THE MEMORY BANK

BY Carolyn Coman and Rob Shepperson
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-545-21066-9

FROM THE FLAP: The Clean Slate Gang and The World Wide Memory Bank Are At War.

Lollipops have been found clogging the great machines that take in and store all the memories being formed in the world. Bonfires have been set. Practical jokes are gumming up the works. And the mischief is getting more serious.

Caught in the middle is Hope Scroggins, who’s been summoned to the bank for failing to record New Memories. And THAT’S because her hideously awful parents told her to FORGET her beloved little sister, Honey, who is out there somewhere, needing her.

Somehow Hope figures out that the World Wide Memory Bank holds the key to finding Honey, and maybe even a chance at happiness! But can she find it in time, before the Clean Slate Gang takes away her last, best shot at finding her sister?

KATE’S TAKE: A Roald Dahl-like fantasy that will make you cry, laugh, and yearn for more.

DREAM JOURNALS Visual/Spatial, Verbal/Linguistic, Intrapersonal

Have students fold an 11 by 18 sheet of white paper in half and fill it with seven sheets of lined paper. Ask them to decorate the cover. Then, have them take it home and record their dreams for a week. Next, ask students to use of of their dreams as a story starter in writers’ workshop.

GRAPHIC STORIES Visual/Spatial, Verbal/Linguistic, Interpersonal

Ask students to take a story they have written and depict the five plot points: the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution graphically. Then, pair students up. Ask one student to hold up his or her graphic story, and ask the partner to verbally retell the story based on the pictures.

LOLLIPOP FRACTIONS Visual/Spatial, Logical/Mathematical, Interpersonal

Divide students into groups of three, and give each student an eight-by-eight inch circle. Some groups of three will work with 1/8, ¼, and ½ while the other groups of three will work with 1/6, 1/3 and ½. Each student decorates their lollipop. After they decorate their lollipop, they must cut it into one of the above mentioned fractions. Each person in each group is assigned a different fraction. Then, each student must trade lollipop sections with each person in his or her threesome to create a whole lollipop with three different designs.

MEMIE BOXES Visual/Spatial, Verbal/Linguistic, Intrapersonal

Ask each student to write down his or her first memory, a memie. Then, show students how to fold origami boxes, and have him place his or her memory inside the box. You can find an origami diagram for a box here: http://en.origami-club.com/rectangular/long-box/long-box/index.html These make great parent gifts. Thanks to Carolyn Coman for this activity.

SUCROSE MOLECULES Visual/Spatial, Interpersonal, Naturalistic

Working in groups of three, have students create a 3-D model of a sucrose molecule. Give one student twenty-two small Styrofoam balls, give another student eleven medium-sized Styrofoam balls, and the third student twelve medium-sized Styrofoam balls. The student with the eleven medium-sized balls should paint them pink, while the student with the twelve medium-sized balls paints his purple. The third student can help the other two students paint their Styrofoam balls. Then, using toothpicks and the diagram at http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html each student should assemble a 3-D diagram of a sucrose molecule.

BOOK BUDDIES
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Writing Stories: Ideas, Exercises, and Encouragement for Teachers and Writers of All Ages by Carolyn Coman

THE GIANT-SLAYER

By Iain Lawrence
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 978-0-385-73376-2

FROM THE FLAP: The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentine’s gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital. She meets two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines: there’s Carolyn, an obnoxious girl whose family has abandoned her, and Chip, a boy with an enigmatic past. Laurie’s first impulse is to flee from the sickly children, but Dickie begs her to tell them a story. And so Laurie begins her tale of Colosso, a rampaging giant, and Jimmy, a tiny boy whose destiny is to become a slayer of giants.

As Laurie embellishes her tale with gnomes, unicorns, gryphons, and other fanciful creatures, Dickie comes to believe that he is a character in her story. No longer paralyzed, he’s transformed into Khan, a hunter of mythical beasts. Little by little, Carolyn, Chip, and other kids who come to listen recognize counterparts as well. The story allows them to forget reality and take on active, heroic roles. In fact, Laurie’s tale is so powerful that when she’s prevented from continuing it, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip take turns as narrators. Each helps bring the story of Colosso and Jimmy to an end—changing the lives of those in the polio ward in startling ways.

KATE’S TAKE: A fusion of historical fiction, fantasy, hope, and friendship.

DELETED SCENES: (Verbal/Linguistic and Interpersonal)

In small groups have students write a new scene with characters from the book and perform it in front of the class. Students can choose to write a fantasy or a historical fiction scene. Their characters’ words and actions should match the characterization in the book.

DIAMANTE POEMS: (Verbal/Linguistic)

Transformation abounds in the Giant-Slayer. Ask students to write a diamante poem that illustrates how one character changed from the beginning to the end of the story or a poem that compares and contrasts two characters in the book.

LANDFORM MAPS (Visual/Spatial)

When Laurie was six, she drew a map of a fantasy world that later became the setting of the story. In small groups ask students to create a topographical map of their own fantasy world. Use cardboard for the base and play dough for the landforms. Challenge students to include at least ten different types of landforms.

MATH MINUTES (Logical/Mathematical and Interpersonal)

Between the coins dropped in Jimmy’s cradle and the piles of gold and silver alongside the road, students can imagine many fanciful math problems. Challenge each student to create a word problem based on the story that covers whatever current topic you’re studying in math. Then, switch problems with a partner and solve.

VACCINATION REPORTS (Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial, and Interpersonal)

Split the class into small groups and assign each group a different vaccine to research. Ask them to develop an informational poster about the disease and the vaccine. Have each group present their poster to the class and ask the class to critique each poster.

BOOK BUDDIES:

-Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac
-Gods of Manhattan: Spirits in the Park by Scott Mebus
-Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby
-The Journey: A Northern Lights Adventure by Stephanie Wincik
-Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

ELEVEN BIRTHDAYS

By Wendy Mass
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN-13: 978-0-545-05239-9

FROM THE FLAP: On their first birthday, they learned to walk. On their fifth, they planted seeds in homemade pots. On their tenth, they learned there are some words you can never take back.

Amanda’s eleventh birthday should have been a happy occasion. Instead she’s dressed in an itchy costume her mother picked out for her Hollywood-themed party (Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, even though the flying monkeys have always creeped her out). Meanwhile, across town, her ex-best friend Leo is celebrating their joint birthday with a huge bash including a hypnotist, a football star, a giant iguana, and a rock band. SO not fair!

Amanda can’t wait for the day AFTER her birthday so she can stop thinking about the fight that led her and Leo to have separate parties for the first time in their lives. There’s just one problem. The next day is her birthday all over again.

In this hilarious and touching adventure, Amanda must figure out how to get unstuck, in more ways than one.

KATE’S TAKE: This is Groundhog Day for eleven-year-olds. It’s a great way to lighten up the assessment-heavy spring.

ALL OVER AGAIN: (Verbal/Linguistic)

Ask students to create a character and a problem. Have the students write the scene three different times. Each time the character should change his or her action which will move the character toward the solution.

APPLE SEEDS: (Naturalist and Logical/Mathematical)

Have students plant apple seeds, take care of them, measure and record their weekly growth.

FORGIVENESS: (Verbal/Linguistic, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal)

Amanda has to forgive Leo in order to move forward in time. Write about a problem you had with someone, and how you solved it.

RHYTHM SEQUENCES: (Musical and Bodily Kinesthetic)

Amanda longs to play drums in the marching band. Write a measure of music on the board. Put our four chairs to represent the 4 beats in 4/4 time and fill them with kids to represent the rhythm. For example, if you write out 1 quarter note, 1 half-note, and two eighth notes, you would have one child sit on the first chair representing the quarter note, the second child would cover the second and third chair representing the half note, and the last chair will have two kids on it to represent the eighth notes. Then, clap out the rhythm as a class. Special thanks to Scott Rossley for this fun and effective activity.

WHO AM I?: (Verbal/Linguistic and Interpersonal)

Amanda has a Hollywood-themed character party. Ask students to write out three or four clues about a Hollywood character. Have them read their clues in front of the class, and see whether or not the other students are able to guess who they are.

BOOK BUDDIES:

-Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus by Kristen Tracy
-Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
-Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli
-Mudshark by Gary Paulsen
-The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O’Roark Dowell