School Daze, School Daze

Storybook Girl, Edmund Dulac

It is almost time for school to begin here in Massachusetts and some schools around the country are already in session. Through the years I have researched and compiled curriculum connections to complement a variety of  topics and themes in my blog posts and have compiled all of them  here. I hope this makes it easier for you to find some lesson plans to use in your work.

May the coming school year bring you joy, satisfaction and the knowledge that you are appreciated!

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind."
                                      ~ Kahlil Gibran

ARBOR DAY

From the Mango Tree and Other Folktales from Nepal - Classroom Guide http://www.sarahlamstein.com/MangoStudyGuide.pdf

How Many Leaves - A Book for Early Readershttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/leaf/howmany/

Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Arbor Day

http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/5319.htm#anchor719935

ART

An Education Resource from the North Carolina Museum of Art - Grades 6-8 http://ncmoa.org/artnc/content/lesson/wordDoc/45.pdf 

Information about Water Lilies by Monet 

http://www.ehow.com/about_5100967_information-water-lilies-monet.html

BULLYING

• A Guide for Educators – Bullying, It’s Not Just Child’s Play from the University of Pennsylvania. Although this information was compiled and published in 2002 there is still useful information for educators and administrators. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ui367.pdf
• Anti-Bias Lesson Plans and Resources for K-12 Educators: Words That Heal – Using Children’s Literature to Address Bullying - A good place to start if you are planning a program or lesson on anti-bullying. The site offers discussion guides, extension plans statistics and an annotated bibliography of children’s fiction. http://tinyurl.com/66kyjp 
• Children’s Literature to Address Bullying - A good place to start if you are planning a program or lesson on anti-bullying. The site offers discussion guides, extension plans statistics and an annotated bibliography of children’s fiction. http://tinyurl.com/66kyjp 
• COPS – Center for Problem-Oriented Policing by Rana Sampson – Bullying in Schools
• http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/publications/e07063414-guide.pdf
• Cyberbullying.org – From our friend in Canada, a useful website with related resources. http://www.cyberbullying.org/ 
• Education Guardian – A number resources that specifically address bullying in the United Kingdom. http://tinyurl.com/3okglg9
• Education World - Many sites, activities, lessons plans and resources to use in the classroom and community to help eradicate bullying. http://tinyurl.com/26r2l48
• International Bullying Preventions Association – Research, newsletter, conference information and more. http://www.stopbullyingworld.org/
• Seeds of Peace - "A non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to preparing teenagers from areas of conflict with the leadership skills required to promote coexistence and peace. Their outreach program also includes a Conflict Resolution CD Rom which is used in both Israeli and Palestinian schools. They also publish The Olive Branch, an online magazine to further their work in the world.” http://www.seedsofpeace.org/
• Stop Bullying Now - This site is full of resources to help address the problem of bullying. There are specific areas for teachers, administration, communities, parents and other professionals. There are also games and webisodes for children to help them deal with the issue of bullying. Use this link to access the main page. http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/
• Stop Bullying.gov – Information for parents, teens, educators on intervention, monitoring and prevention. http://www.stopbullying.gov/ 
• Story-Lovers.com – Jackie Baldwin offers a collection of stories, books, and more to assist you in presenting an anti-bullying program. http://tinyurl.com/34jazlr 
• Unlocking the Classroom: The Storytelling Project’s Anti-racism Curriculum - “…developed at Barnard and in NYC schools and includes over 30 lessons for high school students that include arts-based storytelling activities to discuss racism.” http://tinyurl.com/25zwa8r

CHINA

China Word Search
http://tinyurl.com/35cspxe

Education World - Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit

http://tinyurl.com/32xxno3

Chinese Proverbs

http://tinyurl.com/4francl

Chinese New Year Printables and Worksheets 

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/chinese-new-year/printables/

CINCO DE MAYO

• Cinco de Mayo Word Search http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/cincoprint.htm
• Cinco de Mayo Vocabulary
• http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/cincoprint_2.htm
• Cinco de Mayo Crossword Puzzle http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/cincoprint_3.htm
• Cinco de Mayo Challenge
• http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/cincoprint_4.htm
• Cinco de Mayo Alphabet Activity http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/cincoprint_5.htm
• Mexico for Kids - There’s something here for everyone; fun and useful information on the various indigenous cultures, music, traditions, myths and stories.
• http://www.pocanticohills.org/mexico/mexico.htm

COLLECTING FAMILY HISTORIES

• Family Traditions - UNC Education - Grade 1 
  http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2856
• Family Traditions - Utah Education Network 
  http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=599
• Learning to Give - Traditions of the Family 
  http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit67/lesson1.html
• Read Write Think - My Family Traditions: A Class Book and a Potluck Lunch http://tinyurl.com/2d96by6

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Easy to Read Folktale Plays to Teach Conflict Resolution – Extension Activities to complement the story of The Grateful Statues. http://tinyurl.com/2f6gaka

Peace Corp World Wide Schools – Lessons plans to fit a variety of subjects from Grades 3 – 12. http://tinyurl.com/c3ktlq

Anti-Bias Lesson Plans and Resources for K-12 Educators A good place to start if you are planning a program or lesson on anti-bullying. Discussion guides, extension plans, statistics and an annotated bibliography of children’s fiction. http://tinyurl.com/66kyjp

Race Bridges - The artists associated with this organization are accomplishing amazing work and offer free lesson plans and resources. Take a moment to cross the bridge and envision a brighter world! http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/

Teaching Tolerance - Promoting Peace - This is a collection of resources I have gathered over the years. http://www.storybug.net/links/peace.html

CRABS

The Barnegat Bay Watershed

http://www.bbwa.org/crab_curriculum.htm 

National Park Service – Glacier Bay Crabs Lesson Plans 

http://www.nps.gov/glba/forteachers/glacier-bay-crabs-lesson-plans.htm

DRAGONS

Fntastic Adventures with Dragons, Gods and Giants – Grade 3http://tinyurl.com/3d8f6mq

San Diego Zoo - The Lifestyle of the Komodo Dragon - For grades 4 – 6; facts, activities and more on this interesting and ancient creature http://www.sandiegozoo.org/teachers/curr_komodo_dragon.html

EARTH DAY

Planet Pals.com - This is a colorful, fun and information filled website on all things Earth: Lesson plans and activities for both teachers and parents, the history behind Earth Day, coloring pages, puzzles, clip art and so much more. http://www.planetpals.com/index.html 

EGGS

The Talking Eggs Study Guide – This guide is connected to the book by Robert San Souci, an adaptation of the Creole folktale. http://www.rsansouci.com/pages/studyguides/talkingstudy.htm

Egg Theme Unit Elementary Reading Lesson Plan - Integrated Reading and Elementary Science Activity – How Eggs Hatch http://tinyurl.com/4lsoatg

Egg Theme Unit – Elementary Science Lesson Plans http://www.suite101.com/content/egg-theme-unit-elementary-science-lesson-plans-a98126

 

ELEPHANTS

The Blind Man and the Elephant

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=295

The Elephant Sanctuary – Two units focusing on the study of elephants offering teaching and learning activities for children grades K-8 consisting of 72 pages of instruction, background information, charts and graphs, activities, etc. http://www.elephants.com/curriculum.php

KidsParkZ – Story starters, elephant shapes and more for young children. http://www.kidsparkz.com/elephants.html

Shape Book from ABC Can Teach

http://www.abcteach.com/free/members/15411.pdf

FAIRY TALES

• Brothers Grimm - Magic figures predominately in their fairy tales. Here is a lesson plan to complement a story from their work. http://tinyurl.com/64a6wqw 
• Reading Rainbow – Classroom extensions for Liang and the Magic Paintbrush http://www.shopgpn.com/guides/rr/7.pdf
• A Magic Seed - English Language Arts Grade 2
• http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/grade2/act2.asp?ID=554
• Teacher Resource for The Magic Paintbrush – From Australia, a very useful resource with classroom extension to complement the tale. http://www.cambridge.edu.au/education/resource/sample_2_728317.pdf
• Multicultural Fairy Tales –The Stuff of Magic – Curriculum Unit
• http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2004/2/04.02.01.x.html
• Fairy Tale Printables
• http://abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/literature/fairy_tales/

FISH

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – This curriculum was designed to complement a 2011 art contest. Although the contest has now passed, the curriculum information is still very useful .http://tinyurl.com/6dueswb  

The Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Coloring Book – Children will have fun coloring while learning all about lives of these fish.
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/publications/salmnbk.pdf 

What’s the Catch? Fish Contamination Educator Curriculum Guide – This is a pdf file "aligned with the CA Science and Social Science standards, National Science Standards, Ocean Literacy Principles and Education in the Environment Initiative Concepts for 4th-8th grades.” http://tinyurl.com/633mgxk

FROGS

A Frog’s Life – Lots of information to share with your audiences from the American Museum of Natural History. http://tinyurl.com/ykyypoz

Suite 101.com – Information on the mythology and folklore associated with frogs. http://tinyurl.com/y93hchv

Tiddalik the Frog Folktale Reading Lesson Plan - Teach How to Compare and Contrast Setting, Character, Plot. - http://tinyurl.com/y8pxy8f

 

GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog Day Activities! – Poetry, songs, art and more.http://www.artisjoy.com/ghactivities.pdf

How Did the Groundhog Get a Day of His Own?   

http://wilstar.com/holidays/grndhog.htm

Student Activity – Ground Hog Day Map 

http://tinyurl.com/34z7vxo

Groundhog Day Crossword Puzzle http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/groundhogprint_3.htm

Groundhog Day Word Searchhttp://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/groundhogprint.htm

Natures Big Sleep by Gardner Soule – An article from Popular Science magazine on the science of hibernation.

http://tinyurl.com/69a9d3u

Hinterland Who’s Who – Interesting fact sheet on woodchucks. 

http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=1&id=109&cid=8

Urashima Taro by Edmund Dulac, 1916

JAPAN

Japanese Folktales Lesson Plans for K-8 http://tinyurl.com/btzck2  

Teacher’s Resource Guide: Japanese Art and Culture Outreach Kit - Although you may not be able to borrow the actual kit, there are many helpful curriculum ideas in this guide you may duplicate on your own. http://tinyurl.com/cby5p6









Children’s Books on Japan K-8 

http://www.ceas.ku.edu/outreach/documents/children-lit-review-japan.pdf
Activity Village – Make your own carp kite or origami to celebrate Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day). There are many other crafts, activities and printables to make this Japanese national holiday shine! http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/childrens_day_japan.htm

HALLOWEEN

Halloween Games for the Classroom - “A collection of fun and educational Halloween games that build math and language skills for grades K-5. With Halloween-themed versions of games like tag, musical chairs, and “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” you’ll teach your student’s math and language skills while still enjoying the holiday. Your students will think they’re playing but will be learning at the same time!” * Requires subscription to access full information. http://tinyurl.com/ya4hn36

Lesson plans to complement the works of Edgar Allan Poe. 

For grades 9-12

http://tinyurl.com/yelpp64

For grades 6-12

http://tinyurl.com/ydfp93u

For grades 6 -8http://tinyurl.com/y9agcyf

Not Just Halloween: Festivals of the Dead From Around the World 

Learn how other cultures celebrate the holiday with this interesting article and complementing links on Japan, Mayan, Aztec, Mexico and more.

http://tinyurl.com/5wwwz6

LIGHTHOUSES

Education World – Grades 3-5

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0075.shtml
Keeping the Lights for Kids by Elinor De Wire http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/20-8/20-8-12.pdf
Learning From Lighthouses – A Webquest for intermediate grades. http://www.yorkville.k12.il.us/webquests/webqwilliams/webqtwilliams.html

Lighthouses of North Carolina – Math and social studies for grade 4.

http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/grade4/act4.asp?ID=459
Teacher’s Lighthouse Resources for grade K-4 – Offered by the United States Coast Guard
offers a rich history of lighthouses from past to present. http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/LighthouseCurriculum.pdf

MAPLE SUGAR

School of Forest Resources – Lesson Plan for Kindergarten classes. http://sfr.psu.edu/youth/sftrc/lesson-plans/forestry/k-5/maplesyrup

Maple Syrup Classroom Activities – Word search, coloring pages, crossword puzzle,

vocabulary and more.  

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/maplesyrupprint.htm

Vocabulary Sheet – Match the definition with each word.
http://tinyurl.com/3hy44kc

Maple Syrup Lesson Plan – Grade 3 

http://www.uwsp.edu/education/pcook/unitplans/syrup.htm

Teach Children About Maple Sugaring  

http://www.suite101.com/content/teach-children-about-maple-sugaring-a103814

NATIVE AMERICANS

Wampanoag Culture and History Links – Geography, lifestyle and traditions, books and more. http://tinyurl.com/njqk6y

Wampanoag Indian Fact Sheet for Kids 

http://www.bigorrin.org/wampanoag_kids.htm

Learning to Give – Native American Lesson Plan for grades 9 – 12 in Arts, Language Arts, Library Technology, Philanthropy and Social Studies. Includes numerous folktales to share. http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit226/lesson12.html


All ‘Bout Cranberries - A comprehensive cranberry curriculum for grades K-8 covering many aspects of cranberry growing and takes the user on a journey from the Cranberry Bog to the Kitchen Table. It is designed to give students an appreciation of Massachusetts number one food crop through problem solving and thought provoing activities. http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/teachers.html

American Indian Leather Painting– For grades 5-6, students will create stories that resemble ol Indian leather paintings. Students will tell a story using only pictures and drawing them in sequence so others can read the story back. http://tinyurl.com/6q8jjt

PIRATES

New England Pirate Museum – Educational material from Elementary School to High School, including historical perspectives and poems and biographies for teachers. http://www.piratemuseum.com/educ.htm

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY

St. Patrick’s Day Theme – For grades Pre-K to 1 http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Holidays/SSH0202.html
Across the Curriculum – St. Patrick’s Day Activities  http://tinyurl.com/3dos4ot

Mifflin County School District – This is like find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Wonderful links, including the history of Ireland, activities, stories and more.

http://www.mcsdk12.org/curr/Holidays/stpatrick.htm

Read, Write, Think – For grades 1 – 12.

http://tinyurl.com/2g5wvm4

 

Young Lady in a Conservatory
by Jane Marie Bowkett (1837-1891)

SPRING - FLOWERS, BEES, PLANTS AND SUN


Leap into spring with ABC Teach.com Counting games, math facts, printables, word searches and more. http://tinyurl.com/bqmmvc   

Cross-Curriculum Flower Activities - An Elementary Gardening Theme Unit
http://tinyurl.com/3zswm5h 

Spring Theme Activities for Young Children
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-spring.htm

Flower Week Theme Lesson Plan
http://www.adaycare.com/PreschoolCurriculumSample5.html

Early Childhood Sun Protection Curriculum
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/SkinCancer/Documents/skin_sunproteccurriculum.pdf

Flower Facts and Trivia – Add some interesting trivia about flowers to your storytelling or classroom lesson plans. http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/flowers/pcd11.html

• Flowers in the Classroom - Grades 5 to 8 Language Arts: Legendary Flowers lesson plan including myths, folktales and legends of flowers. http://www.teachertube.com/support_files/1390.pdf
• Honey Bees and Cultural Attitudes - Grades: 4-6 Essential Skills: Literature, Language Arts, Social Studies Students explore how honey bees are portrayed in art and literature. It also offers a comprehensive and age appropriate bibliography at the end. http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/lsn25.html
• The Teacher’s Guide: Plants and Flowers - Lots of lesson plans and ideas to keep the ideas blooming! http://www.theteachersguide.com/plantsflowers.htm

THANKSGIVING


The Pilgrims Voyage: A Map and the Mayflower - This project teaches geography and history. The student makes a map of the voyage and a tiny replica of the Mayflower. http://tinyurl.com/mauanx The First Thanksgiving - Visit web sites about the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag, and the famous harvest feast and learn new facts along the way. http://tinyurl.com/2ef6xck 

General Thanksgiving - Proclamation by President George Washington.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/thanksgiving/thankstext.html

The National Day of Mourning - Not everyone has the same view of the national holiday of Thanksgiving. For a Native American view go to: http://www.pilgrimhall.org/daymourn.htm

What Do You Eat? - A lesson unit on comparing how others eat in developing countries. http://www.planusa.org/docs/smsmw/quest2.pdf

TRICKSTERS

Aesop and Ananse – Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/aesop-and-ananse-animal-fables 

Fable and Trickster Tales From Around the World 

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/fables-and-trickster-tales-around-world

The Trickster Around the World
http://tinyurl.com/3c2xa9p

Trickster Tales Lesson Plan  

http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/pages/dart/Trickster_Tales_EC-LA_A_(WP).pdf

Fables and Trickster Tales From Around the World – From Edusitement, lesson plans, information and stories, everything you need to introduce your students to those globe-trotting tricksters, Anansi, Brer Rabbit, Fox, and Rabbit. http://tinyurl.com/23trr 

WATERMELONS


Teacher's Guide - More curriculum ideas than watermelons have seeds!

http://www.theteachersguide.com/watermelondaylessons.htm

WIND AND ENERGY

Energy Educators – Lesson plans about the wind for elementary, intermediate and secondary level classes. http://www.energyforeducators.org/lessonplanstopic/wind.shtml

Lesson Plans Directory - K-12http://www.lessonplansdirectory.com/renewable_energy/wind_energy.html

Traditional Stories About the Wind - Please note, this is a pdf file.

http://tinyurl.com/4q5y2z4

 
WINTER AND SNOW

Science - "Flakes of Snow" crystals. 

http://www.LessonPlansPage.com/to/12-08-Snowflakes

Snow Flake Crystals - See how amazing snowflakes really are with close up photographs that will amaze your students!

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm
Bulletin Board - Add to your classroom with cooperative snowmen for the bulletin board.http://www.LessonPlansPage.com/to/12-08-Sneaky

Snowy Weather Resources Around - Here's a lesson on where snow comes from.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/weather/resource/3827.html

What do animals do in winter? Help your students find out! 

http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Animals/ANM0201.html

Winter Activities Work Sheets – Crossword Puzzles, Anagrams and more.http://www.dltk-holidays.com/winter/worksheets.htm

   

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH


The Library of Congress: Women’s History Month - Features biographies, audio clips, images, classroom materials, and links to relevant collections and exhibits. http://www.loc.gov/topics/womenshistory/

National Women’s History Project - An educational nonprofit organization founded in 1980. Their mission is to “recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.” Search by category, state or discipline.

http://www.nwhp.org/

 Notable Women Ancestors - From adventurers to witches the site offers a brief synopsis for each woman with a link to additional biographical information.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/index.html

ABC Teach - http://tinyurl.com/y9em546 

Footsteps to Success - http://tinyurl.com/yld8r9e

Library of Congress: Women's History Month Resources and Multimedia http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

Long Ago and Maybe Far Away 

http://tinyurl.com/yjvjvyn

Mother and Daughter Griotshttp://tinyurl.com/ybyb2le

National Education Association: Women of the Century 

http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/Women-of-the-Century.html

Women's Words of Wisdom

http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/Women-s-Words-of-Wisdom.html

© 2011 Karen Chace

Bullies and Backpacks



The Lady of Shalott
John William Waterhouse, 1888

Five hundred years ago the word “bully” meant friend, family member, or sweetheart. Oh how the times have changed! Now, bullying has become a prevalent and sinister part of our children’s education. It no longer ends when they leave school at the end of the day but permeates their homes, slithering its way in via Facebook, Twitter, emails and texting; these attacks can leave children feeling adrift and alone.
Today I read a note from one of my friends who recently moved to another state. Both of her children were my storytelling students a few years ago, each equally amazing, smart, talented and kind in their own unique way. Of course a new home means a new school system and this should be an exciting time filled with new adventures and friends so it was upsetting to read that her youngest is experiencing problems with his new classmates.  I pray they will recognize what a great and supportive friend he will be if only they will extend a welcoming hand.

I have put together a number of resources below. I hope you will pass them on to your children’s teachers and perhaps read them as well. Hopefully you will never need them but information is power and it is important to know the signs if your child is being bullied at school.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. " ~ Leo F. Buscaglia

Anti-Bias Lesson Plans and Resources for K-12 Educators: Words That Heal – Using Children’s Literature to Address Bullying - A good place to start if you are planning a program or lesson on anti-bullying. The site offers discussion guides, extension plans statistics and an annotated bibliography of children’s fiction. http://tinyurl.com/66kyjp

Children’s Literature to Address Bullying - A good place to start if you are planning a program or lesson on anti-bullying. The site offers discussion guides, extension plans statistics and an annotated bibliography of children’s fiction. http://tinyurl.com/66kyjp

COPS – Center for Problem-Oriented Policing by Rana Sampson – Bullying in Schools

http://www.popcenter.org/problems/PDFs/Bullying_in_Schools.pdf

Cyberbullying.org – From our friend in Canada, a useful website with related resources. http://www.cyberbullying.org/

Education Guardian – A number resources that specifically address bullying in the United Kingdom.  http://tinyurl.com/3okglg9

Education World - Many sites, activities, lessons plans and resources to use in the classroom and community to help eradicate bullying. http://tinyurl.com/26r2l48

International Bullying Prevention Association – Research, newsletter, conference information and more.  https://ibpaworld.org

Psychology Today: Back to School: Packing Your Own Emotional Backpack: Resources for your child (and you) - This is a very current article, from August 2017. In addition there are links to other resources, including information on laws in each state, LGBTQ resources and more.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-can-t-sit-us/201708/back-school-packing-your-emotional-backpack

Seeds of Peace - "A non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to preparing teenagers from areas of conflict with the leadership skills required to promote coexistence and peace. Their outreach program also includes a Conflict Resolution CD Rom which is used in both Israeli and Palestinian schools. They also publish The Olive Branch, an online magazine to further their work in the world.”  http://www.seedsofpeace.org/

Stop Bullying Now - This site is full of resources to help address the problem of bullying. There are specific areas for teachers, administration, communities, parents and other professionals. There are also games and webisodes for children to help them deal with the issue of bullying. Use this link to access the main page. http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/

Stop Bullying.gov – Information for parents, teens, educators on intervention, monitoring and prevention. http://www.stopbullying.gov/

Unlocking the Classroom: The Storytelling Project’s Anti-racism Curriculum - “…developed at Barnard and in NYC schools and includes over 30 lessons for high school students that include arts-based storytelling activities to discuss racism.” http://tinyurl.com/25zwa8r

ACTIVITIES 

Activities that Connect Kids – Some wonderful ideas for the classroom to encourage cooperation and friendship.– These activities will help students learn about empathy and compassion.  Two sites:
http://tinyurl.com/43krpak

ARTICLE

New York Times – Pages and pages of articles about bullying in all of its forms. The sheer volume of articles speaks for itself! http://tinyurl.com/3n2k2o3

BOOKS

Storyteller Sue Black has compiled an amazing bibliography of “Books with themes of inclusion, friendship, self esteem, peer pressure, empathy, compassion, being brave, standing up, holding fast to dreams, being new, being different, and bully behavior: verbal, physical, social, cyber."  http://www.youandme-bullyfree.com/downloads/SuggestedReading.pdf

Empowering Children to Help Stop Bullying at School: A curriculum for grades three and up by Carol Wintle.
https://www.amazon.com/Empowering-Children-Help-Bullying-School/dp/1892056542

Once Upon A Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying: Lessons from 99 Multicultural Folktales for grades K-8 by Elisa Pearmain.
https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Teach-Character-Prevent-Bullying/dp/1892056445

CRAFTS

Caring Chain to Stop Bullying

http://tinyurl.com/43rl2f5

DLTK-KIDS – Friendship crafts for ages 3 and up.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/friendship/index.htm

READER’S THEATER

Tolerance.org – Why Frogs and Snakes Never Play Together
http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/r&r_pourquoiplay.pdf

Karen Chace  2011 ©  Updated 2017

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

This blog post was painstakingly researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my newsletter via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Crustaceans of the Sea

Crabs and Crawfish by William Henry Borrow, 1888

In the gorgeous New England state of Maine lobsters and crabs abound. Last Friday I was lucky enough to be part of a fun-filled evening tour of Penobscot Bay on a real lobster boat!

Of course, while I'm here, I am indulging in delicious, fresh crabmeat sandwiches on a daily

basis. As storytellers we are never far away from folktales and I began to think about stories associated with these interesting crustaceans. Surprisingly, I was able to find quite a few. I hope you enjoy them!

  

• The crab is one of the oldest species on earth. 
• The horseshoe crab dates back over 200 million years and is literally a living fossil.
• The majority of edible crabs have five pairs of legs, with the front legs being larger pinchers.
• There are 4,400 varieties of crab.
• Crabs will regenerate their claws within 18 months.
  
  

STORIES

Frog and Crab Race - Kunigami, Okinawa Island 

http://tinyurl.com/3f7hcn8

The Crab and the Monkey – Japan

http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/228.htm

The Crane’s Walk – Aesop

http://tinyurl.com/3j55kv2

The Grateful Crab – Bali

http://blog.baliwww.com/tale/4704

The Heron and the Crab – India

http://tinyurl.com/3vma4fw

The Quarrel of the Tee Monkey and the Crab – Japan

http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/japan16.htm

 

The Rabbit and the Crab – Mayan * This site also offer curriculum connections to correspond with the Mayan culture.
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/maya/mayasg1.html

How Crab Got His Shell - Africa 

http://tinyurl.com/3gxem3r

How the Hermit Crab Won a Race – Micronesia

http://tinyurl.com/3bsrl6l

CRAFTS

 

First School – Easy crab craft preschool and up.

http://tinyurl.com/3gtmcap

Herman the Crab – Coloring page

http://tinyurl.com/3dg5et5

Make Your Own Pop Up Crab

http://tinyurl.com/3wn4lmc

CURRICULUM

The Barnegat Bay Watershed 

http://www.bbwa.org/crab_curriculum.htm

Horseshoe Crabs and Ancient Art

http://tinyurl.com/3ugqh2n

National Park Service – Glacier Bay Crabs Lesson Plans
http://www.nps.gov/glba/forteachers/glacier-bay-crabs-lesson-plans.htm
 

READER’S THEATER

A House for Hermit Crab

http://tinyurl.com/3bkm6k3

SONGS AND FINGERPLAYS

Cranky Crabs

Five cranky crabs were digging on the shore.

One swam into a net and then there were four.

Four cranky crabs were floating in the sea.

One got tangled up in seaweed then there were three.

Three cranky crabs were wondering what to do.

One dug a deep, deep hole. Then there were two.

Two cranky crabs were warming in the sun.

One got scooped up in a cup. Then there was one.

One cranky crab was smarter than his friends.

He hid between the jagged rocks.

That's how the story ends.

http://tinyurl.com/3s2evcr

Ocean Songs

http://tinyurl.com/62cnxtu

Karen Chace  2011 ©
This blog post was painstakingly researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my newsletter via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Gentle Giants Among Us - Elephants in Legend and Lore




The Pearl of the Elephant
by Edmund Dulac c. 1920

While researching upcoming holidays I found out that September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. The Ashanti of Ghana relate that an elephant is a human chief from the past. When they find a dead elephant in the forest, they give him a proper chief's burial.

The founder of this celebration is Wayne Hepburn, of Mission Media. It began when he received a paperweight of elephants on parade from his daughter as a gift. To learn more about his mission visit his website . You will find information, crafts, lesson plans and more!

My friend's son Jadiel adores elephants and is a frequent visitor at the Buttonwood Park Zoo to visit Emily the Elephant. Recently, I bought him a pink elephant watering can for his small raised garden at my sister's house. When I gave it to him he hugged it close and said, "I love elephants!"

So here is my new blog post for the week, in honor of  sweet, kind and caring Jadiel, and his love for these magnificent creatures. 

  

• The elephant is the largest land mammal in the world.
• Both males and females have tusks, but the males tend to be larger.
• The gestation period for a female elephant is 22 months!
• Other females in the herd are protective toward all newborn elephants.
• Baby elephants are always in the middle of the herd for protection.
• The cool themselves down elephants will pump more blood to its ears and flap them around.
• They have children up to fifty years old.
• The elephant's trunk has over 100,000 muscles units.
• They can live up to 70 years old or more.
 

The above information was found at the following website:

http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/about_elephants.htm http://www.travelbutlers.com/safari/wildlife-guide/elephant.asp

STORIES

And Elephants Did Fly - Southern Orissa, India

http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=28

The Blind Man and the Elephant - India

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/blind_men_elephant.html

The Elephant and the Dog – Bhutan

http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/jataka-tales/elephant-and-dog.html

The Elephant and the Mahout – Magadha/Ancient India

http://www.4to40.com/folktales/index.asp?p=The_Elephant_and_the_Mahout

Elephant and Tortoise – South Africa

http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/saft/sft31.htm

Fearing the Wind - Indiahttp://spiritoftrees.org/fearing-the-wind
How the Elephant Got His Tusks - Africa

http://www.travelbutlers.com/safari/wildlife-guide/folklore-tusks.asp

The Tortoise and the Elephant - Nigeria

http://allfolktales.com/wafrica/tortoise_and_elephant.php

The Tortoise Captures the Elephant - Africa

http://allfolktales.com/wafrica/tortoise_captures_eleph.php

The Elephants Nose – India

http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=68

Story-lovers.com – More elephant information than you can shake your trunk at!

http://www.story-lovers.com/listselephantstories.html

BOOKS

The Best Kid’s Booksite – A list of books suitable for children, all featuring elephants.

http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/storydetails.cfm?TopicID=67

CURRICULUM

 

The Blind Man and the Elephant
(story above)
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/lesson-plans/blind-men-and-elephant/

The Elephant Sanctuary – Two units focusing on the study of elephants offering teaching and learning activities for children grades K-8 consisting of  72 pages of instruction, background information, charts and graphs, activities, etc. http://www.elephants.com/curriculum.php

KidsParkZ – Story starters, elephant shapes and more for young children. http://www.kidsparkz.com/elephants.html

Shape Book from ABC Can Teach

http://www.abcteach.com/free/members/15411.pdf

CRAFTS

Danielle’s Place of Crafts and Activities – Lots of fun, easy to make elephant crafts.

http://daniellesplace.com/html/ElephantCrafts.html

Elephant Puppet – For ages 3 and up. Easy craft.
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/zoowildanimals/a/blelecraft2.htm

READER’S THEATER 

The White Elephant – A play for acting out the Indian folktale along with curriculum information.

http://www.teachingsolutions.com.au/samplepages/1sp_White_El.pdf.pdf

 

RHYMES, SONGS AND FINGERPLAYS

Animal Rhymes

http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm

Perpetual Preschool – Elephant Songs

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/elephants/elephant_songs.htm

Animal Hokey Pokey – Featuring the elephant and animals galore!

http://www.songsforteaching.com/jackhartmann/animalhokeypokey.htm

POEM

Storyteller Susi Wolf generously shared this poem with me; I share it here with her permission.

THE BLIND ELEPHANT
by Susi Wolf 

There once was a female elephant 
Who was strong and clever. 
But one day 
She became quite ill and even though 
She recovered she was now blind. 
Being a survivor, 
She learned to walk slowly 
Using her trunk as a guide for every step. 
She taught herself how to eat, 
How to cross rivers 
How to be independent 
Within her own world of darkness. 
The other elephants noticed that 
All the young elephants stopped following 
Their own mothers and were now following 
The blind female. 
The herd grumbled among itself 
About why the foolish youngsters would 
Follow a blind creature 
Until an old male spoke, 
“Have you not noticed 
How she moves 
Through the forest with 
Confidence and strength? 
She walks with dignity and determination. 
Who would not follow such a leader?” 
And the other elephants were silent, 
Letting their youngsters go. 

Copyright, © February 2007, Susi Wolf 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Bibliographies on the Web - Folktales, Fairytales, Myths and More

Légende Dorée, Armand Point, c. 1899

Books, books and more books! They are the tools of our trade and we never seem to have enough. I know my shelves are bursting but in the words of the old folktale, there is always room for one more. My car should sport a bumper sticker that reads, "I brake for book sales!"

Whether you are a storyteller, librarian or educator, and the time comes to put together a new program or lesson plan,  it is always helpful to have bibliographies at our fingertips. Here are a few to help you scratch the research itch!

A Bibliography of Feminist Folktales
http://thslone.tripod.com/Feminist-folktales.html

A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-2 http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/Indbibl/index.html

Annotated Bibliography of Jewish Story Collections - An extensive PDF file of resources compiled by Penninah Schram. http://caje33.wikispaces.com/file/view/Schram_Biblio.pdf

Annotated Bibliography of Trolls
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/biblio_trolls.html

Applit - Resources for Readers and Teachers of Appalachian Literature for Children and Young Adults
http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/

CanTeach - Folktales/Mythology Bibliography of books from various cultures.
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/theme17.html

The Center for Children’s Book – Storytelling Resources – Birds, monsters, fools and more!
http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/storytellingbib.html

Children’s Literature Bibliography http://faculty.mville.edu/gangij/ecl_bibliography.pdf

Digital Storytelling Bibliography http://courseweb.lis.illinois.edu/~jevogel2/lis506/bibliography.html

Environmental Education Resources Library -  “To assist Wisconsin teachers in integrating environmental education into their classroom curricula…The bibliographies contain teaching activity guides, videos, books for youth, and reference materials. All materials included in the bibliographies can be found at the Resources Library.”
http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/library/bibs.htm

FEAST – Folklore, Education and Storytelling for Teachers – Family lore, children’s games, folktale collections and more.
http://bankstreet.edu/professional-development/projects/feast/bibliography/

Folk and Fairy Tales for Storytelling - Animal, environmental, Pourquoi, trickster tales and more.
http://www.wwu.edu/storytelling/documents/FolktaleAnthologiesTopical-Biblio.pdf

Fractured Fairy Tales
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/fft.html

Hmong Folktales and Folklore complied by Mark E. Pfeifer, PHD – You will not only find references to folktales but also to legends, music, myth and song. http://www.hmongstudies.org/HmongFolktalesandFolklore.html

Jewish Storytelling Coalition – Selected and annotated bibliography of current Jewish story collections.
http://www.jewishstorytelling.org/biblio.html

Sisters Choice ~ Active Heroines in Folktales - An index of books with annotations on strong women in folktales; a perfect place to start if you are developing a program around this theme. http://www.sisterschoice.com/heroines.html

Storytelling Bibliography – Story collections, flannel boards, puppetry, etc.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/t2l/bibl-s01.htm

Western Washington University – Bibliography Folk and Fairy Tales – From Africa to Southeast Asia, a wealth of resources from around the world. http://www.wwu.edu/storytelling/biblifolk.shtml

Storybug.net - You will find an additional list of annotated bibliographies on my Teacher’s Page at
http://www.storybug.net/teacher-webbiblio.html .

Karen Chace 2011  ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.