Kalan, Robert. (1981). Jump, Frog, Jump. NY: Scholastic. Lobel, Arnold. (1970). Frog and Toad Are Friends. NY: Harper & Row. Musical Connection: Chant Response Science Connection: Leapin’ Frogs Positive Character Traits & Values: loyalty; friendship / belonging; being liked; acceptance In the read aloud book, Jump, Frog, Jump, a frog is followed throughout the day by a variety of animals who would like nothing better than to have him as a meal. When the phase, “Jump, Frog, Jump,” appears in the story, students are encouraged to chant the phase aloud. The words may be accentuated by three sharp claps or by three student hops. As an extension activity, students may create finger puppets of animals and retell the story in play format. Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends, is a collection of short favorite stories for young to adult readers. The characters portray humanistic qualities as they demonstrate true loyalty and friendship in each story. Each chapter in the book portrays the positive character traits of loyalty, friendship and belonging, being liked, and acceptance. Frog and Toad truly have a friendship that all of us would like to have with a friend. “Leapin’ Frogs” is an experiment that teaches young students that air can be a source of power. This activity also encourages learning numbers and /or measuring distances. Materials needed include the following:
Here is the procedure for young learners: Reproduce a frog following the pattern. Reproduce 10 lily pads. Number the lily pads from 1-10. Tape these to the floor an inch apart. Young students will use the number line to measure how far their frog leaped. Cut plastic straight straw in half---each child needs half a straw. Fold over one end of the half straw about ½ inch and tape down the folded end. Tape the frog to the folded end of half straw. Give each child a flexible plastic straw. Insert the free end of the half straw into the shorter sections of the flexible straw. Each child stands behind lily pad number 1 and blows the open end of the flexible straw to launch his or her frog of a giant leap. Using the lily pad number line, record the distance of each child’s frog. Here is the procedure for older learners: Again, reproduce the frog following the pattern. Trace on green construction paper. Follow the above procedures for using the straws as the launching element. Using masking tape, measure off one foot to 12 foot distances on the classroom floor. Students are asked to predict how far their frog will leap. (1’ to 12’ distances). Record prediction on a lily pad. Allow students time to practice launching their leaping frogs in order to define their special technique. Next, students launch their frogs three times in a row. Leap results are recorded on back of their lily pad. Students add the leaps together and divide by 3 in order to obtain an average leap distance. Ask students to compare their prediction to the actual recorded leap distance. Individual student data may be recorded in a bar graph on large chart paper. Ask students to observe and describe the procedure for the longest launch. Students discover that some people have more wind power than others. Open ended sentences serve as starters for children to participate in creative writing responses. Open ended sentences cause children to expand their thinking and encourage originality, expressiveness, and creativity. Here are two open ended sentences to use: “What if I had eyes like a frog?” “If I were a frog, I’d…” Creative writing responses lead to book making. Students may choose to make a big book, accordion book, or a pop-up book complete with colorful illustrated pictures. |