Friday, November 29, 2013

Finishing up Geography Class

In studying Australia, we also talked a little about Oceania in general and some of the other major islands in that region.  We talked a lot about the unusual animals found in Australia and they created a little Koala figure to take home.  I try to provide them with a variety of map work and coloring page activities to take home to enhance their learning during the week.  There are a wealth of things available online and Enchanted learning now includes a lot of map work activities at their website.

Books regarding Australia:
Arnold, Caroline. A platypus' world. Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, c2008. 

Arnold, Caroline. A wombat's world. Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, c2008. 
 
Arnold, Caroline. A koala's world. Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, c2008.
 
Arnold, Marsha Diane. The pumpkin runner. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, c1998.
Australia's first people : the world's oldest culture?. Peterborough, NH : Cobblestone Pub., 2013.
Australia. New York, NY : Kids Discover, 2009.
 
Baker, Jeannie. Where the forest meets the sea. New York : Greenwillow Books, c1987.
 
Costain, Meredith. You wouldn't want to be an 18th-century British convict! : a trip to Australia you'd rather not take. New York : Franklin Watts, 2007, c2005.
 
Czernecki, Stefan. The singing snake. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c1993.
 
Dennard, Deborah. Koala country : a story of an Australian eucalyptus forest. Norwalk, Conn. : Soundprints, 2000.
 
Eversole, Robyn. Flood fish. New York : Crown, 1995.
 
Fox, Mem. Possum magic. San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990.
 
French, Jackie. Diary of a baby wombat. Boston : Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
 
Gentle, Victor. Dingoes. Milwaukee, WI : G. Stevens, 2002.
 
George, Linda. The koalas of Australia. Danbury, Conn. : Hilltop Books, 1998.
 
Hengel, Katherine. It's a baby Tasmanian devil!. Edina, Minn. : ABDO Pub. Co., c2010.
 
Kalman, Bobbie. Australian outback food chains. New York : Crabtree, c2007.
 
Kalman, Bobbie. The life cycle of a koala. New York : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2002.
 
Lester, Alison. Are we there yet? : a journey around Australia. La Jolla, Calif. : Kane/Miller, 2005.
 
Lester, Alison. Ernie dances to the didgeridoo : for the children of Gunbalanya. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
 
Maddern, Eric. Rainbow bird : an aboriginal folktale from Northern Australia. Boston : Little, Brown and Co., 1993.
 
Markle, Sandra. Finding home. Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, c2008.
 
Marshall, James Vance. Stories from the Billabong. London : Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2008.
 
McLeod, Kate. Outback adventure : Australian vacation. London ;: DK Pub., 2004.
 
Molnar, Michael. Humpback whales. Mankato, MN : Smart Apple Media, 2012.
 
Morpurgo, Michael. Wombat goes walkabout. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2000.
 
Noonuccal, Oodgeroo. Dreamtime : aborginal stories. New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1994.
 
Spilsbury, Louise. Watching kangaroos in Australia. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2006.
 
Vaughan, Marcia K. Snap!. New York : Scholastic, 1996.
 
Wolkstein, Diane. Sun Mother wakes the world : an Australian creation story. New York : HarperCollins, 2004.
 
In taking a look at Antarctica, I used some books I had at home, along with the map work, etc.  I also picked up various mini-books from online (a lot from Homeschool Share) and helped the kids create a small lapbook.  Here are some books that relate to that continent:

Aloian, Molly. The Antarctic habitat. New York : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2007.  

Antarctica. New York : Kids Discover, 2012. 
 
Bang, Molly. Ocean sunlight : how tiny plants feed the seas. New York : Blue Sky Press, 2012.
 
Bortz, Alfred B. Martian fossils on earth? : the story of meteorite ALH 84001. Brookfield, Conn. : Millbrook Press, c1997.
 
Bredeson, Carmen. Emperor penguins up close. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow Elementary, c2006.
 
Cerullo, Mary M. Sea soup : phytoplankton. Gardiner, Me. : Tilbury House, c1999.
 
Foster, Leila Merrell. Antarctica. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2006.
 
Gibbons, Gail. Whales. New York : Holiday House, c1991.
 
Gonzales, Doreen. The stormy southern ocean. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow Publishers, Inc., c2014.
 
Green, Jen. You wouldn't want to be a polar explorer! : an expedition you'd rather not go on. New York : Franklin Watts, 2001.
 
Greenberg, Daniel A. Whales. New York : Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, c2001.
 
Hodge, Judith. Penguins. Hauppauge, NY : Barron's, 1999.
 
Hooper, Meredith. Antarctic adventure : exploring the frozen South. New York : DK Pub., 2000.
 
Kalman, Bobbie. Explore Antarctica. New York, NY : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2007.
 
Mastro, Jim. Antarctic ice. New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2003.
 
McDonald, Kellie. Antarctica. Crystal Lake, IL : Heinemann Library, c1997.
 
Moore, Heidi. Ocean food chains. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2011.
 
Osborne, Mary Pope. Penguins and Antarctica : a nonfiction companion to Eve of the emperor
penguins. New York : Random House, c2008.
 
Pringle, Laurence. Whales! : strange and wonderful. Honesdale, Pa. : Boyds Mills Press, c2003.
 
Roberts, Jordan. March of the penguins. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, c2006.
 
Robinson, Fiona. Whale shines : an artistic tale.
 
Rylant, Cynthia. The whales. New York : Blue Sky Press, c1996.
 
Sierra, Judy. Antarctic antics : a book of penguin poems. San Diego : Harcourt Brace & Co., c1998.
 
Simon, Seymour. Whales. New York : Crowell, 1989.
 
Spilsbury, Louise. Watching penguins in Antarctica. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2006.
 
Teitelbaum, Michael. Baby penguin slips and slides. San Anselmo, CA : Treasure Bay, Inc., c2009.
 
Tulloch, Coral. Antarctica : the heart of the world. New York : Enchanted Lion Books, 2006.
 
Viva, Frank. A trip to the bottom of the world with Mouse : a Toon Book. New York : Toon Books, 2012.
 
Webb, Sophie. My season with penguins : an Antarctic journal. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c2000

 We reviewed seasonal differences for areas in the southern hemisphere.  We talked about the continent of Antarctica and compared it to Australia in terms of size and shape.  We talked about the Southern Ocean which surrounds Antarctica and all the animals that live in the waters around that continent and about penguin migrations from there during the winter.  We also contrasted Arctic vs. Antarctic again.

Next week, we will finish up by taking a look at the Arctic region.  Here are some books related to that part of the world:

Andrews, Jan. Very last first time. New York : Atheneum, 1986.  

Bania, Michael. Kumak's fish : a tall tale from the far north. Portland, Or. : Alaska Northwest Books, 2004. 
 
Bauer, David. Adding arctic animals. Mankato, Minn. : Yellow Umbrella Books, c2004.
 
Berendes, Mary. Beluga whales. [Chanhassen, MN] : Child's World, c1999.
 
Berger, Melvin. Penguins swim but don't get wet : and other amazing facts about polar animals. New York : Scholastic, c2004.
 
Bernhard, Emery. How Snowshoe Hare rescued the sun : a tale from the Arctic. New York : Holiday House, c1993.
 
Bredeson, Carmen. Baby animals of the frozen tundra. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow Publishers, c2009.
 
Brett, Jan. The three snow bears. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, c2007.
 
Brown, Tricia. Children of the midnight sun : young native voices of Alaska. Anchorage : Alaska Northwest Books, c1998.
 
Cunningham, Kevin. The Inuit. New York : Children's Press, c2011.
 
Dabcovich, Lydia. The polar bear son : an Inuit tale. New York : Clarion Books, 1997.
 
Darling, Kathy. Arctic babies. New York : Walker, 1996.
 
DeArmond, Dale. The seal oil lamp. San Francisco, CA : Sierra Club Books ;, c1988.
 
Dixon, Dougal. City bear. Columbus, Ohio : Waterbird Books, 2004.
 
Edwardson, Debby Dahl. Whale snow. Watertown, MA : Talewinds, c2003.
 
Flowers, Pam. Big-enough Anna : the little sled dog who braved the Arctic. Anchorage, AK : Alaska
Northwest Books, 2003.
 
George, Jean Craighead. The last polar bear. New York : Laura Geringer Books, c2009.
 
George, Jean Craighead. Snow Bear. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c1999.
 
Glassman, Jackie. Amazing arctic animals. New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c2002.
 
Guiberson, Brenda Z. Ice bears. New York : Henry Holt, c2008.
 
Heuer, Karsten. Being caribou : five months on foot with a caribou herd. New York, N.Y. : Walker, 2007.
 
Hiscock, Bruce. The big caribou herd : life in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Honesdale, Pa. : Boyds Mills Press, c2003.
 
Hodge, Deborah. Polar animals. Toronto, ON ;: Kids Can Press, 2008.
 
Houston, James. TiktaŹ¼liktak : an Eskimo legend. New York : Harcourt, Brace & World, 1965.
 
Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Arctic hunter. New York : Holiday House, 1992.
 
Joosse, Barbara M. Mama, do you love me?. San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 1991.
 
Kusugak, Michael. My Arctic 1, 2, 3. Toronto ;: Annick Press, 1996.
 
Lassieur, Allison. The Inuit. Mankato, Minn. : Bridgestone Books, c2000.
 
Love, Ann. The kids book of the far north. Toronto, ON ;: Kids Can Press, c2000.
 
Mack, Lorrie. Arctic. London ;: DK, 2007.
 
Matthews, Downs. Arctic foxes. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1995.
 
Miller, Debbie S. Arctic lights, arctic nights. New York : Walker & Co., 2003.
 
Miller, Debbie S. A polar bear journey. Boston : Little, Brown, 1997.
 
Osborne, Mary Pope. Polar bears and the Arctic : a nonfiction companion to polar bears past bedtime. New York : Random House, c2007.
 
Person, Stephen. Arctic fox : very cool!. New York, N.Y. : Bearport Pub., c2009.
 
Preszler, June. Igloos. Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2005.
 
Rau, Dana Meachen. The inside story Igloo. Tarrytown, N.Y. : Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, c2007.
 
Rosinsky, Natalie M. The inuit. Minneapolis, Minn. : Compass Point Books, c2005.
 
Schreiber, Anne. Scholastic's The magic school bus in the Arctic : a book about heat. New York : Scholstic, c1998.
 
Sill, Cathryn P. Oceans. Atlanta : Peachtree, c2012.
 
Sloat, Teri. The hungry giant of the Tundra. New York : Dutton Children's Books, c1993.
 
Steltzer, Ulli. Building an igloo. New York : H. Holt, 1995.
 
Taylor, Harriet Peck. Ulaq and the northern lights. New York : Farrar Straus Girous, 1998.
 
Teitelbaum, Michael. Baby polar bears' snow-day. San Anselmo, CA : Treasure Bay, Inc., c2009.
 
Ulmer, Michael. The gift of the Inuksuk. Chelsea, MI : Sleeping Bear Press, 2004.
 
Wells, Robert E. Polar bear, why is your world melting?. Morton Grove, Ill. : Albert Whitman & Co., 2008.
 
Worth, Bonnie. Ice is nice!. New York : Random House, c2010.
 
Yacowitz, Caryn. Inuit Indians. Chicago. Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2003.
 
Yolen, Jane. Welcome to the ice house. New York : Putnam, 1998. 
 
I will be completing another small lapbook with them related to the Arctic, as well as playing a game about Arctic animals.
 
I will try to see if I can find the links for some of the hand outs I have used and post those later,
 
Regena 

Finishing up the first semester of Medieval History

My student is beginning to write more, so I am trying to encourage that a little in our history class.  I pulled some assorted mini-books related to medieval knights and castles (most from Homeschool Share's level 3 lapbooks on that subject) and we worked several periods on creating a small lapbook he could take home.  As part of that, I asked him to choose one real life knight from the time period we've been studying or are studying now and write a short report on him including these facts, if possible:

When and where did he live
What were some of his notable achievements
Why was he successful militarily and what were some of his famous battles
 (Using the computer or dictating this is fine!)

I asked him to choose from these:

Charlemagne (742 - 814)
William the Conqueror (1028 - 1087)
Richard the Lionheart (1157 - 1195)
William Wallace (died 1305)
El Cid (1043 - 1099)
Alexander Nevsky (1230 - 1263)
Edward the Black Prince (1330 - 1376)

This creates a good opportunity to show students how to use encyclopedia articles to compose reports (if your library has become as devoid of biographies as mine)....

Here are some books to read to go along with these personalities, but the student will have to separate fact from fiction.  King Richard is in the background of the Robin Hood stories and his absence is the supposed reason for the gathering of the outlaw band in the first place.  In some stories he makes an appearance, but we are looking for the facts known about Richard, separate from the legends, in creating a report about his life....  Many of these books that I suggest have introductory notes or end notes that tell about the history related to the books.  By all means make certain to always read these!

There are no books regarding William Wallace at my library, but there is a short mystery of history video (50 minutes).

Of course, there are no books on any of them or even pertaining to their country at that time period.  I am at a loss as to why our library carries no books any more, but I guess you can't learn history if you can't find any books to read about history, so perhaps we'll all be good little revisionists of one form or another someday soon....  There are encyclopedias still on the shelves, so far as I know, and you can certainly use various online encyclopedias, too.... 
 
There is some info on El Cid in chapter 18 of SOTW and some info on Richard the Lionhearted in chapter 19....
What I found:

History's mysteries. [DVD] / The true story of Braveheart. Visual Materials. A&E Home Video :, [2005].
Miles, Bernard. Robin Hood, his life and legend. Chicago : Rand McNally, 1979.
 
Pyle, Howard. The merry adventures of Robin Hood. New York : Baronet Books, c1990.  
 
And here is a chapter from an online book regarding Edward the Black Prince:
 
http://www.awesomestories.com/flicks/knights-tale/edward-the-black-prince - perhaps there will be some useful info there....
 
At this time I gave my student some info on creating his own shield with coat-of-arms.  Students might choose to do both a larger shield, as well as a couple of small ones - one could be put into a lapbook and one on any time line they might be creating.  I wanted my student to think about why it was important to carry shields and wear other battle gear that exhibited their coats-of-arms.
 
At this time I also assigned chapter 17 in SOTW, which is about the Samurai warriors of Japan. 
 
Additional reading for that, as well as more on knights:
 
Gravett, Christopher. Knight. London ;: DK Pub., 2004.
 
Kimmel, Eric A. Sword of the samurai : adventure stories from Japan. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1999.
 
Kimmel, Eric A. Three samurai cats : a story from Japan. New York : Holiday House, 2003.
 
Macdonald, Fiona. Monarchs in the Middle Ages. Milwaukee, WI : World Almanac Library, 2006. (Not to read, but just to see if there is any info on any of the above listed knights that he might use for his report....)
 
Macdonald, Fiona. How to be a Samurai warrior. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, 2005.
 
Macdonald, Fiona. How to be a medieval knight. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, c2005.
 
Macdonald, Fiona. You wouldn't want to be a Samurai! : a deadly career you'd rather not pursue. New York : Franklin Watts, 2010, c2009.
 
Macdonald, Fiona. You wouldn't want to be a medieval knight! : armor you'd rather not wear. New York : Franklin Watts, 2004.
 
McCarthy, Ralph F. The inch-high samurai. Tokyo ;: Kodansha International, 1993.
 
Neuschwander, Cindy. Sir Cumference and the first round table : a math adventure. Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, c1997.
 
O'Brien, Patrick. The making of a knight : how Sir James earned his armor. Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, 1998.
 
Scieszka, Jon. Sam Samurai. New York : Viking, 2001.
 
Tanaka, Shelley. In the time of knights : the real-life story of history's greatest knight. New York : Hyperion, c2000.

 
Hopefully those on knights are not repeats of suggestions already made!
 
Here's an online heraldry game students might enjoy:
 
 
Create a coat-of-arms online:
 
 
A site that tells what the different symbols of heraldry mean:
 
 
I have been trying to get my student to talk to me more about the books he's reading outside of our class time since we have so little time together each week.  Toward that end, his mother was able to get him to start dictating some "reports" to her - really just a sentence at first, but they are growing longer....  I took the first few and cut and pasted them, along with pictures of the books, onto a castle template I found online.  I then gave him a similar blank template and asked him to pick his favorite book from the next week and fill in plot, setting, and character info, as well as his favorite part of the book.  I will next be making a sword template to display some of his other reports, then giving him a similar blank to provide another report for me....
 
I also found some other forms for various types of reports online that I can use to give him more guidance in doing reports for me.  He currently is completing one of those.
 
For history reading, I asked him to cover chs. 18 and 19 in SOTW regarding the period of the Crusades and Richard the Lion-hearted (Robin Hood)....
 
Books he might like to look at:
 
Cohen, Barbara. The Canterbury tales. New York, NY : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1988.   
 
Cooney, Barbara. Chanticleer and the fox. New York : Crowell, c1958. 
 
Daugherty, James Henry. The Magna charta. Sandwich, MA : Beautiful Feet Books, [1998?]. (Good info on King John and how monarchies began to change at this time - will be important later in the founding of America) 
 
Grant, K. M. Blood red horse. New York : Walker & Co., 2005. (I don't know this one, but it sounds like it might be interesting....) 
 
Gravett, Christopher. Knight. New York : Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
 
Hanel, Rachael. Life as a knight : an interactive history adventure. Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, 2010.
 
Jinks, Catherine. Pagan's crusade. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2003. (I don't know this one, either....) 
 
Konigsburg, E. L. A proud taste for scarlet and miniver. New York : Atheneum, c1973. (Quirkly little book but gives a good synopsis of the lives of Eleanor, her husband and children, without getting into details not appropriate for younger children....)
 
Macdonald, Fiona. You wouldn't want to be a crusader! : a war you'd rather not fight. New York : Franklin Watts, 2005. 
 
Magna Carta. Peterborough, NH : Cobblestone Pub., 2000. 
 
McCaughrean, Geraldine. The Canterbury tales. London, England ;: Puffin Books, 1996, c1984. 
 
Stanley, Diane. Saladin : Nobel Prince of Islam. [New York] : HarperCollins Publishers, c2002. 
 
Weil, Sylvie. My guardian angel. New York : Scholastic Press, 2005. (This is another book set during the time of the Crusades that I don't know....) 
 
Wildsmith, Brian. Saint Francis. Grand Rapids, Mich. ;: Oxford University Press, 1996

 
I have continued providing him with some info sheets the past couple of weeks regarding various aspects of this time period.  Some come from a Milliken "workbook" (although it's mostly just reading material) on the Middle Ages; some from Dover or Bellepheron coloring books, which provide a lot of good info and black line drawings (even for those who don't like to color).
 
His lapbook including a pocket for vocab cards and I got him started on some, then asked him to look for more words in the books he is reading each week.  A lot of French and Germanic words are coming into the language used at this time period so it's a good time to study some of those.
 
For the next week, I asked that he read SOTW ch. 20 on the Jewish diaspora and these library books:

Dance, Sing, Remember: A Celebration of Jewish Holidays, Leslie Kimmelman

Israel, Adele Richardson

The Rabbi Who Flew, Renate Dollinger

Hanukkah Hop!  Erica Silverman

The Travels of Benjamin Tudela, Uri Shulevitz

Next Year in Jerusalem, Howard Schwartz

We have already really talked some about this subject last year, so I think it's a good time to also go ahead and listen to SOTW ch. 21, about the Mongols.  Extra reading for that:

Genghis Khan, Demi (also spelled Chingis)

Genghis Khan, Mongul Conqueror of the World - Cobblestone

Kubla (also spelled Kublai) Khan: The Emperor of Everything, Kathleen Krull

The Legend of Mulan, Wei Jiang

The Song of Mu Lan, Jeanne Lee

The Hunter, Mary Casanova

Liang and the Magic Paintbrush, Demi

The Paper Dragon, Marguerite Davol (if not already read)

Mongolia: Vanishing Cultures, Jan Reynolds

Mongols, Nicole Helget
These topics are probably all we will cover prior to our Christmas break,

Regena


 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Medieval History

History continues next week using SOTW chs. 15 and 16 as our basis for a study of the Norman Conquest and England during the years following that conquest.

Suggested library books for this study:

Aliki. A medieval feast. New York : Crowell, c1983.  

Anderson, Mercedes Padrino. Feudalism and village life in the Middle Ages. Milwaukee : World Almanac Library, 2006.
 
Cushman, Karen. Matilda Bone. New York : Clarion Books, c2000. (Don't know this one but it sounds interesting....) 
 
Dawson, Imogen. Clothes and crafts in the Middle Ages. Milwaukee, WI : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2000.
 
Eager, Edward. Knight's castle. San Diego : Harcourt, Brace, and Co., 1999.
 
Goodall, John S. The story of an English village. New York : Atheneum, 1979, c1978. (Picture book showing the establishment and growth of a village over time....) 
 
Grahame, Kenneth. The reluctant dragon. New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, c1983. (The one with Hague as the illustrator probably has the best pictures.  There's an abridged one available, too, but it's a simple read and lovely, so I wouldn't do the abridgement....) 
 
Hinds, Kathryn. Life in the Middle Ages. The countryside. New York : Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, c2001.
 
Hodges, Margaret. Saint George and the dragon : a golden legend. Boston : Little, Brown, c1984. (Hodges' books have great illustrations....) 
 
McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. The striped ships. New York : M.K. McElderry Books, c1991.   (A longer book that details events surrounding the Norman Conquest from the perspective of the commoners.)
 
Nikola-Lisa, W. Till year's good end : a calendar of medieval labors. New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c1997. (This is very neat and the pictures are done as medieval wood cuts were done....) 
 
Platt, Richard. Castle diary : the journal of Tobias Burgess, page. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 1999.  
 
Schlitz, Laura Amy. Good masters! Sweet Ladies! voices from a medieval village / [playaway/unabridged] :. [Solon, Ohio] : [released 2008], c2008. 1 sound media player (1 hr., 30 min.) :   (They also have a CD of this....) 
 
Shuter, Jane. The Middle Ages. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2007.
 
Steele, Philip. Knights. New York : Kingfisher, 1998. 
 
Sutcliff, Rosemary. Sword song. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.  
The Norman Conquest. Peterborough, NH : Cobblestone Pub., 2001.   
 
Regena

World Geography Weeks 9 - 10

We finished up our studies of Asia last week, going through my sensory box and looking talking about items from various countries of Asia.  The children made a dragon puppet to take home, as well.

For the next two weeks we will be studying Africa.  I may let them make a rain stick if I have enough paper towel rolls to do this project!

Here's a suggested reading list for Africa - it includes a couple of CD's, as well; one is a favorite of mine by Ladysmith Black Mambasa:

Aardema, Verna. Anansi finds a fool : an Ashanti tale. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, 1992.
Aardema, Verna. Rabbit makes a monkey of lion : a Swahili tale. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, c1989.
 
Aardema, Verna. How the ostrich got a long neck. New York : Scholastic, 1995.
 
Aardema, Verna. Traveling to Tondo : a tale of the Nkundo of Zaire. New York : Knopf, 1991.
African playground [compact disc]. New York, NY : 2003. 1 sound disc (44 min.) :
 
Bartell, Jim. Kenya. Minneapolis, MN : Bellwether Media, c2011.
 
Bash, Barbara. Tree of life : the world of the African Baobab. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books ;, c1989.
 
Burns, Khephra. Mansa Musa : the lion of Mali. San Diego : Harcourt Brace & Co., 2001.
 
Cleveland, Rob. The clever monkey : a folktale from West Africa. Atlanta, Ga. : August House Story Cove, 2006.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Wildebeests. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Zebras. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Rhinos. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Hippos. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Giraffes. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Cole, Melissa S. Elephants. San Diego : Blackbirch Press, 2003.
 
Day, Nancy Raines. The lion's whiskers : an Ethiopian folktale. New York : Scholastic, c1995.
 
Diakité, Baba Wagué. The hunterman and the crocodile : a West African folktale. New York : Scholastic, 1997.
 
Diakité, Baba Wagué. The magic gourd. New York : Scholastic Press, 2003.
 
Feelings, Muriel L. Jambo means hello : Swahili alphabet book. New York : Dial Press, c1974.
 
Foster, Leila Merrell. Africa. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2006.
 
Fowles, Shelley. The bachelor and the bean. New York : Farrar, Straus Giroux, 2003.
 
Gershator, Phillis. Zzzng! zzzng! zzzng! : a Yoruba tale. New York : Orchard Books, 1998.
 
Gibbons, Gail. Elephants of Africa. New York : Holiday House, c2008.
 
Haskins, James. African beginnings. New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1998.
 
Haskins, James. Count your way through Zimbabwe. Minneapolis : Millbrook Press, c2007.
 
Kalman, Bobbie. Explore Africa. New York : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2007.
 
Knight, Margy Burns. Africa is not a country. Brookfield, Conn. : Millbrook Press, c2000.
 
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Musical group). Gift of the tortoise a musical journey through Southern Africa / [compact disc] :. Redway, CA : 1994. 1 sound disc :
 
Lewin, Ted. Gorilla walk. New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1999.
 
Lottridge, Celia Barker. The name of the tree : a bantu folktale. New York : M.K. McElderry Books, c1990.
 
Matthews, Jo. I remember Somalia. Austin, Tex. : Raintree Steck-Vaughn, c1995.
 
Medearis, Angela Shelf. Too much talk. Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 1995.
Misoso : once upon a time tales from Africa. New York : Knopf :, c1994.
 
Mollel, Tololwa M. The orphan boy : a Maasai story. New York : Clarion Books, c1990.
 
Musgrove, Margaret. Ashanti to Zulu : African traditions. New York : Dial Press, c1976.
 
Nivola, Claire A. Planting the trees of Kenya : the story of Wangari Maathai. New York : Farrar,
Straus, and Giroux, c2008.
 
Onyefulu, Ifeoma. A is for Africa. New York : Cobblehill Books, c1993.
 
Peffer-Engels, John. The Benin Kingdom of West Africa. New York : PowerKids Press, 1996.
 
Price, Christine. Talking drums of Africa. New York : Scribner, c1973.
 
Rake, Jody Sullivan. Meerkats. Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2008.
 
Shah, Idries. Fatima the Spinner and the tent. Boston : Hoopoe Books, 2006.
 
Spengler, Kremena. South Africa : a question and answer book. Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2007.
 
Winter, Jeanette. Wangari's trees of peace : a true story from Africa. Orlando : Harcourt, c2008.
 
Wisniewski, David. Sundiata : lion king of Mali. New York : Clarion Books, 1992. 
 
We will finish up the year with studies of Australia, then Antarctica and the Arctic Region.
 
Regena

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Medieval History 500 - 1000 AD

As I continue my ramblings to my student regarding particular personalities of this time period, I have made some additional reading suggestions.  First, regarding the Barbarian hordes:

Climo, Shirley. Stolen thunder : a Norse myth. New York : Clarion Books, c1994.
D'Aulaire, Ingri. D'Aulaires' Book of trolls. New York : New York Review of Books, 2006. (Tolkien got all his ideas from Germanic and Scandinavian lore....) 
 
D'Aulaire, Ingri. Norse gods and giants. Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1967. (I think this is a different one than the one I have....) 
Favorite fairy tales told in Germany. Boston : Little, Brown, 1959.
 
Feagles, Anita MacRae. Thor and the giants : an old Norse legend. New York : Young Scott Books, 1968. 
 
Fisher, Leonard Everett. Gods and goddesses of the ancient Norse. New York : Holiday House, 2001.
 
Grimm, Jacob. Wanda Gág's Jorinda and Joringel. New York : Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, [1978], c1947.
 
Osborne, Mary Pope. Favorite Norse myths. New York : Scholastic, 1996. (These really are not as bad as her tree house books....) 
 
Price, Sean. Attila the Hun : leader of the barbarian hordes. New York : Franklin Watts, c2009.
 
Seredy, Kate. The white stag. New York : Viking, 1937.  (Wonderful mythology of the Magyars!) 
The Norse gods. Peterborough, NH : Cobblestone Pub., 2003.
 

More on Charlemagne and his time period:

Baldwin, James. The story of Roland. New York : Scribner, 1965. (This is longer, but is a great, boybarian story - ...He cleaved him from his helm right through his horse.... and other such atrocities - It is from The Song of Roland, which was a great favorite story in medieval Europe for at least 200 years.  Here is a version online, too, at the Baldwin project - both it and the book have b/w illustrations:    http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=baldwin&book=roland&story=_contents)  It is a fabulous example of the degree of exaggeration reached by the bards concerning true events....  It is totally racist in being anti-Muslim, too, of course....)
Bhote, Tehmina. Charlemagne : the life and times of an early Medieval emperor. New York : Rosen Pub. Group, 2005. 
Charlemagne. Peterborough, NH : Cobblestone Pub., 1999. (I suggested this one earlier....) 
 
Holmes, Mary Tavener. The elephant from Baghdad. New York : Marshall Cavendish Children, 2012. (Make sure to read the notes on the true basis for this story....) 
 
Macdonald, Fiona. The world in the time of Charlemagne. Philadelphia : Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. (I think I already suggested this one....) 
 
Manson, Christopher. The Marvellous blue mouse. New York : H. Holt, c1992.

Also, I decided at this time that a review of the beginnings of the Muslim world were in order, so suggested a review of SOTW chs. 6, 7, and 12, along with these books:

Demi. Muhammad. New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003. 
Ganeri, Anita. Islamic stories. Minneapolis, MN : Picture Window Books, 2006. 
 
Heiligman, Deborah. Celebrate Ramadan & Eid al-fitr. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, 2006.
 
Marston, Elsa. Muhammad of Mecca : prophet of Islam. New York : Franklin Watts, c2001.
 
Wallace, Holly. Islam. Hauppauge, NY : Barrons Educational Series, Inc., 2006.


Here's a little piece I pulled about the Song of Roland:

"The Song of Roland: The poem, The Song of Roland, was written around 1100 CE. It is a story in poem form about  Charlemagne and two of his advisors, one of which is a brave and fearless warrior named Roland. Charlemagne was an incredibly popular subject for poems and ballads. He was such a colorful character. Many were also written about Charlemagne's 12 paladins - his 12 advisors - his council of warriors. Over time, the word paladin began to mean any hero in medieval Europe. 
The Song of Roland was especially popular because the bad guys in the poem were Muslims. As the poem goes, in spite of the magical horn Roland used to call his men to battle, the huge Moslem army surrounded Roland and his small band of men, and all were lost. When Charlemagne heard about it, he called upon God to help him, and destroyed the Muslim army in revenge.
         
This very famous 4,000 line poem was written right before the crusades. Since the crusaders were leaving to fight the Muslims, for the church and God, this poem really hit home. The popularity of The Song of Roland gave birth to a great many fanciful stories about the paladins in Charlemagne's time, as well as the paladins of this time, the time of great Crusaders."
 
This is from one of Mr. Donn's wonderful websites.  I didn't like all the commercials for games, etc. that were on the site page, so just cut and pasted the actual info....  He has tons of history info online for kids....
 
Here are some "fun facts" about Song of Roland, along with a quiz:
 
 
And after reading The White Stag, here's a little about the Magyars online:
 
 
 
Hopefully, I will finish up my ramblings this week and move us back into SOTW at the point of the Norman invasion, which is where we left off there....
 
Regena
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