Dec / Jan 2020

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This 8.5-minute CBS News segment gives a fact-packed overview of the puffins and Puffin Patrol of Iceland. (Around the 4-minute mark you’ll see a puffin hunt!)

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Learn more about the life of a puffling - that’s a baby puffin - in this adorable 3.5-minute clip of a puffling seeing the world for the very first time. 

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Puffling Patrol by Ted and Betsy Lewin is an illustrated account of the authors’ trip to the island off the coast of Iceland featured in our story. 

Fun Fact

Puffins’ beaks change color during the year, changing from grey in the winter to bright orange in the spring! The dazzling color change is just in time for mating season to help puffins evaluate potential mates. 

From the Storyworks Jr. archives

Read the nonsense poem “3 Little Puffins.”

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Meet treasure hunter Barry Clifford in this nearly 3-minute video and learn what it felt like to find the Whydah, and what his favorite piece of the loot is. (It’s not gold or silver!)

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Learn about Sam Bellamy and why he was known as “The Prince of Pirates” in this 4.5-minute reenactment of his story.

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In this 2-minute clip from the Whydah Pirate Museum’s Instagram, divers work to recover a cannon from the wreck of the Whydah.

Fun Fact 

Sam Bellamy is thought to be the highest-earning pirate in history! He stole treasure worth more than $120 million (in today’s dollars) during his lifetime. 

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This fascinating 2.5-minute clip shows George Washington’s actual dentures from his Mount Vernon home. Learn what they were made of and why he only had one of his original teeth by the time he became president.

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We love the animation in this 5-minute TED-Ed video about what causes cavities. We bet it’ll inspire your kids to brush a little harder tonight!

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This CDC infographic explains in simple language how fluoride in water helps protect our teeth from cavities.

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How clean were medieval people? Learn about their physical and dental hygiene in this 4-minute animated video filled with unusual facts. (Note: This is sponsored by Dollar Shave Club; you can end the video before the ad at the 3:30 mark.)

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Share the inspiration for Those Shoes in this Q&A with author Maribeth Boelts (scroll down about ⅔ of the way). 

Fun Fact

Author Maribeth Boelts is a beekeeper, even though she says she has “never gotten used to the stings.” Her new book, Kaia and the Bees, comes out in March 2020. 

Teach This

Ask your students about the difference between wanting something and needing something. What is something they thought they needed but really just desired?

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Bert and Ernie of “Sesame Street” recreate their very own Gift of the Magi in this heartwarming 9-minute video with a twist ending. 

Fun Fact

In order to honor the talent and life of the author O. Henry, his grave in North Carolina is often covered in pennies because of the importance of pennies in The Gift of the Magi. 

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Jim’s pocket watch is one of his most prized possessions and an important piece of this story. Show your students this video about the evolution of the watch, from the sundial to the smartwatch.

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Our debate mentions the nonprofit Common Sense Media. You might show the site to your students. Together you can look up ratings for other video games, movies, TV shows, or books. Do you agree with the rating? Why or why not? 

Fun Fact

TikTok gained 500 million monthly active users in two years. By comparison, it took Instagram six years to reach the same amount of users. 

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Selah’s dad took videos of much of their climb up El Capitan. In this 2.5-minute “Inside Edition” clip, they scale the mountain, and Selah explains what inspires her to keep going when she’s tired. 

Fun Fact

Selah climbed El Capitan’s “Nose,” which at 2,900 feet is taller than the world’s tallest building, in Dubai. 

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This infographic shows the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent. Climbing to the top of all seven is an impressive mountaineering challenge. 

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In this entertaining 3.5-minute NBC News video, poet and illustrator Douglas Florian talks about what makes a good poem and what his creative process is like. 

Teach This 

Douglas Florian is also an abstract painter! Check out his colorful masterpieces with your students. Some are 8 feet high.

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Meet illustrator Robert Neubecker who talks about how his life and children inspired his work in this series of 10 brief interviews (the first few are the most engaging for kids).