Seymour Simon's Blog, page 38

This Puppy Moves Like Jagger!

Today’s Cool Video of the Week is the cutest puppy dance we have seen in a long time. Our friend Henry, from Connecticut, has been videotaping his corgi, Sparky, doing his kibble dance at feeding time. What do you think? Cute or Not? You can read and hear more about the cute things that puppies do in Seymour Simon's award-winning eBook, WHY DO PUPPIES DO THAT? Click here to go to iTunes and download a free sample for your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad.

Pluto Clue

Did you know that Seymour Simon's SCIENCE DICTIONARY is available on his website for you? Here is an interesting definition that may have come up in the research that many of you have been doing this week for your contest entries. Have you come across these words - Kuiper Belt? This is what the Kuiper Belt looks like. Now click here for Seymour's definition, to help you understand what Kuiper Belt means.

Writing Wednesday: Moose Emergency!

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to use your writing to convince people to support an important cause. The Problem: 2012 is one of Alaska's snowiest winters ever. 92 inches of snow have already fallen in Anchorage, Alaska - that's 18 inches more than they usually get in a whole year! And there are still ten weeks of winter left. The snow is so deep that moose - the largest deer on Earth - are using plowed highways and railroad tracks to get around. This is dangerous, and they are being hit by trains and cars in record numbers. Although the moose is not officially endangered, the population is much smaller because of hunting and other human activities. The Alaska Moose Agency wants the governor to declare a "Moose Emergency," so that they can get permission to clear trees and cut paths to give the moose safe pathways to walk on. Your Assignment: Imagine that you are part of the Alaska Moose Agency, and you are making posters to hang up all around town, asking for a Moose Emergency. The poster can't have too many words on it, or it will be too hard to read. So, you must argue your case, and make people care about saving the moose…..in 50 words or less. Tips to Make Your Writing Powerful: o Set the scene by appealing to your reader's senses and imagination. o Include descriptive details to help to convince the reader that your cause is important. o Use strong verbs to get your reader to take action. Give it your best shot. When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing. Photo: Donna Dewhurst Note to Teachers and Library Media Specialists:I have created a Guide called “Writing Exciting Nonfiction,” which you can download by clicking on this link. It outlines different techniques that I use in my writing, and includes many examples from my books. I have posted it so that you can use it with your students. Please let me know if it is helpful, and share any other feedback about how we can make this blog a productive tool for you to use in exploring and encouraging nonfiction writing with your students.

Cool Photo: Pluto and its Moons

We're getting lots of entries in the 3 Cheers for Pluto contest. Readers can enter by clicking on "Comments" for the blog entry, and telling me three facts that they have learned about Pluto. There is no "correct" answer - any facts that you think are interesting will qualify (as long as they are true!). Lots of you are writing about the fact that Pluto has three moons, and one of them, Charon, is almost as big as Pluto itself. So, for this week's "Cool Photo of the Week," I thought you might enjoying seeing what Pluto, Charon, Nix and Hydra look like together in the sky. This photograph was taken in 1990 by the Hubble Telescope.I am enjoying reading what you are all finding out about Pluto, the dwarf planet. Be sure to enter by midnight this Friday, February 10th for your chance to win a personally autographed copy of my book OUR SOLAR SYSTEM!

SNAP! Goes the Flower

Isn't this a pretty yellow flower, floating in a puddle? Don't let your eyes fool you. This is a carnivorous (meat-eating) plant, and scientists think it is one of the fastest bug-eating plants on Earth!Bladderworts eat tiny bugs (smaller than a flea) that live in the water. The plants have bladders (tiny, closed bags) with tiny hairs near the opening of the bag. When a micoscopic bug swims by and brushes against the hairs, the mouth of the bladder pops open, sucks in a gulp of water, and snaps shut, trapping the bug inside! Until recently, we didn't have a way to judge just how quickly this happens. But recently, French and German scientists used high speed cameras to capture the ambush, and discovered that it happens in a millisecond (there are one thousand milliseconds in one second). That makes the Bladderwort one of the fastest plants in the pond. And it looks so innocent!

Cool Video: Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, in Northern California, is one of nature's most spectacular sights. John Muir, the great American environmentalist, explorer and "father of our national parks," wrote of Yosemite: "It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter." Yosemite has been officially declared a World Heritage Site, because of its gorgeous granite cliffs, wild rivers, waterfalls, and giant sequoia groves. Yosemite's sprawling wilderness covers nearly 1,200 square miles - that's five times bigger than the city of Chicago! The park is a very diverse habitat, providing homes for many plants, insects, birds and other wild animals, including bobcats and gray foxes.Yosemite National Park is a place that everyone should have the opportunity to see…..but not everyone can travel to Northern California. That is why I was so excited to discover this magnificent, 4-minute-long, high definition video of Yosemite National Park, by filmmakers Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. They used time lapse photography - which means that you film the same scene over a period of time. When it is all strung together into a film, it seems to 'speed up' time. So, this is our "Cool Video of the Week." Enjoy your visit to Yosemite!Bobcat Photo: U.S. Park Service

Contest: 3 Cheers for Pluto!

It is easy to tell that another Seymour Simon school visit week is coming up - we have been getting so many comments from new readers on the Seymour Science blog. Students in Wayne, New Jersey, Skillman, New Jersey and Newtown, Pennsylvania - this contest is for you! Two lucky winners will receive personally autographed copies of Seymour Simon's OUR SOLAR SYSTEM (grades 3-6) and PLANETS AROUND THE SUN (grades K-2). Here is what you have to do to enter the 3 Cheers for Pluto Contest: 1. Seymour is thinking about writing a book about Pluto. That means he is starting to research information about the dwarf planet. 2. He would like you to add your own research about Pluto. Click the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this blog post, and tell Seymour 3 facts about Pluto. 3. You can find your facts on this blog, in Seymour's books about the solar system, or using other resources, like the library and the Internet. Any fact is ok (as long as it is true!) 4. Tell us your name (first name only), school and email address. If you do not have an email address, tell us your teacher's name, so we can contact you if you are the winner. 5. Be sure to post your entry by midnight, Friday, February 10. 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. Do you need some help getting started? You can find facts about Pluto right on this blog. Look at all the entries under the label "Solar System." We guarantee you that you will find information 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!

Contest: 3 Cheers for Pluto

It is easy to tell that another Seymour Simon school visit week is coming up - we have been getting so many comments from new readers on the Seymour Science blog. Students in Skillman, NJ and Newtown, Pennsylvania - this contest is for you! Two lucky winners will receive personally autographed copies of Seymour Simon's OUR SOLAR SYSTEM (grades 3-6) and PLANETS AROUND THE SUN (grades K-2). Here is what you have to do to enter the 3 Cheers for Pluto Contest: 1. Seymour is thinking about writing a book about Pluto. That means he is starting to research information about the dwarf planet. 2. He would like you to add your own research about Pluto. Click the yellow "Comments" link at the bottom of this blog post, and tell Seymour 3 facts about Pluto. 3. You can find your facts on this blog, in Seymour's books about the solar system, or using other resources, like the library and the Internet. Any fact is ok (as long as it is true!) 4. Tell us your name (first name only), school and email address. If you do not have an email address, tell us your teacher's name, so we can contact you if you are the winner. 5. Be sure to post your entry by midnight, Friday, February 10. 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. Do you need some help getting started? You can find facts about Pluto right on this blog. Look at all the entries under the label "Solar System." We guarantee you that you will find information 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!

Writing Wednesday: Stone and Water

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every Wednesday you can publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. Writing Wednesday has two simple rules: 1. Give us the best you've got in 5 minutes. That's right - five minutes of creative writing. Think of it as a word extravaganza to warm up your brain for the rest of the day! 2. Tell us your first name, the name of your school, and how old you are. Ready? Let's go! The poet Mary Oliver wrote this in one of her poems: It is the nature of stone to be satisfied. It is the nature of water to want to be somewhere else.* What do you think she is saying about the difference between stone and water? How would you describe the ways that stone and water are different? What do you like or dislike about each of them? Click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing. Happy Writing Wednesday! *Excerpted from THE LEAF AND THE CLOUD, by Mary Oliver. Da Capo Press, 2001. Photo: Russel Wills

Skyping about Strange Mysteries

The students at James Fallon Elementary in New Jersey have been doing a Seymour Simon Author Study, and they finished it up with a virtual author visit (also known as a Skype session) with Seymour Simon on Monday. These are his interviewers - fourth and fifth graders who had lots of questions for him, especially about his newly re-published and always popular book, STRANGE MYSTERIES.Some students wondered whether he knew what happened to the "ghost ship" Marie Céleste, found abandoned but steaming ahead in the Atlantic Ocean, even though the weather was good and her crew was experienced. But of course, if he knew the answer, it wouldn't be a famous mystery! Their teacher, Lorrie Maggio-Huber, wrote after the session: The students at Fallon had a great time concluding their author study with a super discussionwith Mr. Simon!