May / June 19

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Meet this adorable wolf duo from the Wolf Conservation Center in New York! This 45-second video explains how keeping pups clean strengthens the bond between a wolf mom and her pup. 

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Just like babies have different kinds of cries, wolves have different howls. Play for your students these audio clips of howls, each serving a different purpose. 

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Cuteness overload! Check out this almost 4-minute video of two wolf pups playing in the wild. This is a great way to show that wolves aren’t always scary.    

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This story can lead to earth science and geography lessons about Yellowstone National Park. This list of cool questions visitors ask Yellowstone Park rangers will make your lesson easier and even more inspiring.    

From the Storyworks Jr. Archives    

You can make a science connection with our story about Gitanjali Rao, the young girl who invented a water-testing device to help the people of Flint, Michigan.    

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Let your students get to know Mari by showing them this 3-minute video where she talks about her activism. You’ll also get background information on the Flint water crisis.    

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Help your students better understand what goes into building a well by showing them this uplifting 5-minute video of the charity: water team building a well in Ethiopia. For an added geography element, show them Ethiopia on Google Earth.    

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Share this 3-page infographic with kid-friendly tips on how to save water. You can even print it and post it in your classroom!    

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Have your students entered our writing contests? Our contests are a fun way to boost writing skills. For tips on how to make entries stand out, read this post from our Ideabook blog!    

Fun Fact    

The inspiration for our play came to us from Ricardo Alegría’s book Cuentos folclóricos de Puerto Rico, in which he compiled some of the island’s folktales that have been passed down through generations. Alegría was a Puerto Rican journalist, cultural anthropologist, and archaeologist. He was responsible for establishing museums, rebuilding towns, and preserving historical landmarks in Puerto Rico.    

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You can help your students better understand some of El Yunque by playing this 3-minute video from CNN. Share this map of Puerto Rico too. 

Fun Fact    

The frog in our play was based on the coquí. The coquí is found mainly in El Yunque rainforest and is the official symbol of the Puerto Rico. It gets its name from the sound the male frog makes in the evenings (ko-KEE). Listen to this one-minute soundbite! 

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Find more amazing artwork from the illustrator of this play, Alexander Vidal. Which illustrations do your students like best?    

Fun Fact    

Students might be surprised to hear that Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since 1898. Spanish and English are both official languages. 

From the Storyworks Jr. Archives    

Your subscription gives you access to past articles about Titanic, including a narrative nonfiction article about the sinking of the ship’s first and only voyage, and a short nonfiction story about a cracker that survived the sinking!    

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In this nearly 5-minute video you’ll see fascinating footage of the Titanic before its 1912 departure, including clips of the captain himself, baggage being loaded onto the ship, and passengers waving goodbye.    

Fun Fact    

Building Titanic 2 is reported to cost $500 million. The original ship cost $7.5 million--which is equal to roughly $180 million in today’s dollars.   

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We’ve got a Titanic poem written from the point of view of the ship herself, which can lead to a lesson about personification    

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Curious to know more about bringing Mix It Up at Lunch Day to your school? This checklist breaks it down for you.

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Ask your students: If you had to sit at a new table today, how could you start a conversation with the other kids? Brainstorm fun questions together, such as “What would you do if you won $100?” “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” 

Fun Fact    

There’s a school in Michigan where students eat outside every single day “unless there is a thunderstorm, a torrential downpour, or severe sub-zero temperatures,” according to the school’s website. Would your students want to eat outside every day if they could?

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Did you have trouble during lunchtime when you were a student? Did one of your own children? You might relay your experiences to the class and invite them to share their own.

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Ask your students whether they can relate to Trina. Would they have told the same “whoppers” she did if they were in her situation? 

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“Glow” is one of three friendship-themed stories in this issue. We’ve also got True Colors, a play based on a Puerto Rican folktale, and “Friends Forever,” about girls who shaved their heads in support of their BFF who lost her hair while undergoing chemotherapy. 

 

 

 

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If your students were blown away by our nonfiction story, “Saving America’s Wolves,” show them this 1.5-minute video of synchronized howling! 

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“The Wolf” is a serious poem that uses mood and rhyme, but we’ve also got a nonsense poem that focuses on the same structures. Share it for a compare and contrast poetry lesson! 

Fun Fact    

The poet, Georgia Roberts Durston, wrote several Boy Scout books in the 1900s under the pseudonym Col. George Durston. 

 

Fun Fact    

The principal at Marley’s, Kaylee’s, and Grace’s school had lifted the no-hat rule for the girls, and allowed them to wear hats to school. This helped them feel less self-conscious. 

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You might want to share with your students that they can donate their hair to children who need to wear a wig during illness. This article, from a woman who’s donated her hair four times, clearly explains the process.