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21st Century Learning Skills: The leading advocacy organization infusing 21st century skills into education. A to Z Teacher: Lesson plans, newsletter, theme units and teacher related news Brain Connection: Up-to-date learns plus student activities. information on how the brain

Children's Book Council: A comprehensive, annotated bibliography of election-related titles for young people in grades K -12. Children's Literature Web Guide: Internet books for children and young adults. resources related to

Classroom Connect: Learning materials for K-12 Educators and their students. Discovery Channel: Interesting all ages. articles and discovery stories for

Kansas Association of School Libraries: A full service research center with library services.

Kansas State Historical Society: Kansas History and reference center with activities available for children.

, Kid Lit Children's Literature: A site designed for kids (mostly) and for adults interested in quality children's literature.
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League of Women Voters: The League of Women Voters' website allows people to search their states and voting districts for information on candidates. Be informed about local, state and national candidates' stance on education before they vote? Marco Polo: Provides K-12 professional development teachers and students. for K-12

, Read.Write.Think: IRA and NCTE.

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Readinga-z.com: Downloadable materials to teach gUided reading, phonics, the alphabet, and much more. Reading Lady: Provides 4 blocks of Guided Reading information and ideas. Reading Recovery Reading Rockets

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, William Allen White Children's Book Award: Information concerning the award and includes online voting for the next award.

Character

Match Up

There are many interesting characters in Being Frank. We know some things about them from the story, but we can also guess other things about them. In the first column are things we know about the characters from the story. In the last column are things we can guess about them. Draw lines from the outer columns to the correct characters' names in the middle column.

THINGS WE KNOW FROM THE STORY

CHARACTER Dotty Mr. Wiggins

THINGS WE CAN GUESS Favorite game is Truth or Dare Likes to get poetry from her son Has a frog named Spot and a gecko named Speckle Doesn't go to the barber often

Learns to share the truth with more sugar, less pepper Has lots of freckles Likes to sing very high notes Doesn't like wrinkles on her face Does hair-raising dance moves Is Grandpa Ernest's best friend

Mr. Pickles

Carol

Frank Mrs. Zaroma Eats relish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Loves the movie The Sound of Music

Mrs. Peacock

Mom

When people are upset, they try different things to help themselves calm down and feel better. Some people go for a walk, some sing a song, some call a friend on the phone. In the story Being Frank, when Frank was upset, he clipped his toenails and alphabetized his bug collection. When that didn't cure his sad mood, he went to visit Grandpa Ernest to talk about his problem, What are some of the things YOU do to help yourself feel better or calm down when you're upset? Do you talk to a friend? Read a book? Play an instrument? Fill in your own endings to the sentences below.

He clipped his toenails and alphabetized his bug cdlcct"",. but he dtdn't feci 8I1'j bettor, so he waIkcd down tho blocK to Grandpa's house.

Grandpa Ernest was on tM porch, clipping hiS toc",,'s. "Incoming!- he yoUed. frank ducked.

To accompany Being Frank, written

by Donna Earnhardt, illustrated

by Andrea Castellani, Flashlight Press

www.FlashlightPress.com.

ISBN 9781936261192

Role-Playing
When awkward situations arise, it can be hard to be honest without hurting someone's feelings. These role-playing script starters give students an opportunity to explore approaches to handling uncomfortable situations. Ask students to pair up. Then hand out the script starters below, one per pair. Instruct the students to create two short skits based on the situation described. The first skit should show a wrong way to handle the situation; the second skit should show a better way. "New" kid and spelling bee champ: New kid wins spelling Best friends (girls): Girl wants Two friends at sleepover: The

to share her clothes with friend but friend thinks the clothes are ugly.

sleepover guest gets scared in the middle of the night and wants to go home.

bee and the champ is having trouble offering congratulations.

Student and teacher: Student

Two classmates: one friend

Big and little siblings: Older

doesn't like the way the substitute teacher smells.

knows he/she wasn't invited to the other one's birthday party.

sibling is left in charge and younger sibling thinks he/she is bossy.

Retired neighbor and student: Student doesn't like

Two siblings: one sibling

Two siblings: One loves to

doesn't like other sibling's drumming and thinks he/she needs lessons.
Husband and wife: wife

sing but can't carry a tune ... and wants to be in the other one's band.
Best friends (boys): One

neighbor's yappy dog.

Parent and child: parent

forgot about husband's birthday.

Grandparent and grandchild:

friend thinks other friend doesn't throw a ball well.

Parent and child: Child wants

thinks child hasn't been doing his/her homework.

Two friends: When visiting,

Child doesn't like the gift given by grandparent.

a puppy but parent doesn't think he/she is ready.

one doesn't like the lunch served at other one's house

To accompany Being Frank, written

by Donna Earnhardt, illustrated

by Andrea Castellani, Flashlight Press

www.FlashlightPress.com.

ISBN 9781936261192

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Circle these words in the Word Search above: beach blanket book boy brownies bullies castle claws dragon family friend kite lemonade ocean pail perfect sand seashell shovel smoke tail water waves wing

CREATURE FEATURE
Unscramble the names of these creatures. Then put the special letters in their places below to find the answer.

They are all

ACROSS
3. What color is the dragon? 5. The sister thinks the dragon's teeth are broken 7. How many bullies are on the beach? 8. What are feathers good for? 11. The boy orders the dragon to leave until he learns some 12. The father thinks the feather is from a sea _ 13. The mother hears the of the ocean. _

DOWN 1. What does the dragon spray all over the sister? 2. With a dragon, you have a built-in marshmallow _ 3. The boy floats on the dragon like a in the water. 4. The dragon helps the boy his kite. 6. What creature moves into the boy's castle? 9. The dragon sneaks into the to nibble the brownies. 10. Dragons laugh like this: Heh heh _

"If you build ape rfect sandcaslte, a dragon will move in. " D"aw a sandcastle. Then cut out and paste the d,'agon pa,'ts that best fit you,' castle.

Building a Story is Like Building a Sandcastle

A Parent/Teacher Guide for using When a Dragon Moves In to introduce the components of a story.

THE BBGINNING

What tools are needed to build a sandcastle? (Possible answers: shovel, pail, various scoops, shapers, molds.) What tools are needed to write a story? (Possible answers: pencil, pen, paper, computer, imagination, ideas, knowledge.)

For the story, dig for ideas! What are your interests? You can write about what you know, or what you would like to know. Where do writers get their ideas? (Possible answers: books, real life, imagination, research) Now, make a list of ideas for your story.

For a sandcastle, you have to add the proper amount of water to the sand so the castle will stand strong and firm. Too little water, and the castle will crumble; too much, and it will be a muddy mess. The process of adding water is called a build-up - just like a story needs a build-up! Add lots and lots of water to your pile. Mix it with the sand. Keep piling it up to build the base. Repeat the process until your pile is as tall as you want. For the story, you need a strong foundation or idea to support everything you want to put in it. Then you have to choose the proper words. Too few, and the story may lack details, confuse the reader, and crumble. Too many, and it may be boring to the reader, also becoming a muddy mess. Start turning your list of ideas into written paragraphs, using well-chosen words.

Sandcastles can have walls, towers, turrets, battlements, moats and more. They can be added by hand (called "hand-stacking") or sculpted from the pile. A story needs to have characters, setting, action, plot, and tension or conflict. Let's use When a Dragon Moves In to identify these parts of a story:

Activity Guide to accompany When a Dragon Moves In, written by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. www.FlashlightPress.comISBN 9780979974670

1. Characters: Who are the main characters in When a Dragon Moves In? Who are the characters in your story? 2. Setting: Where does Dragon take place? What time of day is it? What is the weather like? Now answer these questions about your story. 3. Action: What happens in the Dragon story? What will happen in your story? Make a list of some good action words to go with your ideas from earlier. 4. Plot: How and why are the actions linked together? Write two related action sentences to go with one of your story ideas and then link them together with "because". For example: Mickey couldn't wait to play with his new basketball. Mrs. Walker found her new vase smashed on the floor.

Mrs. Walker found her new vase smashed on the floor because Mickey couldn't wait to play with his new basketball. 5. Tension or Conflict: Every story needs an interesting problem. Who and what is causing the tension in When a Dragon Moves In? Would the story be as exciting if the family could see the dragon? The point where the tension is the strongest is called the climax. What is the climax in When a Dragon Moves In? What causes the tension in your story? What will happen at the climax?

Toward the end of building your sandcastle, you may need to smooth the sides. Then you may want to add some shells or stones for decoration, or a twig or straw flag at the top.

At the end of your story, you need a satisfying conclusion - an ending that will make the reader smile or think or want to read the story again. What is the conclusion in Dragon? What will the conclusion be in your story? But are you really finished? No. Now is the time to re-read and REVISE!(This is like smoothing the sides of the sandcastle!) Find and correct all spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. Then, look for weak words and replace them with exciting words. For example, instead of writing "went," use "ran" or "traveled" or "sped" or "trudged" - depending on your story.

WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED:

Show your sandcastle to your friends and family. Maybe take a photo. Invite a dragon to move in. Show your story to your friends and family. If you wrote it with a pencil and paper, you can type it on a computer and then print copies for everyone to read. If your class has a bulletin board, ask the teacher if you can hang the story there. If your school has a newspaper, see if they'd like to print your story for the whole school to read.

Activity Guide to accompany When a Dragon Moves In, written by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. www.FlashlightPress.comISBN 9780979974670