A Guide for Chained, by Lynne Kelly

The guide I made for Lynne Kelly's amazing CHAINED  was such fun to make - as they all are in their own special way. Being that this book was extraordinarily rich with theme and culture, the ideas for this guide can spilling out of me. I wanted to create something that could easily be adapted into a classroom setting, something that met CCSS standards in a creative way. By George, I think I nailed it!

The guide includes academic activities in the study of point of view, summary, journaling, and group discussion. And, for a little of fun and flair, I added several arts and crafts activities, all of which are super inexpensive and easy to incorporate as a part of busy day at school. 

 For your viewing pleasure, I have moderately wrapped my brain around the basics of making a YouTube video featuring the crafts included in the guide. Folks, with the book CHAINED in hand, these projects will make perfect sense. 

So, buy the book. Read it. Then go and grab some scissors and glue and have some Simple Saturday-like fun!

I hope you enjoy yourselves with the projects half as much as I did making them. 

Call Me Oklahoma! - Simple Saturday Style

One of my all-time favorite cheesy musicals is Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! You see, when John and I were first dating, he took me to see it at the Dallas Summer Musicals. I'll never forget how I felt when the cast joined together and sang Oooooooo-klahoma. My heart raced. Tears puddled in my eyes. I wanted to be down there with them clapping and stomping and yee-hawing all around the stage. 

And, when I read the following quote, Miriam Glassman's  delightful story roped me in immediately. 

The show was called Oklahoma! and it was full of cowboys and spunky women twirling around. The musical had Paige bouncing in her seat, and at the end of the show, when all the people onstage waved their hats and yelled, “Yeehaw!” Paige felt so full of joy, tears sprang to her eyes. She longed to be the kind of person who yelled “Yeehaw! (4)"

Paige Turner, the protagonist in Call Me Oklahoma! , and I are soul mates. She and I share the same emotional connection to the musical. I've been in that moment, Paige. I was hypnotized by the surrey with the fringe on top, too. I know how you feel, Little Sister. I do.

As with all of the guides I make, along with being academically sound, I wanted to do something extra - O.K. - special with this one. I strive to add components that keep the child engaged in the story long after they've finished reading the book. In this one, I made a game cube that corresponds to key plot points in the story. It's super fun. Check it out. A Simple Saturday project at it's best! Yee haw!!!!

Doggone Feet! A Toe-tappin' Guide Full of Fun

You know what a sucker I am for dogs, especially my dog, Tripod. So when my good buddy Leslie Helakoski started telling me about her latest picture book about a lonely pup who finds a home, I couldn't wait to get a look at it. And then, when she asked me to make a guide for it - well, I was tail-wagging happy! This book couldn't be cuter, and to think that she both wrote this and illustrated it...wow!

Doggone Feet is a story told from the point of view of a stray who finds a home with a long-legged, tambourine-totting musician. Because this "tail" is told from the dog's perspective, our vision is limited to that of the dog's - FEET! As time goes on, the dog's beloved master finds a wife and kid upon kid upon kid. As the family grows, the activity level in the home becomes very hectic. All the while, the dog is working hard to keep a sense of order in his world under the kitchen table. In the end, he surrenders to fact that, at the foundation of the chaotic craziness of family life lies joy, acceptance, a great love.

Because the story line offers so many charming angles to explore, I found creating the CCSS Annotated Discussion and Activity Guide a blast to do. Along with an extensive discussion question component, poetry writing, and story sequencing cards, the lesson that makes this guide extra special is a skip-counting activity. As a sparking plus, I was able to use Leslie's charming illustrations to add a little bit of pizzazz the the piece.

It's a fun guide for a delightful book. Pick it up. Pet it and give that pup a scratch behind the ears, while you're at it.

Cowboy Up! by Nancy Bo Flood

I am a rodeo junkie! I LOVE the rodeo! To me, it is one of the most captivating sports ever invented. The sights! The sounds! The action! The smells (Yep, even the livestock!)! I love it all.

Some of my fondest memories as a young mother were Friday nights at the rodeo in Mesquite, Texas with Zack as a toddler. One of our fun games then was to cheer for the calf when the cowboy failed to rope 'em.  And the Barrel Racers! Oh! I yearn to come back in the next life as one of those brave gals. Yee haw!

In Cowboy Up!, my dear friend Nancy Bo Flood's poetry paired with Jan Sonnenmair's awesome photography captures the community spirit of the rodeo perfectly! This well-crafted book is alive with the essence of the sport and the great folks who participate in it. As picture books go, my friends, this one is one of the best. No lie. Cowboy's honor.

All of this to say, I worked to create an educational guide that would both celebrate the premise of this fine book and, hopefully, help cowpokes to connect with the poems on a personal level. I think I nailed it, podnahs.

In it, you'll find a crossword puzzle, a pictorial match-up game, poetic analysis exercises, guided form poetry lessons, and McSnazzy CCSS annotation tables. As always, it my hope that this guide help will keep Cowboy Up! in the hands of wise educators and the hearts of precious children for a long, long time.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Noah Webster & His Words - CCSSI Annotated to the Max!

I love Noah Webster & His Words! I love, love, love it's historically layered sense of patriotism. Author Jeri Chase Ferris did an incredible job depicting Webster's vision of uniting the country through words! 

The CCSSI Annotated Discussion and Activity Guide celebrates Webster's passion with a number of  word games that can be played independently or with pals. Skills such as alphabetizing, syllabication, and searching for words in a dictionary can be practiced in a fun, collaborative manner. Kids can craft a historical timeline to study Noah's life achievements. And there is even a cross-word puzzle comprised of key words sprinkled throughout Jeri's clever text!

Included in the guide is a four-page annotation linking the activities to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy suitable for K-5 students. The book and the guide are classroom-ready and super kid-friendly - the perfect combination, wouldn't you say?