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Teacher's Idea Exchange |
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| This page is brand new and still under construction. I need your help to finish it. Teachers often write to tell me about the exciting things they do with my books in the classroom, so I thought it might be fun for you to share those ideas with one another. If you have an idea you'd like to share, please CLICK HERE, write IDEA in the subject line and tell me about your idea. Be sure to include your first name and the state or country you live in. Then I'll post your idea on this page to share with other teachers. Be sure and check back often to see what great ideas your fellow teachers have come up with! |
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| Ideas about THE DRAGONLING SERIES from Laury, a kindergarten teacher from Brooklyn, NY: |
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| This past Friday, I finished reading the sixth Book of the Dragonling series to my Kindergarten class. They devoured them. And they are taking turns borrowing them to reread with their parents. A few children have made their parents buy the entire series. |
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| The parents are delighted with the children's interest, even though there are some very complex issues introduced. The way Darek learns to value nonviolence solutions, has helped me reinforce conflict resolution in a class of very active boys and girls. |
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| They learned so much about a writer's style as we discussed the books. The big thing of course was the "cliff hanger." As we would "rewind" at the beginning of each new reading time, they were able to remember all the important details and plot twists. They also made wonderful predictions throughout the series. They loved finding devices similar to favorite fairy tales such as when Darek first helped the whip-injured Zynok, and later the Zynok helped him. |
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| Throughout the weeks, as we read the books they relied heavily on the idea that the main characters in a story usually don't die. Yet they still clung to each other during the scary parts when it seemed there was no way Darek and Zantor would be able to get out of trouble. One child continuously held to the belief that the series would have a happy ending, no matter how desperate the situation was. |
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| Simultaneously, we were exploring the plants and seeds. When I read parts of the biography of George Washington Carver as we talked about peanuts, they were able to understand the indignity and horror of being a slave because they had been through it with Darek, Pola and Rowena. |
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| During book four, we worked together to draw a map of Zoriac, the Mountains of Krad and the Valley of Dragons, so we could visualize better the areas that were hazardous because of the red fang's dragons breath. Working independently, they remembered that Zynoks could breathe in the smoky haze, but the Kradens couldn't and they worked that into their illustrations. |
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| As we finished book five, they drew a large picture of Zantor. Since they knew we didn't have enough blue markers or crayons to color in the entire picture, they cut and glued down small pieces of tissue paper, that delightfully look like scales. Now they want to make the picture 3D, and add a model of Darek to ride on Zantor's back. |
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| One family discovered your web pages, ( I had never noticed it listed in the books), so each child received copies of the Zantor's maze and picture. |
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| A few words about THE PRIMROSE WAY from Mary, a National Board Certified Teacher: |
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| For many years I have taught American History to 8th graders. When I discovered this book it was a dream come true. All students, boys and girls, became engaged in the story. What a wonderful way to expose them to the reailty of our history and the way that the Native Americans were treated, some more realistic views of our friends the Puritans, and the legends of the Eastern Tribes. I realize that many young girls reading this would find it a delightful love story, but beneath the surface is a story of much more. If you are a student considering reading this work, I challenge you to find the fiction and the history. If you want a powerful reasearch topic that will stretch your mind and open your eyes this is a book for you. |
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| A great classroom idea for teaching THE PRIMROSE WAY from Laurie, a Middle School Library Media Specialist |
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| One of the assignments that the students are undertaking is to research the real people upon whom THE PRIMROSE WAY is based. The links to the people are still being developed on our website URL: http://mcgee.berlinschools.org/Students/Grade8/cowell.htm. To visit CLICK HERE |
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| PS: Laurie would welcome any tips about other good and appropriate sites as this project will be repeated in future. To email her CLICK HERE |
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