April Pulley Sayre
Children's Author
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Educators' Corner
Storytime Themes & Curriculum Links

Many librarians (and teachers) link my books together to create special storytimes, or to introduce a curriculum concept that will be covered in class. 

Click these links to find books that relate to each concept. Also included are ideas and activities for introducing some of the books. (My thanks to all the media specialists who suggested these links.)

Art Projects

See all kinds of art projects related to my books.

Noodle Man: The Pasta Superhero
If You Should Hear a Honey Guide
Home at Last
Turtle Turtle, Watch Out
Splish Splash, Animal Baths
Army Ant Parade
Shadows
Geography Activities

Map your neighborhood after reading It's My City! At Aurora Elementary, each class did art, maps, and reports related to one of the animals in Home At Last.  

Math Activities

Download ONE IS A SNAIL, TEN IS A CRAB worksheets.

Worksheet I simple math
Worksheet II intermediate math
Worksheet III advanced problem solving
*the above files requier Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed and downloaded.
 

Mathematics Standards Fulfilled by One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab


South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY
South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY
South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY


South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY


South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY


South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY


South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY

South Hill Elementary, Ithaca, NY
Music Activities


       

Ms. Frederick, at Trumansburg Elementary, NY had each of her students compose music for Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! The students performed the song as a chorus.

Writing Activities
Students in Henderson, KY, practiced persuasive writing by writing letters about why they wanted to have lunch with the author. I had a terrific lunch with the winning letter writers.


Students at Pelham Road Elementary in SC wrote and illustrated their own “big book” versions of my “Exploring Earth’s Biomes” series. They designed their books for younger readers and shared these books with the kids in younger grades.


Students at South Hill Elementary studied the sound words in my books such as CROCODILE LISTENS, then created their own invented words and illustrated them.
Students at Wren Elementary in Anderson, SC, wrote book reviews to practice their writing skills.
Students at Trumansburg Elementary, NY, wrote their own follow ups to THE HUNGRY HUMMINGBIRD.
Students at Trumansburg Elementary, NY wrote cards with book illustration covers.
Mary Lynn Head at James A. Garfield Elementary School in Indianapolis, IN stands next to the giant army ants that decorated her hallway. She, principal Honey Poole and writing specialist Martha Bird had the entire school do an art/writing contest before my visit. Schools decorated their doors to fit a book theme. Each classroom did writing activities to respond to the books they read. They wrote letters, reviews, riddles, responses, and poems. Even the youngest students did simple writing activities which used phrases from my books and created variations. For instance, one group created variations of the book title “Put on Some Antlers and Walk Like a Moose.” They wrote and illustrated wonderfully creative phrases such as “Put on a beak and peck like a woodpecker!” and “Put on a blow hole and breathe like a whale!” Now that’s thinking out of the box!


Here’s a real poet-tree, with poems created in cinquain form after reading my book Tropical Rain Forest.
James A. Garfield Elementary School in Indianapolis.
This upper elementary class created essays about the characteristics of baths, what they are similar to, what they are different from, and why they are important.
This class created riddles based on what they learned about animals in HOME AT LAST. You read the clues on the first page then flip up the page to see the animal they describe.
In this reading comprehension/writing exercise students identified and described problems and solutions found in my book TURTLE, TURTLE, WATCH OUT!

 
Media Specialists Go Wild!

One of the things I love about school visits is meeting the extraordinary media specialists who help bring books into children’s lives. A school library, well supported, can be the heart of a school. In schools with great media specialists, where libraries are appreciated, the library is not only a resource for knowledge, it’s an engine that feeds joy, natural curiosity, and a love of learning. The supportive, welcoming atmosphere created by a great library/media specialist spills out of the library, enriching the whole school. The same is true of public library media specialists, whose influence soaks into the surrounding community. Here is a gallery of some of the creative things media specialists do to celebrate author visits and spice up book talks. 


Debbie Maddox, Pelham Road Elementary, SC
spent a lot of time sharing my books before my visit.

Pam Rone, of Niagara Elementary in KY, sponsored a pasta art contest and an Italian banquet to celebrate with the winners. Wow!

Susan Pardue, at Cairo Elementary in KY gets kids enthused about the author visit.


Principals get into the act, too, at Boone Grove Elementary in Indiana!

Michele Kolodij of Trumansburg Elementary School, NY has an awesome discovery center, connected to the library, where kids study science in a hands-on way. They studied turtles before my visit. Fantastic!		  

Share your activity ideas!

I'd love to hear how you are using my books in your classroom, library, or bookstore. Send me an e-mail about what you're doing and I'll send you a signed bookplate to put in a book. Just be sure to include your snail mail address and the person/class to whom you'd like the bookplate dedicated. If you send an idea, I'll assume it's okay to share it on this website, with credit to you and your school. 
   
April Pulley Sayre
Children's Author
E-mail: apsayre@aol.com
(Please give your email a specific, book-related subject line. Otherwise it may be accidentally deleted as junk mail.)