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Hosting Your Own Pet Show: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians
How to Host a Pet Show!
With the help of reading consultant Rachael Walker, we’ve come up with the enclosed classroom guide to help introduce your kids to fresh descriptive and action words (and, of course, to Julia, Charles and Rexie). Whether you’re using photos of pets, stuffed animals, or drawings of dream pets, you can put together a quick, interactive classroom activity. Just click here to download your newpetguidepdf and find out what your students think are the best things about their pets.
Students can talk about imaginary pets…
Make your own awards or use our template.
or bring in photos of real ones!
Posted in classroom activities, classroom visits, librarians, teacher guides, teachers
Tagged cats, classroom, classroom activities, dogs, icebreakers, pet show
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Wanted: A few good pets
In How to Behave at a Dog Show, Julia and Charles learn that their dog, Rexie, is not exactly best-in-show material. But he’s best at lots of other things. We’re betting your pet is best at something, too. Something quirky. Something sweet or mischievous or cool. Something that makes your pet the best pet for YOU.
For instance, I’ve got a candidate for Best Plumber right here:
We’d love for you to share your photos of your pets doing what they’re best at on our new tumblr page: bestinsomethingpets.tumblr.com. We’ll be publicizing this more as we get closer to our pub date (9.15.15) but until then, we’re slowly introducing the page to our animal-loving friends. We’d love to have some photos on there by the time we tell readers to tune in, so if you have the inclination, please submit!
Posted in cats, dogs, heather ross, how to behave at a dog show, pets
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Summer Writing Journal: Week 11
Yipes: How did the season get by us so fast? The first thing you should do this week is make a list of anything you still want to do. Splash around in a creek? Find the best lemonade? Is there anything left on your list? And the second thing you should do is make a list of anything you still want to write.
Summer jam: Do you have a summer jam? A song you loved from this summer? Or even one you wrote yourself? What is it and why?
Reviews: What’s the best thing you’ve read lately? Write a review in a few sentences, but as always, even a few choice words are okay. (How often do you see movie reviews that just say “Exhilarating!” Sometimes, when you find the right word, it just takes one.)
Weather: What’s it like outside today? Describe the weather in as much detail as possible. Give me a metaphor. Is the air thick? How thick? What’s the grass doing? The birds? The sky? And while we’re on the sky, why don’t you go outside and sketch a cloud? (Unless you’re reading this at night. If it’s night, sketch the moon.)
I wonder: Here’s an easy way to construct a poem that will also help you figure out, when you look back on it later, what you were curious about this summer, when you were at this age, this time, this place. Start each sentence with the words “I wonder.” Then, write down all of the things you wonder about at this moment in time.
That’s fair: Summer fairs are often held in August. Did you go to one? Give us 10 words or phrases about the fair that will help set the scene. Did you see any crazy fair food? Then fashion a poem about a crazy fair food. It can be short, sweet and funny.
Tom Swifties: Have you ever heard of Tom Swifties? They’re simple sentences that play with words and puns. I wrote a blog post about them awhile back and I’d love for you to try some. Go here to learn more.
Share: If you completed any of these prompts and would like to share it, write it out in the comments.
Finish up: If you started a story, try to finish it. If you kept track of something (t-shirts, best ice cream, etc.) look back over your results. You can even try a list of summer favorites.
Keep going: Even if you’ve only done a few of these prompts, remember: It’s a start. And I hope you’ll remember, too, that just because summer’s ending doesn’t mean you have to stop writing in your journal. (It doesn’t mean you have to stop playing putt putt or drinking lemonade, either.)
Posted in summer, summer reading, summer writing
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Summer Writing Journal: Week 10
I have friends whose kids are starting back to school this week, so for some of you, summer has already ended. Still posting this week and next week, though, for those of you still plugging away.
In my room: Pick a place and write a poem about it. Your room, maybe, or a tree, or a space in your brain. It can rhyme or not. Be as vivid as possible. Remember when you’re writing, it’s the specifics that really paint the picture. Words to avoid: Pretty and beautiful.
How to: Explain how to do something in a few simple steps. How to pick a flower, for example. Use simple, direct language.
Words: I love thinking about words, so this time, I want to know: Do you have a favorite word? A word you hate? Why?
Letter time: Write to a friend this time. It can be a postcard or a longer letter. Remember, the best way to get mail (besides bills) is to send mail (besides bills).
Inventions: When we go on family car trips, I always ask everyone to try to invent something; silly things, mostly, but you never know when a silly thing might save the world. In Nanny X, there are loads of gadgets that look like items for taking care of kids, but that have a secret-agent purpose. So now it’s your turn: write down what you’d invent. If you need more of a prompt, take an item you’d use at the pool or beach, and give it a secret-agent purpose.
Exquisite Corpse: Have you ever made one of those pictures where you draw the head on a folded piece of paper, and then pass it on so someone else can draw the body — without seeing anything but the lines where the neck would connect to it? Here are some instructions on how to play this drawing game. Find a friend or family member and play. Glue your paper in your journal.
Exquisite Story: Now do the same thing with a story. Everyone writes a different sentence, but you have no idea what the sentence is before yours. This becomes more fun as you add more people.
Your story: Hoping you’ve made some real headway by now. These are the weeks where you’ll want to finish up. For those of you who want to try something bigger and longer, check out this site this fall!
Posted in summer, summer reading, summer writing, Uncategorized
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