Seymour Simon's Blog, page 11

Announcing the Cider Mill Winners!

Thank you to everyone from Cider Mill Elementary School who entered theEinstein 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 fromMr. DiCrescenzo’s Class, Nod Hill House.Here is the extraordinarily good piece of writing submitted by Lukas: Adam “Einstein” Anderson, one of the main characters from Lightning Never Lies, is a great thinker who loves science. He uses science to solve puzzles and mysteries, he likes soccer, and he is a smart kid. Einstein is 12 years-old, is average sized, has brown eyes, and is nearsighted. He wears glasses that are too big for his face. He has a friend named Paloma Fuentes, who loves bird watching. Einstein is quiet when he thinks. He got his nickname, Einstein, after Albert Einstein, the most famous scientist of the 20th Century. “Einstein”, a great writer, even inspired me to retell Mr. Simon’s story my way. Here is how it goes: Thursday, July 8, was a warm sunny day. Two teams were playing soccer in a town called Sparta. The team names were the Spartan Blue Jays and the Astorian Red Jays. The score was tied 1-1. A boy and a girl were trying to score a goal. The girl’s name was Paloma Fuentes, a tall, black-haired girl with a pony tail and red sneakers. The boy’s name was Adam (Einstein) Anderson, a middle-sized seventh grader who had brown eyes, was nearsighted, and wore big glasses. Paloma passed the ball to Einstein, and he kicked it and scored the last goal. Soccer practice was over. Einstein and Paloma hopped on their bikes and pedaled to the other side of the park. They leaned their bicycles on a tree and sat down on the wet grass. Paloma took out her bird-watching equipment and watched a heron in the lake. Einstein took out his binoculars because it was also time for the launch of a NASA’s space shuttle Space Transportation System, or STS-65. As he saw the rocket launch, he thought of what he had read in the newspaper. Morris Janus, a town resident, had said that he was kidnapped by aliens. Paloma was watching Einstein think. “What are you thinking of?’’ Paloma asked. Einstein explained the news of Morris Janus. “Why would he said that?” Paloma said. “There’s no such thing as aliens.” “Well, the universe is huge. There should be life on other planets, but we’re not 100% sure that aliens would visit earth,” Einstein replied. Just then, Einstein’s phone rang with music from Star Wars. The music scared away the heron that had then been walking in puddle. “Great,” Paloma said, frustrated. “Sorry,” Einstein said. He pressed the answer button on his phone. “Hello, Mom,” he said. “Uh huh, uh huh, okay, be right there, bye,” and he hung up. “What’s up?” Paloma asked. “We are going downtown to Morris Janus’ house with my mom,” Einstein explained. Einstein’s mom was a news reporter. “Let’s prove what a fake he is!” Paloma said furiously. She sent a quick text to her mom and hopped on her bike. They biked to Einstein’s house. Einstein’s mom drove them to Morris Janus’ house. They all sat at a big, round table. “So tell me what happened?” Einstein’s mom asked Janus. “Last night, a space craft landed in my backyard,” Janus said. “Yeah right!” Paloma whispered. Einstein nudged her under the table. “And then, aliens came out of the space craft,” Janus continued. “They had two arms and two legs, they were green, and they had no pupils.” I cannot tell you the end of the story because it is really Mr. Simon’s story and I have not read the book yet. But I can tell you that I am similar to Einstein because I like science. My favorite subject in science is space exploration. I also like astronomy and I like to read. I guess that Einstein likes to read and astronomy, too, because it is part of science. We both like jokes and have brown eyes. That is how I am similar to Einstein Anderson. In fact, the only difference that I see between him and me is that he is 12 and I am only 8! Congratulations to everyone who entered! I loved meeting you all at the Cider Mill School this week!Seymour

Writing Wednesday: Celebrating Your FOX Writing!

Today I want to share some of the great writing submitted by the kids at Cider Mill School as they described last week’s Red Fox photograph. 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 mouse, the fox jumped up in surprise, but saw nothing. The fox was most definitely, positively sure he heard something, but as he trudged off into the woods, he thought, "it was probably just the howling of the wind." The fox gingerly laid down next to a murky swamp, not minding the smell at all, thinking, "it was the wind, probably just the wind." Lily: September leaves fall on this baby fox as he bathes in September sun. He is looking curiously for any sign of life what so ever. Wind blows on him furiously but don’t worry, his thick copper fur can finally be useful after a long hot summer. Leaves and rocks crunch every few minutes as this courageous fox looks for prey. Maybe it is lunchtime. "Anyone seen any petite animals?" Some people think wolfs are big and bad but inside they have a warm heart. Morgane: I am a red fox sitting on the cold, hard rocks. I groom myself then circle my rocky territory before I find the perfect spot. I lie down and dream about my next meal, maybe rabbit! or chipmunk! mmm… I lick my lips before nodding off. When I wake up with my fur damp with newly-formed dew. I shake my limp fur. I suddenly see a strange man with a contraption, and SNAP! A flash of light comes into view. Startled, I trot away to be followed by CLICK! SNAP! and SNAP! As I disappear into the woods and turn back to see the strange man wave and disappear. Mack: It was chilly autumn day. Leaves falling from trees, raking leaves, then bouncing into them. All of a sudden a fox came out of the forest. He sat down and turned his head at the children jumping into the leaves. As he turned his head you could see a white stripe on his fur but it was very faint. Then he sniffed his nose at the hot dogs sizzling off the grill. He got up for a sec then sat back down. It was like he had already tasted the glorious hot dogs. Then a leaf fell over his head. He picked it with his mouth and trotted back in the forest. Mrs. McCusker’s fourth grade class focused on creative writing, imagining the fox’s thoughts and activities - things that we could not see in the photographs. Drew: A red-orange fox basking in the warm autumn sun. "Is that a bird I smell?" thought the sleek red fox. "I love autumn," thought the fox. "The warm sun on my back. The wind in my fur. The leaves falling. Trees rustling in the wind." Finnegan: It was a very warm autumn day and a red fox with orange eyes was sitting on some gray rocks. The fox was curled up in a ball sunning itself. The birds were chirping and the fox was curious to figure out why they were chirping. Suddenly, out came a black squirrel. The fox got up and ran at an unimaginable speed to get the squirrel. Luckily the squirrel climbed up a tree before the fox got to him. So the fox sat on the rocks again and continued sunning himself. Grant: It was one windy autumn day and there was a fox sitting on a stone. He was thinking of all kinds of things. Then he went to groom his tail and the fox said "Wow, my tail is stinking up a storm." He thought his tail smelled like a rotten egg that had been sitting in the sun too long. Then a bird came along and tried to speak, but the fox said "Don’t disturb me I’m trying to get my tan in." When the fox was tanning he could feel the warm sun blazing on him. After the fox got his tan, he went to his house for dinner. Mrs. Staub’s fourth graders looked closely at the photographs and described details that I did not mention when I originally wrote about the fox: Meredith: The red fox feels the cool breeze and the warm sun on this crisp autumn day. Sitting on hard cool rock with a grassy background. He listens to the bugs with their buggy noises as they crawl around the ground. The light bounces off his red fur and the bright color bounces back to your eyes. It’s great to look at such a magnificent animal. Audrey: The red fox is sitting on smooth and jagged rocks. Its reddish fur is shining in the sunlight, and is blowing in the warm breeze. Its big, brownish eyes look like they are staring right at me. Its little black nose is sniffing the air for any predators or prey. Suddenly it jumps up on its little black paws and scurries away. Daniella: The sly red fox’s fur glimmered in the sun on the hot autumn day, at the edge of the woods in Black Butte, Oregon waiting and waiting for a small mouse to scurry through the rocks. The Autumn leaves danced in the wind one by one. Suddenly a monarch butterfly gracefully flew by, the fox pounced on it trying to catch it. I watched from behind the blueberry bush as the fox tried to catch it. The fox was hot and tired, it tiptoed over to the oak tree in the shade and licked itself to sleep. Thanks again to all 40 students who shared their excellent writing!* (Editor’s note: we added quotation marks around the dialogue, to help your readers "hear" the fox’s voice).

Cool Photo: Cheetah Cubs

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 themtogether from the time they werebabies 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

Surprising and Amazing Venus

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!Seymour

Creating Your Own Teacher Guides to My Books

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 WilsonWhile 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!

Einstein & Paloma’s Experiments Here!

Heads up for lovers of Einstein Anderson: Science Geek! We have really enjoyed reading your writing this week, and hearing about all the ways that you describe yourselves as similar to and also different from the characters of Einstein and Fiona.Have any of you been reading Seymour’s new science mystery chapter books and thinking about trying out the projects and experiments that come at the end of each story?We’ve made that a little easier for you by putting free copies of all the experiments on SeymourSimon.com. They are all in the section calledKids/Free Stuff(mouse over the pull-down menu called "Kids" at the top of each page, and then click on "Free Stuff"). Here’s what the page looks like. You can download whatever experiment you want to try, print it out and you’re ready to go!If you haven’t tried an Einstein Anderson story yet, what are you waiting for?Click this linkto read a sample chapter.And don’t forget, if your school or library has theStarWalk KidseBook collection, you already have access to FOUR of these great books! Just log in and search for “Einstein Anderson.”

The “Biggest” Bear

I received this interesting question from two of the readers of this blog:We have been reading about the Alaskan brown bear and polar bears. Both claim to be the biggest bear. Could you answer this question? Which bear is bigger, the Alaskan brown bear or the polar bear? Thank you very much! You have a wonderful site and books! Thanks for doing what you do. We really do appreciate it very much! Kaitlyn and Jacob,MinnesotaDear Kaitlyn and Jacob, One of the things that I’ve learned over years of exploring and researching my books is that sometimes it is impossible to find the answer you are looking for until you figure out what is the right question! I’ve often started out researching a subject and as I learn along the way, I end up adjusting the question, sometimes more than once.This is one of those times, so let’s think about what you really want to know. What does "biggest" actually mean? Do you mean the heaviest? Or do you mean the longest? As you found, the Alaskan, or Kodiak brown bear and the polar bear are the two largest members of the bear family. The Kodiak bear is the longest (or tallest), while the polar bear is the heaviest(on average). The Library of Congress website has this excellent chart which illustrates the differences between these two kinds of bear:You can see why it is hard to say which is the "biggest" bear. But you can clearly distinguish between the heaviest and the longest/tallest.Thanks for writing, and for giving me a chance to write about the importance of finding the right the question!

Writing Wednesday: Now YOU Write about the Fox!

Yesterday, Seymour Simon spotted a fox in his front yard and wrote about watching, photographing, and imagining what it would be like to be that magnificent animal, basking in the sun.Today we would like you to look at this photograph of the red fox and write a paragraph about what you see (or imagine) in this scene.Use strong adjectives to describe the animal and your reaction to observing it. Set the scene by describing the autumn day, and use all your senses to help this photograph come alive for your reader.Click on the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this blog post if you would like to publish your writing for others to read.

Cool Photo: Visit from a Red Fox!

A visit from a red fox allowed me to capture our Cool Photo of the Week. A few days ago I was at my desk writing, and something coppery colored caught my eye. "What is that outside the window?" I wondered. To my surprise, I discovered this magnificent red fox sunning itself on the stones at the bottom of my driveway. It was one of the first chilly days of autumn here in the Northeast….I think it probably found those stones to be a good spot to soak up the warmth of the sun. The fox hung out for more than two hours, so of course I stopped writing and spent the morning with my camera.As I shot photo after photo, I found myself imagining that I were the red fox, and thinking about all the chores that would fill up my morning.

Internet Safety Rules for Kids

We are so pleased to welcome lots of new users to the Seymour Science blog this week. It is exciting to know that kids, parents, and educators are using this resource, because we create it for YOU! Take a look at the list called "Labels" on the left hand side of the blog page. These are links to lots of stories that we have posted here in the past. As you browse around I’m sure you will find topics in which you are interested. Just click on the label name, and all the stories with that label will pop right up for you to read. For example, if you click on the label calledSpace, you will find all kinds of interesting stories and photographs from space. Dog lovers should try the labelDogs- I think you will like what you see!Writing on this blog is also a great way to practice Internet safety. Did you notice today that it takes a few hours before your comment shows up after you post it? That is because we check every single comment on the website to be sure that you are all using the Internet safely before we make the comment live on the website for everyone to see.We noticed recently that some kids are leaving comments with both their first and last name - not a good idea if you are under 13 years old (don’t worry, we changed your last name to just an initial before we made them live). So, as we do every September, we want to remind students about five important "Internet Rules of the Road." You should follow these rules if you are writing a comment, uploading a photo, or uploading a video anywhere on the Internet, not just on SeymourSimon.com.1. Never give your full name. Use just your first name, or your first name and last initial (I would be "Seymour S").2. Never give your exact address. If you want to say where you are from, keep the answer general. For example, "Alicia N. from Texas." Or "Jeremy S., from Lee Road School."3. I bet you have already figured out that you shouldnevergive your email address or telephone number to anyone you meet on the Internet. That is a BIG no no!4. DO practice kindness when you interact with other kids on the Internet. Treat people you meet with respect, just as you would want to be treated. If something is too mean to say directly to someone’s face, then it is too mean to write on the Internet.5. Your parents and teachers can and should be able to see what you are doing on the Internet. Share your activities with them when they ask, and let them help you with learning the Internet Rules of the Road.Teachers and librarians, this is also a chance to remind you to get parental permission before you send us any photographs of your students.We are always glad to hear from you here at SeymourSimon.com, and we want to keep everybody safe.Keep on writing! I love to hear from you!Photo courtesy of Shannon McClintock Miller