ASSIGNMENTS | SPELLING | EXTENSIONS | LINKS | FURTHER READING

ASSIGNMENTS

Salmon Summer

 

Wildfires

Skylark

EXTENSIONS

Try one of these fun and educational activities in your classroom.

LINKS

Showdown at Grizzly River
Explore the world of Alaskan grizzlies and their favorite meal, salmon, at this site based on the television series Nature. You'll visit A River of Bears, learn more about salmon spawning habits, investigate the growing pains of bear cubs, and find links to lots of natural resources.

On the Prairie
Turn to this lively site for more information on the Great Plains, the setting for Skylark. Your class can learn about prairie plants and animals and threats to their fast-shrinking ecosystem (less than 2 percent of native prairie remains today). You'll find lots of great activities, too—there's Build-a-Prairie, where you turn a bare dirt field into a thriving prairie; Field Guide to the Prairie; Ask the Author, where you can get answers to all your prairie-related questions; and QuickTime movies too. It's a field day (so to speak) for prairie enthusiasts!

FURTHER READING

VERY EASY

Hurricane!
by Jonathan London
Lothrop 1998 (32p)
A young boy tells what happens when a hurricane strikes his Puerto Rican home.
Multicultural

Parks Are to Share
by Lee Sullivan Hill
Carolrhoda 1997 (32p)
Readers learn about different kinds of parks and why they are important.
Social Studies

The Longest Wait
by Marie Bradby
Orchard 1998 (32p)
Thomas awaits the return of his father, who is delivering the mail in a snowstorm.
Multicultural

The Storm
by Mark Harshman
Cobblehill 1995 (32p)
When a tornado strikes, Jonathan, confined to a wheelchair, saves the lives of his family's horses.

Dust for Dinner
by Ann Turner
Harper 1995 (64p)
Jake's family moves from Oklahoma to California after dust storms destroy their farm.
Social Studies

EASY

The Man Who Made Parks
by Frieda Wishinsky
Tundra 1999 (32p)
Frederick Law Olmsted turned a muddy wasteland into Central Park.

Twister!
by Darleen Bailey Beard
Farrar 1999 (32p)
Two children wait out a twister while their mother aids a neighbor.

The Big Storm
by Bruce Hisock
Atheneum 1993 (32p)
The author chronicles the great storm of March 31, 1983.
Science

Forest Fire
by Mary Ann Fraser
Fulcrum 1996 (32p)
A look at the cycle of regrowth after a destructive forest fire.
Science

Thundercake
by Patricia Polacco
Putnam 1997 (32p)
A girl frightened of thunderstorms is comforted by her grandmother.

Flying Firefighters
by Gary Hines
Clarion 1993 (32p)
The crew of Copter 517 fights a forest fire from the air.
Social Studies

ON LEVEL

Penguins at Home: Gentoos of Antarctica
by Bruce McMillan
Houghton 1993 (32p)
A barren landscape is home to the Southern Gentoo penguins.

Belle's Journey
by Marilyn Reynolds
Orca 1994 (32p)
A girl and her pony encounter a sudden, blinding snowstorm.

Come Back, Salmon
by Molly Cone
Sierra 1992 (48p) also paper
Students clean up a polluted stream.
Social Studies

Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
Harper 1985 (64p) also paper
Anna and Caleb await the arrival of their new stepmother.
Classic

If You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake
by Ellen Levine
Scholastic 1992 (64p) paper
Learn what it was like in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake.
Social Studies

Discovering El Niño
by Patricia Seibert
Millbrook 1999 (32p)
The author discusses the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, from its first observation by Peruvian fisherman through its study by today's scientists.
Science

Storms
by Seymour Simon
Morrow 1992 (32p) paper
Learn how thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes are formed.
Science

Laura's Album
compiled by William Anderson
Harper 1998 (80p)
These mementos and documents from Ingalls's life reveal hardships her family faced.
Social Studies

Brave Irene
by William Steig
Farrar 1995 (32p) also paper
A dressmaker's daughter delivers the duchess's new ballgown, despite a raging snowstorm. Available in Spanish as Irene, la valiente.

The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest
by Steve Jenkins
Houghton 1999 (32p)
An armchair climb of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest.

After the Spill
by Sandra Markle
Walker 1999 (32p)
The author examines the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on animal life in Prince William Sound.
Science

CHALLENGE

Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
Houghton 1951 (96p)
Minn, a snapping turtle, travels downstream through the Mississippi River Valley.
Classic

Floods!
by Ellen Keller
Simon 1999 (64p)
Facts on all types of floods are presented here, along with journal entries from many people who experienced them.
Science

Summer of Fire: Yellowstone 1988
by Patricia Lauber
Orchard 1991 (64p)
Lauber looks at all aspects of the Yellowstone fires of 1988, including their effects on trees and other vegetation and on animal life.
Science