SimonSays.com
 |
Milestone
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
Teaching Guide
|
|
 |
|
MILESTONE BOOKS The People and Events That Changed History An Aladdin Guide for Teachers DISCUSSION TOPICS 1. The people featured in Milestone Books all display courage. What does the word courage mean to you? Name some courageous people living today. Do you have to be a leader to be courageous? Describe a moment when you feel that you acted with courage. 2. Recognizing problems and working to change them can bring about milestone moments for many people. For example, Cesar Chavez saw that Mexican-American farm laborers were being treated unfairly, so he organized a union to help protect their rights. Describe a problem explored in the book you have just read. How does the book's hero or heroine work to change the problem? Is he or she successful? 3. The people in Milestone Books were sometimes judged based on their gender (Nellie Bly), physical characteristics (Abraham Lincoln), or ethnic background (Cesar Chavez). This is discrimination. What role did discrimination (against themselves or people around them) play in the life of the person about whom you have just read? How do you feel about discrimination? 4. Understanding what the world was like in the time of Abraham Lincoln, Nellie Bly, Cesar Chavez, or other historical figures, helps us to understand what they accomplished. Find passages in the book that describe what life was like in their time in history. How do these descriptions compare to the way we live today? 5. In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln vowed that "...government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Imagine his words being read by a person from another Milestone Book. How might they apply them to their own lives and ideals? 6. The historical figures discussed in Milestone Books are both praised and criticized for their beliefs and actions. How was the person you read about seen by those around him or her? Did the opinions of others change his or her actions? How do other people's opinions affect the way you speak or behave? How do you feel about this? 7. Abraham Lincoln spent a great deal of time thinking about what his actions and words should be during a very difficult time in America's history. Look back through the text to see how Lincoln thought through his plan for the Gettysburg Address. What were his concerns? What did he want to achieve with his words? Why did he say so little the night before? What made his short speech the next day so memorable? 8. Did Abraham Lincoln's lack of formal education, Cesar Chavez's childhood experience as a migrant farm laborer, or the death of Nellie Bly's father affect these individuals later in life? Do you think these early difficulties helped them achieve great things as adults? Why or why not? Do you think these people would have achieved the same things in life had their childhoods been easy? Explain your opinion. 9. The individuals in Milestone Books became heroes to many people. What does it mean to be a hero? Do you think the person in the book set out to become a hero or realized they had become a hero? What do you think it would feel like to be a hero or heroine to a group, a nation, or the world? What is the difference between a hero and a celebrity? Try to name two or three modern-day heroes and the same number of modern-day celebrities. Is it easier to think of the names of heroes or celebrities? Would you rather be a hero or a celebrity? Why? 10. What is the best quality, or character trait, of the person about whom you just read? Would you like to have this quality? How do you think this quality would help you in your own life? 11. Would you recommend the Milestone Book you have just read to another reader? What do you think he or she would learn from reading this book? Do you think today's leaders would benefit from reading the book? If yes, why and to what world leader would you like to loan your copy of this book? 12. The people in Milestone Books made a difference in their world. What kind of difference would you like to make in the world? How could you achieve this goal?
1. Have students write and illustrate poems or paragraphs about the courage of the individual they have just read about. 2. Ask students to imagine that they are friends of the key figure in the book. Have students write letters to Abraham Lincoln, Nellie Bly, or Cesar Chavez, giving them encouragement and offering their opinions or advice. 3. Have students outline facts about a given historical period as described in the book. Then, individually or in small groups, students can learn more about the period by researching a topic of particular interest to them. Topics may include ideas and beliefs, transportation and technology, daily life, food, fashions, sports, or even popular books or games of the period. Compile the research into a class presentation or hold a "Turn Back the Clock" day in your classroom. Students can come to school dressed in period costumes, participate in games or activities that would have been popular during that period, eat old-fashioned snacks, and make presentations about life in the past. 4. Milestone Books focus on the lives of key historical figures during the time that they made their important contributions to the world. Have students review the text to find clues about the early lives of these famous figures. Then, go to the school library or online to learn more about their childhoods. 5. Have students imagine they are Nellie Bly during her time in the asylum, Cesar Chavez during his hunger strike, Abraham Lincoln riding through the battlefield on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address, or another Milestone Books figure at a critical or dangerous moment. Then, ask students to write short paragraphs about how they, as these important figures, are feeling at that moment. 6. Have students pack for a present-day trip around the world, similar to the trip taken by Nellie Bly. On large sheets of paper or poster board, have students draw pictures, cut images from magazines or catalogs, or write lists of what they would pack for their trip. Using a map, globe, or travel software, plan a route for the journey. Have each student name the place they would most like to visit on a trip around the world and give a short presentation to the class about their choice. 7. Cesar Chavez was influenced by the nonviolent methods of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., called "passive resistance." Have students stage a nonviolent protest to support Chavez by sitting in a circle on the floor outside the imaginary entrance to a farm known for its poor treatment of migrant workers. Remind students that Chavez's protesters were sometimes harassed, beaten, and even arrested. While sitting, student "protesters" can write journal entries about their experience, explaining why they support Chavez, what it feels like to participate in this protest, whether they fear being beaten or arrested, and what they hope their protest will accomplish. Afterward, invite students to share their opinions about passive resistance as a means of fixing a problem. 8. How did Nellie Bly come up with her clever stories? Have students look back through the text to get clues to the way she found her story ideas. Then ask students to pretend to be newspaper reporters like Nellie. Ask each student to write a short proposal for an article they think would interest their readers. Proposals should include a strong title for the article, a plan for researching the article, and perhaps, a clever pen name for the author! Students can then role-play meeting with their editor (teacher) to make the case for their stories. 9. Get a handle on history by making a classroom time line. Choose a scale for the time line (such as _ inch per year). Use a ruler to mark the years along the top edge of a long piece of paper. Then plot the key historical dates (including birth dates) for the people featured in Milestone Books. Students can plot the dates of other historical events, important inventions and discoveries, and birth dates of other historical figures they study. Using your inches-to-years scale, have students measure backward to plot points for the age of dinosaurs (perhaps on another wall of your classroom). Finish the timeline with a "look into the future" area where students make guesses about inventions and events that will happen in decades to come! 10. Read the newspaper with your class. Have students collect articles about important political figures, activists, scientists, writers, etc. Individually, or in small groups, have students write article summaries on index cards, making sure to highlight the names of key people. Allow students to review the cards as a group. What are the "milestone moments" taking place in our day and age? 11. Explain that the word milestone originally meant a stone marker placed on a roadway. Have students bring in large, flat stones (or make them from paper and cardboard) on which to paint their favorite "Milestone" character's faces. Collect them for a classroom display. 12. Today, the word milestone also means a significant point in time. Make a class brainstorm list of milestone moments and the people who make them. Which of these moments would students like to see a Milestone Book about and why? Take a class vote to choose the person about whom most students would like to read a Milestone Book, then have students think of a powerful title for their story. If desired, the class can create their own Milestone Book based on the winner of the vote. Or write a Milestone Books-style story about a valued member of your present-day community to display in your local library or community center.
When young readers are able to make the connection between important historical events and their own present-day lives and concerns, learning about the world is transformed from a rote classroom exercise into an exciting and very real adventure. Milestone Books aid in this transformation by presenting a wealth of sophisticated information in a well-organized and easy-to-read chapter format. Neither simple biographies nor basic historical surveys, each Milestone Book is written with consideration for several key elements: a historical moment in time, an individual or individuals who made key contributions to this moment, the personal experience of that individual, and the opinions and reactions of the people who populated their world at that time. This multilayered structure helps young readers see parallels between a given historical moment and their own time, to identify the very human qualities of the heroes, and to begin to understand how one person's ideas and actions can impact their world. As they guide elementary students toward a deeper, richer understanding of the past, these books are, in themselves, milestone achievements in the presentation of history for the newly fluent reader. An all-star roster of award-winning children's book authors have lent their talents to this series, ensuring that each book is full of vital information, vibrantly presented. Milestone Books depict historical figures and their worlds in such vivid detail that today's young readers will be unable to forget them. READ THEM ALL!
A Three-Minute Speech: Lincoln's Remarks at Gettysburg
Cesar Chavez: A Hero for Everyone
Nellie Bly: A Name to Be Reckoned With Look for these forthcoming titles:
The Alamo Available wherever books are sold.
Aladdin Paperbacks This reading group guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.
Guide ISBN: 0-689-02992-6
|
