How I Spent My Summer VacationExtension Activities
The activities, lessons and resources below are meant to extend student learning during this project. Please note that several of the activities may overlap subject areas.
LANGUAGE ARTS Students write about their best summer vacation ever. Remind them to include as many details as possible – the location, what they did, who was with them – they need to “show” not “tell” why it was their best vacation ever. Graphic Organizers – Use in a variety of ways before, during, after reading. Students learn how to or practice writing a business letter. (See activity in Social Studies section) Just like Wallace did in the story, create a postcard. Students can pick a location they traveled to during their vacation. There are several different options you can use to create the postcards : Students use a shape book for writing – shapes related to the book: Child, Circle, Train Car, Train Engine
Read other picture books by Mark Teague and compare/contrast the style, structure and characters. If you teach with the 6 + 1 Traits of writing, this book works great for the trait of Ideas. One activity is to have children focus on which ideas are the bigger ideas and which ones are more of the details. Story Souvenir – If you are a teacher that uses souvenirs to help your students remember key components of the story, use a plastic cowboy for this story.
After reading the book, have students write summer poems. (These could be displayed on a bulletin board.) With older students you could use this as a launching point for tall tales.
MATH Students take their own mileage total to calculate the following: How long would it take you to travel that distance? How much would gas cost for the trip? What is the distance around the Earth with that amount of miles? Students take their class mileage total to calculate the following: How long would it take you to travel that distance? How much would gas cost for the trip? What is the distance around the Earth with that amount of miles? Take the totals that were reported by the entire group – calculate the following: How long would it take you to travel that distance? How much would gas cost for the trip? What is the distance around the Earth with that amount of miles? (Do this activity after the project is done.) Students can create a survey to learn about the favorite summer activities of their classmates. Have students convert measurements between the standard system and the metric system. Research and compare the price of gas around the country.
SOCIAL STUDIES Using travel literature, reference books, the Internet, and/or magazines, students plan their own “ideal” summer vacation. Students select the location(s) they want to visit and use their various resources to learn about the language, culture, tourist attractions, history, famous citizens, etc. You can take this activity and differentiate based on your students. You can add the following components: calculate mileage, calculate cost of: food, lodging, entry fees, etc. Students can research the various regions of your country and determine what the most popular vacation spots are in each respective region. Use various print and electronic resources to locate pictures of cowboys and the wild west. These photos can be used in a number of ways. One way would be to set them out, or display on computer screen, some of the photos and have students write about what they think may be going on in the photos, what they think it may have been like to live during that time, or another topic of your choice. Use Eyewitness: Cowboy (Eyewitness Books) by David S. Murdoch in conjunction with this project. It provides great information about cowboys around the world. Direct link to purchase the book from Amazon: Eyewitness: Cowboy (Eyewitness Books) Students create a timeline of their own summer vacation or the book. (Software notes below.)
SCIENCE Learn about the weather and climate in the regions mentioned in the book. Students can also learn about the weather and climate in the areas they would like to travel.
TECHNOLOGY Internet Workshop (Powered by Scott Foresman) Students complete a Wacky Web Tale online (like a MadLib) that is related to summer:
THE ARTS While viewing artwork or working on an assignment, students can listen to “Buckaroo Holiday,” from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo. Performed in 1960 by the New York Students may want to organize a theatrical production of the book. They can create the various sets and even have tryouts for the parts.
BULLETIN BOARDS Display the postcards from the activity mentioned above in the Language Arts section.
ADDITIONAL LINKS & RESOURCES The History of the Cowboy Buckaroos National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Tourism Write to the tourism board of various states/countries asking for resources. (This is a great opportunity to teach students about business letters. – Here’s an online resource: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/ ) A Complete Cowboy Unit What Does a Cowboy Do? Vacation Matrix Cowboy-Themed Party About the Author Mark Teague Contact us: |
|||||||||||||||||
 Quick Links: Contact Us | Carry Our Banner | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Advertise |
Keep us FREE! Link to us
This indicates resources located on The Teacher's Corner.