Step 3: Now that you have experienced this writing strategy. Research some other quotes that would make great writing prompts. Make a list of three to five quotes.
Step 4: Submit your Golden Line writing (Step 2) and list of quotes/prompts (Step 3) to your building’s EY Coordinator.
Spring is in the air! Learn all about the blooming power of flowers and then do a hands-on activity creating a blooming flower and card to give to someone special.
Step 1: Watch this Mystery Science video about how flowers bloom.
Step 2: Gather needed materials to complete the activity.
Crayons
Scissors
Dot Stickers or Tape
Plastic Paper Plate or Bowl
Step 3: In this activity, you will make a colorful paper flower and a greeting card that they can give to any special person in their life. When placed in water, the paper flower will unfold, appearing to move and bloom in front of your eyes! You may want to use this as a Mother’s Day activity, but you choose who will receive the card, so it can be for anyone special.
Click on the image below to print template and view step-by-step instructions.
Once your flowers are complete, place them in water to watch them bloom!
Extension: You can see for yourself how water moves inside a plant. Fill a glass with water and add a few drops of red or blue food coloring. Place a white flower in the glass. Wait a few hours and watch to see what happens. Look closely at the flower petals. What do you notice? Repeat this experiment, but use a stalk of celery or a lettuce leaf. What do you predict will happen?
Nonfiction poetry focuses on conveying facts about subjects through engaging and creative narratives. Nonfiction poetry can be a fun and thought-provoking way to tell a story or impart information.
Step 1 – Learn about an important historical event (Apollo 11) by reading the article, The Moon Landing on the National Geographic Kids website. Click on photo to read.
Step 2 – Listen to this example of nonfiction poetry about Apollo 11, Eight Days Gone. Click on photo to watch/listen.
Step 3 – Explore these websites and choose an article of interest. Read the article 1-2 times.
Step 4 – Create your nonfiction verse in the form of a Cinquain poem. Cinquain poems follow a specific 5 line pattern. Use these sheets to further analyze your article/topic and draft your poem.
Personification is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
1 – Watch this video clip that illustrates the use of personification.
2 – Draw an illustration to match each example of personification. Click on image to open the document to print.
3 – Write a story about a day in the life of an object, using plenty of personification. Include an illustration. You may use the template linked below (click on image).
4 – Submit completed “Day in the Life” story to your EY Coordinator.
Step Two:Research. Find out even more by doing your own research. Use the sheet below as a guide (Description, Habitat, Diet, Lifespan, Conservation).
Step Three:Create! Show us what you learned about Axolotls in a creative way. Choose from one of the following options.
Social Media Post – Using these templates, create Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter posts from the perspective of an Axolotl. Turn in your completed post(s) to your EY Coordinator.
Minecraft Habitat – Design an ideal habitat or underwater playground for the Axolotl using Minecraft. You will need to complete this option at home. Take a photo or screenshot and send to your EY Coordinator.
Regeneration Pic Collage – Did you learn that Axolotls have an incredible ability to regenerate? Watch the video below to learn more! What other Amphibians have this ability? Create a PicCollage that shows us what you discovered.
What is a Simile? The official definition of a simile is a noun that means: “a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.”
Step One: Watch this Brain Pop Jr. video about Similes
and this word girl video
Step Two: Look at the Simile list below. Whisper read a scenario for each one
Example: as sly as a fox
Hillary was ______________________ , as she to gingerly placed the fruit bat into her backpack.
Easy as ABC
Like two peas in a pod
Straight as an arrow
Wise as an owl
Step Three: Watch and listen to the book, “My Dog Is As Smelly As Dirty Socks”. Click book image below.
Step Four: Write a “Simile Me”.
First, jot down five words you would use to describe yourself.
Use your five words and make comparisons to something else, writing your own version of a “Simile Me”
Here is my example:
1 – busy
2 – creative
3 – hardworking
4 – happy
5 – sleepy
I’m as busy as a timer,
As creative as a stained glass window,
As hardworking as an elephant,
As happy as a well-loved dog,
And as sleepy as a pillow.
Step Five: Use an app of your choice to create a fun illustration/visual of your “Simile Me”
Step Six: Send your “Simile Me” and illustration/visual to your EY Coordinator!
Even if a picture is worth a thousand words, it still needs a caption. Captions are easy to write if you begin with the basics. Let’s practice using the photo below.
Caption: A caption is text that gives additional information about a picture or illustration.
Example: Begin by brainstorming Who, What, When, Where, and How. Once you have written down these details from the photo, write a caption that gives these details and some additional information (use the checklist below).
Caption Writing Checklist:
describe the picture
provide additional information
written in complete sentences
include adjectives and additional details
Now, try one a few on your own!
Teachers: Ask your EY Coordinator for this 65 page resource (PDF), would be great for warms ups and exit tickets to help students practice caption writing!
Looking for a really fun STEM challenge that you can do at home? This mystery bag STEM design challenge is a blast!
In this design activity, you will use a bag of mystery materials (an assortment of recyclables and other random items) and then a challenge card stating a building challenge to do with those materials. Then you use those “mystery” materials to complete the challenge.
Step One: Gather Materials
One bag (you can use gift bags, lunch bags, grocery bags, or even large baggies.)
Scissors
Tape (scotch tape or masking tape)
Various kinds of recyclables (cardboard tubes, cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil)
A variety of other materials (paper plates, plastic cups, string, yarn, pipe cleaners)
Step Two: Fill Your Bag (Tip: it’s more challenging if a sibling or parent fills your bag)
Place about 8-12 items into the bag. You’ll want to be sure the items are varied. Each bag should contain at least one larger item that can serve as a base for the design, and then an assortment of smaller items.
Step 1: What is a Tweet? Read the definition below and look at the examples.
What is a Tweet? A tweet is a status update on a social media platform called Twitter that is broadcast to other users. Limited to 280 characters or less, tweets can express how users are feeling, what they’re doing, and anything in between.
Step 2: Look over the Tweet options below and choose one to complete. Turn in your finished work to your teacher or EY coordinator.
Option 1: Character Tweet
What would a character from a favorite book “tweet” at the end of a chapter or section. Write it as though you are that character using Twitter.
Character Tweet Example:
Character Tweet Template:
Option 2: Chapter/Section Tweet:
Think of a chapter of a book or section of a movie and summarize what happened twitter style.
Chapter/Section Template:
Option 3: Book Review Tweet
Book Review Tweet Examples:
Option 4: Historical Figure Tweet
Choose a person from a historical event. What would this historical figure “tweet” after this event? Write it as though you are that person using Twitter.
Historical Figure Template:
Step 3: Use the contact form below and type your Tweet in the Message section. Hit Submit
