With the recent volcanic eruption in the country of Iceland, I thought young people might like learning some information about this island country. FREEBIE

Using the news in the classroom to introduce topics in history. A Phoenician trading ship was discovered off the coast of Spain and it is hoped that since the ship is only about 6 ft. down, marine archaeologists plan to bring the ship to the surface this year. Freebie includes fun facts about the Phoenicians and several activities as well as the news story.

There are 30 informational questions in the Test your Knowledge Challenge on Maps and Geography. There are also several questions and Did You Know? fun facts. Others in this series include: Women Trailblazers, Candy/Sweets, Presidents and Ireland/St. Patrick’s Day. More to be posted… If you’d like a student version or a resource in Word so you can more easily adapt for your needs, just email me. geshrwh@hotmail.com Also have Test you Knowledge Challenges in the following areas: Women Trailblazers Ireland/St. Patrick’s Day US Presidents Sweets!

There are 32 informative questions in this Test Your Knowledge Challenge on all things SWEET! Great for a Friday activity or for a substitute activity. If you’d like the resource in Word, just let me know. If you’d like a student version, I will be happy to provide that, too. I have similar “challenge” activities on Ireland/St. Patrick’s Day, Presidents and Women Trailblazers. More to come.

Learn about Charles Dickens!

Share this STEM reading resource with your students. This particular reading is on Ada Lovelace, thought to be the world’s first computer Programmer. The short reading shares(in the first person) a recounting of the person’s life(in this case Ada Lovelace) There are several Did You Know? fun facts, comprehension questions, a map skill activity for the area of the world the person lived, a teacher’s section with extension activities, the key and additional links. Great for a STEM reading on a women mathematician, a Friday activity, for Women’s History Month, Pi Day, a substitute lesson and more. STEM Woman Mathematician Reading Passage

Learn about Jules Verne, called the “father of science fiction”. Note: This is also given to H.G. Wells. The Ms. Bie Ografee Reader’s Theater Script has Jules Verne as a guest on her talk show. Lots of interesting information on his life and contributions to literature. Also includes a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions, a teacher page with some extension activities, links and the key. Mrs. Bie Ografee Talk Show Reading Theater Scripts: Vikings Ferdinand Magellan Marco Polo Christopher Columbus Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo Visit with a Crusader Visit with a Victim of the Black Death Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks Harriet Tubman George Washington Carver Katherine Johnson Tuskegee Airmen Marian Anderson Marie Curie Galileo Galilei Sir Isaac Newton Albert Einstein Jane Goodall Moon Landing: Interview with first astronauts to walk on the moon Rachel Carson Jacques Cousteau Thomas Edison Visit with a Pilgrim Revolutionary War Female Spies Revolutionary War Tory Thomas Jefferson James Madison, Father of the Constitution Pioneer Woman, Narcissa Whitman Civil War Women Soldiers Sacagaewa Sequoyah Lewis and Clark Abraham Lincoln California Gold Rush: Visit with a ‘49er Wright Brothers A Road trip Across the USA for Women’s Suffrage WW 2: Women Pilots Elizabeth Blackwell Susan B. Anthony Sonia Sotomayor Ruth Bader Ginsburg Louisa May Alcott Edgar Allen Poe William Shakespeare Charles Dickens Johnny Appleseed Visit with a Leprechaun Visit with a Groundhog To Tell the Truth Plays: Hans Christian Andersen Elizabeth Blackwell Amelia Earhart First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt Elizabeth Blackwell First Lady Edith Wilson First Lady Florence Harding King Tut First Lady Hillary Clinton First Lady Michelle Obama First Lady Abigail Adams First Lady Martha Washington First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln First Lady Dolly Madison First Lady Lady Bird Johnson My website for teachers/kids has lots of geography activities, short reads, factoids on different topics, news, career surveys, bell ringers and more.

Considered to be the greatest writer of the English language, learn about William Shakespeare with this fun/informative play. Shakespeare introduced about 3000 words to the English language . It is said that next to the Bible, his works are the most quoted! Great for Language Arts, study on the Renaissance or on a Friday or day before a holiday when you’d like to introduce your students to famous people with a biography activity. The fun/informative play uses the format of Shakespeare being a guest on a talk show and the studio audience asks questions about his life. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show Series. Also includes: Comprehension/Did You Know?section, LOTS of extension activities/links/key. Other resources of interest: Check out my web quest on Charles Dickens:Today, a person who is very tight with money, is often called a scrooge, after, the main character in A Christmas Carol. Did you know that several other words and phrases were coined by Charles Dickens? Words such as abuzz, flummox, the creeps,round the clock and whiz-bang are credited with Dickens. Other words that Dickens helped to popularize include, kibosh, butter-fingers,boredom,messiness,squashed,bah humbug,and tousled. Here’s another interesting fact about Charles Dickens.Someone said that if you counted all the words which Dickens used in his writing, it was an amazing 4.6 million different words! One of the most famous writers of all times,Dickens also wrote Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and more. My webquest includes 8 fun/informative questions to learn about Dickens. Additional activities/links,too. Charles Dickens, A Webquest This reader’s theater play introduces kids to fairy tale writer,Hans Christian Andersen. His story, The Ugly Duckling, some say was actually about him. Great activity for Anti-Bullying Month in October to go along with reading of this fairytale. Comprehension questions, discussion questions, extension activities and resources are included. Hans Christian Andersen, A Reader’s Theater Script I also have a fun/informative Reader’s Theater Script on Charles Dickens. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series, students will be introduced to the life of Charles Dickens, one of the most famous writers of all time. There are 11 questioners in the play as well as a Did You Know? section of fun facts, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extension activities, additional links and the key.Charles Dickens, A Reader’s Theater Script Use this fun/informative play uses the format of Edgar Allan Poe being a guest on a talk show and the studio audience asks questions about his life. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show Series. Also includes: Comprehension/Did You Know?section, LOTS of extension activities/links/key. Louisa May Alcott:

Part of my Series: Interesting Stories about Presidents, students will learn about Calvin Coolidge and his many animals. Some nicknamed the White House , “Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo”. Additionally, students will learn interesting facts about the 30th President of the United States. The reading passage also include a Did You You? Fun facts and comprehension questions. Check out my other Interesting Stories about Presidents: George Washington and the Camel: Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese: John Quincy Adams Goes for A Swim:

On December 29, 1787, George Washington had a very special surprise for guests at Mount Vernon. A Camel came for a visit! This reading passage shares information on customs and traditions of the holiday season during Colonial times and the visit of the camel. Additionally, there is a Did You Know? fun fact section, comprehension questions, a map skill activity and the teacher page with several links of interest. Part of my new series: Unusual Stories about Presidents! Check out Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese! Another resource that may be of interest: Learn about Martha Washington with this informative Reader”s Theater Script:

Use this reading passage(and extension activities) to learn about the Santa Fe Trail and specifically Wind Wagon Thomas. As people were beginning to travel west by covered wagon along the plains of the Santa Fe Trail, William Thomas, had a most unusual idea. The average trip along the Santa Fe Trail took about eight weeks! He envisioned prairie schooners with sails that could move across the plains on wind-power much faster than wagons hitched to horses. The resource includes a map activity, a Did You Know fun facts about the Santa Fe Trail and several discussion questions. The Teacher page has several extension activities and the keys.

Learn about Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, only the 3rd woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court and the first Hispanic American to be on the Supreme Court. Students will also learn information about the Supreme Court. A great resource for Women’s History Month, a study of the Supreme Court, Hispanic Heritage Month, a Friday activity or as a substitute lesson. Extension activities included. There are 9 Audience Questioners in this Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series of Reader’s Theater Scripts. I also have a resource on the history of the Supreme Court and a Reader’s Theater Script on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Learn about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only the 2nd woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Students will also learn information about the Supreme Court. A great resource for Women’s History Month, a study of the Supreme Court, a Friday activity or as a substitute lesson. Extension activities included. There are 11 Audience Questioners in this Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series of Reader’s Theater Scripts. I also have a resource on the history of the Supreme Court and a Reader’s Theater Script on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, first Hispanic American and 3rd woman chief justice.

If you are studying Westward Expansion and pioneers, specifically the Oregon Trail, this informative Reader’s Theater Script will be a positive addition to your lessons. Based on a true person, the play is about one of first woman to go on the Oregon Trail. Narcissa Whitman kept a journal of her trip. She and her husband(and Henry and Eliza Spalding) left upstate New York for Independence, Missouri(most popular starting point) for their journey along the Oregon Trail to Oregon, where Marcus and Narcissa would become missionaries. The play, packed with lots of information, is one of my Ms. Bie Ografee playsseries, includes a Did You Know? fun fact section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extension activities. Another resource on this topic: Use this reading passage(and extension activities) to learn about the Santa Fe Trail and specifically Wind Wagon Thomas. As people were beginning to travel west by covered wagon along the plains of the Santa Fe Trail, William Thomas, had a most unusual idea. The average trip along the Santa Fe Trail took about eight weeks! He envisioned prairie schooners with sails that could move across the plains on wind-power much faster than wagons hitched to horses. The resource includes a map activity, a Did You Know fun facts about the Santa Fe Trail and several discussion questions. The Teacher page has several extension activities and the

This resource is part of my series, “Let’s Meet…” famous people in ancient history. With this biographical reading passage, students will learn about the Archimedes, Famous Mathematician, Scientist and Inventor of Ancient Greece. There is a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extensions and links. Some of the ideas of Archimedes are still used today! My Let’s Meet… series is growing. Currently, I also have the following in the series: Hatshepsut, Ramses, Socrates, Hammurabi, Aesop and Hannibal, Aristotle, Alexander the Great and more.