October 15, 2013
Jim Arnosky’s exciting story about running into a dangerous crocodile while paddling in the Florida mangroves is the focus of today’s Writing Wednesday.
Jim is a wonderful science writer - a true naturalist who writes and paints from what he experiences in nature.
In the excerpt below, from his new book WATER STORIES: ADVENTURES AFLOAT, Jim tells about a day spent exploring in a kayak with his wife, Deanna. He describes the boat as sitting very low in the water - just a couple of inches off the surface - which makes it ideal for sliding under branches hanging over the water. It is not so ideal, however, if there is a dangerous animal in the water. Here’s how Jim Arnosky describes the moment when they came upon what appeared to be a floating, rough-barked log:
For your Writing Wednesday activity, I want you to imagine that you are in that kayak and come upon a dangerous croc. What are you thinking? How would you feel? What would you DO? Look closely at all the details in Jim’s painting, and describe the scene as powerfully as you can.
When you are finished, you can click on the yellow "comments" button below to post your writing for others to read.
Happy (scary!) writing!
Note to Educators: Jim Arnosky and I have been friends and colleagues for a long time, and I am so pleased that he has written this new book, WATER STORIES: ADVENTURES AFLOAT for my digital publishing company, StarWalk Kids Media. If you have not checked out our exceptionally high quality and very affordable streaming eBook collection, I hope that you will soon.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
October 15, 2013
I love the fact that these tiny yellow-billed oxpeckers and the huge Cape buffalo live their whole lives together - so I made them our Cool Photo of the Week.
The Cape buffalo and the oxpeckers live together in what is called a "symbiotic relationship," meaning that each of them benefits from being with the other. These birds live their entire lives on their hosts, except when they are nesting in the cavities of trees.
The birds keep the Cape buffalo clean, removing ticks and other insects that are burrowing into its hide. Oxpeckers also hiss when something frightens them, a useful warning to the buffalo, who is prey to other African animals.
The birds have a constant source of food in the insects they eat off the buffalo, and they are also relatively safe from predators when they are on their host animal.
Photographer Marsha Williams, who snapped these shots while on a photo safari in Kenya (Africa), told us: "I love that they are bold enough to go inside his ear and his nose. Kinda gross, but funny!"
Posted by: Seymour Simon
October 9, 2013
It’s Writing Wednesday and today we would like to hear from readers about what they named their pets, and why.
My first dog was a Springer Spaniel named Nova. Nova means "a new star" and that’s what NOVA was: a new star in our family. I loved her so much that years ago, when I did a book called DISCOVERING WHAT PUPPIES DO, I asked the illustrator Susan Bonners to come to my house to use Nova as a model for one of the illustrations in the book! I was looking at the book today for the first time in a long time, and smiled seeing the dedication I wrote back then: "For Nova. Always a Puppy." She was a great dog and faithful friend. My stepdaughter Jules had a Golden Retriever whom she named "Lyra," after the adventurous female character ‘Lyra Silvertongue’ in a book that she like very much, called The Golden Compass.
What did you name your pet, and why did your choose that name? Does it refer to something you love, like I love science or like Jules loved that fictional character? Or does it have something to do with the way your pet looks? How it behaves?
Write a paragraph or two about your pet, what its name is, and why you named it that. Include details that will help us understand why you love that name and how you feel about your pet. You can click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this page if you would like to share your writing for others to read.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
October 5, 2013
Thank you to the students and faculty at Altamont Elementary School - I enjoyed my visit to your school yesterday! We talked about everything from paper airplanes to outer space, and lots of animals, too.
Congratulations to everyone who entered the Moth or Butterfly? contest. We had many good entries; each of you observed, did research, came to a conclusion and then wrote about it. Nice work!
As promised, there are two randomly selected winners - one individual student and one K-2 class. Each one of the winners will receive an autographed copy of my book BUTTERFLIES. Check with Mrs. Ahearn to pick up your prizes!
Here are the winners and what they wrote about which of these animals is a butterfly, and which is a moth:
Emily, age ten, from Mr. Whiteman’s Class, is the individual winner. Emily wrote:
I believe that insect A is a moth. I think this because a moth’s wings are to the side of his body, and it has very dull colors.
On the other hand, I think that insect B is a butterfly because, firstly, a butterflies wings rest upright on its back, and secondly, it has straight, clubbed antennae.
Mrs. Critelli’s Kindergarten Class were the classroom winners. They wrote:
We think that picture A is a moth because we learned that moths are nocturnal and picture A looks like it was taken at night. We also think it is a moth because it is smaller than the insect in picture B. We learned that moths are smaller than butterflies. We also learned that moths don’t have knobs on the ends of their feelers and in this picture we do not see any knobs. These are the reasons we think picture A is a moth.
We think that picture B is a butterfly because we learned that butterflies have knobs at the ends of their feelers and in this picture we see knobs. We also learned that butterflies are larger than moths and the insect in picture B looks larger than the insect in picture A. Picture B looks like it was taken during the day so we think it must be a butterfly because butterflies are out during the daytime. These are the reasons we think picture B is a butterfly.
Thanks we had so much fun learning about butterflies and moths.
Mrs. Ahearn, Altamont’s school librarian, did a beautiful job of organizing everything for my visit this week. Thank you very much, Betty! Your kids were well-prepared and wonderful to work with.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
September 27, 2013
Seymour Simon is preparing to visit the Altamont Elementary School next week, and we are happy to see comments from many new readers on the Seymour Science blog. Students in Altamont Elementary - this contest is for you!
Two lucky winners are going to receive personally autographed copies of Seymour Simon’s BUTTERFLIES. Here is what you have to do to enter:
1. Write a comment on this blog post and tell Seymour whether each of these photographs is a butterfly or a moth.
2. Tell him how you identified it. Give at least two reasons for each insect.
3. Tell us your name (first name only), age and teacher’s name. Don’t forget your teacher’s name, because that is how we will contact you if you are selected as the winner.
4. Be sure to post your entry by midnight, Friday, October 4. The contest ends then.
Two winners 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.
What if you don’t know how to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth? You can find the answer right here on the Seymour Science blog. Look at all the entries under the label "Butterflies." We guarantee you that you will find the answer there!
So, get to work and send us your entries today. Your comments will be invisible until everyone has a chance to enter. Once the contest is over, we will post everyone’s writing.
Good luck!
READERS: Are you wondering how to add your own "comment" to this blog? Click here for exact directions on how to add a comment so you can become one of our Seymour Science writers! We also want you to be safe and not share too much information when you write on this blog, so please take a minute to read about how to stay safe on the Internet. We love to hear from you, so give "comments" a try!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
September 26, 2013
Thank you to everyone from Cider Mill Elementary School who entered the Einstein Anderson Contest. We asked students to read a passage from Seymour Simon’s book LIGHTNING NEVER LIES and tell us about the characters of Einstein and Paloma. Specifically, we asked you to tell us what their characters are like (using examples from the text) and then tell us how you are the same as or different than these characters.
We are very impressed by the quality of the writing that was submitted. Those of you who entered obviously gave some real thought to this assignment.
As promised, we have selected a random winner from each grade, and each author will receive an autographed copy of Seymour Simon’s LIGHTNING NEVER LIES.
Are you ready? Here are the winners of Seymour Simon’s EINSTEIN ANDERSON contest!
Fifth grade winner: Michael C. from Mrs. Stallfort’s class. Michael wrote:
Einstein is a really nice boy who has light brown hair and wears glasses. He really likes computers and bird watching. He does not have a lot of friends. Einstein is a deep thinker and really smart. He has one close friend, a girl, who likes a lot of the same things that he likes. Her name is Paloma.
Paloma has long dark hair which she keeps in a pony tail. Both Einstein and Paloma both like wearing blue jeans. They both like bird watching and computers. Paloma does not have any other friends. Einstein and Paloma both like sports but would rather spend quiet time bird watching.
Einstein and I share a lot in common. We are both athletic, but quiet at the same time. We like to use computers and have a close friend that shares a lot of the same interests. I don’t like bird watching but I do have special interests just like Einstein. We both worry about our friend and think about a lot of things that many people may not understand. That special friend in our lives makes us feel really good and makes us feel special. 
Fourth grade winner: Zach, 9 years old, from Mrs. Layne’s class. Zach wrote:
Einstein likes thinking, soccer, science, birding and research. He wears glasses, does not wear fancy clothes, uses technology and is a good friend. Einstein Anderson got his nickname “Einstein” because he likes to think often. He probably doesn’t like his real name since he always uses Einstein!
Paloma likes soccer, birding and research. She has long black hair, uses technology, is a good friend and always dresses in high top sneakers and jeans and keeps her hair in a ponytail. She does not sound like a girl who likes dresses!
Einstein is interested is science and animals. I like to read about animals too, especially reptiles. Recently, I saved a baby snapping turtle and put it in the pond near my house. I found the turtle on the road in front of my house and brought him to the pond so he was safe. This seems like something Einstein would have wanted to do too.
Third grade winner: Lukas from Mr. DiCrescenzo’s Class, Nod Hill House. Here is the extraordinarily good piece of writing submitted by Lukas:
Adam “Einstein” Anderson, one of...
read morePosted by: Seymour Simon
September 25, 2013
Today I want to share some of the great writing submitted by the kids at Cider Mill School after they looked and the photographs and read what I wrote about the red fox who visited my house. What I particularly like is that you looked closely, observed, and wrote about fresh details in the photographs. You found your own words for describing what was happening in the scene, using imaginative words that engaged all of our senses. And some of you created wonderful new scenes and even let us in on what the fox was thinking. Nice job!
We had many entries from students in Mrs. Bosch’s fifth grade class at Cannondale House, with good use of dialogue* (imagining what the fox is thinking or saying) to describe the scene.
Ben wrote:
The sleek, sly, soft orange fox stared into the cold autumn breeze waiting, hoping for a midday snack to come. The leaves howled and the grass shivered. The rocky surface beneath him stung like ice with a layer of frost. The sun glimmered as if in need of a coat.
Chris: What I imagine is that that the fox was just sitting in this refreshing autumn breeze and thinking about how nice this sunny day is. It was just chilling on those rocks thinking, "my friends really have to try this, they sure are missing out." What I saw was a cool red fox laying down on the little pebbles, with its big fluffy tail flapping in the wind. Its giant ears were probably picking up every little sound around him/her. The face was so pointy, it could probably be used as a butcher’s knife.
Pearson: The orange and red fox sits lazily on the rocky ground as the wind blows gently on its silky fur. He looks up to see birds fluttering their wings looking for a worm. The fox gently lays back down. He is sunbathing. "Ahhhhhhh," he thinks, "this is nice." After some time he gets back up and trots to another nice spot with some food.
Mrs. Froehlich’s Kent House fifth graders used some great adjectives and compound descriptors to describe the fox. Look for compound descriptors like "Autumn-colored fur".... ""sun-colored".... "newly-formed dew."
Mikey: As I gaze out my window, I see a lonely fox licking his autumn-colored fur. He stretches his hind legs and slowly lowers himself to the ground. He stifles a yawn, and shuts his eyes as he starts to bask in the warm autumn sun. He lies there, and I continue to watch him. After a while, he opens eyes and stretches again. Then, he trots off back into the shadowed depths of his kingdom.
Kayla: I can see the sun-colored fox laying on rocks that have been heated up by the bright sun. The fox is sun bathing, but also pretending to be asleep for a possible mid afternoon snack. It is a bright and beautiful autumn day in late October and the fox is startled by the rustling of some leaves, but it is nothing. So, the fox settles down in a nice warm and cozy comfy spot and drifts off to sleep like he’s sitting on a cloud. "Nothing could wake me up now," he thought, but not long after that, a quiet little bunny makes his way toward the fox. Though that bunny was as silent as a...
read morePosted by: Seymour Simon
September 24, 2013
These adorable male cheetah cubs, brothers named Winspear and Kamau, are our Cool Photo of the Week. When they reached 8-weeks-old, zookeepers at the Dallas Zoo gave them their own black Labrador retriever puppy!
Since Labs are relaxed when there are a lot of people around and the puppy will grow with the cubs, zoo experts hope he’ll help keep the cats calm when they join the zoo’s Animal Adventures program, where visitors learn about their highly endangered species.
These cute little cubs will grow fast, eventually weighing about 140 pounds and standing three feet tall (about the size of a four-year-old human).The cheetah is Earth’s fastest land mammal, and can go from 0 to 60 mph (96 kph) in just three seconds!
Even though eventually the adult cheetahs will be much bigger, faster and stronger than the grown Labrador retriever, raising them together from the time they were babies means that these animals will always consider themselves to be part of the same pack, and will remain friendly to each other.
Photos: AP/Dallas Zoological
Posted by: Seymour Simon
September 23, 2013
Another Venus lover! Earth’s "sister planet" is absolutely fascinating, and close enough that we often see it with our own eyes. If you have ever looked at a very bright star that is low in the sky just as the sun is setting, you were probably looking at Venus!
Jackson, from the school I am visiting later this week, is also interested in Venus. Here’s what he wrote:
Dear Mr. Seymour Simon,
I read your book about Venus. It’s a very interesting book. I never knew Venus was as hot as 900 degrees! I’m so glad that I chose to read this book for my summer reading assignment.
I can’t wait to see you when you visit our school this week.
Thank you,
Jackson D.
I am looking forward to meeting all the students at Cider Mill School this week. See you soon!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
September 21, 2013
We recently received this note from teacher Kelly Wilson:
Dear Mr. Simon,
I am a huge admirer of your books and have been using them for years in my classroom. One of my favorites to use is Autumn in America. My second and third grade students love the photos you use in it and I like how you teach sophisticated concepts to the children in a way that is respectful and not condescending. I don’t like science books that "dumb it down" for young readers!
I attached some images of a teaching packet I made about your book. I made this for other teachers to use when reading your book to their classes. It contains the page numbers, the key concepts, and important vocabulary the teachers should cover. It’s a 14 page document in all. It’s based on how I use your book in my class.
I want to share these photos with you to let you know how much I admire your work. If you have time, I’d love to get your opinion of the packet I made. I also want to get your permission to market my packet on the TeachersPayTeachers and Teacher’s Notebook online shops. I’m concerned that I might have violated your copyrights and want to correct it if I have.
These two photos are the cover page and a preview of what’s in the entire packet. I’d be glad to send you the whole packet if you’d like.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for your amazing books!
Sincerely, Kelly Wilson
While I am very pleased that Kelly loves my books and is using my work in her classroom, I can only say that she needs to determine whether her project falls under the definition of "Fair Use" (in US copyright law the Fair Use doctrine states that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder).
I only hold the copyright to the text and certain illustrations (the photographs that I took myself). The publisher owns the rights to the book and some of the photographs are licensed from photographers who own the copyrights.
I’m sure Kelly (and anyone else who asks this kind of question) will understand that I cannot be in the position of judging what is, and what is not, Fair Use. You will have to make that determination on your own.
This is a good question that I hear fairly often, so I’m glad you brought it up.
Thanks for writing!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
