How To Teach Kids

(THIS COULD ALSO BE USED AS AN INTEREST CENTER.)

This is a very interesting project!  I imagine most people know someone who lived through WWII and have heard stories of what life was like during that  period in history.   What made this particular project interesting was that the student (actually my son) interviewed several people who lived during this time period.  He received first hand information about what life was like and how so many people pulled together for the good of our country, even though they had to ration items and do without some items.  Interviewing these people helped make this project come alive for him.  We knew someone whose best friend was killed at Pearl Harbor on the USS Arizona.  It was such a sad time in history for all those involved!

Another interesting factor was that we had actually been to Pearl Harbor, saw the short movie (which made it seem like we were really there and brought tears to my eyes), went through the museum, and bought memorabilia such as a copy of the newspaper which showed the headline “WAR!”

TIPS FOR THIS PROJECT:

• Interview people who lived through WWII and get a first hand account of what it was like.
• Get copies of pictures of people who served in the war to add to the project.
• Read children’s books about Pearl Harbor.  See list below.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS ON PEARL HARBOR:

• Pearl Harbor: A Primary Source History by Jacqueline Laks Gorman. Good for ages 8-12.
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Cornerstones of Freedom Series) by Tom McGowen.  Good for ages 9-11.
• Attack on Pearl Harbor by Shelley Tanaka.  Good for ages 10+.
• Air Raid – Pearl Harbor!:  The Story of December 7, 1941 by Theodore Taylor.  Good for ages 12 and up.
• Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer & Triston Elwell.  Good for ages 12 and up.
• Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy by Stephanie Fitzgerald.  Good for ages 12 and up.
  

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Most kids are fascinated with volcanoes.  When teaching about them, it is important to let kids make a volcano, have good pictures of real volcanoes, and if possible, a video, since most students are not able to take a field trip to actually see a volcano.  If you are fortunate to be in Hawaii, then you can actually hike up to the top of Diamond Head, an extinct volcano.  We did this, and it was quite impressive.  Or you can visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which we also did, and you might get to see an actual lava flow.  We didn’t get close enough to actually see a lava flow, but we did walk through the Thurston Lava Tube which was long and very interesting.

Here is a book we own that has many interesting pictures about volcanoes:

• Hawaii Volcanoes:  The Story Behind the Scenery by Glen Kaye

MAKE YOUR OWN VOLCANO:

1. Use a large pan,  9 x 13.   Place an empty 16 ounce bottle in the middle of it with the top off.
2. Using either papier mache, modeling clay, or salt play dough, make a mountain with vertical ridges around the bottle.  Do not cover the top of the bottle.  Paint brown and let dry.
3. Mix 1 tablespoon liquid dishwashing soap and 1 tablespoon baking soda in a cup and carefully pour into the bottle in the middle of the mountain.  (If you’re brave, you can add a few drops of red or orange food coloring in with the soap and baking soda.)
4. Place the pan with the mountain outside.  Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to the bottle and stand back.  Your volcano will erupt!

• For ESL students, be sure and label everything.
• For Gifted students, ask higher level questions.  If you want the chemical reaction, this is it:  NaHCO3 + CH3COOH –> Na+ + H2O + CO2 + CH3COO-.  When the baking soda and vinegar are mixed, it produces a carbon dioxide gas (a chemical reaction) which is the same gas that a real volcano produces.
  

VOLCANO KITS:

• Kit:  Volcano Island – Discovery Extreme Light and Sound Rumbling Volcano  by  Poof Slinky
• Our Amazing Volcanoes / Earth Science Kit by Poof Slinky
• Volcano Kit by Schylling

CHILDREN’S VIDEOS:

• Earth Science for Children:  All About Volcanoes
• Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

• Volcanoes (The Wonders of Our World) by Anne Schreiber.  Good for all ages.  Excellent Teaching Tool!
• Dk Readers:  Eruption–The Story of Volcanoes (Level 2) by Anita Ganeri
• National Geographic Readers Volcanoes! by Anne Schreiber
• The Best Book of Volcanoes by Simon Adams
• The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top:  A Book About Volcanoes by Gail Herman and Bob Ostrom.  Good for PreK-1.  Not your typical Magic School Bus book.
• Time for Kids:  Volcanoes! by Editors Of Time For Kids
• Volcanoes by Jacques Durieux and Philippe Bourseiller. Spectacular photos!
• Volcanoes (All Aboard Science Reader) by Nicholas Nirgiotis.  Go0d for K-2.  Pictures look like clay.
  
• Volcanoes (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Franklyn Mansfield Branley and Megan Lloyd.  Good for PreK-2 and older.
• Volcanoes!  Mountains of Fire (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4) by Eric Arnold.  Good for 4th grade.

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To make homemade salt play dough for school projects, mix the following in a large bowl:

• 6 cups of flour
• 2 cups of salt
• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 2 cups of water

Mix the ingredients by hand until smooth.

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