More Creative Investigations by Linda Spellman

Learning Works

Grade:  4-6

Summary:  This book presents 38 separate topics for research investigation related to ten basic categories and one hundred divisions within the Dewey decimal system. Because of this, children will have a wide variety of possible research subjects.

For each topic there are three activity categories: Research, Creative Writing, and Art in Action. Within Research, there is vocabulary, library skills, and one involving a report.

This book also includes a description of the Dewey decimal system, a list of divisions, and tips on how to use the library.

Some topics covered include:

California Missions
Greek Myths
Medical Marvels
Poetry
Music
Geography
An example of a lesson is taken from "Children's Books":

Research: 

Make a crossword puzzle with provided definitions used in literature
Use the library to find the titles of various books. Children learn what historical fiction, science fiction, fables, myths, tall tales, etc. are
Compare Mother Goose stories with Hans Christian Andersen or Aesop's fables.
Creative Writing:

Write and illustrate your own fable.
Write and illustrate several nursery rhymes imilar to those found in Mother Goose.
Write a brief biographical sketch about something you have done or has happened to you.
Art in Action:

Make a mobile showing the variety of book styles.
Construct a hornbook
Create a learning center
After this lesson, you can then take ideas from it to develop new ones. Have children research what school was like in colonial times as they learn about the hornbook. Find out who Aesop was. Research some Caldecott Medal winners. These are just a few examples. You will think of many more.

I especially like this book because when there were writing assignments, my children always had difficulty choosing a subject. Here you have hundreds of ideas and projects to get them started.

Book Details: 48 pages
Condition: softcover, very good condition.