Connecting Literature and Research through the Internet

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The Most Important Questions To Ask When Seeking Information from the Internet

WHO SAYS? WHAT ARE YOU NOT TOLD?

1. CHARLOTTE’S WEB by E. B. White. Harper ‘52: Charlotte, the spider, saves a pig from the butcher by spinning messages in her web. http://www.pigfarmer.com/index1.html; Have a debate! Should Paul Thompson be allowed to continue playing country music to his pigs or should golfers be free of noise they find annoying?

2. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE by Karen Cushman, Clarion, 1996.: See how well you would do as a Middle Ages physician at: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/medical/3.html
Research the incidence and treatment of leprosy, the plague and smallpox today.
3. MY GREAT AUNT ARIZONA by Gloria Houston: Arizona was born in a log cabin her papa built and dreamed of the faraway places she would visit one day. Instead she became a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Appalachia.; Visit: Images of Appalachia http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/ (Enter Appalachia as the search word)
List as many words as possible related to one image. Use the words to write a five senses paragraph describing the image. Include sights, sounds, tastes, smells, feelings.
4. STONE FOX by John Gardiner. Harper, 1980.: Create a Fact and Fiction Book about potatoes: http://www.dole5aday.com/encyclopedia/potato/potato_menu.html
5. NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH by Avi. Orchard Books, 1991: Activity: Who’s right? A flight attendant refuses to stop wearing an American Flag pin on her uniform (which is against the rules). See:; http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/biz/070398/biz10_10096_body.html
6. THE GIVER by Lois Lowry, Houghton Mifflin: Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html; Rank order five of the rights from most to least important.
7. HOLES Farrar, 1998: Read about animals of the desert at: http://www.mobot.org/MBGnet/sets/desert/animals/valley.htm Prepare a mystery desert animal report.; Visit the web site for Boys Town: http://www.ffbh.boystown.org Read about this place for troubled youth. Compare Boys Town with Camp Green Lake.; Read about Gila Monsters at http://www.scz.org/animals/g/gila.html Write an acrostic poem describing a Gila Monster.
8. THE FAMILY UNDER THE BRIDGE by Natatlie Savage Carlson: Homeless Armand lived under a bridge in Paris. One day upon returning to his home he found three small children had moved in.; CONNECTION; Read about what kids can do to help the homeless at this site: http://www.acekids.com/katie.html; Look at the ideas that are listed Work with a small group. See if the group can agree on the actions they would be most likely (1) to least likely (5)
9. JOHNNY TREMAIN by Esther Forbes. 1944 Yearling 1987.: Introduce a handicapped person who has accomplished great things with the mystery person report. Visit: http://geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/4071/; Write a letter from the person you read about at this site to Johnny. What would this person say?
10. OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA by Peggy Rathman.: Officer Buckle’s safety tips are winners when he takes the police dog, Gloria along! Activity: Give children half of each safety tip in the book and let them finish it. Take a safety quiz at:; http://city.wheaton.lib.il.us/pd/kids.html
11. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME by Victor Hugo.: For a creative writing experience read on the internet the tale of Quasimido’s Bell Ringer and write a new ending.; http://www.awpi.com/Combs/Shaggy/120.html
12. NOSE DROPS by Larry Shles. Jalmar, 1990: Geoffrey is a nose that has lost its face. Stories filled with visual and verbal puns. Check out the Pokemon craze at http://www.pokemon.com; Create your own trading cards with a new character.; For step-by-step lessons in drawing cartoons see:; http://www.unclefred.com
13. THE BLACK PEARL by Scott O’Dell: Ramon has never had to face the dangers of the deep. When he turns 16, he vows not only to become a diver, but to find the greatest treasure of all, the Heavenly Pearl guarded by the legendary "Manta Diablo.; VISIT: SEA MONSTER ON PARADE; http://www.parascope.com/articles/1196/monster.htm; In 1993 Louise Whitts found and took pictures of an unknown aquatic creature in Scotland. Experts can’t identify it.; SEE ALSO: SEA MONSTERS THAT WEREN’T http://www.unmuseum.mus.pa.us/seamist.htm
14. KNEEKNOCK RISE by Natalie Babbit, Farrar, 1971: If you climb the Mammoth Mountains you might meet the Megrimum! On any stormy night its anguished howls rolled down the mountain striking fear in the hearts of the villagers. So to keep it happy they held a fair each year and invited brave visitors to come. But when Egan dared to poke fun at the idea of a monster on the mountain, he received a dare...to climb the mountain and take a look.; Read about real life sightings of a modern monster, Bigfoot, in these newspaper accounts at: http://www.bfro.net/GDB/index.htm
15. THE EGYPTIAN CINDERELLA by Shirley Climo. Harper, 1997: Should she accept the Pharaoh's offer of marriage?; Read about the Egyptian queens at: http://www.geocities.com/~amenhotep/main.html
16. EARTHLY ASTONISHMENTS by Marthe Jocelyn. Dutton, 2000: Jossephine's parents exploited her midget size and sold her into life of near slavery.; Learn more about midgets at http://www.lpaonline.org; Find out who Mickey Carroll is at http://www.splashcelebritypromo.com/mickeycarroll.htm; Create a bio poem at Robert Wadlow. See: http://www.altonweb.com/history/wadlow
17. THE MOUSE OF AMHERST by Elizabeth Spires. Farrar, 1999: Here is the life of Emily Dickinson as seen through the eyes of a small, would-be poet mouse who takes up residence in a corner of her bedroom. Visit http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~emilypg/index1.html; A. Underline new words in a poem. Look them up! Now does the poem make more sense? Use the underlined words in a paragraph to describe the life of the poet.; B. Using the poet's tools: personification: Example from Dickinson; Frequently the woods are pink; Frequently are brown; Frequently the hills undress (personification); Behind my native town.; Choose something familiar in nature. Follow the pattern of Dickinson's poem to write about it.
18. THE LITTLE OLD LADIES WHO LIKED CATS by Carol Greene. Harper, 1989.: Once there was a town on a beautiful island which was kept safe by a unique ecological chain made up of cows, clover, bees, mice, cats, and the old ladies who liked them. But something happened to change the entire island! On this site you can play a game called Food Chain.; http://cascoly.com/games/food/foodmain.htm; You can nominate your cat for Pet of the Day at: http://www.petoftheday.com
19. FLOSSIE AND THE FOX by Patricia McKissack. Dial, 1989: Flossie meets a fox who would like to have the eggs she is taking to Miss Viola's. she devises a clever scheme to outwit him.; Find all kinds of interesting facts about eggs at: http://www.enc-online.org/trivia.htm; Develop an egg quiz for classmates to solve.
20. SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE by William Steig. Simon & Schuster, 1980.: Have students observe the erosion of rocks on this web site: http://www.geo.duke.edu/geo41/wea031.gif; Predict what will happen to Sylvester if he is not found by his parents.; Look at the donkey pictures at http://www.shortassets.com; Create a missing donkey ad.
21. IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A MUFFIN by Laura Numeroff. Harper, 1996.: At the end of the story have students spin the spinner and tell about the characters, the setting, their favorite part, and what they liked about the story.