The Story About Ping
The tale of a little duck alone on the Yangtze River, The Story About Ping is a sweet and funny book with wonderfully rich and colorful illustrations. On a day like any other, Ping sets off from the boat he calls home with his comically large family in search of "pleasant things to eat." On this particular day, he is accidentally left behind when the boat leaves. Undaunted, the little duck heads out onto the Yangtze in search of his family, only to find new friends and adventures--and a bit of peril--around every bend.
The exceptional illustrations bring the lush Yangtze to life, from Ping's family to the trained fishing birds he finds himself among to the faithfully rendered boats and fishermen. Certainly intended to be read aloud, The Story About Ping deserves a place on every young reader's (or listener's) shelf. (amazon.com review)
Author page
Illustrator Page
Other books by Kurt Wiese
Go-Alongs:
Online Units and Resources for The Story About Ping
Example of a Five in a Row unit (uses The Story of Ping)
Using The Story of Ping, Jane Lambert illustrates how to use a Five in a Row unit. (Y)
Life on the Rivers of Asia
National Geographic unit using The Story of Ping (y)
Photos of the Yangtze River
A collection of varied photos of life on the Yangtze River (Y, M, O, T)
A Month of Mapping Literature
"Take your students on a world tour with literature! Students read and discuss a new story or book each day. Students plot the locations of the story or book on a world map or globe." (Y, M, O, T)
Literature resources for younger children
A large number of FIAR resource for specific books as well as general resources that can be used with any literature. Includes Elements of a Story Bookmark, World Traveler Passport, Classic Story Timeline, President Chart & President Disks and more. Scroll down for the links to the downloads. Requires Adobe Acrobat reader. (Y,M)
Lapbook Examples
(Y)
Activities
From TeacherViews.com (y)
Ping games and resources
Hurry Ping game, sequence cards, float/sink chart, China resource and more. (y)
Lapbook Example
(y)
Duck Lesson Plan
(y)
Supplemental Book List
from the FIAR Message Board Archive (T)
Fun things to do with Kids in China
Book list for kids written about China. (y m)
Go-alongs about China
All About The Great Wall Of China - All About The Great Wall Of China (Y)
Ancient & Modern China - Lessons & learning modules
(Y)
Chinese for Kids - Chinese for Kids offers teachers an easy and enjoyable range of learning materials for the study of the Chinese language. It is an integrated teaching approach and is suitable for Elementary to Junior High School students. Students can send a Chinese New Year greeting. (Y,M)
Chinese New Year Unit - Unit Study on Chinese New Year (Y)
Chinese New Year Unit - (Y)
Daily Life in Ancient China - Daily Life in Ancient China (Y)
Debbie's Chinese Juggling Sticks - Learning to play Juggling Sticks gives the player a sense of control that comes from mastering something that is challenging and fun. Other benefits include: developing concentration, eye-hand coordination and the stress relief that comes from rhythmic and focused movement. They are also a good toy for solitary or noncompetitive interactive play. (Y,M)
Fun things to do with Kids in China - Book list for kids written about China. (y m)
Holidays & Festivals Around the World - by Ms. Hos-McGrane's Grade 5 Students. Holidays & festivals in this project include:
La Befana, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Korean New Year, Carnival, Maslyanitsa, Hinamaturi, St Patrick's Day, Purim, April Fool's Day, Children's Day in Turkey, and more. (Y,M)
Mission Geography: Continents - National Geographic unit about continents (Y)
Mulan - Links to create a China based curriculum unit. (Y,M)
PBS Kids Sagwa - Includes links to games, stories, coloring pages, drawing, characters and a Caregivers Area with great topic references. An easy introduction to Chinese culture. (Y)
Go-alongs about Ducks
Measuring Ducks - (Y)
Go-alongs about Floating
Interactive Titanic - Click on one of the silhouettes and follow the path of an actual passenger who traveled on the Titanic. You won't know who you are or if you survive until the fateful night. (Y, M, O, T)
It Floats - We don't usually stop to wonder why a big cruise ship can float as well as a feather; this activity helps to explain. (Y, M, O, T)
Naval Historical Center - Comprehensive government site with extensive information on naval history (Y, M, O, T)
Pontoons - From Infoplease.com, an explanation of how pontoons are used to raise sunken ships and support bridges (Y, M, O, T)
Go-alongs about Light
Build your own Flashlight - Energy Education - Helping kids learn about energy (Y,M)
FlashlightNext Sci - From PBS Kids.com (Y)
Legendary Lighthouses - from PBS, learn how lighthouses work (Y, M)
Light and Shadow Units - A to Z Teacher Stuff (Y)
Light and shadows - Review children's existing understanding of light and dark by helping them to draw a concept map linking their ideas about light, using terms eg light, dark, night, day, light source, seeing, shiny, Sun, Earth, lighting up, sunshine. Discuss children's ideas with them. Grade 3 (Y)
Lighthouse Explorer Database - The database includes information about 1558 lighthouses from all over the world including photographs, history, directions, and contact information. By clicking on the name of the lighthouse, you are presented with more information, including the height, (Y, M, O, T)
Lighthouse page - Assorted links to websites about lighthouses including lesson plans and many facts (Y, M, O)
Lighthouses, A Photographic Journey - Lighthouses are listed alphabetically, or by body of water, or in order of a travel journey taken by the photographers. (Y, M, O)
Pictures From Light - Explores bending light; due to the risks of A) starting a fire and B) damaging their eyes, students should be supervised for these activities. (Y,M)
See the Light - Through ThinkQuest a web site devoted to teaching people about light (Y, M, O, T)
Shine On - Why you can't see stars during the day; a Magic School Bus worksheet. (Y)