v    “Ei,ei,0!”

The adventure with max and Ms. Frizzle was out of this world!  Now that we are back on earth, let us explore life on a farm and all of the fascinating adventures you may encounter as we travel through the U.S.A.

Volume Three

Across the U.S.A. with Max

v     Thundercake takes place in Michigan. Michigan became the 26th state in the United States. However, there are 50 states in the United States. Read interesting facts about them.

Did you know that:

·         Michigan is called “the Great Lakes State” because its shores touch four of the Great Lakes.

·        Florida is a peninsula because it has water on three sides.

·        California has the most islands of all the states.

·        Hawaii was the last state to become part of the United States.

·        Alaska is the biggest state in the United States.

·        Wyoming is the least populated state in the United States.

·        Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States?

Want to learn more about the United States, go to Enchanted Learning. 

Barnyard Friends

Thundercake takes place on a farm. Have you ever been to a farm? Let Booster the Rooster take you through Michigan’s County Fair. Learn about Michigan’s crops and animals. Read stories or look at pictures of farms and nurseries.  Or go to Kids Farm. Take a virtual field trip to a farm and answer questions about what you have learned. Go to Enchanted Learning.

Now that you are an expert on farm animals, play games and answer trivia questions. Go to USDA or go to:

www.cyberspaceag.com/cyberkidsplayground.html 

Want to hear riddles or read animal poems? Go to: http://www.alphabet-soup.net/farm/farm.html

Farm Phonics

Ready to try some phonics activities, go to: www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/farmphonics.html

What about practicing your “ow” and “ou” sounds? Go to Practice.

What about some r-controlled vowels? Go go

http://www.starfall.com/n/control-r/r/load.htm?f

Poetry Corner

Read some funny poems. Go to www.fizzyfunnyfuzzy.com 

Are you ready for some “On the Farm” poems? Go to www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems55.html

Also, don’t forget, for extra practice you can go to:  http://fcatexplorer.com

Featured Author – Patricia Polacco

Featured Book-Thundercake

Thundercake is a memoir written by a girl that was afraid of thunder and how her grandmother helped her overcome this fear. If you want to read about this book, go to Read Thundercake.  

After you have read Thundercake, why not play some Games, go to:

Want to try some more? Go to MORE GAMES:

Book List- Other books by Patricia Polacco

• Thank you, Mr. Falker
• The Butterfly
• Babushka’s Doll
• Chicken Sunday
• The Keeping Quilt
• When Lightning Comes in a Jar

Genre:  Memoir

A memoir is a retelling of something that really happened in one’s life.

A Moment in Time

Everyone has had interesting things happen to them. Sometimes they are funny, sad, or even sweet. Do you have a favorite memory? Why not write a memoir? Think of something interesting that has happened to you and start writing!

Project: Baking a Memory

You read how a girl overcame her fears by baking a cake and you have been reading “how-to” books. Now it is time for you to prepare your very own how-to book. Why don’t you start a collection of your favorite recipes? To get ideas, you may visit the following sites: www.kidztown.com/recipes.shtml

Or www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/ or www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/recipes.html

Or www.pillstury.com/Solve/kidsindex.asp

Or www.got-milk.com/kids/recipes.html

Start collecting your recipes and be prepared to share during the celebration.

Once you are finished, why not try playing games and testing your knowledge about food, go to www.got-milk.com/trivia/index.html

Focus on the FCAT

After reading Thundercake, test  your knowledge by answering the following questions:

1.     How do the girl’s feelings about herself change from the beginning to the end of the story? Use details and information from the story to support your answer.

2.     What caused the grandmother to decide to bake a cake? Use details and information from the story to support your answer.

3.     What is another word for “scurried” in the following sentence:

“She exclaimed as she scurried towards the back door”