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Gila Monsters Meet You At The Airport

Language: English

A New York City boy has some preconceived ideas of life in the West and it makes him very apprehensive about the family’s move out there. LeVar learns more about the West when he joins a biologist who shows him the Arizona desert and tells him about the plant and animal life—and he learns just what Gila monsters are.

Here are activities to do after watching this episode:

Maps

You will need:
• large piece of paper
• pencil
• crayons and/or markers
• ruler

Directions:
1. Think about where you live. Is it in the city? On a farm? In a small town?
2. What would your home and neighborhood look like if you were sitting on a cloud up in the sky?
3. Draw a map of your home and the area around it. Use a ruler to make the roads and houses and other buildings.
4. Share your map with someone who lives with you. Do you have everything placed where it should be? Could LeVar find your house by using your map?

  

Airport Fun

Do you ever spend time waiting in an airport? Here are some activities to do while you wait:

• Choose a word. Then think of all the words you can that rhyme with that word.
• Count how many people get off of an airplane when they come through the door, or count how many people are in line.
• Go through the alphabet and find something that begins with each letter. Start with A…what do you see that begins with A? When you find one thing, then go on to B. Can you find objects that go all the way to Z?
• Beforehand, plan a scavenger hunt by making a list of items for your children to look for, such as a pay phone, a blue uniform, a baggage claim sign, a red suitcase, a person using a computer, and so on. Check off items as they are spotted.

Check out some of these books on your
next trip to the library:

  • Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
  • Mitchell Is Moving by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
  • The Big Hello by Janet Schulman

READING RAINBOW has a resource library that includes teacher guide materials as well as reading programs for use in the public libraries. You can download these resources from GPN at:
www.gpnresources.com

If you would like more information about READING RAINBOW or if you would like to learn more about other educational products please visit the GPN web site.

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