The days are getting longer and warmer. Vacation is approaching and thoughts of intermediate and middle school students turn to the outdoors. This puzzle allows them to bring playtime indoors with an activity that has them exploring all aspects of baseball.Although they may need to shift some answers around when one of their remaining selections doesn't fit with whatever letters from "BASEBALL" remain, the basic activity is simple enough even for some second- and third-graders. (Introduce them to the sports sections in the circulating and reference collections and do an lesson in indexes if needed.)
Variations
Add a challenge for older students by having them write new clues for the answers they have chosen. (For example, in No. 3 they can say "He was the first manager of the New York Mets.") Then attach their clues to a fresh puzzle with blanks on either side of the letters spelling out "BASEBALL" and exchange sheets with another classmate.The titles can be modified to work with almost any subject area or special event. You can do one for MAMMALS with clues that fit that topic or MOTHER'S DAY with students finding the names of the presidents' mothers. Be creative.
Possible Answers
1. DouBle play (h)
2. Tom SeAver (c)
3. Casey Stengel (e)
4. FEenway Park (f)
5. Yogi Berra (a)
6. New York YAnkees (b)
7. WilLie Mays (d)
8. Home pLate (g)
Previous Issues
April
Instead of a traditional dictionary lesson, try one that has students in grades two to five exploring how prefixes are used to build words. The ones in this activity are particularly appropriate since April is Mathematics Awareness Month. Divide the class into ten groups of two or three. Give each group a different set of prefixes as follows:Although there will be a duplication for each number, no two groups will have an identical assignment.
- Uni, Mono, Non
- Du, Bi, Dip
- Tri, Sext, Hex
- Quar, Quad, Tetr
- Cinqu, Pent, Sept, Hept
- Uni, Mono, Oct
- Du, Bi, Dip, Dec
- Tri, Sept, Hept
- Quar, Quad, Tetr, Non
- Cinq Pent, Sext, Hex
If students have to find only two or three words rather than all those beginning with their prefix, answers will vary widely. Searching the dictionary is time-consuming in some cases, since they will have to scan many nonapplicable terms. (For example, a lot of words beginning with "bi" have nothing to do with the number two.) The words they create demonstrate how well they have understood the numerical prefix.
Possible answers: unify--make into a single unit. monorail--train running on a single rail. duet--usical piece for two. bilateral--two sides or two factions. diptych-- hinged two-leafed tablet. triplets--three children born at the same time to one mother. quarter--one-fourth. quadruple--increase by four times. tetrameter--a line of verse with four feet. cinquefoil--any of several plants in the rose family having five petals. pentagon--a five-sided figure. sextain--a stanza of six lines. hexagram--a six-pointed star. septennial--occuring every seven years. heptarchy--government by seven people. octopus--mollusk with eight sucker-bearing tentacles. nonagerians--people who are in their nineties. decade--ten years.
From School Librarian's Workshop, April 1996.
An activity relating to time is highly appropriate now that we're in a new century. Students will need to do some research as a first step to be sure they understand the connections the words have to the topic as well as to find words of their own to use. March: In Due Time
Despite the fill-in-the-blank format there are many possible answers as this activity develops. The puzzle is in two parts. Initially students decide what words to use in the hourglass and write clues that will lead others to that answer. In the second part, they give their clues to others who must then solve the puzzle.
Click here for a printable puzzle sheet and here for a list of possible answers.
February: Presidential Trivia
Discovering odd facts about the presidents may not contribute significantly to the knowledge base of students in grades two through seven, but the process will familiarize them with a variety of resources, provide an opportunity to use sources such as Facts about the Presidents by Kane (Wilson) which have multiple indexes, and get them accustomed to skiming through data to find what is needed. Click here for the worksheet and here for the answers.Challenge middle graders by having them create their own reference puzzle. Working in groups of two or three they can write clues to answers that spell out the word "president." As an alternative that reads "P" is for Polk and for Pineville (NC), the town here this 11th president was born, continuing with the other letters in the word "president."
For many primary students, few days are as important as their birthdays. Turn this interest into a unit on the calendar and an introduction to research. January 2002: Creating Calendars
Have the teacher start the activity by recording everyone's birthday with separate lists for each month and dividing the class into twelve groups. (If possible, students should be assigned to the month containing their birthday.) Give groups a sheet of paper ruled with seven columns and five rows, or, if the software is available, let them create one on the computer.
Use these sheets as a first draft for recording information. After filling in the days of the week at the top, have groups look at a calendar to determine on which day their month begins. They can fill in the numbers on their sheets, inserting their birthdays.
Adding More Dates
Research begins as groups come to the media center to find other events that occurred. They can use encyclopedias such as The World Book which list important dates under each month as well as Famous First Facts and any simple timeline/chronology resources you might have. When too many events happen on a given date, groups will have to choose the most important or interesting to include.Once they have compiled their dates, groups can add school holidays and special events such as an author visit, book fairs, assemblies, parent conferences, etc. They can also put birthdays of family members on the calendar, giving the information to whatever group is working on that month.
Putting It All Together
With their drafts completed, have groups select the most significant day in their month and create a calendar picture on legal-size white paper using a landscape orientation (14 inches along the top and bottom, 8-1/2 inches along the sides). For the final product, also on 8-1/2-by-14-inch paper ruled by the teacher, have groups add dates neatly or produce them on the computer, pasing them in place.Let groups choose a large sheet of construction paper for their display. They might select blue for January and orange for October or just pick their favorite color. Holding the paper the long way, they paste their pictures and calendars with paper cement onto the construction paper.
Assemble and display the twelve calendar papes and have groups explain their picture and the dates they included. Throughout the rest of the year students can observe their special days by planning appropriate celebrations.
From School Librarian's Workshop, January 1998
The exchange of tangible gifts is a traditional part of the December holidays; however, far greater and more lasting ones are central to the meaning of these celebrations. While love, courage, community, peace, freedom, and caring for others cannot be wrapped and tied with bows, they are gifts to humanity. Celebrate the season by discovering people who have given so much to the world, and help students in grades four through seven realize that they, too, can make a contribution. December 2001: The Gift of Love
Check your biography shelves to identify those who worked and sacrificed for a larger cause. Among the possibilities are Rachel Carson, John Muir, Jane Addams, Jacob Riis, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez; the list is dependent on your collection.
Instead of beginning the project by distributing a list of names to research, read Eve Bunting's The Wednesday Surprise (Clarion), in which, as a surprise for her dad's birthday, Anna teaches her grandmother to read. A similar book is Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius (Viking), who figures out a way to carry out her grandfather's wish to make the world more beautiful. Even older students will enjoy picture books and recognize what giving the gift of yourself means. Two newer picture books, Gifts by Jo Ellen Bogart with illustrations by Barbara Reid (Scholastic, 0-590-55260-0), and A Special Kind of Love by Steven Michael King (Scholastic 0-590-67681-4), are other possibilities. The first, for your youngest students, tells of a grandmother who brings her granddaughter unique gifts from her trips around the world, the most important being her love. The second title reveals how a father, unable to voice his emotions, shows his son how much he loves him.
With the stage set, have students individually or in groups choose one name from the list and read a biography and other sources to learn of the person's contribution, how it was accomplished, and why. Rather than preparing a written report, have students gift-wrap a box (top and bottom separately) creating a concrete representation of the accomplishment. The tag names the people who benefited; inside the package are items or pictures representing what was achieved and what was sacrificed. The last item, a card, celebrates the highlights of the life that was researched.
Two variations or additions are possible. Students can read fictional accounts of generosity, courage, and sacrifice, and make gifts for the main character. They may also create a present for their current or future selves showing how they plan to make the world a better place.
Mystery Words
Dictionary skills become much more interesting and are learned more quickly when students have an opportunity to use their findings for a logical purpose. Use this Puzzlers and Posers feature for a seasonal theme that challenges students to think both creatively and critically. (If your district avoids any references to Halloween, have them fill in the letters but eliminate the "Secret Message.")Have students in third through fifth grades (include any second graders who can handle this) work in groups of two or three to solve this two-part puzzle. While there is only one answer to the clues, there are several ways to find them, such as:
- using a dictionary or thesaurus to check key words in the definition to see which clue word is the best fit and then inserting the missing letter.
- filling in a letter when the word is known or the letter seems obvious and then looking up the clue to find the definition.
- guessing the missing letters in the clue words when enough of them are complete so that the "Secret Message" can be figured out.
Answers: 1. clandesTine (e). 2. shRed (n). 3. dIvulge (l). 4 deduCe (i). 5. slinK (p). 6. felOny (a). 7. cRiminal (k). 8. ouTwit (f). 9. laRceny (q). 10. cluE (d). 11. shAdow (h). 12. sTalk (o). 13. evIdence (g). 14. planS (r). 15. sleutH (c). 16.evadE (j). 17. unRaveled (m). 18. secludEd (b). Secret Message: Trick or Treat is here
Start off students in grades five through nine or ten (depending on the class entering high school) with an orientation to both the media center and research. Plan ahead with teachers deciding what aspects of their opening units would benefit from a project using print and electronic resources.
Steps to Research Success: An Orientation
After reviewing with students what they already know about the media center and adding any essential information, begin the activity by analyzing the topic they are to research. Preferably the subject should be divided into five or six subcategories so the students can work in groups of four or five. Half of each group should explore its subcategory using electronic resources; the other half will use print. If you have relevant CD-ROMs as well as an Internet connection, the electronic half can be divided still further.
S-U-C-C...
Students should fill in the ovals on the worksheet [available later this month] (using additional paper if necessary) with each step that leads to success. Under the first "S," have them indicate where they are looking and for what. They should list the subject of their research, key words and phrases, as well as the search engines they select (Internet), databases accessed (CD-ROMs and Internet), and titles of references and circulating books (print).Under "U," have students list two facts they have found that they consider important and follow that up with "C" by indicating how those two facts connect to the topic. Too often students seize on anything without any thought to its actual relevance. The second "C" is an early caution to get bibliographic informartion recorded early. Be sure they know how to cite electronic resources. Setting options or preferences on your Internet browsers to print the URL and date on each page will simplify matters, but students still need to get the title and other site information.
...E-S-S Spells "Success"
Evaluating findings under "E" is easier for print and CD-ROM subgroups who need only to focus on currency. Those searching the Internet must understand about domains, fine "last updated" information and determine whether the author of the page is a credible authority.
The cut and paste feature of word processing has further reduced students' paraphrasing skills. For "S," have them synthesize the two facts they found. At this point let groups meet as a whole, organize their information into a logical sequence and put everything in their own words.
The last "S" is the final step of any research project whether done by students of adults. By showing what has been found to others--no matter what the format of the end product--they find out how successful they have been.
From School Librarian's Workshop, September 1999