PRINCIPAL'S CHALLENGE 2014

Read a book from the history period studied during the 2013-14 school year. PK and Kindergarten children may pick a favorite story to read or have read to them. Students will doone project of choice from the list below based on their reading selection:

  • Write a letter to someone telling him or her about the book (make a copy for your principal) and mail it.
  • Record a puppet show about the book and give to the principal.
  • Create a hat to illustrate the book.
  • Create a crossword puzzle about the book.
  • Create a beautiful poster about the book.
  • Record a reenactment of an excerpt from the book.
  • Create a skit about the book or a part of the book and submit the script.
  • Pretend you are a book reviewer and write a review of your book.
  • Make a collage or scrapbook about your book.
  • Compose a song or poem about your book.
  • Design a new book jacket for your book (title, author, illustrator with an drawing on front cover; short biography of the author in the back flap; summary of the book on the inside front flap; review of the book by student on back)
  • Make a pop-up book, accordion book, or create a your own book on the same story.
  • Develop a story map of the novel
  • Have another idea? Check with your principal by email.

Bible Reading (This section may be done by the student or as a family with silent reading or reading aloud.)

  • Read the Gospel of Matthew and record the number of chapters completed (PK and K, 2 chapters, all others, grade plus 2)

Math Emphasis – Each student will complete 15 exercises of Singapore math. It is highly encouraged to acquire the Singapore “B” workbook from the grade just completed (2nd thru 4th graders) or go on line and link to the free offerings of worksheets that coordinate with the Singapore curriculum and download 15 exercises of math for the appropriate grade level just completed.

Journal - 10 entries about their summer (This can include illustrations, photos, dialogue of their adventure.)

Students who have just completed PK thru 4th grade are welcome and encouraged to participate. Every student who completes all the parts of the Principal’s Challenge and turns it into his/her principal by September 4th will participate in a special Celebration Party in late September.

Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Taylor will need to read everyone’s work so it may take a couple of weeks to accomplish that task. Celebration Party will be announced by mid-September.

HOPE EVERYONE WILL PARTICIPATE AS PART OF THEIR SUMMER ACTIVITIES!!!

Suggestions for summer reading for Principal’s Challenge

These are just suggestions. Another resource would be your local librarian.

Students are to read one selection from this year’s history period (2013-14 school year) and do one project connected with the novel.

Prehistoric

* Sunset of the Saber tooth (Osborne) - Jack and Annie travel back in time, ages 4 and up

Boy of the Painted Cave (Denzel) - boy wants to be a cave painter

Egypt

* So You Want to Be an Egyptian Princess (Morley) - even has a job interview, ages 4 and up

* Mummies Made in Egypt (Aliki) - ages 4 and up

* Mummies in the Morning (Osborne) - Jack and Annie travel back in time, ages 4 and up

* Mummies and Pyramids (Osborne) - nonfiction companion book to Mummies in the Morning, ages 8 and up

* Tut's Mummy: Lost and Found (Donnelly) - discovery of King Tut's tomb, ages 5 and up

Usborne Time Travelers: Egyptian section, ages 5 and up

A Place in the Sun (Rubalcaba), ages 8 and up

Kat and the Secrets of the Nile (Bradford) Kat travels back in time to help Howard Carter excavate Tut's tomb, ages 8 and up

The Lost Diary of Tutankhamun's Mummy (Dickinson) spoof, ages 7 and up

* "Mummies Unwrapped" - video by National Geographic, ages 6 and up

Greece

* Usborne Book of Greek Mythology for Young Children - ages 4 and up

* Tales of the Trojan War (Usborne) - my kids have enjoyed it at 6yo, ages 6 and up

* Adventures of Ulysses (Usborne) - my kids have enjoyed it at 6yo, ages 6 and up

* Tales of the Odyssey (Osborne) - 6 book series, ages 8 and up

Jason and the Argonausts (Osborne) - story of Jason and the golden fleece, ages 7 and up

* Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Lasky) - picture biography about Eratosthenes, ages 4 and up

* Hour of the Olympics (Osborne) - Jack and Annie go back in time, ages 4 and

up, ages 4 and up

* Archimedes Takes a Bath (Lexan) - picture book story of Archimedes discovering the principle of water displacement, ages 4 and up

* Archimedes and the Door of Science (Bendick) - not just a biography, lots of science and very funny in parts, ages 8 and up

Lion in the Gateway (Renault) - battles between the Greeks and Persians, age 8 and up

* Alexander the Great (Green) - biography, ages 8 and up

* The Greek News (Powell), ages 8 and up

* Have a Hot Time, Hades (McMullan) - book 1 in Myth-O-Mania series, ages 8 and up

* Phone Home, Persephone (McMullan) - book 2 in Myth-O-Mania series, ages 8 and up

* Say Cheese, Medusa (McMullan) - book 3 in Myth-O-Mania series, ages 8 and up

* Nice Shot, Cupid (McMullan) - book 4 in Myth-O-Mania series, ages 8 and up

* Stop That Bull, Theseus (McMullan) - book 5 in Myth-O-Mania series, ages 8 and up

* Pandora of Athens (Denenberg) - young Greek woman meets Socrates, ages 8 and up

Rome

* Vacation under the Volcano (Osborne) - Jack and Annie go back in time, ages 4 and up

* Thieves of Ostia (Lawrence) - four children solve a mystery in ancient Rome, 1st book in a series, ages 6 and up

* Cleopatra (Stanley) - picture biography, ages 5 and up

* Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII - book ages 9 and up, video ages 6 and up

* Galen: My Life as a Roman (Moss) - ages 7 and up

* Roman News (Langley) - ages 8 and up

* Usborne Time Travelers - Roman section, ages 5 and up

* Lost Diary of Julius Caesar's Slave (Barlow and Skidmore) - spoof, ages 7 and up

* Detectives in Togas (Winterfield) - seven boys solve a mystery in ancient Rome, ages 6 and up

* Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Winterfield) - sequel to Detectives in Togas, ages 6 and up

* The Beast of Lor (Bulla) - boy finds an escaped elephant, ages 6 and up

Books to go with a study of medieval times

Europe, 500-1400

* Tales of King Arthur (Usborne) - ages 6 and up

* Black Horses for the King (McCaffrey) - Lord Artos (later known as King Arthur) seeks horses strong enough to carry his knights in full armor, ages 10 and up

* Ballad of Sir Dinadan (Morris) - one of 4 King Arthur stories by this author, excellent, ages 8 and up

* The Squire's Tale (Morris) - another King Arthur tale, ages 8 and up

* Favorite Medieval Tales (Osborne) - ages 8 and up

* "Merlin and the Dragons" - short video about Merlin as a young boy, ages 5 and up

* Usborne Time Travelers - Viking section, ages 5 and up

* Captured by Vikings (Hauger) - story of two Irish children captured and enslaved by Vikings, ages 7 and up, but pretty intense in parts

* The Saga of Erik the Viking (Jones) - historical fantasy adventure, ages 9 and up

* Favorite Norse Tales (Osborne) - ages 8 and up

* Gods and Goddesses of Vikings and Northlands (Ashworth) - ages 8 and up

* Lost Diary of Erik the Red, Viking Warrior (Barlow and Skidmore) - spoof, ages 7 and up

* Viking Ships at Sunrise (Osborne) - Jack and Annie go back in time, ages 4 and up

* Viking It and Liking It (Scieza) - ages 8 and up

* Sea of Trolls (Farmer) - wonderful historical fantasy adventure, ages 10 and up

* Knights at Dawn (Osborne) - Jack and Annie go back in time, ages 4 and up

* Knights and Castles (Osborne) - Magic Treehouse research guide - ages 8 and up

* Castle Diary (Platt) - 11yo Tobias goes to his uncle's to serve as a page, ages 6 and up

* Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett) - boy helps a knight complete his quest, ages 7 and up

* How to Train Your Dragon (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) - ages 8 and up

* The Apple and the Arrow (Buff) - William Tell, ages 5 and up

* Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine (Royal Diary) - Eleanor becomes queen of France at 15yo, ages 9 and up

* Minstrel in the Tower (Skurzinski) - two children search for the uncle they never knew they had when their father doesn't return from the Crusades and their mother gets sick, ages 5 and up

* Crispin (Avi) - boy must flee after being declared a "wolf's head", ages 8 and up

* Girl in a Cage (Yolen) - 11yo Marjorie, daughter of Robert the Bruce, is captured by King Edward and displayed in a cage, part of a series of 4 books set during the English/Scottish wars, ages 10 and up

Dragon: Hound of Honor (Edwards) - set in medieval France, ages 10 and up

* "Joan of Arc" - video about Joan of Arc in the children's video biography section

* "Princess Isabel of Castile" - Royal Diaries video, much better than the book

King Herla's Quest (Map) - collection of medieval folk tales by Walter Map, ages 10 and up

* Catherine, Called Birdy (Cushman) - Catherine doesn't want to get married, ages 10 and up

Europe, 1400-1650

* The Second Mrs. Giaconda (Konigsberg) - story of Leonardo told from the perspective of Giacomo (also known as Salai), ages 9 and up

* Daughter of Venice (Napoli) - set in 16th century Italy, historically accurate, need to pre-read this one, ages 10 and up

* The Warhorse (Bolognese) - set during the battles between Italian city-states, ages 7 and up

* Kat and the Missing Notebooks (Bradford) - Kat and her aunt use their time machine to go back to Renaissance Italy and meet Leonardo da Vinci, ages 7 and up

* "Leonardo da Vinci" by Nest Entertainment in the children's video biography section - I didn't think this was very well done.

* Galileo and the Universe (Parker) - biography, ages 8 and up

* "Galileo" by Nest Entertainment in the children's video biography section

* Breaking into Print (Krensky)- picture-book detailing the change in how books were printed over time, ages 5 and up

* Mary, Bloody Mary - story of the first daughter of King Henry VIII, ages 10 and up

* Elizabeth I, Red Rose of Tudor (Royal Diaries series), ages 9 and up, also available on video

* Queen Elizabeth I (Greene) - nonfiction, ages 7 and up

* Assassin, Betrayal, Conspiracy (Finney) - first three Lady Grace Mystery books, Grace Cavendish is a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth, ages 9 and up

Deception (Finney) - fourth Lady Grace Mystery, ages 9 and up

* King of Shadows (Cooper) - boy in present-day Shakespearean acting company goes back in time and meets Shakespeare, warning: parent committed suicide, pre-read this one, ages 10 and up

* Shakespeare Stealer (Blackwood) - apprentice is supposed to steal the script for Shakespeare's "Hamlet", also on audio, two sequels, ages 7 and up

* Stage Fright on a Summer Night (Osborne) - Magic Treehouse series, Jack and Annie travel back in time to see Shakespeare, ages 4 and up

* William Shakespeare and the Globe (Aliki) - Shakespeare, the original Globe and the rebuilt Globe, ages 4 and up

* "Shakespeare Can Be Fun" series (Burdett) - series of storybook versions of Shakespeare's plays, ages 5 and up

*Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (Hodges) - retelling of Don Quixote, ages 7&up

Books to go with a study of the Early Modern Era

Europe, 1500-1850

*Queen's Own Fool (Yolen&Harris) - excellent book about Mary Queen of Scots, but it's in the young adult section for a reason, pre-read this one, ages 10&up

* A Murder for Her Majesty (Hilgartner) - great book, lots of fun, girl hides out in boy's choir, ages 7 and up

* Pirates Past Noon (Osborne) - Magic Treehouse series, ages 4 and up

* Thanksgiving on Thursday (Osborne) - Magic Treehouse series, ages 4 and up

* Antoni Leeuwenhoek: First to see microscopic life (Yount) - good biography, but this is for dedicated science kids who will be okay with extremely close-up drawings of flies, spiders, fleas, etc., ages 9 and up

* Ravenmaster's Secret (Woodruff) - set in 1735 at the Tower of London, also available on audio, ages 9 and up

* Carl Linnaeus: Father of Classification (Anderson) - good biography, ages 8 and up

* Stowaway (Hess) - boy stows away on Capt. Cook's ship, ages 9 and up, available on audio

* Cecile: Gates of Gold (Casanova) Girls of Many Lands, set during reign of Louis XIV, ages 9 and up

* Catherine of Russia (Gregory) Royal Diary, ages 9 and up

* Marie Antoinette (Lasky) Royal Diary, ages 9 and up

* Golden Hour (Williams) - kids travel back in time to French Revolution, ages 9 and up

* Court of the Stone Children (Cameron) Nina meets the ghost of a girl who lived during the French Revolution, my 11yo and 13yo thought this book was hard to follow, but I loved it at 10yo, ages 10 and up

* Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster () not for the squeamish, ages 11 and up

* George Washington, Spymaster (Allen) ages 9 and up

* Gate in the Wall (Howard) - industrial age in England, ages 9 and up

* Secret Journey (Kehret) - completely unrealistic story of a girl who stows away on the wrong ship when she wants to go with her parents instead of staying behind with her aunt and then ends up on a deserted island when the ship she is on gets wrecked in a storm, very enjoyable, ages 9 and up

Books to go with a study of the Modern Era

American and European, 1825-present

* Victoria (Kirwan) - England 1829, Royal Diary series, ages 9 and up

* Elisabeth (Denenberg) - Austria-Hungary 1853, Royal Diary series, ages 9 and up

* Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker (DeFelice) - set in US in 1849, ages 9 and up

* Nory Ryan's Song (Giff) - Irish potato famine, ages 9 and up

* Secret of the Ruby Ring (MacGrory) - Ireland, 1885, time-travel story, ages 9 and up

* Good Master (Seredy) - Hungary, early 1900, before WWI, ages 8 and up

* Singing Tree (Seredy) - Hungary, during WWI, sequel to Good Master, ages 8 and up

*Listening to Lions () - England and Africa, between WWI and WWII, ages 8 and up

*Journey to the River Sea (Ibbotson) - Amazon River, early 1900's, ages 9 and up

*Star of Kazaan (Ibbotson) - Vienna, late 19th/early 20th century, ages 11 and up

* Escape from Warsaw, ages 12 and up

* Snow Treasure (McSwigan) - Norway, WWII, ages 8 and up

*Stones in Water (Napoli) - Italy, WWII, ages 12 and up

*I Am David (Holm) - cold war eastern Europe, ages 10 and up