currentsthe book _youwere _sliding_now_shrws below- the= crust- and-the :Ores-sure-causedsudden burst of movement:

6;Explain that by one plate- meeting another can result

this is e use the pressured creased when in sudden ruptures: When thiS happens,.

One book slipped over the other and energy the earth no longer seems like such a-.was released. This is what happens when home. But we needn't live in fearSof earth

two plates in the earth's crust meet.- The quakes the way people ohce`did.:Gealogistsrocks at the edges rupture under pressure, have made great strides in locating majorcausing a fault. Energy is released, and fault-zones and are not far from developingarrearthquake occurs. , a method -for Pre-diaing-arthq-akes.

- We've come a- long way from spirits andWhat happens to released energy during giant spiders!an earthquake?, . !ism Idiride is a free-lance smiler who

-Materials- nerved Any long, fleatibk spring liTts tashuesht seipnee in the classroom and ancontributes to Imentucron regularly

such -as the spring fe-dftd-irr-the-bit.dllig of. end la ifBasicsconsultant. 1(

.

Getting to folktalesLANGUAGE ARTS Carol FisherIf your students are like most kids today,they probably haven't had much exposureto folklore. Unfortunately, oral traditionhas fallen by the wayside in our societyand we've lOst a large part of our culturalheritage along with it.

Your can restore this rich tradition inyour classroom by planning a unit on folk-lore. In this snick you'll find stiggestionsfor expanding your students' generalknowledge of folkiales. along with specificactivities to use in conjunction with'onetale, The Blye Jackal. by Marcia Brown(Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977).

Introducing folkloreBegin by explaining to yoUr class thatfolklore generally deals with either materialculture, social folk customs, or the:verbalarts. Material culture refers to skills andtechniques that have been passed on fromone person to another, such as how toplant corn or how, to make a pie crust.Social folk customs have to do with groupinteractions and are usually passed down

------from-olte-gematiorrio-the-meatornmples include holiday traditions. har-

vest celebrations. and so on Finally, theverbal arts encompass folktales, chants,proverbs, and narratives. Almost anythingcan be- considered a form of folkloreifit has been passed on orally from one per-son to another, or from one generation tothe next. Now try some of the followinggeneral activities.1.. Ask your students to discuss how theycelebrate holidays like Christmas. Ha-nukkah. or Thanksgiving._ Which holidaytraditiOns do they expect to pass on totheir own children?2.--Ask your schodl librarian to:help you

-2choose examples of.folktales, fairy tales.myths, and so on.: Make it a point to readone of these stories to your students everyday. Set up a folklore corner in your class-room and encourage students to read stories'to their classmates during- frc time..

Teaching a specific tale:The Blue JackalThis folktale provides for a wide varietyof extending activities such as the armsthat follow. The main character is a jackal,named Fierce-Howl. One eray he runs into-a dyer's house tOescape. a pack of dogsand accidentally jumps into a huge vat, ofindigo dye. The next morning, he climbsout of the vat and returns to the jungle.The ocher animals are tetrified.by his darkbluelur and, thinking he, is some strangeand Magnificent beast. crown him rulerof the forest. He lives quite happily until,.one day, he howls back at the other jackalsand exposes his true identity.. Read thisstory aloud to your students, then let them

.. try some of the following activities.'1. Dramatize Fierce-Howl's trial for de-ceiving the other animals.2. Write a diary entry Fierce-Howl mighthave made the night he was crowned rulerof the jungle.3. Investigate unusual forest and jungleanimals such as the jackal, iguana, and.-

---genet:-Then-share-your-information7 with-classmates in a brief oral report.4. List several_ different adjectives thatmight have been used to describe Fierce-Howl before and after he lost his crown,5. pretend to interview various jungle an-(ma's after they found out who Fierce-Howl really was:6. Debate whether or not Fierce-How) wasjustified in accepting the..crown without.explaining the real reason for his Strange,blue fur.7: investigate the art of tie-dyeing, thentry it yourself as an extra-credit art project. .

8. Dramatize the story using animal sock'puppets.9. Write a poem entitled. "Ode to d FadedJackal."

Write your own folktale about de-ccption: then share it with-classmates inoral or written form.11. Write a newspaper report describing

3. Ask each student to submit a favorite_family recipe to .be included in a class'booklet, called Folk Cookery.4\Invite a senior citizen to visit yourclassroom and relate a folktale he or she

.embers hearing as a child.

2- 1 24Septerabirv1982---

FierceTHowr_s_ceturn to the junglc_as per-ceirved by the other animals. illustrate-yourstory with an original drawing. 0Carol Fisher is an associate profeseat oflanguage education at the UniversityofGeorg-IL in Athens. Georgia., and a Basicsconsultant.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY` Judith EnzTime is an abstract concept that's difficultfor elementary school stu.:...nts to under-stand. You can make it more concrete foryour students with these time-ly activitiesthat cut across ail areas of the curriculum.I. Have groeips of sftdents invistigate howprimitive peoples and . ancient cultures,..measured iime. Some cultures they mightwant to research include the AncientGreeks, Romans. and Egyptians: Eskimotribes; and native American Indians. Havekids displas their_ findings on your bulletinboard, using charts, expository paragraphs.and illustrations.2. Instruct students to find out how..i.vcmeasure time today, then have Omni workin pairs to make models demonstrating theearth's revolutions and rotation around. thesun.3. Time has .a different meaning foreveryone. Have students collect from bookiof famous quotations things people havesaid abGUt time Abet are particularly in-teresting. Instruct each child to print hisor her favorite quote on a sheet of con-struction paper, then tack them all on your

bulletin-board.-Next. have kids write_thcir___own thoughts on time by completing asentence starting with "Time is . .4. For 'older students. use these questions'to prompt discussion or debate about time:

- Is time really relative? When did time be-,' gin? Will time ever end? Would time exist,if there were no living persons to measureR?

5. Have each child create a personal timeline, illustrating major events in his pr herlife. Or let.kids construct bar graphs com-paring the amount of time allotted duringthe' school day for recess. lunch.13.E..

., mach, reading. and so on.6. Lct your students learn to tell timethe ,_

way people in thc military do. Explaiii---. that for the P.M. hours.- I o'clock = 1300

hours: 2 o'clock = 1490 houri. and so on:.until 12 midnight (2400 hours). For thcA,M. hours. i 'O'ClaCk 0100 hours. 2p'eock"-= 0200 hours, and so on until 12 .

noon (1200 tiour).7. Make a classroom-sand timer. using Acone-shaped plastic 'drinking cup with, asmall hole in the pointed end. Supply afcw cups of fine sand Now let kids predict=

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'4.:21,447icA7.444r34414.1

how long it will take for I cup of sand toflow through the timely -pour it in. andcheck the clock to sea whose predictionwas most accurate. Repeat the process us-ing 2 cups of sand. Y. cup, 3 cups, 1/4cup, and 'so on. Display the results in aclassroom graph with minutes alongthe vertical axis and "cups of sand alongthe horizontal axis.8. Have your c.ass make a time capsuleand bury it somewhere on the schoolgrounds. if possible. Some items your kidsmight want to put in their time capsuleinclude a class photo, one important factabout each student M the class, baseballcare . current newspaper clippings. pic-tures from fashion magazines. lyrics topopular songs. and so on. When the capsuleis assembled, let students compose a shortnote to next year's class, telling the studentswhere the capsule is located and givingthem the Option to opendit immediately orpass the legacy on to the next class."?9. Collect various time Schedules for buslines, railroads. and airlines. Let stud_ entstake turns using these -schedules to planimaginary_tdps. How long will it take eachchild to travel from his or her startingpoint to the final destination?10. For a language arts activity. have stu-dents pretend they've been granted theability to travel forward or- backward intime. What year would they most like to'travel to ?' Have each 'child write a feu,brief paragraphs explaining why.I1. Encourage students to Ose. encyclo-pedias to investigate the doricept of timezones. Why arc, they necessary? Instructeach child to choose any five cities in theworld and tell what time it is in each city.when it is 9 A.M. in your hometown.12. To improve students' skills in -tctimation, try this-game. First. cover yourclassroom clock with brown paper. Theninstruct the Children to be seated. Wheneveryone is 'silent, have kids raise theirhand& when they think- one minute haspassed. Wait until every child has raisedhis or her hand before you

.winner. Repeat the procedure for 2 min-utes. 5 minutes. 'and so on. 0Judith Enz is a graduate assistant at theUniversity of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

MATHEMATICS Joseph Baust

Now that it's autumn, why obt take yourmath lessons outdoors? That's right,thearea outside your classroom is a naturalfor bringing math activities, to life! In thisarticle, you'll find several ideas that willhelp kids learn to -classify. measure, es-timate, and solve -problernsas they ex-plore their environment...

- Leaves along the path (early grades)For this activity, you'll need to gatherseveral types of leaves. Choose one variety,place all those leaves tog_ether,. then dividethem equally between two plastic bags.Mix the remaining leaves together and di-vide -them among five or six other bags.Now divide'your class into grdups. Givetwo groups the bags filled with the mho-type of leaves, and distribute the rest ofthe bags among the remaining. groups'.

,Next, Flat a short path (such as the dis-tance between- two treed ) along which-chiliken are-to place their leaves. Whenthe groups have finished, ask how-manyleaves each used to complete the course._Then ask students how they positioned.their leaves. Did they' place them end toend, or side by side? Did they leave.spacebetween each leaf or were Sides or endstouching? Why do they suppoie the twogroups using the same-variety bags usedapproximately the same amount of leaves?Why was there such a differincc between,the amounts of Icayes used by groups withthe mixed bags?

Explain that in order for measurementof any kind to be accurate, a standard unitof measure is necessary. In this activity,the groups: using the same-variety bagscame closest to working with a standardunit of measure because all the leaves were

- approximately the same size.

trees, plants, and soon. Each child shouldthen predict how many of those -itemswould be found in a similar area that was10 times as large -30 times as large, MOtimes as large, and so on.

Bean bug invasion (upper grades)Rope off an area of your school groundsthat measures 2 x 2 meters square. then

-scatter beans- orpeai within the boundariesof the square. (You might call these "beanbugs.") Next, construct a second squareout of pipe cleaners or rigid drinking strawsthat measures 10 x 10 centimeters. Askkids to guess how many bean bugs areinside the large square-. Then ask how theymight use the smaller square to estimate.without counting, the number of bean bugsin the larger square. If nobody knows howthis might be done. instruct a student vol-unteer to place the small 'square onground, within the larger square, and countthe number of bean bugs found within thesmaller square. ChOose other volunteersto repeat this' process five times, then havekids determine the average number of beanbugs found within the speller squares. --

Now ask students to tell you how theymighrime-that -average-to-determine-thenumber of bean bugs found in the large.rsquare. Explain that the first step it.tofigure out howmany times the 10 x 10cm square will fit inside the 2 x 2 metersquare. Have kids attempt to figure thisout on paper until someone arrives at thecorrect answer (400 times). Ask studefus

- how they might use this number togetherwith the average number of bean bugsfrom the five samplings to determine theapproximate number of bean bugs in thelarger square-If nobody knows, explainthat the estimate can be found.by multi-plying the average number of bean bugsin the five samplings bY.iop, Have students

.complete the operation on paper. . .

This activity will give kids neededpractice in sampling. adding, multiplying,and averaging.

Usc the activities presented above 10spark your own-ideas-foroutdoormath.

Predicting (middle grades)This activity will provide students withpractice in addition and multiplicationand it's also a lot of fun! Have each childchoose an area of your school yard (nolarger a, square foot), then markboundaries with chalk (if the area is asphalt).or string (if the area is grass). Next, havestudents count and list all the items foundin their areas. such `as pebbles,- insects.

2 0186'. Seriteialiier19822-

jusapit'Biatist is an assistant firofesser atMurray State Unieemity in Murray,Kentucky. -

Metric mania.MATHEMATICS

I

Today's students need plenty of practicein using the metric sygiern. One of thesimplest and most entertaining ways toprovide that practice is to have children'.measure familiar objects in and aroundyOur school building, using meterstieks.The only materials you'll need are enoughmetersticks for every child in your class,and a ball of string.

You'll notice that the following activitiesdo not ask students to measure items instandard units first, then convert thosemeasurements to metrics. Current thinkingabout metrics education holds that con-version is an extra step which may confusechildren unnecessarily. After all, in mostareas of the country..a meterstick is justas easy to come by as a ruler-is!

My measurements, myself What couldbe 'more familiar to a child than his or her-own bOdy? Children will enjoy findingtheir metric measurements with this simpleactivity..3o start, divide your class intopairs and give each pair a meterstick anda piece f string, about one meter (39.37inches) in length.

Instruct one member of each pair tomeasure the circumference of his or herpartner's head, using the length of stririg.-

T or-&-rTfernstrate=how-to=hold-the-string -against the ruler to obtain the measurementin centimeters. Students should record theirmeasurements. to be compiled in a class-room graph liter on. Next have studentstake turns measuring their partners' arms.'wrists, and feet in centimeters. -What's a mete_ r? This. 'activity avtll give-kids a. chance to practice their skills inestirnation, while they beCame more fa-.miliar wittemetrie rniaSurements. Havechildren brainstorm a list of objects, eachof which they ,estimate to be about Onemeter (39.37 inches),in length. Next,- in-scowl children to rneasumihosc items onthe list, using a 'meterstick. Make surethey record each Measurement. How closedid studenti come to correctly estimatingthe length of the objects on their list?Measuring shadows On a sunny day, takeyour-cliss,outdoorsforo measurement ac-tivity that combines math and science. Divide the class into pairs and have students

Bahidra Bethel

take turns using a meterstick to measuretheir partners' shadows: If possible, repeatthis procedure two or three different timesduring the day. At .what time during theday arc the children's .shadows longest?At which time are they shortest? Studentsshould notice that their shadoWs are shortestaround noon, and get longer thereafter.Explain that shadow length is. related tothe sun's position in the sky. Now instruct-the children to use science' texts or otherreference books to find out exactly howthe two relate. You might also trtivedents measure the shadows cast by differentstructures on your school grounds sue as

a flagpole-or your school. building.Estimating decimeters Here's anotherestimation activity that will introduce de-cimeters while helping children understandthe concept of area. First, use sheets of

7eonstruction paper to cut several (at least30) 19 em K. 10 cm squares. Show oneto the class and explain that the area orthe sheet of paper is brie square decimeter(10 cm x 10 cm = 1 square decimeter.)Now ask each child.to estimate how manysquare decimeters it will take to completely -.cover a desk in your classroom. To findthe correct answer, give the supply ofsquares to one student volunteer and in-

_struct_the Jest of the class to Watch as heor she places them, one beside the -tidier--with sides touching, on the surface of thedesk: Which estimate came closest to theatfuil measure?

Now instruct children to find the areaof the desk in squire decimeters". Thai'seasy to figure out,--just have them multiplythe number of squares placed horizontallyon the girt-ace by. the number Of squaresplaced vertically.

Repeat this procedure:using five othersquare or rectangular objects found in yourclassroom. such as textbooks. a flannelboard, a sheet of obsterboard, and so onEach time have children record their as-tirnates first, followed by the actual metric.measurements. You may.want to award asmall prize'ro the student whose estimatescome closest io the, correct area of Bachobject measured. . 0Barbara Bethel it a malherna!ic% orihultant for theSan Dirgu Unified uiSch,1 Dimriet in California.

7 -

SCIENCE-'

SoundscapesWilliam Nell

On October 27, PUS stations across thecountry will air "To Heart a- one-hourspecial "celebration' of sound.- that fp!cuseS on both the pleasures and the hasardsof sounds around us. Before_your students_view this special presentation. use the ac-tivities that fellow to c.splore sound in ourenvironment.

Waves lnthe ocean of air trop a.bookon your desk. Ask kids if they know howthe sound of the hook hitting the deskreached their cars. Explain that when thebook hit the desk the two surfaces movedback _and forth very quickly that is theyvie led. This.vibration set- air moleculesaround the book in motion. Those mole-cules jostled their neighboring air mole-cules. starting a chain, reaction much likea tumbling row of dominoes. This chainreaction of moving air molecules is calleda sound -ware. The sound waves traveledfrom the vibrating book through the air toyour students' cars. Without this movementof sound through air, we could hear nospeech. no music* no thunder. no noiseat all. Now try the activities that followto further acquaint studentS with the con-cept of sound waves and how they travelthrough the-air in our environment.

For this exercise, you'll need acunipgfork and a gla-srOTwater: Strike the tuningfork-and place-it_in_the_water,..The vibrationwill make the water splash. Explain thatround Waves are invisible, but if -they couldbe _seen. they would look like the ripplesa pebble Makes when dropped into a calmpond.2. Place the tuning fork used above beside

-a Ping Fong ball. NoW strike the tuningfork and put it down again. What happens?

-(The ball jumps.) Explain that sound-wavestraveling from thy; tuning fork through theair made the ball jump.3. You'll need a balloon and a radio forthis exercise. Ask a student volunteer to,hold the inflated balloon next to his or hercheek. Now hold the radio up to the other .side of the balloon turn it on Can thestudent feel the balloon Vibrating? Can heor she feel the movement of air molecules'?What caused the molecules to -move?Sound -waveS-frorn-the

The ears perfect sound receiver Dropa book on your desk one more time. Explainthat students heard a noise because thesound waves' were caught by their ears.Ears aredesiimed to feet sound waves.-What happens inside our cars when. we'hear sounds'?

Expldin that the ear has three parts: theouter. middle, and inner ear. The outerear catches the sound waves, acting likea funnel to direct them' to the eardrum.Sound causes the eardrum to vibrate. Thesevibrations make the three small bones inthe middle car move mechanically; 'Thesebonesthe !duller's. incus, and stapes-send the mechanical vibrations toche innerear, where they arc picked up by tiny haircells and transmitted Ps- electrical impulsesalong the auditory nerve to the brain. That'show the car feels sound. Now use the fol-lowing .activities to further investigatesounds.f. Our ears can receive many- differentsounds simultaneously. Have students sitquietly and list the sounds they hear. Didsome studints hear things others did not ?.Explain that ihis is because we alwayschoose to listen to some sounds and ignoreothers. Otherwise. we'd .suffer from"sound overload!"2. How well do we know the sounds aroundus? Have each child bring an object toschool that makes in interesting sound.Students are to take turns sounding tlritems, while classmates close their eyesand attempt to guess what they hear. Awarda small prize to the child who correctlyidentifies the most -sounds. .

3. The_ Voyager spacecraft carries a golddisk, etched with human voices and thesounds_ of our world. Someday. thesesounds May be heard by extraterrestrialbeings. Ask students what sounds theywould include if they were making sucha eisk. .

LI.' Take students on a walk around yoursehool Play area Tell them to keep their-earS Wideopen1What sounds do they hear?:Which are most pleasant? Which are most'Unpleasant to hear? 0 T

Wiltlarri Nell is cxccui ve pmduccr attic pns special. .

**To Hear. He holds a 0a# degree m eaueaumat

LANGUAGE ARTS Barbar Hunt Lazerson

Once upon a time. elementary school stu-dents diagrammed sentences. conjugatedverbs. and declined pronouns. Such a reg-imented approach to languvc arts probablykilled the *interest of all but the: most ardentlinguists. Fonunately. times have changed;--today, children arc learning that languagecan be fun.

If you'd like to add to your students'enjoyment of language arts. try. this ideafor a learning center on etymology, called"What's in a word ?" Not only will 3tpromote interest in_words, it will also helpstrengthen kids' dictionary skills at thesame time.

You'll need to supply a dictionary foryour center that includes explanatiOns ofword origins. A good example is ChildernfrAnnual: The Magic of Words (Field En-terprises Educational Corp., 510 Mer-chandise Mart Plaza,. Chicago. IL 60654;1975).

Following are some examples of-activ-ities you might want to include in yourcenter. Just type or print theoron dupli-cating masters. run off.enough copies ofeach worksheet for every child in yourclass, and let kids take turns completingthem at the center.

Etymology riddles,Studentdtrectians The etymology ofa word refers to its original meaning. inaddition to any changes in meaning thatmay have occurred over time. To answerthe riddles on this worksheet. you'll needto know something about the etymologyof each underlined word. For instance, to

- answer the riddle. **Why might yoti setatrap for the muscle in your arm?" you'd

--have-to-know that Our word mitsde wastaken from the Latin word meaning "little:mouse." Read each word on this worksheetand look up the urrderlinedowords in thedictionary. Can you answer these riddles--Stier learning -the etymologies- of-theOnderlined words?

4. Why would you brush a dandelion witha toothbrush?5. Why might a student go to sr-/affil onlyduring free time?Answers .

Comet comes from' the Greek wordmeaning *long ,haired.2. The literal French meaning of eaves-dropper is one stunding under the dripfrom the eaves.3. Sausage comes from the Latin Ordmeaning salted."4. -Dandelion comes from the French wordmeaning *. *lion's tooth.5. SchOol comes from the Greek wordmanning leiSure:

Name that animalStudent directions Many -animals wereoriginally named for their identifyingcharacteristics. For instance* the greyhoundwas named for its color, and the' /iota 0111was named for the sound it makes. How-ever. some animal name% tidn't have suchobvious origins. On this worksheet. you'llfind two columns of. words, Column Acontains the names of 10 common animals.listed in alphabetical order. Column Bcontains the original meanings of those-names, listed in random or_cler_Your-taskis to=correctly-matchihe animal names illcolumn A with their original .meanings incolumn B. Check your'answers by referringto the dictionary..

Column AI. caterpillar2. crocodile

'3. duck4. gorilla5. hippopotamus.

7. octopus3. poodle9. rhinoceros

spider

Column B.a. cut intob. diverc. hairy gat -

d. having eieht feete. nose horn

g. river horseh. spinneris splash dogj. hairy person

come from a variety of sources. Somewere named for stars and planets. othersfor gods in Roman and-Norse mythology.The original meanings for the names orsome days and months are found in quo:tation marks in the following sentences.Replace these words-with the appoipriate

_nudes. Check your answers by lookingnhem up in the dictionary.I. Christmas is celebrated on ' *Ten" 25.2; Students like Frigg's Day" hiAti.3. People in the United States celebratethe 4th of *'Julius."4. "Of Mars" comes in like tLlion. andgoes out like a. lamb.5. There's a scary holidayidthernonthof .'*Eight."6. "Moon's Day" always gets me down.7. "Woden's Day falls in the middle of

.the week.R.-Turkeys have reason to worry in themonth of "Nine."Answers liDocember ?)Friday= 31.1uly45March .5 }October hiMonday7)Wednesday 8)Novembor 9

116W s that again?,Student directions If we_used th riginal

2 .

meaning words in conver-satkm. wed certainly confuse ou fiends!-This worksheet consists -.s ntencesin which the original ineaningsi certainwords appear in quotation . SUbsa-tutu the proper words for c originaldefinitions-Can. you find the ansvi-cr;, inthe dictionary?1. The "near _forme together for ifblock party.2 The moving from place to place*pulled the railroad cars over the plains andtoward the mountains.3:--"sweet root'*. is St lls:s favorite candy.-4-.--Td-tiflookedin-tInforefingeelofthebodk to,find the pages he wanted to read.5 LotsTof14-year-olds have a 10 o'clockcover-fire."6 'Alice's- favorite--!-Io horse::

i. Why would you take a comet to the Answers l)c 2)13?b 4)j 5)g 6 7W 8)i -collecting.

barber? _ 9)e 10)h- -Anyivers 2)locon

2. Why would an eavesdropper get wet - 4)index 5)curfillw 6thobby

on a rainy day? _ Days and monthsWhy shouldn't a person on a salt-free r Student directions The names of the dfiys Barbaro Hunt Lareraon is an -ftswiciate-p

lessor of elementary education at Illinois Statediet eat sausage? of the week and the months of the year University in Normal. Illinois

ructorl c,v92nitZwID

SOCIAL STUDIES Ddr--ark Jewell

In-1977 an anCiat tomb was discoveredin Greece. It is believed to have been theburial chamber of Philip II of Macedon.a famous Greek general and -father' ofAlexander the Great. Artifacts found iasidethe tomb:. in addition to other treasures

ancient Oreece. have been assembledinto an. exhibit called "The Search forAlexander."

This ekhibit has been shown in museumsin Chicago. Boston. San Francisco, and.New Orleans, and will have ifs finalshowing4in -New :York City from October7, 1982 through January 3, 1983.

Even if your students won't be able toview the ehhibit. they can begin their ownsearch for Alexa der with some of 'thesimple activities resented below.

Background informationAlexander was one of history's greatestsuperstars. He -lived in Greece from 356-323 a.c.As king of Macedonia and oneof the most brilliant generals in history,he complered much of what was then con-sidered the civiliad,worp. By the time-he was 25 years old, he had carved anempire ranging from the MediterraneanSea to the Indus River, including what is-now Turkey. Lebanon. Israel, Jordan,Egypt. Libya. Cyprus. Syria. Iraq, Iran,Afghanistan. central Asia; Pakistan. andIndia. Through his conquests. the worldcame to know Greek ideas and.eulture.

Alexander died of malaria when he wasat the height of his power. His generalsheld the empire togethe'r for a short while.

. but by 31 I de.. it had spit into states withindividUal rulers.

Alexander's life and accomplishmentsimpressed people all over the ,ancient,world. -Today, his leadership and valorremain -a source of inspiration to artistsand writers'alikoa

Supply your class with reference book'sand encyclopedias (see bibliography) andhave them further -research the-life, and=times of.Alexander the Great before tryingthe-following activities.

i.:Mani words in the. English language-originated in Grcere_Examples,includdemocracy. Epic: omega. funk-. and oracle.

ogr KnirigDpe.-19B27-

Me a dictioilarY Co find .atarN -define .10other words with Greek origi=as- Then il-Ihstrate each word and clefinitzion.2. Pretend that you arc one of -..Alcxander'ssoldiers andarc aware of his pelan to con-quer the !sad. Compose a letter td yourfamily in Macedonia, telling them howyou feel about the part you an-e expectedto play in Alexander's grand flan.

. Gyring Aleiander's many coinsand -medals were mode in his-.2aonor. Pre-tend ybu arc in charge of desim-ning a coinor medal for Alexander. What will it looklike?4. Alexanderel father. Philip _II. was thefirst Milcedonlan In participate ilm the GreekOlympic Games. Research 0= history ofthe Olympics in Greece and-etc cribe threesymbols or ceremonies that .awe still partof the Olymplcs.Examples iiiiiznclude thelighting of the Olympic torch, the symbolof five interlocking circles. tie Olympicmotto Citius, Altius, Forth's (Swifter.Higher. Stronger), and the namh taken byathletes before the games Storm.'5. A pictorial map,is one small itlustrations.marking important places and-events. Cent, ynur own pietomm-ial map ofAlexander's mph: Start by tracing theoutline of d rrioprithe Eistern 1-Mornisphere;then filliathe boundaries of.thoe countriesthat were parf of the EMpire. LNText.- drawsmall pictures h? mark capital and other,important cities; scenes of rrter battles.the placcswhere AlexUnder born anddied, ancrso on.6. As a boy, Alexander was taught to playthe-lyre. a` string instilment 1=ascd to ac-company lyric yerses. Write a lyric poemof your own that might be sun= to the tuneof a' popular song,

BibliographyAlex-cinder the Great by Johan Gunther -(Random House, 1953): 110.slaze to Alex-ander. by Mary Ii. AndrcWs (Dasrid McKayCompany. Inc., I961):- laxiel a GreekTown.' by Jonathan-, Rutland (WarwickPresi, .1979); agd The,Setit-el*- for Alex-ander. by K-LicFox-(Little;1113rown andCompany;

Ai Jewell Idi tlithitrade teuehr at cue.erElbnarniary Sth001 in Tacoma. Wiabington.

Secrets of = achanging schoolyard

SCIENCE Kathleen Friesen

It's happening; this very minuterightoutside your classroom door. Sl wly al-most imperceptibly, the environment ischanging.- The grass outside your schoolbuilding ,is becoming drier. Leaves maybe changing co!ori. And sidewalks .avewearing away from constant' use and e?c-postpe to the elements.

Change is constantly affecting our en'-.vironrnent, yet often- it passes unnoticed.By scheduling several class "field trips"

the year to a place no fartherthan your school grounds, you can helpstudents become experts at detecting andunderstandidg changes in their immediateenvironment. At the same time. childrenwill sharpen their skills in observation,m_easuremeni, and descriptive writing.

Schedule your first trip for sometimebeforerhe-end-of-Noventber. But beforeyou -take the kids outside, itold-a-classbrainstorming session in which you listexamples of environmental changes -stu-.dents are likely to observe, such as fallingleaves or flowers that have gone'to seed.Encourage kids to think' of less obvious_changes-as well, such as a rust spot in-creasing in size on an iron fence, an icicleforming at the bottom of a drainpipe.' ormoist ground becoming firm and dry inthe sun.

Following this initial brainstormingsession, you might want, to take your Stu-dents outdoors forafew 'minutes go theycan locate additional examples.

The first field tripYour goal for the first field trip is to chooseseveral different "change stations." thatis, small areas in -which at least one of the

7changes On.your list is already occurring.,Select enough stations kir groups of two'dr three students to "adopt" each enc..Stations should be marked with woodery

- stakes, string. or surveyor's,- tape so theycan be identified easily throughout the yearFollowing arc a- few examples of change

.stations- you may find on your schoolgrounds: -

a part of a sidewalk in which a crackbeginning to form

the ground at the 66ttorn of a drainpipe* the bud of a flower

one leafy tree brancha square' meter of grassy groundone foot of irlz3n fencing

. After students have chosentheir stations,have each group decide on one change itwould like to observe throughout the yearFor instance, the group that chooses thesidewalk station might focus on 'thechanging size Of-the crack.

On this first field trip, instruct studentsto record as much data as possible regardingthe current state of 'change in their stations:'How large is the rust' spot? -What colorare the leaves on the tree branch? Whatis the condition of the ground at the baseof the drainpipe? Have kids draw pictures-to illustrate 'their 'data: photograph Theirstations, or digcr.ibe them on paper. Thiswill lay thrgroundwork for comparisons_

Change stations revisited'Try to schedule one field. trip each monthfor the rest of the gear. Each dine studentsvisit- their stations, have them record ads-i;litional data regarding thechanges theyobserve in-the form of graphs; a series ofpictures;or journal 'entries.

You'll also want to ask questions thatwill encourage students to think about El cchanges.they observe. Why afe the leaves-on the tree branch changing color? Whatis causing the ground to become more firm -at the base of the drainpipe -

instruct students.within. each group, tobrainstorm possible answers to your ques-tions, then use reference books to validatetheir guesses back in the classroom.

After your final field trip of the yeal;groups should compare their data fromeach visit and share their discoveries with'

- classmates. Students may be surprised tolearn that a rust spot has doubled in sizeor that one small crack in a sidewalk hasled,to several more! 0,

thleea Friesen is currently Working towarddung degree in science and environmental

unation at Cornell University in Ithaca. NewYork; and is eagerly awaiting her return to the

4 .-.p 2 f:Nciv/De610_98Z:

MIJLTIENSISCIPLINARY-Every day most,meet" .us use some form oftransportation; Whesether we're making thedaily jaunt tosehoor=al or going much fartheraway. Thelliffererimit methods of transpor-cation used, the kinds of information weneed to know aloniz4g.the way. and theciting' experience.. of traveling itself cantake your students into unknown areas,.and,1rno-st any su 'ec s these activities

-show.

Modes and rnenns'I. Research merho----1 trarispoitafion Usedby fantasy .characters, such as Santa's'sleigh and reincler. Mary Foppins' um:bra°. and flying: carpets, Use the infor-mation to write shor..--1 manuals such as "'rhoEffect of W ather -rs. on Flying Carpets.2. Collect train sclumedules and ticket scubas

°from trains. pl nes,: and buses. Paste.thcmon cardboard t r reatc a transportatioacollage.3 Find pictures 0. .43redifferent kinds of shipssuch 'as clipper stasAps, aitcraft carriers.-towboats. housebotasatAtankers, and fishingtrawler's. How doe trick structure or. theequipment they,eaarmyry akc them usefulfor their piiticular Towbdats, forexample, have.spccal puShers that tooklike" knees built -alkiong the bow to helpthem° push larger-OW:hips into'harbor.) Cut -

out the shape of enh ship from dark paperand paste it on car-dboard; then identifyeach one by its silhouette. Read such sea-

c41 faring adventyres a jack Londori;s:Tedesof the Fish Patrol cstr Tales of thesSfa.'4. Research the fasicascinating history caf- therailroads. Fut' exarnple. the earliest trainwas made by coal ono= niers pushing wagonsthat were on tracks, end the Tom Thumb'was a train that racd against a horse andlost. Trace on a rnapa".the:Toute"..traveled by\the fainoui Orient _=-itpress. andwrite stu.-riei illustratiOg ev-i=rits that actually hap-Ni:eel along the way---T-. such as an avalanchO'

In Bulgaria that buraricd the train for-.10'days, or numerous rear-obberieS. Design pustersaeadvertising citaimies situated along theroute: .

-5. .CalFulate how razimuch it costs to ownvarions -kinds of caamrs for a year. addingin, the cost or gaseliEtne insurance, main-tenance, license, an dif=1 registration Assumesru ctii"D D

Sandy. 7Jawin

you travel 25 miles per day, 2B0 days; a 4, Finder =different namesfor travelers (ar-year, and that abuspr other form of mass, maul. explorer, astronaut.. nomad.-transit is availible: Which is the cheaper tourist- conbassador. Td so on) and discussform of transportation? -- , the mgning of each one Therv.draw a6. San Francisco has trolley ears, Venice cartoon.z. c.omparing two kinds of travelers.has gondolas; the Amish of Pennsylvahia with stath captions as An explorer is like

e horse-drawn wagons. What other a tourit, except that he doesn't usuallyplaces or people .use special -mean' of slanvslias when he gets. horn.-- or Antransportation? Why are 'they used? ,.aitrcanawat- is like_ an ambassador, .except7. Make models of different kinds of ?IPI,I lhat ls doesn't have to know thecraft (gliders, sailplanes helicopters; Illangua=e"rockets) from cardboard and string-thero)) 5,1-lay a "Transportation Cireer Day.together to make mobiles. Print\ relatedI,Look it various career books to find re-words such as/Climbing. bank, g, =tilt quireme=mti. advantages, and disadvantagesspeed. and throttle on smaller picecisof of such occupation-5 as train conductors-.cardboard and attach to the mobiles. air trafEfic controllers; astronauts, -, bus8. Look up some men:ids of transparrotit9 ritivdrs_ mechanics, an .travel agents'that are obsolete, such as thc stew-4144c Gather tithe information together in a bookletstagecoach, and hydrogen-filled dirigible, or on a. bulletin board: Make posters re :..Make achart illustrating. these vehicles, milting people for various occupations,and their modern counterparts. Arc there and invitee one otc these people to speak toany similaritics'between the different kinds lie class...of fuel of the past and the present?.(Horsei ,I6. Lighwhouses send signals to _ships inthat pulled stagecoaches ate grass: gasohnl, the hart or, using a -timed seqUende , ofMade from plants, is being used for 115shes ss=111) that sailors can get their bearings.

Provide several children with flashlights,gaSoline.) -, ,.. ',rite itie alphabet in Morse eode on the --..Travelers past and present toard..amemd let kids take turns sending and

.

I. Make journal ernries relating a trip froni decodin. messages . Thera let/a group ofEurope to the United, States on thc Sonrii students devise their own ."light. code"Maria, and record such things as what ytiu for othom-s to decipher._ Investigate Othbr .

see, what you cat, and how .comfortOle mcansISIK---comMunicating on the high seas.the vessel is Then do the same for a trip In.the a-a, and on the road. Ind-ode theon modern ocean liner. How Much longer .Information in a bookie of codes. ' -did first trip take? .. .

2 Have Several Students research people' rollowlmong dilettlonswho have made significant contributions I, Hide .. treasure in the classroomto transportation. such as Charles Lind. lhat writeac instructions for treasure-huntersbergh: Robert Fallon. or Henry Ford. then tofollow compasshile using compass (take- twoprepare to be interviewed by "reprarrers. ileac no.r-- ,-41a. seven cast, arirt so° on) . .

Stndents who are, reporters ,should ast4 2 Locateee various cities on;d map of thequestions they think the people of drat Cold. EsId the latitudg andlongitude oftime would like to .knoW., such as "Mr. r i c h end computeine distance to each

\Wright how will you land when you fly In miles --.rid meters (considering Jhe di-to another cityTI . inclions. norm, south. east. and west. as3 \Plan a- trip to sorne far-off city. Obtain nip _frourn. where you:are. Arrange the-train plane and bus schedules acid farcs,-, Inforrriatin on a graph -from the city that's

.

Calculate the difference between excursion farthest n_7=4.vay to the-nearest. , _

and regular Nies, finding the cheapest eirto, ' l, Cut..maser shapesof common" road signs-Can you go there directly.or do you hove frum 9rsboani and paint each!sign.theto transfer? Design a going-away call. 'approrrininte colo6,incluclinpa short poem about the ear-mpg:1w,, 24,- inis a research assistant in:, i`f,ttrip. . ealrontnemnital science at Rutgers University

1 OR

0 0 That's mLANGUAGE ARTSMy language arts curriculum just Wasn'tworking. All efforts to interest my juniorhigh students in writing had failedand1 was fresh out of motivators. For all theprogress we were making. I figured I mightas well sit back and wait for an idea tofall froth outer space. And that's when ithit mc. Outer space was in! If anythingcould interest kids in writing, that was it.So the following=.Monday, I launched aseries of Astro-English Space Missionsthat students really took off on!

I introduced the idea by telling studentsthat twice a month, they were to think ofthemselves as brave, intergalactic travelers.on a continuing journey throue luter.space. Of course, they were more thancurious at this pointthey were all ears!

Next. I explained that they were Sureto encounter many adventures along theway and would be expected to write aboutone of them every two weeks. They coulduse code names for these assignments. ifdesired.

Each student was to choose a secret"space partner," who would mad hip 9rher completed stc -y aloud, to the class.This way, no one would know Whose storywas being read and I could use the OS-signmehts as examples of quality work orto point but trouble spots we needed towork on as a class: Of course, a few stu-dents'revealed the identities of their spacepariners, but overall.the gimmick providedjust the right amount of anonymity mykids needed to share their writing withclassmates.

Next, [explained that during these astro-English writing periods, my code namewas to be E.T- (English Teacher). I Wool°be available to coach students on theirwriting whenever necessary: and Would.review all .eornpleted stories' before theywere read ifoud. v

By this time, every student was eagerto invent his or her code hame, choose a`'space partner, and start writing. In fact.'I had never seentheelass so excited aboqtan assignment! z

To help them get going. I printed thestart.of a space adverlture on a duplicatingmaster, and ran of enough copies for everystudent in the classahe-situationrwas as

J.F. Yeager

follows: You have been captured by agroupof dpe-like, extraterrestrial creatures fromthe planet Zebraskin. who have throw:,you into jail without food or water, Yourmission, of course, is to escape. How willyou do it? Describe, i=t detail, how you'llget out of this one!

Although everyone started with thil basicoutline. the diversity of the finished prod-ucts was amazing. Students eagerly readeach other's work aloudand a few ac-tually volunteered to read their own.Needless to say. that had never happenedbefore-,Clearly, I was onto something here!

With one successful assignment underour belts, we were ready for MistionThis one was actually an exercise in per-suasive writing. It read: The Queen of theplanet Zebraskin has decided to force youinto marrying her wicked sister. SashaGropoctopolous, (If you are a girl. youmust Marry her wicked brother. Zero.)The queen intends to use some rather uglyscare tactics and will. infect, imprisonyou for life if the marriage does not takeplace. Your mission? Persuade the queento give up on you and choose somebodyelse. Write your argument in a one-pageletter to her majesty. Again, the missionwas accomplished with hilarious (and well-writtenj results.

During the_following weeks._ interest inthe space missions remained high, and Imanaged to incorporate a different writingskill into each set of mission orders. Oncefor instance, the kids were instructed towritelresumer that might land them jobson cliitaint planets. Each child had to designan imaginary job (washing the rings on

_Saturn. or reporting for the Venus Herald.for example), then write a resume thatemphasized the necessary skills. [_precededthis assignment with a background lessonon resume form. Another time theywrotereviews of books written by imaginary au-thors &QM outer space.-

Astro-English Space Missions can workinany middle or upper-grade classroom.

they, requite is a little imaginationand: of mime, a dedicated E.T.! .0

=

)144 Javtiary ,I983

. Yee _r_is_en-EN-7-lerPioneereed?vaarlrl triinsuAinogtr aHrii!h &heels in walla

Ins

Snail and slug stuntsSCIENCE Alan J. McCormack

Snails and slugs may be repulsive to someadults, but most children find them ex-tremely- appealing. They are harmless..readily available in most geographicalareas.- and display a wide range of ob-servable behavior patterns. For all thesereasons. snails and slugs make ideal sub-jects for any elementary science program_

Introduce them to your class. by ex-plaining that the little critters belong tothe Mollusc familya diverse group thatalso includes oyster. clams, and octopi.

All molluscs have soft bodies, supported'by a singular. muscular "foot." They havetwo long stalks on the top¢ of their headstea- feelers, and behind these, two smallerstalks.-each bearing an eye. Other sensoryorgans are found in their skin. As a result.snails and slugs arc sensitive to light,sound. and smells. The only major dif-ference between the two is that snails haveshells, while slugs do not.

You might Want students to further re-search snails and slugs in science texts orother reference books before trying thefollowing activities.Mollusc movement Snails and slugs moveon a muscular foot at the base of theirbodies. Kids can observe this by watchingone crawl along the inside of a glass jar.Point out the movement of the foot aschildren watch, and instruct them to recordtheir obsertions. For instance. :Aidsshould notice that the foot appears to.chinge color as it touches, then releases.'itself from the glass. This is due to thecontracting and expanding of blood vesselsinvolved in bodily movement.Favorite foods Snails and slugs are actuallyvegetarians, but some will eat almost any-thing that's' edible! Explain that these an-mars consume food by scraping it up with

their tongues, called radulas.- To demonstrate this feeding behavior.

place a fEw snails or slugs in a glass jar,along with some lettuce. Because theseanimals eat at night.-keep the jar in a dark

or shady spot in your classroom for childrento observe throughout the day.

Next, conduct a "food preference" ex-periment. Place one snail- or slug on atable in your classroom (in a dark areaof course).' A few inches before it place

xr92 n5 -1)146 January 1983

different types of food, such as mint leaves,small pieces of meat, chocolate chips, andbits of onion. Which types of food doesthe snail-or slug move toward first? (Snailsand slugs are likely to prefer lettuce as afirst choice and mint leaves as a second.)Slip-sliding away Both snails and slugshave slime-secreting glands in the frontof their bodies. As slime is secreted, itcreates a layer of lubrication which preventsfriction and allows the animal-'to movealong on the underlying surface. Does thismean a snail or slug can move easily overany textured surface? Try this experimentto find out.

Place four-inch squares of sandpiper.burlap, and silky cloth on a table in yourclassroom, along with a cardboard sheeton which you've sprinkled a thin layer ofsoil. Now have students observe a snailor slug moving along each of the foursurfaces. Which surface allows the greatestease of movement? Is there any surfaceon_ which the animal has great difficultymoving? (Snails and slugs will move easilyover any given surface.)Here's lookin' at you Snails and slugshave eyes consisting only of a simple groupa light-sensitive cells. These cells-dolt()create images, but merely provide the an-

. imal with information about the relativeintensity and direction of light, enablingit to perceive the shadow caused by anapproaching predator. Students can sim-ulate the limited vision of a snail or slugwith this simple activity.

St?rt with a plain, brown grocery bag:Open the bag and Cut a window in thefront pancl, large enough for a child tosee through. Next, cover the window withwaxed paper. When the bag is place i overa child's head, the outside world will Ap-pear as a blur of light and dark patches.Have kids take turns wearing the bag. Tellthem to face your classroom window. thenturn away from it Do.they notice thedif-ference in light intensity? Make sure youwatch' students carefully when they'rewearing.thcbag-so that they don't stumbleover objects they can't -see clearly. 0Alan J_ is a professor ofzoology and physiology, and curriculum andinstruction at the University of Wyoming inLaramie. Wyoming.:

Improving comprehension

If you're responsible for reacli.g instruc-tion, you know that some children withgood phonics and vocabulary skills den%necessarily understand what they read. Thismay be because these children have poorphrasing (inability to group words correctlyaccording to their meaning in context):are unable to identify the main .idea; donot understand meanings of key-words andphrases: or have poor inference skills.

You can improve your students' abilitiesin these areas with the following activities.ThCy're organized according to the specificproblem, can be adapted for any gradelevel, and require only a few simplematerials.

Poor phrasingScrambled phrases Copy sentences on in-dex cards, with each phrak of a sentenceon a separate card (for exailpre. the yellowcathas climbed the oak tree). Labeleach card belonging to the same sentencewith the same letter -of the alphabet.Scramble the cards. then let students pickout phrases with matching letters and placethem in the correct order.Descriptive phrases Print a noun such as

-tipple on your chalkboard. Have studentswrite descriptive phrases about the noun(for instance, a delicious red apple: anold rotten apple). Collect phrases and writethem on-a chart for use in reading exercises.Phrase fill -ins Devise a list- of descriptivephrases. !caving out significant words.Write each phrase on a slip of paper andplace all in a box. Have each student pickout five slips. fill in the blanks. and readthe phrases aloud. (Examples might be:the big yellow for thehat:e been )

Main ideaParagraph pick Copy several paragraphs `.or poems on individual index cards (makecards for-different levels of ability)- and'_place them in a box, Have students drawout one card and-writsdownthe main ideaof the paragraph or poem.Ad writing Select-a product for kids to selland have them write newspaper ads forthat product. Tell them the ad cbsts SI -.a

word and they have only SIO to spend.

Instrue

176- itistnueron. February ign

6 0176 Fekrua-r4r1983

Have a contest to choose the five best adsin the class.Sentence scronible Copy a paragraph onindex cards, using one card for each sen-tence. Place cards in a boxHave childrenunscramble the cards. writel.the sentences

the correct order. and underline the mainidea. -

Literal comprehensionPicture guess Show students a picture froma magazine and tell them to study it care-fully for th.ce minutes. committing detailsto memory. Then ask them literal questionsabout the picture .(What color are theflowers in the vase? What time is it?) andhave them respond on paper. Award a prizeto the student with the most correctanswers.Personaliry spotlight Assign the studentsdaily to speak before the class tellingsomething about themselves family, pets.likes. dislikes. hobbies. and so on. Af-terward, ask questions about their talksand have the class write down answers.Follow the exercise with a data discussionon the answers students wrote.

Inferential comprehension -_

If I were . , -. Write hypothetical situations_on index cards. Have each student pick acard, give his or her reaction to tha sit-uation. and list what the consequenc-s ofthat action might be. Some examples: IfI were a genic, Who would I make presidentand why? if I was 30 minutes late forwork, afraid of.losit.;-my job, and caughtin a 25 MPH speed zone. -what should I.do?Scavenger hunt .Conceal an object in theroom and prepare a list of clues designedto lean a team of students to that object.Make the clues hints rather than literaldirectiOns'. 'such as. Where in the worldis the next clue hidden? (under the globe):No/cr.:Mr-ow me away (under the wastebasket): Don't take too much time to findthe next clue_ (hchirui-rhe-c/rJek) -:-.and--so-on. The final clue should tell where theobject is located. .0Sue 1N. Wright teaches riftWarld sixthat the Booker T. Wamhington middie Scifs Hagkinaville. Kentucky.'

Which way is north?SOCIAL STUDIESWhen I asked my fifth graders where northwas, the usual answer I got was "up."Must students could L:alculate distancesand directions on a map. but very -fewcould grasp the concept where it reallymatteredon the land that maps represent.I took advantage of a class camping tripto a Girl Scout camp in Connecticut todevelop an activity that gave studentspractical experience in the map_study skillsthey had learned in the classroom.activity can he done successfully on aplayground or athletic field as well.:

To begin. I asked students why it iseasier to get lost in the woods than in atown or city. They were quick to pointout that it's because there are no streetsigns or familiar landmarksthat :'manytree k the same." Through our dis-co _ ion. upils discovered the two factorsneeded ot to get lost: you must knowwhich 'ay to go (direction) and how farto go ( istance).

We tackled distance first. We took ashort hike to a 'pace-count- course I hadset up beforehand. and basked kids toestimate the distance in yards they wouldtravel. When we arrived at our destination.some - kids had counted-steps. some hadcounted seconds, and there was a widerange of guesses as to how far we hadtraveled, from 50 yards to more than 400.I then explained, the pace-count course.The path was marked by two trees. 50yards apart with ribbons_tied to thern._Iasked students to count their natural stepsfrom one tree to the other. When each hadcompleted this task, the number of stepscounted became the student's pace count.for 50 yards: if it Wok 6-8 steps for onechild to walk from one ribboned tree tothe other. then every 68 steps'equalled -50yards.for that child. Students now had anaccurate way of measuring distances.

To understand-direction we-borrowedcompasses from the National Guard (stu-dents who are Boy or Girl Scouts oftenhave their own compasses).' After somepractice. students realized they had w turntheir whole body, not just an arm, to nuke"the needle move in the desired direction.

.They. discovered that if the needle waspointing tia-W ' they-must to efacing West

Leo 3. Panetta

and to get the needle back to W they hadto face the same direction. When we hadlocated north, south, east, and west, weput distance and direction together.

To do this, we walked to a tree with ablack paper E tied-to it. This tree was inthe middle of a compass course I had setup earlier. The course consisted of an areaof 100 square yards. bordered by treesthat had black letters tied to them. Eachtree was 50 yards away from another tree.At point 1 divided the group into fourteams, gaVe each team a compass. clip-board. pencil, and these instructions:Team 1I. From point E. 650 yards north. Writethe letter (tied to the tree) you find here.2. Next go 50 yards west. Write the letteryou find here.3. Now go 50 yards south. Write the letteryou find here.4. NoW go 50 yards cast. Write the letter-you find here.

The other three teams' instructions. eresimilar but told .them to go in differentdirections. Team 2's directions were togo south, west, north, and cast: Team 3's.west, south, cast, and north; and Team4's. cast. south. west, and northall teamsended up at point E-again. And when theteams had completed their courses, theletters they had found spelled these words:bore, care. race, and nice.

If You use a wooded area for this activity.be sure to take a few precautions. Makecertain students understand they are notto go off beyond any of the lettered signs.Black letters on an orange background areespecially good to use because of theirhigh visibility. And since all sets of in-structions begin and end at- point E (orwhatever letter you choosf:), you can standin the center where you can keep eachteam in sight.

I found nur land navigation activity tobe a valuable tool for developing map studyskills. My fifth graders no longer answer"up- Cvhen I ask them where north is,but simply point out the window in thedirection of Massachusetts.

Leo J. Panetta teaches seventh gradeanguage Drts`at-thelMcGee School in-Berlin-canneetieut.

Try comic relief!LANGUAGE ARTS_ Dorothy ZjawinWell-loved comic strip heroes like Super- -Popeye-? Let students experiment withman, Dennis the Menace, Little Orphan circles and ovals, using charcoal and Cray-Annie, and Popcye have become even more one. to see how many kinds of heads andpopular since becoming stars of movies bodies of cartoon characters they can cre-and TV shows as well Pick some of_youate-Point-out-the-.. our bodieschildren's favorit4haraeters and use themas learning motivators in a variety of sub-jects. Here are sarne-activities to startwithall you need are the comics pagesfrom the latest Sunday newspaper.Comic jobs Have kids make a list ofecupatinns that arc represented in comic

stripsdoctor. reports r. sailor, soldier,and so on. How closely does the characterin each job conform to the stereotype ofthat particular occupation?Snoopy in Africa Ask each student totake t favorite character and put him orher in a different setting or time period:for eample. Superman in the Middle Ages.What is his daily life like? What adventuresdoes he have? Let children draw their owncomic strips or write stories illustratingthese adventures.Heroes and villains Have each studentmake a list of qualities he or she findsdesirable in:a Character-and then=make upa comic hero, using a combination of these

-qualities (drawing the character too. ifpossible). Let students use the same tech-nique to create villains and then make upstories about their new characters.Top comic Take a class poll of favoritecomic characters and make a graph showingwho came in first, second, third, and last.Comic strip grab bag Cut frames apartfrom at least four comic strips and placethese in a shoe box. Have students sit ina circle. The first child picks a frame fromthe box-. reads it. and starts an originalstory based on the frame. The next playeradds to the story's plot, as does the next,and so on until someone can't extend thestory ftirther. He or she then draws fromthe box to begin a new story=Spotlight L. PTiiStS Ask Children tocompare the different styles used by artistsof comic strips. Call attention to the lines .

ovals. and circles used in making charactersand things like furniture and scenery. How

to express certain things. such as holdingour hands to our eyes in order not to seeany more.Comic beginnings Did you know thatthe first comic book ever published was"Mutt and Jeff-4 in 191 1? What's the oldestcomic strip still being published? ("TheKatzenjammer Kids -) Have kids researchthe history of "funnies" to come up withother interesting comic facts.Comic maps Pick a strip such as"Prince Valiant.- "Family Circus.- or"Beetle Bailey." On a large piece ofwrapping paper. have children lay out amap showing the main character's home.place of work. travel destinations, locationsof friends' homes, and important buildingsand. landmarks'?Comic critics Have each student writea review of his or her favorite comic strip_ .telling what makes it so special.Missing-dialogue Cut out the dialogueballoons from comic strips and pass stripsout to students.- .Have them supply theirown dialogue to go in the empty balloons.Comparing customs Some comicstrips, such as "Andy Capp" and "B.C.,"take place in a foreign country or anotherperiod of time. Ask children to comparenames. places, and customs featured inthese strip_s to those of the actual countryor time. Did people really ride dragonslike they do in "*The rlintstones'?Folktale comics .._Hase students inventtheir own comic strips by taking familiar

-folktalcs or fairy tales and changing thebeginning, middle, or end of the plot. Forexample. a child could Use Rip Van Winkle.and instead of having Rip fall asleep fromthe very start, he could decide to go ex-ploring and find first one gold-coin. then--another, and then another. Have kids drawpictures and Write dialogue for their folkcharacters as the lead them on originaladventures.

does the mist make characters more re-Dorothy Ziawin, a teacher in the Jerseyalistic looking ifs 4 strip like -Mary City. New Jamey area is a contributing

Worth,- for example, than in a strip like editor for INSTRUCTOR-

Discover rules of divisibilityMATHEMATI Sandra McAmisA certain amount of drill is necessary toacquire basic mathematical skills. Eur itneed not be mechanical or boring. as theword drill implies, Drill on a math skilllike division can be the basis for a thinkingactivity that lets students sfretch theirimaginations to the fullest and make ex-citing discoveries on their own.

In this math project. kids try to discoverdifferent rules of divisibility. They do thisby studying sets of numbers you give them.Then, working in small groups. they are

'to make observations about the numbers.discuss them among themselves and formhyptItheses, verify or reject these hy-potheses. and finally come to a consensus.This is also a good way for kids to practiceusing calculators although they are notnecessary_

Before beginning this activity, reviewsimple division problems. ones vithoutremainders. Then present the _followingproblems one by one, as children are readyfor them. The problems get progressivelymore difficult-it is likely only the mostgifted students will be able to figure thelast few. As students discover each ruleof divisibility. have them add it to a chart_Problem 1 Tell students the followingnumbers are divisible by 2 and write themon the board: 246. 354. 730. 7684. Thenwrite the following numbers on the boardand tell students these are not divisible by2: 245, 463, 781, 8447. Now write thesenumbers on the board and ask kids whicharc divisible by 248, 427. 809. 456.When students have answered correctly

-(248. 456), ask them to work in groupsto write some nurabers of their own thatare divisible by 2 and then come up witha rule about numbers that are divisible by2. (The last digit is an even number.) Fol-low this same procedure for each of theseproblems.Problenr2 These numbers are divisibleby 4: 124, 320, 512, 97134:These are not:513.. 910, 306. 1658, Which of thesenumbers arc divisible by4?316, 940, 500,-748. (All are. Rule: the last two digits inthe number are divisible by 4.)Problem 3 These numbers are divisibleby 8: 824, 320. 6352, 1096. These arenor 566, 324. 2164, 3602. Which of these

numbers arc divisible by 8? 632. 920.4248, 3574. (632. 920. 4248. Rule: thelast 3 digits in The number arc divisibleby 8_)Problem 4 These numbers are divisibleby 5: 345. 790. 430. 1645. These are not:153. 357, 509. 1564. Which of thesenumbers are divisible be 5? 360. 955. 957.4000. (360. 955. 4000. Rule: the last digitin the number is either 5 or 0.)Problem 5 These numbers are divisibleby 10: 560. 880. 540, 6720- These arenot: 805. 972. 906. 4003. Which of thesenumbers are divisible by 10? 790. 485,362, 9990- (790. 9990. Rule: the lasrdigitin the number is 0.)Problem 6 These numbers are divisibleby 3: 1 1 1. 213, 639. 7020. These are not:451. 620. 332. 2411. Which of thesenumbers are divisible by 3? 923, 254, 432.1440. (432. 1440. \ Rule: the sum of alldigits in the numbet\is divisible by 3.)Problem 7 These numbers are divisibleby 9: 396. 441. 225, 2340. These are not:155. 433, 253, 9249. 'Which of thesenumbers are divisibleby'9?-342, 360. 522.3961. (342. 360. 522. Rule: the sum ofall digits in the number is. divisible by 9:)Problem 8 These numbers are divisibleby 6: 132. 504, 336, 2418. These are not:135, 229, 467, 4250. Which of thesenumbers are divisible by 6? 540, 339. 645,6150. (540. 6150. Rule: the last digit iseven and the sum of the digits is divisibleby 3.)Problem 9 These numbers are divisibleby 7: 161, 378, 65I, 4662. These are not:286. 409, 248, 6534. Which of thesenumbers are divisible by 7? 385. 680. 645.2709. (385, 2709. Rule: the last digit dou-bled aid subtracted from the remainingdigits is a difference divisible by 7.)Problem 10 These numbers are divisibleby 11: 704. 638. 297._ 2728. These arenot: 497: 651, 641, 2576. Which of thesenumbers are divisible by II? 385,- 545,737. 6743. (385, 737. 6743. Rule: if youadd every other digit, then subtract theremaining digits, the difference will be 0or I I.) 0Sandra MeArntais a teacher of giftedstudents in the Montgomery County,

_Maryland. public schools.

Friction- what aSCIENCE Sandra Markle

-Everything that touches. grinds or robs to-gether. This process is called friction, andit causes heat to be produced, parts thatare rubbed so wear out, and movement toslow down. Your students can easily feelthe heat thai is produced by friction. Askthem to rub their palms together brisklyfor 30 seconds. How do their hands feelafterward? (They'll feel warm.) Have eachchild hold a paper clip in one hand, andwith the other hand, rapidly bend and un-bend the open end' of the clip 20 times.Then ask kids to touch the paper clip totheir lower lip. Does the clip feel cool orwarm? (It will feel warm because the fric-tion of the metal's movement has generatedheat.)

To show how friction wears things out.ask students to look at the heels on theirshoes. How worn down are they? Are oldershoes more worn than newer-ones? Givekids examples of other things that are worn ,down by friction (tread on tires, parts ofmachinery, the floor where a door rubs asit opens and closes, a toothbrush, woodby sandpaper) and ask them to give otherexamples.

To show how friction slows down-movement, ask your students, if their handsare not too tired out, to nib them togetherlightly as fast as they can. Then ask themto rub hard, with much pressure. also. as-fast as they can They will see that when

-there's more pressure (friction) they can'trub as fast.

What effects do weight, surface, andsuch friction-reducersos hall beatings.haveon friction? Try these experiments usinga simple friction-testing tool to find out.

'How doei the weight of-the load affectfriction? For this experiment you'll needan empty half-pint milk carton, scissors.a strong rubber band, a stapler, 2 cups ofsand, a measuring cup, a ruler, and asmooth floor or table top.1. Wash out the carton and tape or stapleshut the spout. Lay it on its side and cutopen the side facing up..2. Staple one end of the rubber band tothe back end of the carton. Make a penmark on 'the: rubber band 5 centimeters

MO the other end of the rubber band.

n- uetor;_v92,n9;p96 May 19

3. Hold the band at this mark and pullgently with the WEI straight out until thecarton starts to mOve. When the carton ismoving steadily, stop without letting therubber band contract- from its stretchedposition.

' 4, Measure the distance between the edgeof the carton and the mark on the rubberband to record how far the band stretched.5. Now pour 1/2 cup of sand into the cartonand repent the test. Record how far theband stretched.6. Repeat this test with 1 cup of sand,then 11/2 and 2 cups, and record themeasurements.

How did the weight of the load affecthow much the rubber band stretched? (Themore weight, the more it stretched.) Whatdid the amount of stretch show about thefriction between the bottom of the cartonand the surface it was moving over? (Themore weight,. the greater the friction be-tween the carton and the surface, andtherefore the More pull required to movethe carton.)

How does the surface the load is an affectrhe amount offriction? For this experimentyou'll need an empty milk carton as he.'ore,swith rubber band attached; sandpaper(enough to cover, an area 30 centimeterslong), a piece of carpet 30 centimeterslong, a cookie sheet, petroleum jelly, anda ruler.1. Tape sandpaper t9 a flat surface 30centimetres long and as wide as the carton.Put the carton on the sandpaper and pull.gently with the rubber band.2; When the front edge of the cartonreaches the end of the sandpaper, or thecarton wbn't move any farther, stop pull-ing. Measure the distance 'from the edgeof the carton to the mark on the rubberband while the band is still fully stretched.Record this 'measurement.3. Repeat this test with the carton on the

stretch the least? (The ereascd cookie,sheet.) Why? (There was less friction. so...the load moved more easily.) On`sKhichsurface did the rubber band stretch themost? (The sandpaper, where there wasthe most friction.)

How do ball bearings help reduce friction?You will need 24 plastic straws, tape,empty milk carton as before, with rubberbind attached, sand, and a ruler.1_ Tape 12 stra,ws onto a smooth surfacewith about one centimeter between eachone. Keep the straws parallel to eachother. 4

2. Lay_ the other -12- straws- down in thesame formation as the taped straws. butdon't tape these.3. Fill the carton with sand and place onthe taped straws. Hold the rubber band atthe pen mark and pull carton gently over_ _the straws.4-. When the front end of the carton is atthe end of the straw path, stop pulling andmeasure the distance from the edge of thecarton to the mark on the band. Recordthe results.5. Repeat this test on the untaped straws.recording the results..- test causer:1,11m rubber band'tostretch less, showing less friction betweenthe carton and the surface? (The one onthe rolling straws.) Ball bearings are likethe untaped straws. By rolling with themovement rather than resisting the forcein contact with them, ball bearings reducefriction.

Friction makes a big difference in oureveryday lives: If our shoes didn't rub onfloors and sidewalks, we would constantlyslip and fall. Without friction, brakes oncars wouldn't work and we couldn't drive.safely. What is important for us to knowis how we can affect the amount 9f frictionthere will be. When we understand that aheavy load and a rough surface increase

carpet and record the results. friction while lubricants and ball bearings4. Mark 30 centimeters on the back-of-thedecrease-frictioril-we-can-help-pmventparescookie sheet. Coat this area with petroleum . from wearing down and movement fromjelly. Repeat the test, pulling the carton slowing.over the greased surface,- and record theresults. ,

sandre Markle is Ins-raucroe's scienceconsultant.. She has taught science in the

On which surface .did iherubber _band s classroom and on TV.

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4

"break" for music !MUSIC Martha Christine

Mary and Jennifer arc whispering backand forth. John and Keith are sharpeningtheir pencils for the third time in 10 min-vies., and Jason is staring out the window.Fifteen minutemcmain until lunch. Whatnow? Time for a music break! What's that?Pretty much what the name implies: a shortbreak from regular classroom activities inwhich students move or sing to selectedmusic.

Following arc a few simple activitiesyou might want to try the next time yourclass is restless "or needs a break fromdaily routine. As far as equipment goes.you'll need a record player or tape playerand a good assortment of recordings ofdifferent kinds of music (classical. jazz.font, pomflae) -Most activities are followedby one or more variations you can introduceonce children master the original one. Aschildren become familiar with the aetiv-.ities;--you also might want to choose aehild4o take;Your place-as_leaderKeep the beat These first two activitiesinvolve what might be called the foundation"of rat-islerhythm Play a piece-of musicthat has a steady beat (a march or popularsong might be best) and ask children tokeep time by either clapping along withthe beat, clapping on some part of theirbody, or striking an object in the roomsuch as a book or toble. Tell students thatyou're going to stop the music but theyshould keep clapping rhythmically. Thenturn the volume down for a- short time.and turn it up again to see if they havekept the beat.Variations To the same music, ask kidsto walk around the-room in time to thebeat as they continue clapping. Have onechild be the'r leader and lead the rest in andout of rows of desks.

Or have children walk around the roomwithout clapping, and continue walkingwhen you stop the music. Start the musicagain to see who is staying in timeFeel the rhythm Clap a short rhythmpattern and have the class repeat it. Dividethe class into -groups of five or six ancigive them progressively harder rhythms,letting each group try to repeat them inturn, Keep score to see which group doesthe best..

Variations Add different movements tothe rhythm pattern, such as snapping yourfingers, stamping your feet. or brushingyour hands together.

Clap a rhythm with hands on differentparts of the body (head. shoulders. elbows.feet. and so on) and have the class repeat.

Or pick a fairly simple rhythm patternwith an even number of beats and havestudents clap it as a round. To do this.divide the class into four groups: after youclap four beats, the first group comes in.four beats later the second, and so on.Pitch, volume, speed These are threeof the most basic elements of music. Toillustrate pitch, play anfascending scaleon a Man?) or harmonica if you have eitherhandy; otherwisnTin g=o-nc7Have-studentskneel on the floor and slowly rise as thenotes go higher. Then have than extendan arm and raise or lower it as the notesin your scale go up or down.

To illustrate volume, have the class singone of their favorite songs three times.The first time they should sing it loudly.the, second time more softly, and the thirdtime more softly still.

To explore the concepts of fast and slow.ask kids 'to sing another song and set aslow pace for them to follow. Then as theysing it again set a faster pace. and thethird time an even faster one.Muscle dances Have the class stand attheir desks while you put on some soothingmusic. Ask kids to move their heads tothe front, back, and each side in time tothe- music. Then have them move theirheads in one full circular movement severaltimes clockwise and counterclockwise. Dochi: same thing with all parts of the bodyshoulder s. chest. waist, hips, knees. feet,arms. and hands in-turn.Variation Write three body parts on theboard, such as head. hips, and shoulders.When you say "one." the children shouldmove only the head in a rhythm patternthat you specify or to a piece of music.When you say "two." they should movehead and hips. -three." all three parts ofthe body. 0

rtha Christine is a graduate assistant inthe school of education at Lehigh Universityin Pennsylvania.

or; v92 n9 plOO_May 1983

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