A Different Kind of Mystery Picture [Part 2]

Part One of this article is here.

The next puzzle is going to be based on one of my favorite math concepts, symmetry. If you're a new reader of this blog, my most recent picture book is called Seeing Symmetry (see a video preview here.) Anyway, I wanted to use shapes with and without line symmetry for the clues. The kids find the symmetrical shapes to solve each clue. The squares (on the left) have the lines that will be drawn in the grid square.

The photo below shows the clues page with some of the symmetrical shapes circled in orange. The grid rows and columns are indicated by different symmetrical shapes. By the way, line symmetry is introduced in grade 4 of the Common Core State Standards (4.G.3), and it's also taught in 3rd grade in many states. Just a few of the squares have been drawn in so far (see below).

 Once all the clues have been solved and the lines drawn in, an owl with outstretched wings should appear.

As you can see, the owl is also symmetrical. Any glitches in the drawing will be obvious and the student can double-check that square again. Once it looks correct, they go over the lines with a black or dark marker. I like the Crayola® brand  SuperTips because they are a good thickness, are washable, and don't have that awful brain-melting smell that certain markers do (yes, Sharpie, I'm talking about you.)

One of the nice aspects of this different kind of mystery picture is that once the drawing is complete, each kiddo can color it with their choice of colors.

It'll be fun to see the whole flock of uniquely colored, symmetrical owls that will fly in, don't you think? Here is the cover and a link to this puzzle:

Click Cover image to visit my TPT shop

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you like this kind of mystery picture…I'm interested in any and all opinions pro or con. Toodleloo!

Loreen
My web site

A Different Kind of Mystery Picture [Part 1]

Mystery pictures are used for a variety of educational purposes from learning math facts to sight words to geometric shapes. Typically they are based on a 100s or 120s chart and require students to color in the squares or rectangles according to a list of clues. Very useful, but there are a couple of things that kind of bug me about them. First, the image has numbers or words all over it…which is the point, to familiarize kids with those particular concepts. The other issue for me is that the image is blocky, like an enlargement of pixels on a computer screen.

So I've been playing around with a different approach…instead of numbers or other thingies in the squares, how about labeling the rows and columns? It's a kind of simplified coordinate graph as used in the game Battleship.

To find a particular square's "address," the clues can indicate C4, F8, and so on. The next obstacle is the blocky image. I tried drawing a picture in a grid, similar to an art project where you enlarge an image by drawing what's in each square. But drawing curved and other arbitrary lines seemed too difficult for my purposes. It's a puzzle, not an exercise in duplicating an image, per se.

What about straight lines instead? Here is the same image, sans curves:

And not only are the lines straight, they start and stop at key points in the square, such as the corner, midpoint of an edge, or center point (with a few exceptions.) It's definitely easier to draw. So, each clue reveals the coordinates plus has a little square with one or more lines in it for kids to draw on their blank grid.

Since this approach seemed workable, I went ahead and designed the first puzzle. The clues are based on numbers in expanded form, part of learning about place value. Here's a link to the freebie, "It's a Fluke!" (Get it…whale tail…flukes?) Another advantage is that once the picture is drawn, the kiddos can color it any way they like, so each picture will be different.

There may be similar mystery picture puzzles out there in Internetland…in any case, this type is intriguing to me because of the creative options with the image. It will be interesting to see if teachers find these to be useful and fun for students. "Fluke" has had some positive feedback already, so we shall see!

This article is getting long, so I'll post a part 2 soon. Update: Here is the link to Part 2. Thanks for reading!

Loreen
My website

Whooo Likes Owls? From Doodle to Designs

Recently I was doodling some ideas for fall writing templates. (Yes, I know the school year is barely over and summer beckons!) This little owl popped up on the page.

There was something intriguing about him. Eventually, it occurred to me that with the out-stretched wings he could make an interesting 3-section graphic organizer. And as an option, the wings could fold in to hide the contents!

Naturally I went bonkers and made a bunch of them. There's a a KWL chart; Sequencing 1-2-3; Beginning-Middle-End; Are-Have-Can; and a Blank Template. They have primary lines, plain lines, or no lines, for 18 designs in all. They can be used for a wide variety of creative projects such as fall and winter writing, fiction and nonfiction about owls, forest animals, predators, food chains, and so on. Here is the cover of Owls Are All Write!:

Click image to visit my TPT store

After that was finished, I took my almost-90-year-old mother to visit family and old friends in the northeast. While we were on the road, another idea popped up, this time for a "getting to know you" activity. The long image below gives an idea of what Whooo's in Our Class? is all about:

Kids finish the writing prompts, doodle and color, draw or paste in a photo of themselves, and cut out and fold their owl's wings. Students can browse the finished owls to find out fun facts about each other. It will be great for a back-to-school activity or any occasion when kids are getting to know each other. It's a quick print and go kind of thing, which can certainly help in the hectic beginning days of school. This is my newest classroom resource, and will be discounted for a few days. I mark down all new products as a "thank you" to the wonderful teachers who follow me.

But for now, grab a book, relax in a hammock for awhile, and have a great summer! If your school year isn't over yet, hang in there!

Make a Class Book of Similes!

Similes are a type of figurative language, a subset of metaphors to be precise. In other words, all similes are metaphors, but not all metaphors are similes. Many familiar similes have been overused to the point they are considered clichés. We've all heard and/or said, "...as hungry as a bear," for example. But if you're a kid you don't know many familiar sayings. It's kind of a cliché Catch-22...you have to learn them to avoid using them! To help with this conundrum, I've already created a picture book written entirely with similes, plus a free follow-up book extension with real photographs of the items used in the comparisons (see this post for more info).

I just finished a set of 30 printable pages to help children learn similes by drawing pictures of them. First they draw a silly, literal picture, then a picture of the actual meaning. (Or at least, one meaning...many sayings have more than one meaning.) This image shows the steps leading up to a class book.

Click on image to visit my TPT shop.

As the last step shows, kids can use the Blank Template to write and illustrate new, original similes to add to the class book. Or the pages could be used in a bulletin board display of Familiar vs. Original Similes, as one idea. To download the Preview and try a sample page, please visit my shop on TeachersPayTeachers. Also included in the packet is the class book cover in color and black & white.

One group that has trouble with similes and other expressions are students learning English as a second language (ESL, ELL.) I can't imagine trying to make heads or tails of all the idioms we use at the drop of a hat. See what I mean? This activity was a lot of fun to create, and I hope people find it useful. Thanks for reading!

Learning about Monarch Butterflies by Reading, Writing, and Crafting

I've been intrigued by the possibilities of presenting educational topics in alternate formats other than in books. Not that I have anything against books, obviously! It's just that the digital age we're in opens up the door to so many additional possibilities. My latest classroom resource focuses on one of our most beloved insects, the Monarch butterfly. Several printables are included, such as these in progress below.  Thanks go to my niece Anna for doing the coloring!

Shown is the pre-printed version for lower level students...the alternate version has blank areas for students to write in the facts on the wings as well as the labels on the diagram. There also is a version with the terms Caterpillar/Chrysalis rather than Larva/Pupa. Here is the finished Monarch, with a 3D Life Cycle "dangle" (if that's the right term!)

The back has the Body Parts diagram.

I wanted students to have realistic art to work with so they could create something beautiful to showcase what they have learned. There are several other activities that go along with the craft including an informational text selection, a Life Cycle poster with photographs of the four stages, fact vs. fiction cards, and more. If you'd like, please check out the Preview here.

Hope you're having a wonderful Spring!

The Next Big Thing: A Global Blog Tour

The Next Big Thing blog tour started in Australia but has now gone global! The object is to bring awareness of the work of children's authors and illustrators. Extra “big” thanks go to Maryann Cocca Leffler for tagging me. She is a fabulous author, illustrator, and recently turned one of her books into a musical for the stage. Can the movie be far behind?

First I'lI answer these questions, then the next book artists will be tagged.

What is the title of your next book?

It's Jack & the Hungry Giant Eat Right with MyPlate, which will be available in Fall 2013.

Where did the idea for the book come from?

An existing picture book of mine (The Edible Pyramid) was an introduction to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid nutrition education program. It had been in print for many years and had been revised once already. My wonderful editor, Mary Cash at Holiday House, saw the news story about the new MyPlate program the day it came out. She immediately emailed me and we agreed there was no feasible way to revise Edible Pyramid, so it was back to the drawing board! I chose the Jack & the Beanstalk folktale as a starting point because of the visual possibilities...the food is so gigantic compared to Jack, which makes it fun.

What genre is your book?

It's a picture book with 32 pages for young readers from 4 to 8.

Which actors would you choose to play the characters in a movie version?

For the giant, whose name is Waldorf…a big guy who could appear fierce at first yet is really a big teddy bear. Preferably a red head. Though he is now deceased, Howard Keel from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers would have been perfect. So, somebody like him...maybe Tom Selleck? For Jack, a kid version of actor Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, etc.) would be fab.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Jack climbs the beanstalk to the giant's castle…just when he thinks he's lunch, the giant cooks a wonderful, healthy meal.

Who is the publisher?

Holiday House, who was the first publisher in the United States dedicated to publishing only books for children. They've been around since 1935 (wow!)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Since it's a picture book, I sketch and write the rough draft more or less together. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but it generally at least a month goes by while I'm making a dummy.

What other picture books would you compare this story to?

Currently there are no trade books related to the MyPlate program…there are several textbook-type books with photographs. Hopefully mine will be the first trade picture book! Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson is a take-off on the original story, so it has that in common with mine.

A few pages from Jack and the Hungry Giant

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Food, glorious food, of course! In all seriousness, I think nutrition is a fundamentally important subject—so many people are not eating properly and are unhealthy as a result. One big improvement would be to cook from scratch with actual raw ingredients, as highlighted by the illustrations in my book. And avoid eating the many highly processed factory foods that have taken over the grocery store...uh oh, don't get me started!

What else about the book may pique the reader's interest?

To my knowledge there wasn't a cat in the original story, but there is in my version! This furry feline bears a striking resemblance to a kitty from my childhood named Sandy Claws (we thought his name was so hilarious...!)

Thanks so much for stopping by...I appreciate it so much!

It's an honor to link to the book creators for Thursday, March 28th—click on their names or book covers to visit their blogs:

Patrice Barton, who illustrated The Year of the Baby and also won a Crystal Kite award in 2012:

Linda Shute, who is the Illustrator Co-ordinator of the Florida chapter of the SCBWI and illustrator of Captain John Smith’s Big and Beautiful Bay:

I'm looking forward to finding out about more children's books as the Next Big Thing blog tour continues…see you there!

Crazy about Similes: A Book Activity

Many of you are familiar with my picture book Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story. If you haven't read it yet, this video trailer gives the gist of it:
The book's premise is to illustrate the comparison used in the simile. So, because Rufus the fox is sleeping like a log…

 …he is transformed into a log on the next page. The entire story is told in similes, with additional similes added by side characters. The idiomatic title of the book is explained by the plot itself: Rufus acts “crazy” to provoke the sheep Babette into chasing him with the secret purpose of luring her to her own surprise party. Most readers agree that it's an engaging way to introduce these figures of speech to students.

Recently I made a free PowerPoint slideshow as an extension activity for this book. It reviews the similes that tell the story and uses real photographs to help kids understand  the comparison. Each slide also asks a question that refers to the book.

You can download it from my shop on TeachersPayTeachers.

Hope it's as much fun as a barrel of monkeys!