Ring the Silver Bell: The Story of Alice Slone's Settlement School.
Additional Educational activities for Ring the Silver Bell are free with purchase of classroom set from Motes Books. Contact www.motesbooks.com. Phone: 502.594.8010, $10.00 [paperback].
Activities
for
Ring the Silver Bell
by
Nancy Kelly Allen
Before
reading the book, Ring the Silver Bell, discuss the following open-ended
questions:
1.
What is a biography?
2.
What is a hero? Chart responses.
3.
Are all heroes famous? Why or why not?
4.
Alice Slone dreamed of things she wanted to do in life. What are your goals or
dreams?
After
reading the book, ask the following questions:
1.
Why is
Alice Slone remembered in the region where she lived?
2.
What was
Alice’s greatest achievement?
3. How did Alice’s work help her community?
4.
What lasting effects did Alice’s work have on the lives of others?
5.
What was the most impressive thing about Alice?
6.
Can you think of people alive today who make major changes in the
community in which they live? Explain your answers. Chart responses.
7.
Education
was not Alice’s first choice for a career. At the end of her life, do you
think Alice was happy with her career choice? Why or why not?
8.
Why do you think the title of this book is Ring the Silver Bell? How does
the bell connect the beginning of the story with the ending?
Review
the term “biography.” The story of a person’s life is fascinating and
brings history alive.
·
Ask
students what information they would expect to find out about a person’s life
in a biography. Chart student responses.
·
Discuss
and chart how information in a biography is categorized, such as childhood
events, turning points, achievements, etc.).
·
Read
the first chapter of Ring the Silver Bell.
·
Refer
to the list. Ask students if any of their responses were covered in the first
chapter. Add to the list if students contribute more ideas. Refer to the chart
of responses and conduct a whole group discussion following the reading of each
chapter, whether the book is read orally to class or individually by students.
Writing a biography
Students will brainstorm a list of famous people in history. Each student will read about one famous person on the list and write a short biography or article about the person. Students may want to dress up as the famous people and read their biographies. Begin with a chart:
What
I know
What I want to learn What I learned
Follow
with ideas of what a biography is NOT: A list of borrrrrrrrrring facts.
A
biography is a STORY that brings a person to life. Make the biography
interesting by choosing interesting facts and write about those facts. Make the
readers care about the person.
Biography
poems
Each
student will write a poem about his/her life.
Example:
Susan
Friendly,
nice, and kind,
Who
enjoys playing basketball but seldom makes a three-pointer,
Who
loves reading books about sports,
And
listening to music, especially hip-hop,
Who
helps care for younger brother and sister,
Watches
cartoons,
And
makes bracelets,
Who
would like to be a vet when I grow up
Because
I love animals, especially dogs,
And
who wants to live on the beach, maybe in California.
Each student will write a biography poem about a period in Alice Slone’s life.
Writing letters
Alice Slone wrote letters to
friends and family her entire life. Write letters to a pen pal. The first letter
needs to provide information about you. Explain a few things about yourself. In
later letters, you can tell more. Write about yourself, explaining your age,
grade, and what you like to do in your spare time, such as play soccer. Tell
about your family and school. Later describe your community and your state or
country.
1.
Add vivid
descriptions so the reader will form a mental picture of what you write. Use
your senses to describe in detail. Explain how something looks, feels, smells,
sounds, or tastes so the reader will have a better understanding.
2.
Ask 3-4
questions about the life of your pen pal. You can ask more questions in each
letter. Your pen pal will ask questions about you, too.
Alice
visited the home of Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the campaign to get women the
right to vote. In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to
vote. Write a letter explaining why you think women should have the right to
vote. Write the letter as though you lived in 1920.
Ask students
to imagine that their school is considering creating a holiday to recognize a
famous person. Each student will select a famous person and write a letter
explaining why the person he/she chose should be honored. Include celebration
activities that focus on the work of the famous person.
Writing
Essays
Alice was a dreamer and she followed her dream. Everyone dreams of the future. Students will write short essays on their hopes for the future. Include detailed plans on how they plan to accomplish one dream and how the dream will be remember by future generations.
Biographical
timeline.
The class will create a
biographical timeline depicting the life of Alice Slone. After reading the book,
each student will be assigned one chapter. Students may have to share a chapter.
If so, one student gets the first half and the second student gets the second
half of the chapter. Each student will reread the chapter and write one or two
sentences describing that part of Alice’s life on a strip of paper. When the
strips are complete, students will assemble the timeline. Beginning with chapter
one, students will read the information aloud to the class.
Point
of view
Alice
was unhappy when the Bacon girls refused to associate with her. She desperately
wanted their acceptance. Retell that part of the story from the point of view of
one of the Bacon girls. Explain how you think the girls felt about Alice living
in their home, associating with them at school, and in other public places.
Alice wore a different style of clothing and her accent was different. How did
being different affect the way Alice was accepted by the young girls?
Compare
and Contrast
Alice was exposed to my
opposites in her life. Compare and contrast Alice’s
·
Kentucky and Ohio families
·
Life in Kentucky as a child and as an adult
·
Expectations of herself and expectations of others
·
Schools she attended and the school she developed
Kentucky,
Then and Now
Alice was a young girl a
hundred years ago. How has Kentucky changed since then: Explain, using one or
more of the following:
·
Transportation
·
Food supply
·
Neighborhoods
·
Communication
·
Style of clothing
·
Language
·
Games and play
·
Books and reading materials
·
Jobs or careers
How
Are You Feeling?
Ring
the Silver Bell deals
with emotions. Brainstorm with
students the idea of what a friend is.
·
Why are
friends important?
·
Do we
really need friends? Why or why
not?
·
What do
you like to do with your friends?
·
Have
you ever been angry with a friend? Explain.
·
Is
it normal to sometimes get upset with someone we like? Explain.
·
What
are some different kinds of feelings you might have if you spend a lot of time
with a friend?
Hand
each student a two-column chart. In
the left column ask students to list different kinds of feelings they have.
Discuss the meaning of synonyms. In
the right column, students will write synonyms for the word listed in the left
column. Demonstrate the use of a thesaurus and dictionary and allow
students to use them to look up synonyms.
Feelings Synonyms
|
Happy |
Joyful |
|
Sad |
Blue,
Down, Unhappy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh,
What a Feeling!
Fold a blank sheet of paper in half, and fold in half again. Open the paper. The folds mark four equal squares. Students will paste photos or drawings of themselves in each square. Each of the four pictures will show a different feeling. Choose one of the feelings and write a story or paragraph describing what caused them to feel that way and how they acted when they felt that way. What problems did their behaviors cause? What did they learn from behaving the way they did? How would they handle the situation differently if they could relive it?
Poster
chart.
As
a group, make a poster of ways to handle feelings. Examples: Things
to do before reacting: take a deep
breath, count to ten, or talk with a someone.
Mother’s
Day Flowers
Materials:
Marigold
seeds
Plastic
cups
Potting
Soil
Water
Students
love to grow plants from seeds. Different
kinds of seeds can be used, but marigolds are a good choice since they are easy
to grow and bloom quickly. Place
potting soil in the bottom of a plastic cup.
Plant the seeds, water, and place in a sunny window.
Each student can take one cup home for a Mother’s Day present.
Journal
writing
Each
day, students will write their thoughts, expectations, and observations of the
planting and growing of the flowers.
Acrostic
poem
Write
an acrostic poem and attach to each flower cup. Each child will write a word, phrase, or sentence beginning
with each of the following letters to wish Mom a Happy Mother’s Day.
M
O
T
H
E
R
S
D
A
Y
Planting
ideas for a story
Discuss
how the world would be without plants. Could people survive? Plants provide
oxygen and food. What other benefits do plants provide? Chart the answers. What
is the most common response? The most unusual? Plants also create problems. Some
plants make people sneeze. Some are weeds. Write a story about a world without
plants.
Discuss
how the world would be without animals. Could people survive? Animals provide
friendship, food, and many other products. Write a fantasy story about a world
without animals.
Potato head animals
Materials:
Spoon
for scooping
One
potato for each student
potting
soil
grass
seed
water
Give one potato to each student. Scoop out 1/3 of the potato. Fill the scooped-out part with potting soil. Sprinkle grass seed over the soil. Sprinkle with water. Set in a sunny window and watch the potato grow “hair.” (Potatoes can be decorated with markers or other items to create faces).
Journal Writing
Students
keep a daily journal to describe the growth of “hair.” Student may name
their potato head animals and write about their habitats, species, diets,
developments, etc.
Nature
Walk
Alice
Slone enjoyed leading students around the mountainside as they looked at plants.
On a nature walk, notice the plants. Look carefully at what you see.
·
Record
observations
·
Pay
attention to detail
·
Write
questions
Describe and illustrate favorite plant after
taking a nature walk. Explain why a certain plant is the favorite.
Riddles
Write
riddles about plants. Students will read riddles and classmates can guess the
answers.
Example:
Who
am I?
I
am yellow,
Or
red,
Or
pink.
I
bloom in springtime.
You
show me each time you smile.
[Tulips]
Magic
seed.
Give
each student an object: button, candy, rock, etc. Explain that the item is a
strange type of seed. What kind of
plant will grow from the seed? Illustrate
the plant and name it. Describe the plant.
How is the strange plant different from other plants?
How is it similar? How will the plant help you? How could it harm you? How could
the strange plant change your life? Encourage students to let their imaginations
soar.
Killer
Plants
Did
you know that some plants eat animals? The
plant, Venus’s-fly trap, has leaves that close when an insect lands on them.
After the insect has been eaten, the leaves open again to catch another snack.
YUM! Pretend you are a Venus
Flytrap. Write about your favorite insect meal.
What is the best tasting insect dinner?
Do you prefer a different insect for breakfast?
What’s for lunch? Allow
student to read, tell, or act out their stories.
Pretend
you are from the far-away universe of Plantandgrow. Your spaceship has just
landed. You find a strange object. You send a message back to Plantandgrow
describing the object. (Use pieces of candy for the seeds so students can see,
smell, taste, touch, and listen to the wrapper being removed).
Write about
1) how it looks,
2) how it feels,
3) how it sounds,
4) how it smells,
5) how it tastes.
What if…Story
What if a flower monster came
to your cafeteria at lunch…
Pyramid
Poem
Write a pyramid poem about a plant. Write the words so the poem is shaped like a pyramid. Begin with one word on the first line, two words on the second line, etc.
_____________________________________________________________
Core Content
RD-04-2.0.7
Children
will make inferences or draw conclusions based on what is read.
RD-04-3.0.1
Children
will explain a character’s or speaker’s actions based on a passage.
RD-04-4.0.1
Children will connect information from a passage to children’ lives (text-to-self), real world issues (text-to-world) or other texts (text-to-text - e.g., novel, short story, song, film, website, etc.)
RD-04-5.0.2
Children will identify
literary devices such as foreshadowing, imagery or figurative language (similes,
metaphors, and personification).
WR-04-1.1.2
In
Personal Expressive Writing,
·
Children
will communicate the significance of the writer’s life experience by narrating
about life events or relationships.
·
Children
will apply the characteristics of the selected form (e.g., personal narrative,
personal memoir).
·
Children
will create a point of view.
Children will sustain a suitable tone
or appropriate voice.
WR-04-1.1.2
In
Literary Writing,
·
Children
will communicate to an audience about the human condition by painting a picture,
recreating a feeling, telling a story, capturing a moment, evoking an image, or
showing an extraordinary perception of the ordinary.
·
Children
will apply characteristics of the selected form (e.g., short story, play/script,
poem).
·
Children
will create a point of view.
·
Children
will use a suitable tone or appropriate voice.
Children will apply a fictional
perspective in literary writing when appropriate.
MA-04-4.1.1
Children will analyze and make
inferences from data displays (drawings, tables/charts, tally tables,
pictographs, bar graphs, circle graphs, line plots, Venn diagrams).
MA-EP-4.1.3
Children
will organize and display data.
SC-EP-4.6.1
Children will describe basic relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem
(food chains).
Plants
make their own food. All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for
food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.
Basic relationships and connections between organisms in food chains can
be used to discover patterns within ecosystems.
AH-05-4.3.2