Magic+Tree+House



Megan Igoe

I chose to concentrate on the big idea of animals that live in coral reefs to extend Magic Tee House//: Dolphins at Daybreak.// The class will learn about the coral reefs as a habitat and the animals that make up the habitat. In the book, Jack and Anne need to do research to solve a riddle in order to become “Master Librarians”. Their search leads them to a coral reef, which is made of different materials and the home to many different animals. Students will pick one animal that lives in the reef, research it, and draw a model of the animal. This ties in art, science, and writing. By doing this research, the students are working on creating meaningful knowledge about the coral reefs and the animals that live there. This activity allows for many different types of learners to be interested in the activity

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Kayleen Wright

I chose to extend MTH //Dolphins at Daybreak// to focus on the technology of submarines. We will be constructing our own submarines. For the majority of this MTH book, Jack and Annie are inside of a submarine looking at the ocean floor. Because this book is a hybrid text, it is important that the students understand what is fact vs. fiction. For that reason, constructing a submarine would allow students to see that that part of the book is real as well as expose them to the technology of underwater vessels. The submarine model will be functional so it can ascend and descend. It also allows students to work with their hands as well as do an activity they are sure to remember. This project is cheep, quick and fun, and something they can take home. Building Submarines will also incorporate many learning styles.

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Kayla McCoombs

In the Magic Tree House book //Pirates Past Noon,// Jack and Annie find a book about Pirates in the Caribbean. They encounter pirates who had raided Spanish treasure ships nearly three hundred years ago. The pirates capture Jack and Annie when they think they know where Captain Kidd's treasure is. The pirates are greedy for gold but cannot read the treasure map in order to find it, so Jack and Annie decide to help them read it so he will set them free. I decided to focus on the big idea that it is important to be able to read maps and pay attention to clues when solving problems. The activity I have chosen to demonstrate this main point involves teaching students about direction. The students will learn the function of a compass and then get into groups and create their own scavenger hunts. They will hide an object in a certain part of the classroom and lead their classmates to the object by using directions such as, "take three steps north and five steps west". This activity involves reading, problem solving and geography.

[|How to Use a Compass]

Jessica Sanfilippo For my extended activity of The Knight at Dawn I have chosen to focus on the big idea of the differences between the Middle Ages and today. In the ELA section of my concept map, I will be having the students read about medieval castles and compare/contrast them to modern day homes. In order to make researching about castles more engaging, they will use the activity provided to construct their own medieval castles. After their castles have been created, the students will utilize what they have learned about castles from our readings and write about the different types of materials used to hypothetically make their castle (ex. Stone, stained glass for windows) and how their castle differs from their own home (ex. Does your house have a moat?). This activity ties in reading, writing, and art. It is a solid educational activity because as Jack and Annie learned about different aspects of a castle, the students will learn about how their homes differ from the castles of medieval times through this “hands-on” activity, reading, and writing. [|How to make a medieval castle]

Jackie Sunderland

I chose to extend The Magic Tree House //Civil War on Sunday// book and focus on the technology aspect of the Civil War. One new piece of technology that was used in the war was the telegraph, which gave President Lincoln the ability to communicate with soldiers on the field through Morse code. Students will study the history of the telegraph and purpose of using Morse code. Students will translate messages into Morse code and exchange messages with other students in Morse code to then be translated to communicate with each other. This ties in social studies, arts and science. It is a solid educational activity because it teaches students the history of technology used during the civil war, as well as how to decipher Morse code. It is linked to the book because it is one aspect of the Civil War that affected the outcomes of the war and it is an interactive way for students to further understand the Civil War.

Deciphering Morse Code: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2012.shtml

Anthony Sokol In the Magic Tree House book, __Thanksgiving on Thursday__, Jack and Ann travel back to 1621 on the first day of Thanksgiving. There they encounter pilgrims  and Native Americans who find themselves without enough food for their feast because a larger than expected tribe arrived. So, they had to hurriedly gather more food to feed the masses. One of the big ideas in this book is being able to attain and provide enough food for everyone. I found a math activity which helps the students with their math skills and raises an important issue that could one day affect us again; food shortage and the need to be able to ration properly. The activity presents a series of word problems that ask the students to determine how much of a particular and realistic amount of food, water and other things would be needed for a family of four to survive for a month. In addition, math word problems can frequently be difficult for students so this activity would help them improve their ELA skills along with their math skills. Further, a simple activity such as keeping a journal of what they ate, where it came from, and how much they consumed per day, will allow them to relate it to their lives and promote deeper student thought about food production and consumption.

https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/TCR/1557346070_57_key.pdf

Brie Reynolds

The Magic Tree House book Buffalo Before Breakfast is about the Lakota tribe and learning their culture. The Lakota Tribe survives off the Buffalo, and follows them around the Great Plains. A fact that we learn about in the book is that the Lakota Tribe does not waste, and they use all parts of the Buffalo. On page 29 Jack makes a list of all the things that are made from different parts of the Buffalo. The students are going to make a “Buffalo hid” out of a brown paper bag that had been soaked in water and dried. The students will then cut out a buffalo using a buffalo shaped templet. Once the buffalo is cut out the students will then draw pictures on different parts of the Buffalo. The different pictures will show what is made from each part of the Buffalo. This is a hands on activity that talks about Buffalo and how important they are to the Lakota people. It covers a big idea of not wasting anything of the Buffalo and that they are a symbol of their culture. It also is a main idea of learning more about the Lakota Culture.

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Hannah Magarian

I chose to extend my MTH book //Earthquake in the Early Morning,// into the big idea of the major effects and dangers of earthquakes, since this is the big idea for my book. For my activity I would like students to create a diorama of the city of San Francisco after an earthquake has hit, I chose San Francisco because it ties in the main idea of the book where it takes place. This activity will target science because they have to study the effects of an earthquake and accurately portray that look. It includes comprehension and social studies because they have to geographically study that specific city of California and understand what geographically makes it different that the city is constantly hit with earthquakes, they also need to study where its located on a map/globe. I would want them to present their ideas and their facts that will incorporate speaking and writing as well as group work. This would also include art because they need to see which materials work best in creating their landscape.

[|MTH Earthquakes]

Emily Mulvey

====For an extended activity with Magic Tree House, I decided that creating a living medieval castle in the classroom would be an interesting way to further the student’s understanding of this time period and what lives were like. It will be a project for the whole class to come together and transform the classroom into a castle. A group of students will be responsible for creating a component of our castle, whether it is about the towers, the dungeon, or the kitchen. They will bring in facts that they have learned from our Magic Tree House and from our info text into building and creating our castle. This incorporates history, art, and ELA. This is also a good way to invite parents and community members into our classroom to see how the students demonstrate their learning.====

[|Living medieval castle] (page 5)
Ariel Loontjens

I have chosen to go more in depth on the topic of deforestation and protecting wildlife, which is listed in the writing section of my concept map. One of the big ideas in the story “Afternoon on the Amazon” is that the creatures in the Amazon Rainforest all have a purpose and we should leave the rain forest alone. The activity I have chosen is to have the children use I pads to play the online game called “The Rainforest Rangers.” The game covers a wide array of topics, which educate children on the importance of recycling, protecting fragile ecosystems with the rainforest, and stopping deforestation. The goal of the game is to stop a man named Lee Zardo from destroying the rainforest. The students engage in activities such as rebuilding homes for animals, recycling materials used to rebuild habitats, and learn fun facts about the rain forest. This activity is an efficient way to teach students the importance of protecting the environment because rather than only reading and listening to information, they are able to play games and work hands on. To scaffold this activity up, I would have students pick three important things they learned from the game write a short story about their adventure defeating Lee Zardo.

(In order to access the game, you must make an account. This only takes about a minute!)

[|The Rainforest Rangers]

Carly Oguschewitz

I am extending the Magic Tree House book, “Sunset of the Sabertooth,” by looking at the big idea of the Ice Age and examining how the Cro-Magnon people and animals lived during this time. In the Magic Tree House book, Jack and Annie are fascinated with the cave art that the Cro-Magnon people have done in order to express their belief systems and communicate with one another. Students will research, in groups, the different things Cro-Magnons drew and what each picture symbolized. Students may, also, look at how the Cro-Magnons created the pictures (did they make paint? etc.) and how it compares/contrasts to why we draw pictures. After his or her research, each student will make //their own cave drawing//. As a fun part of this activity, the students can tape their drawings under a table and while lying on the floor; giving the impression they are actually in a cave (as the activity suggests in the link). This activity uses several areas of the curriculum, such as art, history, and social studies. This is a “solid educational activity” because the students are broadening their knowledge from the Magic Tree House book by performing further research on the people of the Ice Age and then using that knowledge to create a physical “cave drawing,” with the mind set of a Cro-Magnon!

[|How to Create A Cave Drawing]

Samantha Alves

I chose to extend MTH //Dinosaurs Before Dark// to the main idea of dinosaurs. Throughout the book students learn a lot of information about different types of dinosaurs and they are even given factual information about these dinosaurs. Although the book does include a good amount of pictures, students are left wondering what other types of dinosaurs there are and what they might look like. Students will be able to research different types of dinosaurs that maybe were not talked about in this book, and they will be able to draw whatever type of dinosaur they want to. As well as drawing their favorite dinosaur in detail, students will think about what their dinosaur can be compared to in the way it looks, what their dinosaur eats, and also how big their dinosaur is in comparison to an object that they are familiar with. This activity will incorporate art, social studies, and writing. This is good educational activity because students are learning about dinosaurs from the past, what they looked like and where they lived, and also they are given the chance to draw what they see their chosen dinosaur to look like and this will keep the students interested as well as teach them a lot of new information!

Make a Dinosaur! : https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/orange/sl-112.pdf

Alexandra Nekrasz

I chose to extend the Magic Tree House //Afternoon on the Amazon// by focusing on a science activity about layers of the rainforest to cover the main idea of the Amazon Rainforest. In the beginning of Jack and Annie’s journey to the rainforest, Jack states a fact about the different kind of layers in the rainforest. This was exciting for the kids because Annie almost step out into the top layer thinking it was the ground but Jack stopped her when he read about being one hundred and fifty feet up in the air. All of the kids were engaged by this because it was a fictional situation backed up by nonfiction facts. The activity planned for the layers of the rainforest is to create our own rainforest showcasing the layers. To do this I will make three groups to create the three different layers; the forest canopy, the understory and the forest floor. These will be large groups so I will create group norms so everyone has a task and participate. Each group will have a cardboard box that they will turn into a stage of their layer. Each layer will include plants and animals that live in this layer. The purpose of this is that groups will learn in depth about their particular layer and share out so everyone learns about each layer. This is a solid educational activity because research will have to be done to learn about the layers and creating a project based on the research will back up learning and help students become engaged.

Link: []

Kristi Rossi

I chose to extend MTH //Earthquake in the Early Morning// by focusing on a science activity to explore the main idea of earthquakes. In the story, Jack and Annie travel back in time to San Francisco in 1906 when the Great Shake happens. This disastrous event leaves the two children curious about what earthquakes do and how they happen. To extend the knowledge that is acquired from reading the story, students will create their own miniature earthquake. This science activity involves utilizing a Jell-O “ground” and using toothpicks and marshmallows to create “buildings” and other structures atop the Jell-O. Then, the students will create an earthquake by either tapping or shaking the dish that contains the Jell-O and “buildings.” They will record their results and be able to see how structures sway and break in the wake of an earthquake. This is a solid educational activity because it allows children to investigate earthquakes firsthand and get involved in a hands-on experiment. They can hypothesize what will happen, test different methods of shaking or tapping, and analyze their results. With the conclusion of this activity, students will understand more about how earthquakes affect different environments and how they cause destruction. (The attached activity is a bit advanced for elementary school students and would be simplified for the purpose of this assignment)

[|Earthquake in the Classroom]

Paste your paragraph and link here. MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR NAME!

Emily Greenwood

//The Magic Treehouse: Dinosaurs After Dark// takes place in the Cretaceous period on earth about 65 million years ago. I am choosing to extend the book into the big idea about prehistoric reptiles and their ability to adapt to their surroundings and evolve, specifically about Pterosaurs because they were incorporated into the book. This activity includes a video discussing Pterosaur adaptation, a class brainstorming competition and assignment to summarize what they've learned. This is a science-based activity that incorporates some history of the Cretaceous period. It is a solid activity and does not constitute busy work because adaptations are an essential component in understanding evolution overall. Learning about a specific prehistoric reptile that they read about will hopefully increase their interest in the subject and their standard of coherence to learn about adaptations.

The activity can be found on the National Geographic website here: [|Adaptations- Changes Through Time]

Emily Shopland

I have chosen to teach about the main idea of feudal Japan. My class will be learning about ancient Japanese culture. This will include currency, artistic traditions, relationship with nature, and social castes as well as other aspects. Haiku, a very popular form of poetry, originated in Japan during the feudal era. Because Japanese culture is closely intertwined with nature, students will spend time out of doors as a class and write their own nature-related haiku. Afterwards, each student will select one of their haiku to decorate with traditional brush painting and display in the classroom. This activity relates to writing, art, and social studies. This is a solid educational activity because students will be expanding the concepts introduced in MTH about having a close relationship with nature and observing one’s surroundings, as well as developing skills in writing and art. It is a “hands-on” activity, and it supports diverse learning styles.

The activity (as well as several other haiku-related activities for different age groups) can be found at: [|Haiku Activity]

Sebastian Osorio

__Part 3: Online activity __

 I chose to extend MTH book //Dinosaurs Before Dark// to help students be informed about dinosaurs. During the book Jack and Ann are faced with a problem and they have to overcome obstacles with the dinosaurs but they also learn about many species of dinosaurs. Students in this activity will create and draw their own dinosaurs and tell the class everything about them including looks, habitat, location, food, etc, In addition to their description they will also tell a narrative of their dinosaur or anything they want that has to do with their dinosaur. This is an activity that younger children can develop their skills in writing their own hybrid text. With this worksheet they get to achieve expository writing skills by writing a brief description/ caption of their dinosaur they created. At the same time they will also exercise their narrative skills by writing their own stories about their dinosaur. of informational text while using their design and descriptions. Students will then finally get to draw their own dinosaur on the back of the worksheet to their liking to combine an artistic approach for their narrative they will be creating.

http://prek-8.com/kidslearning/images/dinoWriting2.jpg

Kelsey Peluso

I believe that it is very important for students to understand how earthquakes work because Magic Tree House: A Perfect Time for Pandas has a lot to do with earthquakes. The earthquake that occurs in this story is actually a real earthquake that occurred, named the Great Sichuan Earthquake. One important idea from the story was that earthquakes could have devastating impacts to not only humans, but animals and structures as well. With this hands-on activity, targeting the science area, students will be able to better understand how earthquakes work. Students will create their own “earthquake” using Jell-O, toothpicks and marshmallows in order to see how buildings may or may not stay standing during an earthquake. This is a good educational activity for students because they are better able to understand what they are reading about. I think hands-on activities are a very good way for students, especially at a young age, to learn because it keeps them involved and interested. It will be easier for students to remember this type of activity or experiment compared to a worksheet or a discussion. [|Earthquake Experiment]