Grandfather's Journey
Grandfather's Journey
Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in America and Japan, Allen Say gives us a poignant acount of a family's unique cross-cultural experience. He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries, and the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once.
Author page
Illustrator Page
The author is also the illustrator.
Go-Alongs:
Online Units and Resources for Grandfather's Journey
Supplemental unit to Grandfather's Journey
From Teacher CyberGuide (Y,M)
eThemes: Grandfather's Journey
These sites include information and activities relating to the book "Grandfather's Journey." Includes biographies on author Allen Say. There is also a link to an eThemes Resource on Japan (Y,M)
Grandfather's Journey Lesson Plans
From Teacher.scholastic.com (Y,M)
Making Multicultural Connections
Social Studies Grade 2 (Y)
Grandfather's Journey lesson ideas
Includes a book talk, author/illustrator study, classroom connections, list of related books,
web activities and link (Y,M)
Grandfather's Journey coloring sheet
Template great for lapbooks (or bookmarks). (Y)
Go-alongs about Japan
(Eating in) Japan Unit (K-1st Grade)
- (Y)
A Journey To Japan Through Poetry - Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Grade 3 (Y)
Autumn Haiku Lesson Plan - Grade 3 (Y)
Children's Day - From Japan Guide.com (Y, M)
Children's day - From KIDPROJ Multi-Cultural Calendar (Y,M)
Children's Day - From A Girl's World.com (Y,M)
Children's Day, A Japanese Holiday - A Multicultural Unit that Introduces Primary Students to the Customs and Traditions of Japan; One of the major themes covered in the Social Studies framework is the concept of culture. (Y)
eThemes: Grandfather's Journey - These sites include information and activities relating to the book "Grandfather's Journey." Includes biographies on author Allen Say. There is also a link to an eThemes Resource on Japan (Y,M)
Geta Page - Geta is the Japanese word for clogs. You will find lots of pictures and other information about clogs (like how to walk in them) as well as instructions about how to make your own. (Y, M, O, T)
Haiku and Beyond - A Study of Japanese Literature - by Denver Public Schools. Grade 4 (Y)
Hiragana Culture Lessons - Learn the Hiragana and Japanese culture at the same time with this about.com resource . (Y, M, O, T)
How My Parent's Learned to Eat - Students will use the Internet to research cultural differences in foods and manners of eating in Japan and the U.S. They will have an opportunity to learn how rice and potatoes are grown, to learn about some favorite snack foods in Japan, and to study menus from Japanese and American restaurants. The culminating group project will be to design a menu for a Japanese-American restaurant. At the end of this unit, students should have a better grasp of the cultural differences and similarities between Japanese and American ways of eating, and, through this understanding, have a better grasp on who they are and how they fit into the world. Grade 2 (Y)
Internet Connection Activities - Moon Phases, Daily Life in Japan, Japan's Geography Topics, Poets and Poetry. Grade 4. (Y)
Introductory Japanese - basic language resources from about.com (Y, M, O, T)
Japan - from Enchanted Learning, this site has many of the same resources as their Zoom School plus a few more (Y)
Japan - Literature Lesson Plans - From ProTeacher.com (Y,M)
Japan Brochure - (Y, M, O, T)
Japan, Japanese Lesson Plans - From Teachnology. (Y, M, O, T)
Japanese Children's Festivals - Information and songs on Girls'Day March 3rd, Children's Day May 5th and 7-5-3 Festival November 11th. (Y,M)
Japanese Etiquette - (Y, M, O, T)
Japanese for Beginners - Hiragana, katakana, kanji, phrases, grammar, simple phrases, and more (Y, M, O, T)
Kanji of the week - learn one Kanji character a week with this archive of lessons (Y, M, O, T)
Kids Konnect.com - Japan - A safe Internet gateway for kids of all ages! (Y, M, O, T)
Little Explorers English-Japanese Picture Dictionary - By Enchanted Learning (Y, M, O, T)
Mr. Donn's Ancient and Modern Japan - lesson plans and activities (Y, M, O, T)
Origami KinderCrafts - several simple origami patterns for elementary students (Y)
Simple Japanese phrases - another resource from about.com, this one contains the archives for learning simple Japanese phrases in 3 levels (Y, M, O, T)
Time Warp Trio Lesson Plans - Look down the page for the link to this PDF lesson plan to go with the books. (Y)
Travel for kids - Japan - (Y, M, O, T)
Your Visit to Japan - After visiting Japan, you are asked by the Japanese Visitor and Tourist Bureau to write a travel brochure to help people visiting Japan. (Y, M, O, T)
Zoom School's Japan - click on the links in the illustration to visit topical areas including haiku, animals, crafts, a map, and language resources (Y)
Go-alongs about WWII
Air Raid on Pearl Harbor - From Library of Congress- this day in history. (Y, M, O, T)
Aleutian World War II National Historic Area - The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area and Visitor Center in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, tell these compelling stories and preserve the historic Fort Schwatka on Mount Ballyhoo. In a unique arrangement, the park and visitor center are owned and managed by the Ounalashka Corporation (the village corporation for Unalaska) and the National Park Service provides them with technical assistance. Through this cooperative partnership, the Unangax are the keepers of their history and invite the public to learn more about its past and present. (Y, M, O, T)
Attack at Pearl Harbor - From Eyewitness to History.com (Y, M, O, T)
Childrens Books About World War II - (Y)
Fly Girls - During WWII, more than a thousand women signed up to fly with the US military. Wives, mothers, actresses and debutantes who joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) test-piloted aircraft, ferried planes and logged 60 million miles in the air. (Y, M, O, T)
Manzanar National Historic Site - In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II. (Y, M, O, T)
North American Battleground of World War II - Teaching with Historic places lesson plans (Y, M, O, T)
Pearl Harbor - The Day Remembered (Y, M, O, T)
Pearl Harbor Raid - a historical overview and special images selection from the Naval Historical Center (Y, M, O, T)
Remembering Pearl Harbor - National Geographic's Pearl Harbor page with maps, timelines, survivor's stories, and more (Y, M, O, T)
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park - Preserves and interprets the stories and places of our nation's home front response to World War II. (Y, M, O, T)
Tuskegee Airman - During World War II, black fighter pilots fought the Germans abroad and racism in the ranks...may we never forget...and may future generations understand the way it was...
(Y, M, O, T)
USS Arizona Memorial - Includes a National Park Service Printable Travel Guide (Y, M, O, T)
WWII Pilots - "The B-24 Liberator was produced in greater quantities and flown in more theaters of war by the air forces of more countries than any other four engine bomber in World War II. 19,256 planes (in several versions) were produced by Consolidated Vultee, Ford Motor Company, Douglas Aircraft and North American Aircraft between the years of 1939 and 1945. Today there are only two flight-worthy B-24's in existence, and it's history and role in WW II is only dimly recalled except by those who flew in them." (Y, M, O, T)
Go-alongs about Birds
All About Birds - From Enchanted Learning: Zoom Birds. Everything you wanted to know about birds including jokes! (Y)
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park - The crown jewel of Rio Grande Valley parks, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park well deserves its status as headquarters of the World Birding Center. Birders across the nation know “Bentsen” as a treasure trove of “Valley specialties” – those birds found nowhere else in the United States but deepest South Texas – and “Mexican vagrants” – rare visitors from across the Rio Grande. The 760-acre Bentsen-RGV State Park, together with over 1,700 acres of adjoining federal refuge land, promises year-round nature adventures in the richest birding area north of the Mexican border. (Y, M, O, T)
Bird Unit Study - From EasyFunSchool.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birdathon - From the Audubon Society, this project not only teaches birding techniques, it raises money for environmental conservation, education, and advocacy. (Y, M, O, T)
Birding / Wild Birds - From About.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birding / Wild Birds Clipart - From About.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birds of prey - lesson integrating the Internet into a study of predators. Grades 6-8 (Y,M)
BirdSource - From Cornell University, this site is centered on "birding with a purpose". (Y, M, O, T)
Cardinal Coloring Page - From Kidzone - Free fun facts for kids. Free printable activity worksheets. (Y)
Cardinal Printable Worksheet - From ABCTeach (Y)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - If you like birds, you will love this site. Cornell has been a leader in the study of birds ever since Arthur A. Allen was appointed one of the nation's first professors of ornithology at the University in 1917. The Lab of Ornithology is a nonacademic unit of Cornell and has an excellent collection of resources used for outreach to the community. (Y, M, O, T)
Dinner, It's for the Birds! - From the National Bird-Feeding Society, activities on making bird feeders. (Y,M)
Duck Glossary - (Y)
Endangered and Threatened Species of Alaska Curriculum - Center for Alaska Coastal Studies. Materials focus on selected Alaskan species that are threatened, endangered, or at risk. Learn about wildlife population dynamics, the factors that may place species at risk, and efforts by people to help wildlife species recover.
The teaching packet is designed to help you introduce the concepts of "biodiversity" and "endangered" to your students in a hands-on interactive way. (Y, M, O, T)
Estero Llano Grande State Park - At the geographic center of the World Birding Center network, Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco attracts a spectacular array of South Texas wildlife with its varied landscape of shallow lake, woodlands and thorn forest. Even beginning birders and nature lovers will enjoy exploring this 176-acre refuge, which is convenient to all the Rio Grande Valley has to offer. (Y, M, O, T)
Mastery of Flight, Birds - (Y)
NestWatch - "NestWatch is a nest-monitoring project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and funded by the National Science Foundation... We invite people of all ages who are interested in the natural world to help monitor the success of nesting birds and better understand the threats they face. Your valuable nest observations will be permanently stored as legacy data along with hundreds of thousands of other nesting records. When combined, these data will provide a wealth of information about breeding birds and the factors that influence their success across different landscapes." (Y, M, O, T)
Operation Ruby-Throat - The Hummingbird Project from the Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History; comprehensive hummingbird site with lots of info for educators (Y, M, O, T)
Peterson Online - Excellent resource with basics of birdwatching, identification, and calendar (Y, M, O, T)
Project Feeder Watch - Homeschool students across North America can learn about science and have fun while they count birds and record information that scientists need to understand the movements and abundance of feeder birds. Project FeederWatch, a citizen-science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada, is a perfect fit for the homeschool curriculum. The Homeschooler's Guide to Project FeederWatch is now available online. (Y, M, O, T)
Raising chicks - Everything you need to know to raise those chicks that you so careful tended as eggs! (Y M O)
Resaca de la Palma State Park - Brownsville’s Resaca de la Palma State Park boasts the largest tract of native habitat in the World Birding Center network. Etched by ancient curves of the Rio Grande, its 1700 semi- tropical acres provide a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of an international urban center only a few miles away. Through the cooperation of local, state and federal land management agencies, a wilderness preserved from days gone by is open to nature adventurers for the first time. (Y, M, O, T)
Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory - (SABO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the birds of southeastern Arizona, their habitats and the diversity of species that share those habitats through research, monitoring and public education. (Y, M, O, T)
State facts - State birds, Animals and Flowers (Y)
To Feed or Not To Feed - From About.com - Should you feed wild birds (Y, M, O, T)
Tucson Audubon Society - Tucson Audubon sponsors environmental education programs for all ages that promote understanding of environmental concepts, appreciation of the natural world, and commitment to sustainable resource use. We foster grassroots efforts to improve the environmental quality of our neighborhoods and communities through education, advocacy, and activism. (Y, M, O, T)
What Bird? - This is a great website for summer fun. I have two birdfeeders just outside my living room window and I love to watch the birds use them. This site lets you identify birds of North America with a few clicks of your mouse. You can even build you own bird feeder. (Y)
Wildlife Myths: How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors? - From The Humane Society of the United States. Includes articles on "A Closer Look at Wildlife", "Issues Facing Wildlife", "Feeding Birds in Winter", "Found an Injured or Orphaned Animal?", "Help Migratory Birds in Your Own Backyard", "Owls in Our Midst ", and Solving Problems with Your Wild Neighbors", and "The Mysteries of Migration". (Y, M, O, T)
Wisconsin bird watching - (Y)
Zoom Birds - Educational site geared towards kids with printouts, birdwatching, and bird activities. Contains evolution. (Y, M)
