December 12, 2012
I had such a great time yesterday with the students and teachers at Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and they took so many great photographs that Liz (my wife and editor of this blog) decided to make an Animoto video. Click Here to view.
I hope you like it. I really enjoyed my time with you all yesterday!
Eleanor Roosevelt ANIMOTO
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 12, 2012
Welcome to Writing Wednesday!
For this Writing Wednesday, we’re going to use a photograph that was taken when Seymour Simon visited a school in Pennsylvania yesterday. This class built a model of a shark that was so big it needed to be hung out in the hallway!Your Assignment:
In 50 words or less, tell me about what animal model you would build if you could, and why. Use as many descriptive words as you can to tell me about your model. Some of the things you might describe: What animal would you choose? What would it look like? What color would it be? How big would it be? How would other students feel when they saw it? How long would it take you to make it?
When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this post to add your writing.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
December 12, 2012
Seymour Simon visited Eleanor Roosevelt School in Morrisville, PA yesterday, and boy, was he surprised at all the things the students and their teachers had done to prepare for him!
Every classroom door was decorated as a different Seymour Simon book, and even the outside doors of the school were wrapped in paper that made them look like our solar system!
Here are photos of some of the great class decorations and bulletin boards:
A bulletin board dedicated to Seymour’s new book, EXTREME EARTH RECORDS.
This room studied POLAR BEARS.
Isn’t this an excellent WOLVES bulletin board?
This room decided to concentrate on INCREDIBLE SHARKS.
And these guys got really carried away and built a 12-foot long Great White shark in the hallway. Wow!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
December 11, 2012
Today we are sharing three "Cool Photos of the Week," , all from Russian photographer Andrew Osokin. These are all photographs of snowflakes, taken using an extreme macro lens.
Aren’t they beautiful? It makes me wish for snow!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 10, 2012
I have just received this lovely note from Ms. Carolyn Hjembo, the Reading Specialist at Quarry Hill Elementary School in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
Dear Mr. Simon,
My students wanted to tell you how much they enjoyed your visit to Quarry Hill Elementary this morning.
First, Gracie learned some new things when she attended the assembly.
- Thomas liked how you made the paper airplane. The video was amazing!
- Alex liked how you taught us a lot of things about space.
- I enjoyed your assembly and having the time to chat with you at breakfast and lunch.
Thanks so much for visiting us!
You’re welcome, everybody. I had a great time, too!
For kids who want to read more about paper airplanes on my blog, inculding seeing the Paper Airplane video again (or show it to your friends), click here to find all the Paper Airplane stories on my website.
Happy folding!
Seymour Simon
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 10, 2012
We received this great message and photo from a class this week:
After reading Seymour Simon’s PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK, grade 5 students on the Caribbean island of Curaçao decided to launch their own. Students designed their own models and some followed the plans of Pilot Simon himself. After we tested each model, students were eager to make changes and try again.
Isn’t that great? I have always loved flying paper airplanes, and I think most students do, too. If you would like to try, I have posted a paper airplane pattern that you can get you started. Click here for the free download.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 5, 2012
Seymour Simon is preparing to travel to visit five schools in Pennsylvania next week. It is easy to tell because we are seeing so many new readers on the Seymour Science blog. Students in the Pennsbury school district - this AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest is for you!
Two lucky winners are going to receive personally autographed copies of Seymour Simon’s newly updated SCIENCE DICTIONARY, with more than 2,000 entries!
Did you ever spend time browsing through an encyclopedia or dictionary? You might not have been looking for a specific word but just leafing through, finding cool topics and reading about them. For this contest Seymour Simon invites you to browse through his online Science Dictionary and find a word or image that you really like. Here is the link where you can find his Science Dictionary online: http://www.seymoursimon.com/index.php/science_dictionary/
Here is what you need to know to enter Seymour’s Awesome Science Word Contest:
Take a look around in the online Science Dictionary and find a word that you think is an Awesome Science Word. Once you have decided on your word, you have to do three things:
1. Tell us what your word is and explain the definition in your own words.
2. Tell us why you think your word is awesome.
3. Use your Awesome Science Word in a sentence to prove that you really understand what it means.
Here is an example. Let’s say that I look at the online Dictionary pick "geyser" as my Awesome Science Word. I would write:
Definition in my own words: A geyser is a hot, underground pool or stream of water that sometimes explodes into the air, releasing hot water and steam.
Why it is awesome: I think it is awesome that hot water, smoke and steam can just explode out of the ground without any warning.
Using it in a sentence: If you ever go to Yellowstone National Park, don’t walk too near the "Old Faithful" geyser, because you never know when it is going to blow!
Here is how to enter once you have selected your Awesome Science Word:
A. Click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of the blog to enter the contest by sharing your word along with your definition, why you think it is awesome, and your sentence using your word.
B. When you write you information, be sure to also tell us your name (first name only), your school, and your teacher’s name. That way we can find you if you are the winner!
C. Be sure to post your entry by midnight on Thursday, December 13. The contest ends then.
RULES:
- Two winners in the Pennsbury Schools will be chosen randomly from all the correct entries.
- Older students may enter individually, and we will pick one winner.
- Students in grades K-2 may enter as a class and work with their teacher to enter the contest; there will be one classroom winner.
- Both winners will receive copies of the printed version of the SCIENCE DICTIONARY, autographed by Seymour Simon.
- Students who are not in the Pennsbury (Pennsylvania) school district may also enter this contest. If we have at least 20 entries from other schools, we will randomly choose a third prizewinner from the non-Pennsylvania entries.
This new book is completely updated, and being published by Dover Books on December 19.
So, get to work and send us your entries today. Good luck!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 5, 2012
Welcome to Writing Wednesday, which is about an item in today’s Science News.
Sandhill cranes are an endangered species, and bird scientists in Mississippi are going to unusual lengths to try to save their chicks by moving the babies to the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.
The problem is, before you can move a chick, you need to catch it.
"We don’t want to spook the cranes," whispered Megan Savoie, crane project director at the Audubon Species Survival Center. Ms. Savoie was dressed in a white bag, her arms raised high when she said this. The rescuers are capturing the babies by dressing up like an adult sandhill crane!
Your Assignment: Imagine that YOU are one of the crane rescuers. In 50 words or less, tell us what would you whisper to the baby chicks so that they would not run away? How would you feel about being a rescuer?
When you have finished your writing, you can post it here if you would like others to read it. Simply click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this post to enter your writing. Or you can share your writing with your family, friends or your class.
Happy writing!
Photo: The Associated Press
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 4, 2012
My choice for Cool Photo of the Week is this shot of wild horses thundering through a canyon. It was shot by photographer Katarzyna Okrzesik. Aren’t they magnificent?
You can read more about HORSES in my book of the same name. Look for it in your library!
Teachers - there is also a free, downloadable Teacher Guide to HORSES on this website. Click here to access.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 3, 2012
We received this lovely note and photograph after the recent NCTE Conference in Las Vegas. It was fun to meet some of my Twitter friends there!
It was SO much fun to meet you and your wife at NCTE! We are looking forward to getting on the Starwalk site with kids this winter and using the books as resources for our students’ inquiries.
Thank you for your gracious welcome and visit. We’ll be in touch with student work.
Happy Thanksgiving from Idaho!
Angie Young and Jayna Eichelberger
Posted by: Seymour Simon
