Teacher's Guide for APPLESEEDS
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Teacher’s Guide for APPLESEEDS February 2011: CoverUps Teacher’s Guide prepared by: Sandra K. Athans, National Board Certified Teacher, literacy author & consultant, and freelance children’s writer living in upstate New York. This guide provides practical classroom activities teachers may wish to use to supplement the reading passages appearing in this issue. Vocabulary words are highlighted (italicized words are defined in the article) and small group and independent activities/projects that address a range of learning styles are suggested. Many of these are suitable for group work or homework. Discussion questions and activities align with the Common Core National Standards (Reading for Informational Text; Writing Standards for Text Types and Purposes, Research to Build Knowledge, Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use; and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects). Objectives: To supplement the reading and discussion of this magazine, students will: 1. Investigate how trends in textiles, clothing, and style have changed over time. 2. Explore features of the fashion industry and learn how style is a reflection of what’s in our heart and soul. 3. Synthesize new information on their understanding of fashion and style. Pre-reading Activity: Introduce essential questions: (1) What role does fashion play in our society? and (2) How has our sense of style changed over time? While introducing these guiding questions, you might also wish to create some Idea Webs (to capture and organize ideas) about Fashion using headings such as “Women’s Clothing, Men’s Clothing, Children’s Clothing, Color, Accessories, or others. Students can record ideas in the webs as they read through the articles. “Who Wore What? … and When?” by Sherry Bowen (pages 2 – 5): Sometime between 100,000 to 500,000 years ago, humans started wearing clothes. Here’s what some researchers make of our use of clothing long ago. Vocabulary: archaeologists, DNA, draping, lice, populate, status Discussion Questions: Explain some of the reasons that humans first wore clothing. Discuss the historic development of clothing – what it was made from, how it was worn, and what it meant to individuals. Share your thoughts on the meaning of the sentence “Over time, clothing became a symbol,” and discuss if you think this is still true today. Activities: Using details from the article, create a fashion comic book featuring materials and styles that could have been worn by early humans. Perform a dramatic role-play depicting reasons why early humans might have considered wearing clothes. Write a poem about your thoughts on the importance of clothes to early humans. “Sneaking Around” by Marcia Amidon Lusted (page 5): Sneakers have been around only since 1917 and were actually nicknamed sneakers by an advertising agent because of their quiet rubber soles which allowed wearers to sneak up on people. Vocabulary: agent, canvas, coined, customized, engineered 1 Discussion Questions: Discuss how sneakers have changed over time. Share your thoughts about your favorite pair of sneakers. Activities: Create a classroom “Sneaker Galley” and have students draw a picture of their favorite sneakers to hang in the gallery. Host a mock sales appointment pretending to be someone interested in customizing a pair of sneakers and describe special features you would like on your sneakers. Design a “Favorite Shoe” survey and determine if the claim in the article “Sneakers are probably American’s favorite kind of shoe” is true among your classmates and other friends. “Hooray for Comfortable Clothing” by Kassandra Radomski (pages 6 - 8): Clothing styles have changed from the dressy to the casual – Comfortable clothing is in today! Vocabulary: denim, dress codes, frilly, hoops, knickers, petticoats, rompers, Shirley Temple dress, trousers, undergarments Discussion Questions: Discuss the ways that clothing style has changed over time. Explain why these changes took place. Using your school or local library, research information about Shirley Temple and share five interesting facts with others. Activities: Create a five-deck pack of fashion trading cards featuring illustrations and descriptive details of some of the garments or styles identified in the article. Using details from the article, perform a historical fashion show. Pretend you are a fashion writer and prepare a review of one or more of the styles described in the article. “Buttons Are Fasten-ating” by Marcia Amidon Lusted (page 9): Buttons have held clothing together for thousands of years, yet they are much more than a fashion accessory. Vocabulary: accessory, smugglers Discussion Questions: List the fun facts presented in the article about buttons. Share your thoughts about buttons – do you have clothing with zany buttons or a family button box you like to explore? Activities: Using information from the article, design and create a button mobile that features the historical stories about buttons. Using your school or local library, research information about some of the information described in the article and share five interesting facts with others. “From the AppleCorps: Being Fashionable” by Nadia Kassaimah (pages 10 - 11): Keeping your own identity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are important and just as cool as looking fashionable. “Color Clues” by Gwendolyn Le Sax (pages 12 – 13): The color of our clothing can say a lot about us – it can give us clues about our cultural or religious beliefs and traditions, our position in the community, and our personality. Vocabulary: fined, camouflage, delicate, neon, nobility Discussion Questions: Describe the meaning behind some of the colors identified in the article. Discuss other ways in which colors often symbolize meaning, such as during holidays. Share your experiences with color – your favorite, least favorite, or others. 2 Activities: Write a rap or song about color and its meaning in fashion. Create a “Color Cue” display and illustrate pictures of ways in which color clues surround us. create a new color or pattern for blue jeans and create an advertisement to “pitch” it to classmates and other friends. “Be Square” by Danielle L. Schultz (pages 14 - 15): For most of human history, clothing styles were based on squares or rectangles made on the loom. Vocabulary: kimono, pareos, saris, shawls, toga, tunic Discussion Questions: Discuss the different styles that make use of rectangles. Share your experiences wearing clothing that is based on rectangles. Activities: Create a new style of clothing based on a rectangular or square fabric. Research some of the types of clothing discussed in the article and create a collage of “Square Clothing”. “Don’t Get Caught Wearing Red!” by Susan Kegel (pages 16 - 18): Some types of clothing used to be illegal or were only allowed to be worn by certain people. Although we may have dress codes in school, rules about clothing have a long history. Vocabulary: banned, commoners, embroidery, emperor, ermine, headscarves, merchants, Middle Ages, nobles, rebelled, reserved, royalty, samurai, veils Discussion Questions: Describe some of the historic “rules” about fashion and share your opinion about them. Discuss some fashion rules the might affect you today. Activities: Create and illustrate a “Rules of Fashion” poster describing the rules from long ago. Create and illustrate a “Rules of Fashion” poster describing the rules for today. Perform a dramatic role-play depicting the fashion rules of long ago. “So You Want to Learn to Sew?” & “Make Your Own T-Shirt” by Kathiann M. Kowalski (pages 19 - 21): Learn how to make your own custom-made clothing following these step-by- step directions. “Shoes: Some Do, Some Don’t” by Kathy Vincenz (page 22 - 23): The history of our shoe- wearing tells a lot – some do and some don’t! Discussion Questions: Discuss what archeologists know about the shoe-wearing habits of early people. Describe the type of shoes worn during the Middle Ages and the French Revolution. Share your experiences wearing (or not wearing) shoes and compare/contrast your experiences with others described in the article. Activities: Illustrate a shoe poster featuring the fun facts about shoe wearing described in the article. Write a pretend letter to the president of a barefoot club explaining why you would like to becoje a member of the club. Using your school or local library, research information about the Rickshaw drivers, the Tarahumara Indians, and the runners from Kenya and share five facts with others. “Just How Smart Are Your Clothes?” by Charlene Brusso (pages 24 – 25): Our clothes are going boldly into the future! Vocabulary: bacteria, boron carbide fabric, encoded, flexible batteries, microprocessors, repel 3 Discussion Questions: Describe the smart clothes featured in the article. Share your thoughts about the special features of the smart clothes. Activities: Design your own smart clothes and share your ideas at a classroom “Smart Clothes Fashion Showcase”. Create a fashion catalogue featuring the clothes described in the article. Interview classmates and other friends to see what type of smart clothes they would like to see in the future. “What’s Under There?” by Marcia Amidon Lusted (pages 26 - 27): Even underwear has its place in history. Vocabulary: afterlife, braies, chemise, corset, loincloth, smock, union suits Discussion Questions: Describe the different types of undergarments featured in the article. Share your views about the garments. Activities: Write a humorous poem or song about the undergarments described in the article. “Seen Through A Veil” by Sylvia Whitman (pages 28 – 30): In Europe a thin piece of cloth has touched off a thick debate. Vocabulary: bandanas, habits, hijab, modesty, niqab, wimples Discussion Questions: Explain in your own words the debate surrounding the wearing of veils. Describe how veils were worn in history. List some of the purposes veils are worn today. Activities: Create a poster explaining the purposes veils are worn today. Design a bandana that might be worn by an American farmer. “Ants in Your Pants and Bees in Your Bonnets” by Sherry Bowen (p-age 31): Enjoy these idioms and see if you can figure out what they mean.