Balloons over Broadway

Transcription

1 A RIF GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY COORDINATORS Before reading: Has anyone in the group ever seen or been to the Macy s Parade? What about another parade? What was the parade like? Who was in the parade? What was it for? What s the point of a parade? RELATED ACTIVITIES TECHNOLOGY LINK (ALL AGES) Watch this clip of a marionette puppet show: Then watch this clip of the 1939 Macy s Parade: How are the puppets and the balloons alike? RUBE GOLDBERG CONTEST (AGES 8-12) Materials: whatever you have around the center A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that performs a very simple task. Tony s pulley system for feeding the chickens is like a very simple Rube Goldberg machine. Divide the children into teams and have them compete to make some more complicated ones! Pick an easy task (like knocking a cup over), then have children set up a complex chain reaction of as many steps as possible to complete it. Use only what you find around the center. First team to complete the task with their machine wins! (Watch to see a sample machine.) BALLOONS ON PARADE (AGES 6-12) Materials: balloons, markers, tape, rods (unsharpened pencils or straws) Hold a balloon parade at your center! Give children a number of balloons in different colors and sizes to blow up. (Younger children may need help inflating balloons.) Have the children tape the balloons together to make animals, like dragons or tigers. Let them decorate with markers. Tape rods to the balloon animals at each end so children can carry them. When every child has a balloon, put on some music and hold your own parade! ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR Carmine: A Little More Red (2008), Fiddle-I-Fee (2002), Tupelo Rides the Rails (2008). TECHNOLOGY LINK FOR KIDS

2 A RIF GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS Content Connections: Math, Science, Social Studies, Art BEFORE WE READ, LET S LOOK AT The Cover: See if the students can predict what the book is about based on the title and cover illustrations. Where is Broadway? What is the Macy s Parade? Have any students ever been to the parade or watched it on television? The Pictures: Briefly flip through a few pages. Based on the pictures, what does the main character do? Do the students know what a puppeteer is? Prior Knowledge: Ask students what they know about puppets. Can they give any examples of puppets? Explain that puppetry is actually an ancient art form practiced around the world. A marionette is a special kind of puppet controlled from above by strings. To familiarize students with the Macy s Parade, have them watch this clip of the 1939 parade: (or Vocabulary: marionette, gear, pulley, immigrant, helium Purpose for Reading: As we read, think about the different problems Tony faces and how he solves each one. WHILE WE READ MONITORING COMPREHENSION u Why does Tony s father stop making him do chores? u Why does Macy s begin putting on a parade? u What does the first parade look like? u Why does Macy s want to replace the animals? u What makes the balloons float? LET S THINK ABOUT Our Purpose: How does Tony solve each of the problems he faces? How does he use his different interests, skills, and knowledge to come up with creative solutions? Extending Our Thinking: Watch this clip of the 2011 parade: (or this 2010 clip: How is today s parade different from the parade in 1939? How is it the same? Why do you think it s changed? How will the parade look in 70 more years? NOTE TO EDUCATORS u Extension Activities for Educators also available. u Vocabulary Scaffolding Sheet also available.

3 A RIF GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES Before reading, build background knowledge: Has your child ever seen or been to the Macy s Parade? What about another parade? What was it like? While reading, make connections: How does Tony use the things he s interested in and the things he s good at to solve problems with the parade? After reading, ask questions: u Why does Tony love to make things move? u How does the Macy s Parade start? u Why does Tony invent the balloons? u What other celebrations or holidays have parades? RELATED ACTIVITIES MACY S DAY PARADE FLOAT Ingredients: lemon sherbet and fizzy lemonade Everyone loves a good float! Fill a glass halfway with fizzy lemonade and top with a scoop of low-calorie lemon sherbet or vanilla frozen yogurt. Enjoy! (You can also use more traditional flavors like vanilla ice cream and soda, though that version is less healthful.) RUBE GOLDBERG Materials: whatever you have around the house A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that performs a very simple task. Tony s pulley system for feeding the chickens is like a very simple Rube Goldberg machine. Help your child make a more complex one! Pick an easy task (knocking a cup over, for example), and then help your child set up a complex chain reaction of as many steps as possible to complete it. Use only what you find around the house. (Watch to see a sample machine.) BALLOON ANIMALS Materials: balloons, markers, tape, rods (unsharpened pencils or straws) Let your child create a parade balloon! Blow up a number of balloons in different colors and sizes. Tape them together to make an animal, like a dragon or a tiger. Decorate with markers. Tape rods to the balloon animal at each end so you can carry it. Make more than one and have your own parade! TECHNOLOGY LINK Watch this clip of a marionette puppet show: Then watch this clip of the 1939 Macy s Parade: How are the puppets and the balloons alike? ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR Carmine: A Little More Red (2008), Fiddle-I-Fee (2002), Tupelo Rides the Rails (2008).

4 RIF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS THINK-TAC-TOE ACTIVITY OPTIONS u Individual students can choose an activity to complete. u Student pairs or cooperative groups can work together on a choice of their own. u Educator can assign an activity for an individual, pairs, or groups. FLEW THE COOP Tony figures out how to feed the chickens without leaving his bed. Design a machine to help you do one of your chores. Make an advertising brochure to sell your machine. Include a labeled drawing and be sure to explain how it works! PULLING THE STRINGS Put on your own puppet show! Pick a book you ve read in class this year. Retell the story with puppets! Write a short script. Use what you have in your classroom or your hands to make puppets. Draw your set on a large sheet of paper. Perform your show for the rest of the class! Can they guess the story you picked without hearing the title? GAS CAN Helium is the gas that makes balloons float. It s actually lighter than air! What are some other gasses? Find at least 5 other gasses and what we use them for. Do we use any of them in balloons? Share your findings on a poster or in a PowerPoint. Writing, Science, Engineering HE S GONE! Uh-oh, looks like there s a shortage of helium we can t use balloons in the parade this year! What can we do? Like Tony does, use your skills and hobbies to come up with a way to solve this problem. Write a story or draw a comic strip about how you saved the Macy s Parade. Science, Writing KEEP IT SIMPLE Tony uses pulleys to make his puppets work. A pulley is a simple machine. What are the 5 other simple machines? Using materials in the classroom, make a model of each of the 6 simple machines. Label each machine! Art, Writing EN ROUTE The path a parade takes is called a route. Plan the route for a parade through your town. Go to and type in your town. With this guide, draw a map of your parade route. Make your route about 2.6 miles, like the Macy s Parade. Pick a good starting and ending where people can line up to see! Label your map. Technology, Art, Geography, Social Studies HANDLE WITH CARE Each year, the parade has 50 balloons and 1,600 balloon handlers. If each balloon has the same number of handlers, how many handlers does each balloon have? What if 10 balloons had 20 handlers each and the rest of the balloons had the same number? How many handlers would the rest of the balloons have? Science ON PARADE Parades are popular worldwide. Find at least 5 different cultural holidays or celebrations with parades. What is the holiday about? Where and how is it celebrated? Who celebrates? Are there puppets or floats? Share your findings in a poster, brochure, or PowerPoint. Art, Social Studies ROD-ICAL Tony is inspired by an Indonesian rod puppet. Make your own simple rod puppet by drawing an animal figure on paper and cutting it out. On the back of the figure, write a few basic facts about Indonesia: location, population, capital, etc. Glue or tape a pencil to your figure as a rod. Engineering, Art Math Art, Social Studies STEAM-THEMED: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math