Magic Treehouse in the classroom

If you love Magic Tree house books as much as I do, then you will love all of the special materials that Mary Pope Osborne  has created for the classroom, on her website. magictreehouse.com
There are games, teachers guides, student activities, read a louds, and my FAVORITE the video mailbox where Mary Pope Osborne actually reads and responds to fan mail live!
but..the Smart-board is where I really get my 3rd graders motivated, there are video clips, and a
Fast Tracker Showdown Game that my class goes wild over.
Her sister Natalie Pope Boyce writes companion books, which are 
 the non-fiction- components to some of the books in the series.
This gives my students who love to know the facts, 
an extension activity after reading.
OK enough about the amazing interactive web-site....
 SO what kind of magic do these books hold?...
 Well... there is always some kind of magic;
mummies, dinosaurs, dragons, ghosts and of course, Merlin..
Jack and Annie are two very, likable kids that find a magic tree house that can transport them to different places and different times. I find that the books are a great spring-board into science and social studies lessons.They are great to use because they allow students to experience other places beyond their small world.
The books are also amazing for promoting discussions, making predictions,
building vocabulary, comparing and contrasting and so many other reading strategies.
I have done both: read and discussed chapter by chapter, and had the students work on books with their literature circles, both have brought me magical results..
So choose a book, A great book to read right now as we are discussing
                          "Giving Thanks".. is..
 Thanksgiving On Thursday. I prepare the students a little in advance, by showing the Mayflower route on a map and I spoke in length about the type of journey, and what the Pilgrims might have expected to find when arriving on land.  Then we began reading as..
Jack and Annie are whisked back to 1621, The very First Thanksgiving!
Where they have a very hard time doing anything the "Pilgrim" way.

They are taught a bit of history, vocabulary, and many reasons to be thankful for what they have!

                                                            

Name _________________________________________

When Jack and Annie return from their adventure among the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, they realize just how much they have to be thankful for in their own lives and time. 

Decorate the THANKSGIVING QUILT below, filling in each blank square with words or a picture showing something you are thankful for. Share your quilt with your classmates.

          A THANKSGIVING QUILT