10/9/2015: Anniversary of the First Two-Way Telephone Conversation

Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Thomas A. Watson held the first two-way long-distance conversation on October 9, 1876, when they spoke to each other by telephone over a two-mile wire stretched between Cambridge and Boston. 

Earlier that same year, On February 14, Bell and an American engineer named Elisha Gray both filed patents with the U.S. Patent Office for early telephones. There is debate about who got there first but Bell received the patent, and a few days later he succeeded in getting his telephone to work using elements similar to those of Gray’s.

Do your students enjoy learning about famous inventors? My first-grade Level F reader Alexander Graham Bell combines reading and social studies activities to provide interesting facts about Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. Your students will build their vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension as they read the story, answer questions, and have fun with the puzzle!

6/23/2015: It is Almost Time to Celebrate Independence Day!

We are now officially into summer, and well into the month of June! Flag Day and Juneteenth, have past, soon it will be time to celebrate the Fourth of July!

This is a great time to study some important figures from the early history of the United States, such as the Founding Fathers.

My  five-page Level O reader The Founding Fathers is a wonderful resource to bring information about life in the American colonies about the founders of the United States into your classroom.  The book comes with three accompanying worksheets to help reinforce literacy skills involving reading comprehension, language, spelling, and writing.   

Francis Scott Key is another significant figure from the early history of our country. During the War of 1812, on September 13–14, 1814, Francis Scott Key  watched Fort McHenry being bombed by the British forces in the Battle of Baltimore.  In the morning, Key could see that the American flag was still flown over Fort McHenry, showing that the Americans had not lost possession of it. This inspired Key to write a poem, which became “The Star-Spangled Banner”  Learn more about Francis Scott Key with your class with my book  Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner: First Grade - Level I Reader.  

This first grade Level I reader gives students the interesting background of the United States national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".   Francis Scott Key and the American Flag are also featured in my First Grade Level I – Set 2 book set.  

Your class can learn more about some of America’s other important Founding Fathers in my third grade level O reader Ben Franklin - A Man with an Electric Personality

my first-grade Level G reader Ben Franklin, my second grade Level L reader John Hancock and a Study of Pronouns.  Your students will learn more about The Liberty Bell, and The United States Flag in my set of leveled books Social Studies Topics - Leveled Books: First Grade Levels H/I

6/22/2015: Interesting Inventors

June is a wonderful time to study inventors with your class!  On June 10, 1752 Benjamin Franklin famously flew a kite during a thunderstorm.  When his kite was struck by lightning he collected the charge in a Leyden jar (a vessel for storing static electricity between two electrodes)  This allowed Franklin to demonstrate electricity in lightning.

In Benjamin Franklin, my first-grade Level G reader, students will learn about this famous American  statesman, writer, printer, scientist, and inventor.

My other original books on inventors include my first-grade level F reader Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Alexander Graham Bell- Inventor of the Telephone, and Robert Fulton - Steamboat Inventor.  

10/9/2014: Anniversary of the first telephone conversation

On October 9, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson held the first wire conversation when they spoke to each other by telephone over a two-mile wire stretched between Cambridge and Boston.

My first-grade Level F reader Alexander Graham Bell combines reading and social studies activities to provide interesting facts about Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. Your students will build their vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension as they read the story, answer questions, and have fun with the criss cross puzzle.

3/3/2014 Happy Women's History Month: Helen Keller Meets Anne Sullivan

It is now officially the month of March, Women’s History Month!

On this date in 1887 the famous activist, speaker, and writer Helen Keller met her longtime teacher and companion Anne Sullivan for the first time, when Keller was six years old and Sullivan was twenty.  Helen Keller was left deaf and blind after an illness when she was only a year old.  Helen Keller’s parents were advised by a doctor to visit the inventor and scientist Alexander Graham Bell.  Bell put them in touch with a school for the blind, and the director asked former student Sullivan, who was visually impaired herself, to tutor Keller.   Sullivan taught Keller how to spell word, and the read and write, by having Keller touch different objects and then writing the words on her hand.  

Eventually, Helen Keller learned to speak, as well as learning how to read braille and use sign language.  Your class can learn more about Helen Keller’s life and accomplishments in my original reader Helen Keller: Spelling W-A-T-E-R.  This third-grade level O reader comes with five companion worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling, and writing. Specific concepts, skills, and vocabulary targeted in this reader are listed on the first page of the story.

Another of my original readers, Alexander Graham Bell - Inventor of the Telephone is a first-grade Level F reader that provides interesting facts about Alexander Graham Bell.  

Helen Keller: Spelling W-A-T-E-R is one of the books in the collection "Famous Women in History - Leveled Books for Grades 2 - 4" which features stories about eight women and their contributions to history, perfect for celebrating Women’s History Month:

Amelia Earhart - Airplane Pilot (level L)

Abigail Adams - First Lady & Crusader for People’s Rights (level L)

Clara Barton - Founder of the American Red Cross (level N)

Maria Mitchell - Astronomer (level N)

Helen Keller - Inspirational Speaker (level O)

Ellen Ochoa - Astronaut (level P)

Laura Ingalls Wilder - Pioneer and Author (level P)

Millie Hughes-Fulford - Scientist in Space (level R)

2/7/2014 Creativity and Inventors

What makes a person creative?  It is a trait that we are born with, or can it be taught and learned?  According to a recent story in the New York Times “Once considered the product of genius or divine inspiration, creativity — the ability to spot problems and devise smart solutions — is being recast as a prized and teachable skill. Pin it on pushback against standardized tests and standardized thinking, or on the need for ingenuity in a fluid landscape….Traditional academic disciplines still matter, but as content knowledge evolves at lightning speed, educators are talking more and more about “process skills,” strategies to reframe challenges and extrapolate and transform information, and to accept and deal with ambiguity.”  Creative Studies is becoming increasingly popular as a course and field of study at colleges and universities across the country.  

It is never too early to begin to encourage students to develop their of creative potential.    

February is a particularly great time to bring inventors into your lessons to inspire your students to explore their own innovative ideas for inventions.  Do you plan on including Garrett Morgan in your lessons for Black History month?  My first-grade level F reader Garrett Morgan: Inventor, will describe to your students the important inventions this great African-American inventor made, including the traffic signal light. This is one of the books contained in the collection of leveled readers entitled "Famous African-Americans in U.S. History, Leveled Books for Grades 1 – 3."

February 11th is the birthday of birthday of Thomas Edison.  My first-grade level E reader “Thomas Edison: Inventor” will teach your students interesting facts while they will build their vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension.  Benjamin Franklin recently had a birthday, on January 17th.  In Benjamin Franklin, my first-grade Level G reader, students will learn about this famous American  statesman, writer, printer, scientist, and inventor. 

Combining reading and social studies activities, this first-grade Level F reader provides interesting facts about Alexander Graham Bell- Inventor of the Telephone. Your students will build their vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension as they read the story, answer questions, and have fun with the criss cross puzzle.  My second-grade leveled reader "Robert Fulton - Steamboat Inventor" provides a brief history of Robert Fulton's life and his love for invention. Steamboats, a submarine, and canal systems were some of the projects he worked on during his lifetime. I hope that you enjoy exploring inventions and inspiring creativity in your own classroom.