School Librarian's Workshop

Activity Extra:
Capital Spots

Feature a two-step reference question and encourage students in grades 4-9 to create their own multiple step puzzles. Answers include the country, state, or province as well as the capital. When the first part of the question refers to a city, that is given in parentheses. The last question has several possible answers since Lake Titicaca is located in two different countries and Bolivia has two capitals.

Answers:

  1. New Delhi, India
  2. Annapolis, Maryland (Baltimore)
  3. Edinburgh, Scotland
  4. Victoria, British Columbia
  5. Ankara, Turkey
  6. Kingston, Jamaica
  7. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  8. Ulan Bator, Mongolia (other spellings are possible)
  9. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  10. Canberra, Australia
  11. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  12. Springfield, Illinois (Chicago)
  13. Windhoek, Namibia
  14. Topeka, ansas (Abilene)
  15. La Paz or Sucre, Bolivia or Lima, Peru


May 2004: Horse Racing and the Kentucky Derby

What 4 facts about the Kentucky Derby are important?



Name 3 Kentucky Derby winners.



Name 3 unusual words associated with horse racing and explain them.



Famous Horses

Who was Pegasus? Write a story about riding him.



Comanche was a horse in General Custer's Seventh Cavalry. What was special about him?



During the Civil War, northern General Philip Sheridan rode Rienze, a black horse, while southern General Robert E. Lee rode Traveller, a white horse. In what famous battles did these two fight?



About Horses

Name 3 colors used primarily to describe horses. Explain what the colors look like.



Find 3 phrases or expressions (like horse sense) that have the word "horse" in them but aren't really about horses.



Find 3 fiction stories about horses. Choose one you would like to read.



April 2004: Favorite Fairy Tales

Let primary students take a close look at favorite fairy tales while at the same time challenging their problem solving ability. While it is somewhat difficult to explain, once you have given them a few examples, they should be able to work in groups of two (set up by their teacher) to devise their own answers to the puzzler.

To get students started, set up a large display of fairy tale books, both individual ones and collections. Then have them list possible answers to the eight clues. For example, they might name Rapunzel or Snow White for the first one. Rapunzel could be placed with the "R," "A," "N," or "E" in Andersen while Snow White fits around "S," "N," or "E."

Suggest that students begin with #5, #3 and #7, since these are the most difficult items to find and therefore harder to fit into the puzzler. Have them work in pencil since they will need to shift their words around if they get to the last ones and don't have the necessary letters. Be sure to have them name the fairy tales from which they chose their answers.

After they finish, be sure to allow time for groups to share their solutions. Anything is acceptable as long as the reasoning is logical. Expect some surprises.

There will be many different solutions, but here is one possibility:

2. goAt - The Three Billy Goats Gruff

6. queeN - The Snow Queen

fairygoDmother - Cinderella
twElve -- Twelve Dancing Princesses
CindeRella - Cinderella
Shoemaker - The Shoemaker and the Elves
pEa - The Princess and the Pea
ChiNa - The Emperor and the Nightingale


March 2004: Preparing for Battle

A third grade class at Southern Boulevard School in Chatham, N.J. listened as the library media specialist described the Battle of the Books program. For this national activity, students read 15 books of differing levels and genres and two teams answer questions about them in a "college bowl" type format. (Numerous articles have appeared in the SCHOOL LIBRARIAN'S WORKSHOP on this subject over the years.)

With students ready to start their reading, the library media specialist suggested that as they finished each book, they take a few minutes to think about it, filling out a card listing the characters, a phrase or two about the plot, and anything else memorable. This would allow them to do a quick review of the books they had read the night before their team was scheduled for a Battle.

Creating Questions

Making up questions to be used in actual Battles was then discussed. The library media specialist offered some samples using books she was sure everyone knew. As students responded, others offered their own. In a short time, everyone was comfortable with how to construct them, making them easy, medium or hard (but not ambiguous), trying not to use any words in the book's title or the main character's name if possible. They were told that any questions turned in would be used, and that it was important to cite the page number on which the answer could be found to help quickly solve complaints by team members who could not remember such a fact appearing anywhere in a specific book.

Mrs. Elaine Weiss, their teacher, then put together a Battle Book Notes form to guide her students in their reviews. She also gave out 7 ½" by 10 ½" manila envelope folders (you could use any convenient size) for students to keep in their desks. They were asked to decorate their envelopes as they wished and use them as a place to store, and easily keep track of, forms as well as questions they were preparing for each book read. Mrs. Weiss commented that the decorated folders were very attractive, that students had taken pride in making them colorful, and that this was yet another way to encourage Battle of the Books participation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Battle of the Books (including concepts, book lists, certificates, logos, letters and notices to parents and teachers, guides to making up questions, score sheets, etc.), see Raising Readers: Appealing Approaches & Successful Strategies by Toor and Weisburg (Library Learning Resources, Inc., 1997).


February 2004: All Heart

Take heart in literary hand to offer intermediate through high school students a puzzle that is thematically tied to Valentine's Day while promoting reading discussion and analysis. After reviewing the terms on the list (the dictionary should be consulted if anyone is unsure of definitions) and allowing broad discretion in interpretation, have students, preferably in groups of two or three, peruse the collection, standard bibliographies (such as ALA Notable Books) and their own memories of books read to come up with suitable titles. You can also display any that you wish to call to their attention.

"Heartburn," "heartland, " and "hearty" are likely to be perplexing even after their meaning is clear. For the first, students might select titles that have food or eating as a central theme or memorable scene but could equally choose one where a family or other confrontation would be apt to upset the digestion. "Heartland" is most easily met by books set in the Midwest but can include tales of heritage and legacies or coming to live where one's heart is. Dorothy's pronouncement at the end of the Wizard of Oz about not needing to leave home to find her heart's desire qualifies on both accounts. For the final term, lengthy stories are possible choices as are swashbucklers. Students may find other interpretations that are ingeniously satisfactory.

Be sure to leave time for students to share the titles they have listed. (Reduce the requirement to one or two titles if pressed for time.) Reasons will be almost as interesting as the books themselves. Ask them to take one or two favorites off the shelf to show the class when giving their brief synopsis. Reserve the last five minutes for checking out books - a practice dear to the heart of all library media specialists.



January 2004: Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New

January brings a new year. Have students in grades two to five pair up and research two items on this worksheet and then answer numbers 11 and 12 individually. While several of these sets call for a specific reference tool such as a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus, most require that students do something with their findings.

For question 9, pull some possibilities from your shelves to get students thinking. For example, you might select a dinosaur book or one on fashions. For question 10, magazines and newspapers will be more helpful. Advertisements or descriptions of new homes are possibilities.

The most interesting part of the activity is discussing the last two items. Students should find value both in old and new and not feel that a choice between them is necessary.

Possible answers:

  1. bold, cold, fold, gold, hold, sold, told
  2. blue, boo, coo, dew, drew, grew, glue, true, you
  3. "Old Mother Hubbard", "Old King Cole"
  4. New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York
  5. Canada (Ottowa), Venezuela (Caracas), Nicaragua (Managua)
  6. France (Paris), Sweden (Stockholm), Italy (Rome)
  7. aged, elderly, venerable, mature
  8. novel, original, fresh, innovative

For 9 and 10 see above for some possibilities.


December 2003: Peace on Earth

As attention spans dwindle with the approaching holidays, let students through ninth grade have fun with this reference activity that is not always as simple as it appears. The shift from items beginning with a particular letter to finding the same items that end in a different letter will give them practice in following directions. In addition, they will be checking almanacs, encyclopedia cross-references, possibly a bird field guide, and whatever other resources they choose. The message is just a reminder of the spirit of the season.

Have students work in pairs and be prepared to assist. The most difficult is finding countries ending in "T." The two given are the only ones! When they have finished the activity, ask them to discuss where they found their answers. The results, as well as the amount of help you needed to give, will provide an overview assessment of student research skills.

Possible Answers

P: Partridge, Peacock, Ptarmigan, Pigeon

E: El Salvador, Ethiopia, Estonia, Ecuador

A: Amazon (South America), Arkansas (U.S.), Arno (Europe), Avon (Europe)

C: Carnation, Crocus, Chrysanthemum, Candytuft

E: Edison, Thomas A.; Eastman, George; Evans, Oliver; Ericsson, John

O: Ottawa, Ontario (Canada); Oslo, Norway; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Olympia, WA

N: LondoN, England; CopenhageN, Denmark; TeheraN, Iran; EdmontoN, Alberta, (Canada)

E: DeerE, John; MorsE, Samuel F. B.; DaguerrE, Louis J.; YalE, Linus, Jr.; CongrevE, Sir Willliam;

A: BegoniA, ZinniA, DahliA, PetuniA,

R: NigeR (Africa), DnepR (Europe), OdeR (Europe), FraseR (N.A.)

T: EgypT, KuwaiT

H: OstricH, GoldfincH, NuthatcH, FincH



November 2003: On the Go

As though to mark the many journeys families make to get together for Thanksgiving Day, a number of important events in the history of transportation occurred in November. Have students in grades four through eight explore these milestones and assess their implications.

Divide students into seven groups. If you would like an eighth, have them investigate the contribution of Robert Fulton who was born on November 14, 1765. Encourage those researching water-related occurrences to meet with each other. Do the same for land and air.

While students may have to really use search strategies to locate some of these events, online resources such as www.infoplease.com are helpful. In addition to information you might have on New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey web site has background on the Holland Tunnel.

A worksheet is located here.

Groups present their findings orally. If time permits, have them include visuals. During the concluding discussion, be sure they bring out the economic motivations.

Answers in brief (There will be variations in results):

Erie Canal: Went from Buffalo, NY to Albany, NY. Linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River providing easy transportation of agricultural products from the West and settlers and manufactured goods from the East. In the short term it reduced freight costs from Buffalo to New York City by 90% and made the city the nation's leading port, it recouped its costs many times: over the long term railroads began reducing its importance in 1865, by the early 1900s voters decided to make it part of a modern waterway known as the New York State Barge Canal system.

Suez Canal: Located in Egypt, it joins the Mediterranean and Red Seas. It shortened the important route from Great Britain to India by 5,000 miles. From the first it has been the busiest international inter-ocean waterway; although an 1888 international convention agreed the canal was to be open to all nations, at various times, countries have been barred from using it as an economic sanction or a wartime strategy.

Panama Canal: Cutting across the Isthmus of Panama, it connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Reduced the distance boats had to travel between New York and San Francisco from 15,100 miles to 6,100 miles. In the short term, Theodore Roosevelt, who considered it one of his greatest achievements, supported a revolutionary government who took over Panama, recognizing it so that a treaty was signed giving the U.S. control over the strip of land it needed to dig the canal; since Dec. 31, 1999 the canal belongs to Panama and is still an important military and commercial water route, although the largest tankers cannot go through it.

Canadian Pacific Railway: Goes from Montreal to British Columbia. Building a transcontinental railroad was British Columbia's condition for joining the confederation. Short term results known as the Pacific Scandal began in 1873 when Conservative leader Sir John A. McDonald's government was forced to resign after being accused of taking money from Sir Hugh Allan whose syndicate wanted the contract to build the railroad; this eventually led to the rush by settlers to the fertile Canadian prairie; still in operation today and run by a conglomerate, it has extensive rail lines across southern Canada.

Holland Tunnel: Links downtown Manhattan with Jersey City, NJ. By the end of WWI ferries were struggling to cope with the ever increasing traffic between the city and NJ and a tunnel was needed. Engineering creativity solved the ventilation problem; when it opened the toll was fifty cents and was the longest underwater tunnel in the world carrying 51,694 vehicles on its first day of operations; today it caries over 17 million vehicles annually; the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington Bridge were built later to also connect the city with NJ.

1st flight over the South Pole: From Bay of Whales to the Pole and back in under 16 hours. Part of a 1928-1930 expedition by Richard Byrd to explore Antarctica. In the short term, they established a base, Little America, on the Ross Ice Shelf; in the long term it led to more research expeditions which continue today.

1st transpacific airmail flight: Pan American Airways flew from San Francisco to Honolulu, Midway, Wake, Guam, and Manila, Increased speed is the obvious purpose. In the short term over 20,000 people saw to the "China Clipper" begin its 8,000 mile journey with 110,865 letters on board, landing 59 hours and 48 minutes later in Manila; the route was extended to Hong Kong in 1937 and to Singapore in 1941 only to be halted for several years by WWII; today airmail is a standard form of long distance delivery world wide.

October 2003: Veni, Vidi, Investigavi
(I came, I saw, I researched)

For many years, Latin disappeared from high school language offerings. Even in its heyday, it was viewed as a boring subject, necessary for college entrance and requiring the efforts of a grind to do well. Newly resurrected, it bears only a nodding resemblance to its previous structure. Students now seek out the course hoping that a grounding in the English language's roots will help increase SAT vocabulary scores. The teachers, too, have changed and have found a means for making an ancient language vibrant once more.

An example of the new approach unfolded as Mark Gutkowski, Latin I teacher at Morristown High School in Morristown, NJ, scheduled his classes into the media center and explained what he wanted his students to do. He showed the library media specialist the handout he created for them and reviewed with her the many titles on Roman life.

Omnes Bibliotecae Sunt Divisae in Partes Decen (All Libraries Are Divided into Ten Parts)

As the library media specialist looked over the handout, she realized that students would need to explore far more than the 937 section of the collection. After pulling relevant titles on ancient Rome, she selected additional books from mythology, art, costume, archaeology and literature. Everything was put on a book truck until the class arrived.

Limiting her introduction to a brief overview of the resources she had prepared, she also directed students' attention to a handout of the Dewey Summaries by hundred. To get them focused, she asked them to identify where they would look for information on costumes and art and then read the call numbers on spines of books already pulled. Suggesting they use the numbers to help them know where to browse further, she also recommended they check the reference collection noting that the Dewey Classifications are the same there as well.

Carpe Librum (Seize the Book)

Students quickly got to work. Most found that the books were filled with excellent illustrations, fueling ideas. Conversations concerned the fascinating information they were uncovering.

All the while the library media specialist and Mr. Gutkowski moved among students offering suggestions when needed and directing them to different sections where further information could be found. Interestingly enough, no one went to the computers. It was as though, having all the print material in front of them, they somehow felt that the Internet was too far removed from the days of the Caesars.

September 2003: The Hispanic Heritage

Recognize the growing presence of Hispanic Americans with this reference exploration of their history and contributions. As question #6 indicates, much controversy exists within the various Latino communities as to what is the acceptable term. Since Hispanic Heritage Month is a national celebration, you are reasonably secure in using the word. Be sensitive to preferences within your district.

Divide the junior and senior high school social studies classes into six groups. Three can research the information required for #1 and #2. The others will explore one of the remaining three questions. In addition to your print and electronic subscriptions, this month's Web Sites will be particularly helpful. Also direct them to San Antonio Public Library: Latino Links.

Answers (Brief -students will have more extensive responses)

Mexico- capital is Mexico City- coat of arms on flag is from an Aztec legend, six main land regions have widely differing climate, Popocatepetl is a volcano not far from the capital. 1325-1350- Aztecs found city now the capital of Mexico; 1521 Cortes - conquers country; 1821- Mexicans win independence from Spain; 1864 - Maximillian of Austria becomes Emperor of Mexico; 1867 - Juarez regains power; 1917 - Adoption of Revolutionary Constitution; 1953- Women get the vote; 1994 - NAFTA takes effect; 2000 - Vicente Fox Quesada becomes president.

Puerto Rico - capital is San Juan, the lamb on its seal represents peace and brotherhood - the letters "F" and "I" refer to Ferdinand and Isabella, the island country is made up of many small islands as well as the large main one. 1493 - Columbus lands; 1625 - Dutch burn San Juan; 1898 - U.S. occupies the country; 1917 - Puerto Ricans granted U.S. citizenship; 1952 - becomes a commonwealth.

Cuba.- capital is Havana, its shield shows a tropical island and contains a key meaning it is the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, largest of the West Indian islands and the only Communist country in the Americas, has three mountainous regions. 1492 - Columbus lands; 1886- slavery ends; 1895- Marti leads revolution against Spain; 1906-1909- U.S. occupation; 1933 - Batista takes control; 1959 - Castro overthrows Batista; 1961 - Cuban exiles helped by U.S. government launch unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion; 1991 - Dissolution of USSR eliminates critical source of aid.

Mexico- Issues regarding immigration. Puerto Rico - Many in the country believe its economy should be tied less to the United States and more with Latin America. Cuba.- Continuing question of whether U.S. should restore relations with Cuba.

Dance- Mambo, samba, tango, salsa, rumba are from Cuba. Bands/Instruments - Mariachi bands, Instruments include -gﳬ maracas, and marimbas. Singers - Richie Valens, Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz. Baseball - Roberto Clemente, Jose Canseco, and Fernando Valenzuela. Golf - Nancy Lopez, Lee Trevino. Horseracing - Angel Cordero, Jorge Velasquez.

Political leaders and activists - Senator Joseph Montoya (NM), Representatives Eligio de la Garza (TX), Henry B. Gonzalez (TX), Edward R. Roybal (CA), Mayor Henry G. Cisneros (of San Antonio, TX), Governor Bob Martinez (FL); Antonia C. Novello - first Hispanic surgeon general. Cesar Chavez- labor leader, Jose Angel Gutierrez - La Raza Unida, Texas-based political party.

Hispanic - preferred by younger, conservative groups; Latino - preferred by older, liberal groups; Chicano - specific to those with Mexican ancestry. The argument against Hispanic is that it is a term connected to Spain and given by non-Latinos. In all cases, the problem is that the terms suggest a single group rather than the variety of national heritages that is the reality.