Book of the Week: The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi

Today I have a real treat for you. E. Andrew Martonyi has written a book that delights and teaches at the same time. You will learn all about the 50 states, where they are in the country and lots more. Here is the trailer to give you a sneak peek.



“The Little Man in the Map” is a clever rhyming story. Meet MIM, the Man in the Map. Have fun with him as he walks you through all 50 states with simple ways to remember where they are in relation to each other.

Ed Olson did a superb job illustrating the map of the United States. With his artwork and Andrew’s rhymes you can’t help but learn US geography.

This is a wonderful book for schools and homes to have on their bookshelves. Children and adults alike will learn something new from “The Little Man in the Map.”

Lets’ see how E. Andrew Martonyi takes his book beyond reading. At the end of the story there are two pages with maps of the USA. The first has each state as it was depicted in the story to help you put the country all together the way you just learned it. The second map is a blank map of the USA and as the little man in the map says; “A blank map of the USA Plus your imagination Are all you need to learn the states – All fifty in our nation.” Here you can practice what you’ve just learned from reading the book.

In addition, over at School Side Press there are a few more things to enhance your experience. There are two coloring pages from the book (free) and a wall map you can purchase and put up on your wall.

What’s next for E. Andrew Martonyi? He’s teamed up again with MIM to teach the State Capitals.

Where can you purchase this great book?
Schoolside Press

Be sure to visit Zebee tomorrow as he’ll be talking about “Zebee’s Summer Zoo Camp” that starts today. If you haven’t signed your children up yet, it’s not too late. Hop over to our zoo camp page to sign up. This is the first week and it’s all about Meerkat Mania.

I’ll see you back here Wednesday with more ideas on making learning fun.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Bilingual Day: Learning Spanish Online

Have you ever wondered how to say something in another language but didn’t know where to turn? Do your children have friends whose first language isn’t English? Are they picking up words in a second language? Do you want to learn a second language too?

SpanishDict is a site I’ve used for several years. They will translate single words or whole sentences. What I like about it is they give you several different ways to say what you are trying to say.

For example: I typed in “Here comes the sun.” They came back with their translation as “Aqui viene el sol.” They then gave me a machine translation (Aqui venga el sol.) and Yahoo! Babel Fish translation (Aqui viene el sol.)
Why the different ways to say the same thing? Because different countries same things slightly differently from each other. Similar to the different ways we say things in different parts of the US. (soda or pop or soda pop)

Another thing this site offers is a link at the top of the page, Learn a new Spanish word each day. This is an easy way to learn words little by little.

Still another great part of this site is the Flashcard page. These are fun. Pop over there and see how you do.

There are so many things on this site, you could use it as your online school to learn Spanish. Other links here are:
Reference
Conjugation

So, if Spanish is a language you want to learn, register, set up your own page and start learning.

Have fun!

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Writing Fun: 8 Sentence Stories

So what is an 8 Sentence Story? It's a fun writing exercise. Here's how it works.

1. Write an eight word sentence.
2. Sentence two starts with the second word of the first sentence.
3. Sentence three starts with the third word of the first sentence.
4. - 8. Each sentence starts with the corresponding word from the first sentence.

Now, your eight sentence story might not make sense, or be grammatically correct, that's okay. It will get you started on a road to what might be your next story.

Do this with your children or students. You never know what you/they might come up with.

Here's one I wrote:

Danny loved sailing on the ocean with dad.
Loved the feel of the wind on his face.
Sailing was something Danny wanted to do all the time.
On the sailboat, Danny was the First mate.
The First Mate got to help the Captain sail the boat.
Ocean trips were always fun.
With dad’s help, the first thing he did was put up the sails.
Dad was a good Captain.

Now you try it and please share them here.

**Note**
Don't forget to sign up for "Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp." It starts next week.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog