MeL Minute: Build a Program Around Scarecrow Day

By -


Brought to you by Christine Schneider of the MeL Team:

Michigan eLibrary

Why did a scarecrow win the Nobel prize?... Because he was outstanding in his field!

For more than a century now, people in the U.S. have celebrated Scarecrow Day on the first Sunday of July.  To help Michigan celebrate on July 1st of this year, we wanted to offer some great ideas for programming at your library or for families to do together at home using MeL resources!

1.     Host a “How to Build a Scarecrow” activity
From General Reference Center Gold:
·        Fragrant scarecrow. (Seasonal Scent)
·        Recycle Sam tin-can scarecrow
·        Corny, creative scarecrows
·        Digital scarecrows. (country lore: readers' tips to live by)
·        Not-so-scary Harry
·        Homemade garden guard: scarecrows have a long history and are fun to make
From Kids InfoBits:
·        Sew your scarecrow
·        Let’s make a scarecrow
·        Ready, set, create! Make a scarecrow

2.     Dress a Scarecrow and Run Game (taken from http://www.kidactivities.net/month-july-ideas-page-2/)
  • Stock up on oversized plaid shirts, goofy pants, floppy hats and any other clothing that a scarecrow might wear.  Make piles containing one of each item. The number of piles is determined either by the number of kids or teams participating.
  • Line up kids and let the game begin!
  • The children run to the pile, put on the outfit, and dart back to the starting line.
  • If doing it as a team game, they then switch the outfit with their teammate–who runs out and back.
  • First team with their last team member dressed as a scarecrow wins.
3.     Research stories, articles, poems, and games about scarecrows from MeL Databases:

eBooks - open eBooks first, then click on the following link:  
·        Spooky Ballet: The Case of the Whistling Scarecrow

General Reference Center Gold
·        Scarecrows, lava, and why we get the chills: do scarecrows actually scare crows?
·        Vanishing scarecrows
·        The Fake Scarecrow: A Chinese Fable
·        Scarecrow puzzler
·        The scarecrow song

Kids InfoBits
·        Scarecrows by Justin Werfel

NoveList K8+ - open NoveList K8+ first, then click on the following link:
·        Scarecrow booklist: See a list of books about scarecrows.  
·        Did you know you can check MeLCat directly from a book record in NoveList K-8+?

Opposing Viewpoints in Context
·        Video: Could Robotic Birds Lead to Safer Air Travel?

World Book for Kids - open World Book for Kids first, then click on the following link:
·        Scarecrow article

Britannica School - open Britannica School first, then click on any of the following links:
·        Scarecrow Article
·        Scarecrow Images
·        The Scarecrow of OZ eboo

4.     Borrow books from MeLCat
Scarecrows search in MeLCat


5.     Other online resources outside of MeL
Modern Farmer - Hay, Man: The Curious Life and Times of Scarecrow
Scarecrow Trivia - http://www.pumpkinnook.com/halloween/scarecrows.htm

Popular posts from this blog

Google Script - Create a Drop-Down List from Spreadsheet Column

By -
Image
(Updated on 3/21/2017 - triggers have been moved!) ( I just created a new related post on how to create a multiple choice  question on the form that a bit simplified - takes the "other" answers in a multiple choice question on a form, and updates the multiple choice options with those as options.) I guess it was only a matter of time before I ended up dabbling with Google Scripts.  Today I was asked by a teacher how he could populate a drop-down list on his Google Form from data on a spreadsheet - and have it update as he changed the data.  Not finding an add-on for this (why recreate the wheel? :-)  I explored creating a script.  And...discovered that this task is not too hard! To do this yourself - 1. Create your form.   Really important step.  Make sure to create your drop-down item and give it a title, but you do not need to add any options to it (because later you will populate it from the spreadsheet). 2. Create the spreadsheet where your list will reside. Yo
Read more

Google Calendar - How to Share Your Calendar Via Link

By -
Image
Google Calendar provides a couple ways you can share your calendar.  The first way you will see below provides a link that lets another person subscribe to your calendar.  They will need to be logged into their Google account, and it will display YOUR calendar along with their own. (Personally, I find this method the best for adding my kids' and husband's events so I see our families events all in one calendar.)  The second method displays your calendar in a browser window.  This is probably the preferred Teacher method for sharing with parents. (Here is a video on How to Share Your Calendar Via a Link .) When in your Google Calendar: Click on the Options menu (stacked dots) for the calendar you want to share - Select Settings and sharing - Click on Access permissions on the left side - Click on the Get shareable link - Note that who can see the calendar with this link depends on the access permissions you have set right above.  For example, with the setti
Read more

Google Mail - Create Calendar Event that Includes Email Message

By Anonymous -
Image
There are many time I get an email that I want to make into an event on my calendar - both to make sure I block out the time, and to move the information out of an email in my inbox into the event.  There is a feature called "Create event" that let's you do this - it is available in the More options when you are viewing the message.  Once you select create event, Google opens up a new window, loads your calendar, and creates an event with the message subject as the name of the event, and the body of the message as the description within the event: You are then able to edit the date/time as needed to finish creating the event.  One caveat...it adds everyone that was part of the message to the Guest list (see above in red box), so unless you want it to be a group event you will need to click the x next to everyone's name but yours.
Read more

Google Documents - Creating Page Anchors (aka Bookmarks)

By -
Image
There are times in a Google Document you want to provide links to specific areas within the page and  a table of contents doesn't fit the bill. (See how to create & use a table of contents here .)  When this happens, you will need to employ the use of page anchors. Anchors basically make a linkable spot on the page.  They are pretty easy to create, and can be linked tho both within the page and from outside the page.  Within a Google Document these are called Bookmarks. Here is how to set them up: 1. Put your cursor where you want the anchor/bookmark 2. Go to the Insert Menu, select Bookmark - this will add a little blue flag to the location That's it!  You can create as many as you need in the document. To get rid of an anchor/bookmark that you no longer want: 1. Click in the location you added it.  A pop-up should appear 2. Click Remove To use an anchor/bookmark within the document: 1. Type the text you want linked to the anchor/bookmark 2. Hi
Read more

Google Contacts - Newest Area to Get Some "Google Love"

By Anonymous -
Image
Be ready!  Your Google Contacts is about to update its looks.  I don't know about you, but I don't go to Google Contacts often.  I just don't like it.  If you need a refresher, this is what it looks (looked) like - Looked & felt very...dated.  This morning in going to one of my Google accounts, I got the pop-up window in my contacts.  Here is a screenshot of the new look - Hoping that the Google Love includes more than just the interface.  If there are any big changes that make Contacts more easily managed & navigated, you can be sure to see another blog post or two about it!
Read more