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Candie Hedrick

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1. Junior Book, contemporary realism

2. Oliver Olson never gets to do anything. His parents help him with his homework and worry about him. He decides to do something different with his diorama and in the process changes his life.

3. This is a wonderful little book all about how even little decisions can make a big change. The book really gives a child confidence that they can make changes. They can get their parents to change the way they treat them (about some things). They can change the way t...more

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1. Junior Book, contemporary realism 2. Oliver Olson never gets to do anything. His parents help him with his homework and worry about him. He decides to do something different with his diorama and in the process changes his life. 3. This is a wonderful little book all about how even little decisions can make a big change.

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Shelly Warnick

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Book Trailers for Readers - How Oliver Olson Changed...Book Trailer

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Shelly Warnick
When I was reading this book over the weekend, I could not help but remember when I taught middle school. I was the chair of the student counsel. Those students complained over everything. They really did want to change the world. Here are some of the issues that they wrote about and gave to me to help change that year. I happily sent the letters to the principal. :)

1. Increase class change time to have longer bathroom time , girls have more stuff to do in there.
2. Allow middle school students to carry backpacks (boys) and purses (girls).
3. Why are eighth graders allowed to have a top and bottom locker but 7th and 6th are not?
4. Why 5th graders should NOT be allowed at the dances.
5.Why PE should be optional.

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Susan Davis
This looks like a good lesson plan for 3rd or 4th grade.  This lesson plan includes a book study,  vocabulary, and questions for each chapter.

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How Oliver Olson Changed the World - a Sunshine State Reader

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A book study with vocabulary words and questions for each chapter. It contains Common Core extended thinking questions throughout the chapters. The reading guide comes with an answer key. This would work well for reading centers or a classroom read aloud.

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Kelly Luna

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A Junior Library Guild Selection

Starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Starred review from School Library Journal

NCTE Notable Verse Novel

EDUCATOR'S GUIDE AVAILABLE

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A Junior Library Guild Selection Starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Starred review from School Library Journal NCTE Notable Verse Novel EDUCATOR'S GUIDE AVAILABLE

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Lousie Cline-Caulder
This has a lot of links to mentor texts and sample texts that can be useful when teaching writing at any grade level.

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Brandi Reedy

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Brandi Reedy

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Show the Lorax you care about the Earth.  Speak Up to save endangered plants and animals. Earth Day Lorax Packet.

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Brandi Reedy

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Brandi Reedy
I immediately went into the thinking of a younger classroom and they crave to be independent and do things on their own. Younger students would love to write to adults asking permission to do some things for themselves. For example I had a student in my class this year who desperately wanted to walk by her self to our room. Her older sisters were very hovering and she would constantly say "I tell them I can walk by myself but I don't know why they won't they won't listen". This would be a great opportunity for students to be encouraged to write about a change they want to see happen. They could write about how the older students can walk by themselves to their class and they want the same privilege.
I also then switched gears to an older classroom and focused in on earth day activities and writings. Our county has been clearing off large amounts of land for some road improvements thus giving our students something to persuade the town about. Our students using this as a mentor text in addition to the Lorax could petition the town to plant trees back in the place of all the many trees they have cut down. They could begin a save the trees campaign,

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Tiphani Hodge

-write whether Pluto should be considered a planet or not

-write a persuasive letter about renaming our moon (p.55 "Any name would be better than Earth's own moon: Moon. That was like naming your dog Dog or your cat Cat.

-write a persuasive letter about why you think teachers should or should not assign homework (in the book Oliver suggests not allowing parents to help)
OR
-write a persuasive letter why you think homework should be given for practice only (not graded)

-write a persuasive letter to your parent(s) about why you should be allowed to do something on your own

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Penny Evans

I enjoyed reading How Oliver Olson Changed the World.  I’ve seen well-meaning parents in kindergarten do so much for their child that he/she cannot function independently in the classroom. Children like to do things by themselves and be independent. Oliver was such a child. One idea I had was for students to write a persuasive letter to their parents asking them to stop doing something for them that they can already do by themselves.  Older students could write a persuasive letter to the principal, town mayor, state senators or state representatives to change a policy or introduce a bill/idea to help change the world and make it better for all.

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Beth Dalton

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A diorama is a fun way to build an exciting scene in a small space. They usually display a historical time period, a nature scene, or a fictional situation. Dioramas allow a lot of room for creativity and innovation. Whether you are making...

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Beth Dalton

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Skip to Content Connecting you to groundbreaking opportunities and a global network of Buffs, your journey to a future proof degree starts in the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder is the intellectual core of the university, conducting research, scholarship, creative work and education in more than 60 fields.

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Beth Dalton

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Elaine Vickers Books, Activities, & Resources for Middle Graders

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How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills

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About the Book: Oliver Olson's teacher is always saying that one person with a big idea can change the world. But how is Oliver supposed to change the world when his parents won't let him do...

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"For years and years, I told my classes that there were nine planets," --Mrs. O'Neill

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Shelly Warnick

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What is a planet? Where do we draw the line? I'm not sure, but I, for one, long for Pluto to be reclassified as a planet, just as Earth, just as Mercury and all other small heavenly bodies. Maybe this stems from childhood nostalgia when Pluto WAS included...and all was well in the solar system.

This week, for the first time, the NASA's New Horizons Probe flew by Pluto, awakening a debate on the planet/dwarf planet argument.

The truth is, Pluto may be a dwarf planet as long as the current rules apply - this may never change. For instance, Pluto is much closer in size to other dwarf planets like Makemake and Eris. This is the surface argument by the IAU.

There are other rules, however, more pressing factors, and these factors seem to point to contrasting beliefs and facts.

The three rules to becoming a planet

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet, on three terms: the object must orbit the Sun, the neighborhood of its orbit must be cleared of debris and it must be large enough that the force of its orbit has pulled the object into a round shape.

Pluto failed on one aspect - its neighborhood is not clear of debris - being surrounded by ice and rock in the Kuiper belt. Here are the popular arguments in favor of Pluto as a planet. Included are the facts as well!

1. The size factor

So Pluto is small, but so is the Earth. At least in comparison with giants like Jupiter. If you paid attention to the mass of Earth and the mass of Jupiter, and then the mass of Pluto as opposed to the mass of Earth, you would be able to see an interesting comparison.

The size of Earth compared to the size of Jupiter is very like the size difference between Pluto and Earth. So, how can we honestly use this as an indication? Who says how big we have to be in order to be part of the group? Sounds like unfair judgment to me! Size shouldn't matter, remember... But I get it, we have to draw the line somewhere.

2. The unique factor

Pluto is in the Kuiper belt, I know. But it's different than those other ice chunks and rocks. Pluto, Ceres, Eris and other dwarf planets are large enough for gravity to pull them into nicely formed round shapes.

Pluto is also orbited by five moons, has a rocky core surrounded by an ice mantle and a thin atmosphere. With this being said, Pluto has more in common with planets in our solar system than objects in the Kuiper belt. To me, this is enough to include her into our group.

3. Position in Kuiper Belt

Because Pluto is part of the various ice and chunks of rock in the Kuiper belt, it's considered a "non-planet". According to the IAU, Pluto has not "cleared its neighborhood".

A funny thing about that is, the Earth gets hit with just as many asteroids and comets as Pluto. What's the difference? Just like Ceres, now classified as a dwarf, was once considered a planet when discovered in the 1800s, Pluto has been reclassified by its neighbors. I guess this makes sense as a disqualifying factor or does it.

New Rules?

Phillip Metzger, planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida says,

"If we can move Pluto to another position, it could become a planet."

David Aguilar of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics says in contrast,

"If we can adjust the definition of planet, just slightly, then Pluto can be included in our solar system."

This idea seems feasible and can be simplified. There are two types of planets: gas and rocky. Why not have a third type called dwarf planets, included into the larger scope of things. Now, that seems like a quick fix.

Are we going to keep flying by, staring at the beauty of Pluto while denying her right to be a planet of our solar system? Maybe we will and maybe, as of August 2015, we will have a change of heart, so to speak.

We will soon know, and as for me, I'm rooting for Pluto and planet status! To heck with that 'dwarf planet' classification. Tis the time for equality, right!

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This Is Why Pluto Should Be Considered a Planet Again - Learning Mind

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This week, for the first time, the NASA's New Horizons Probe flew by Pluto, awakening a debate on the planet/dwarf planet argument. The truth is, Pluto may be a dwarf planet as long as the current rules apply - this may never change.

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Shelly Warnick
I have never been asked to make one of these. But these pictures sure look amazing.

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Animal Habitat

Use the Water Diorama Kit to make water areas. Build the terrain up with newspaper wads and cover them with Plaster Cloth . Color the water area and when dry, add submerged items like logs, junk and rocks. Brush a thin layer of Realistic Water from the middle out to the banks. Add landscaping, trees, animals and lots more detail!

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Use the Water Diorama Kit to make water areas. Build the terrain up with newspaper wads and cover them with Plaster Cloth . Color the water area and when dry, add submerged items like logs, junk and rocks. Brush a thin layer of Realistic Water from the middle out to the banks.