Fireworks & Meteor Showers

Our Phantom fireworks were awesome! I'm still excited 12 days later. Our favorite was Dragonslayer (or was it Dragon's Tears?), a must-buy for next season.

Speaking of fireworks, nature will be having a pretty cool display during the annual Perseids Meteor Showers August 11 and 12. Start nagging your parents now to make a camping reservation, because you’ll be able to see the meteor showers better away from city lights. Even if you’re in town, though, you might be able to spot a few meteors if you roam the sky with your eyes (don’t stare at one place), especially between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the night/early morning of Aug. 11/12 and Aug. 12/13. What a great excuse to stay up late!

In the meantime, you can see Venus near the moon in the Western sky about one to two hours after sundown. I saw it over my neighbor’s house a week ago—it’s very bright and big. Saturn and Mars are becoming visible, too, above and to the left of the moon. This will continue into August.

Here are some great Web sites for more information on stargazing, astronomy, and physical science--all useful for school, come fall.
Night Sky-at-a-Glance Weekly chart from Sky and Telescope Magazine
Amazing Space Interactive lessons, nightly sky chart movie, and more.
Astronomy for Kids Sponsored by Astronomy Magazine, this site provides simple, fast facts; tips on star-gazing; and information about the sun and moon, spotting constellations, and navigating with the stars.
The Solar System Astronomy Magazine’s descriptions of individual planets.
San Jose State University Physics Site Demonstrations of physical properties and laws for middle and high school students studying physical science:
Kids Astronomy Really cool interactive site, though some may think it’s too simplistic.
StarChild The NASA student learning center. Choose Level 2
Imagine NASA student learning center for ages 14 and up.
Astronomy Web Site Directory NASA’s directory of other great astronomy Web sites for students.

Phantom or TNT?

So far this Independence Day, we have tried the smoke balls and ground blooms made by the Phantom fireworks company, and I have to say that they do not compare to the quality of the TNT fireworks we bought last year. These smoke balls, for instance, do not produce the colored cloud that TNT smoke balls do; it's just a little stream. They also don't last as long. There simply isn't enough smoke to pretend you are traveling by Floo Network. (See photo at right.) I'm curious to know if anybody has TNT and Phantom side by side so they can compare. Are the smoke balls of both brands pathetic this year, or are Phantom fireworks just inferior? Perhaps both brands' smoke balls contain less powder this year so that they cost less to produce? Or did we just happen to buy a lame batch? I hope the Phantom fountains are good, because we chose not to go to the big fireworks in the sky in favor of a ground show at home. Looking forward to the King of Bling as our finale...

Lizard Tails.

Is it just me, or are wiggling detached lizard tails kind of creepy? There’s just something unnatural about a tail (without a body) flipping around on the ground. It is highly engaging to my cat, Athena, however, who has discovered that lizards love the rocky area in our back yard. I think she’s caught about 20 in the last two weeks, mostly so she can play with them.

I looked into this odd phenomenon of tails snapping off and wiggling and discovered that it’s an adaptation. Many lizards’ tails are not well connected to their bodies, enabling them to actually shake them off and run from a predator who’s caught them by the tail. It’s an especially useful technique for young lizards, who happen to have especially attractive tails (especially if you’re one of their predators). Visit the Audobon society’s Web page for more precise information http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/wildlife/lizards.html Scroll all the way to the bottom to read about lizard tails.

Happy Birthday, William!

Nobody knows for certain when William Shakespeare was born, but they do know that he was baptised on April 26, and that children in those days were typically baptised within three days--often on the third day--of being born. (In fact, the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer at that time recommended that babies be christened before the Sunday or holy day following their birth). Counting back three days, then, would bring us to April 23, which is also the day on which he died--that we do know. Therefore, April 23 has for hundreds of years been recognized as his official birthday...though there is some evidence that he was, in fact, born on April 22.


Note that April is also National Poetry Month. And in fact, Shakespeare composed
· 154 sonnets
· four longer poems
· 37 plays, all in poetic rhythm

You can access his entire works online at http://shakespeare.mit.edu/. You can also read up on some interesting Shakespeare history at author Anthony Holden's Web site: http://www.englishhistory.info/Shakespeare/

I recommend these films of Shakespeare’s plays:
Romeo and Juliet (1996), starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio—contemporary setting.
Romeo and Juliet (1968), directed by Franco Zeffirelli—traditional setting, and a real classic.
Much Ado About Nothing (1993), starring Kenneth Branagh, Kate Beckinsale, and Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee and Harry Potter's Divination professor, Sybil Trelawney)

More Public Libraries in the Greater Sacramento Region

Okay, there are other libraries in the Sacramento region, and I'm sure they all have perfectly splendid programs for teens. So, here are the links:

Dixon Public Library and its really cool teen page called THE YARD
Yolo County Public Library (includes Davis branch) You'll find links for teens and events here.
El Dorado County Public Library and its pretty cool Teen Page
Roseville Public Library and Teen Zone page (featuring recommended books)
Folsom Public Library (The branch on Stafford St. has a fireplace, which would have been nice today)
Lincoln Public Library and Teen page

National Poetry Month

It's also National Poetry Month, which is another big thing in the library world because of all the poetry they have on their shelves! Maybe your school is having a poetry contest, or this is the month all submissions for your school's literary magazine are due so the staff can go through them and choose pieces for publications. What?! You don't have a literary magazine at your school? Well, start one! If you like writing poems, short stories, plays, character profiles, songs, comics, and/or editorials (hello--what do you think a blog is?!), then you should have a place to publish your material on your school campus. You and all the creative writers you don't even know yet who also go to your school. So, start a literary magazine, if you don't have one. Approach your favorite English teacher to be the faculty advisor. (Most creative writers do have favorite English teachers.)

In the meantime, check out your local library for teen programs on zine creation and poetry readings or workshops. There is a POETRY SLAM TOMORROW (Tuesday, April 13) for Sacramento area teens at the Elk Grove branch at 3:30. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners! 7th through 12th-grade students are welcome.

Find other events on the Sacramento Library Teen Page. Just click on Teen Events.

Zines and Manga Mania

It's National Library Week, so maybe this is a good time to visit your local library. Free computers, free books, and lots of great programs, like movies and DIY stuff--all for FREE!

There are several cool Manga and Anime events going on at the Sacramento Public Library this month, and if you don't live in Sacramento, you can probably find several cool Manga and Anime events going on at your local public library.

At the Rancho Cordova branch on Sundays at 3, you can watch old and new Anime and Anime Music Videos, play CCGs, draw, and socialize.

Or, check out this description of an Anime party at the Walnut Creek branch: "Hang out and discuss your favorite manga while enjoying Japanese snacks and making cool stuff. Cool stuff includes, but is not limited to: bookmarks, greeting cards, candy sushi, and origami." 3:35 Wed. April 21. I think they mean candy AND sushi, not sushi-flavored candy. But I could be wrong.

Also on Wed. the 21st, Colonial Heights is having a Manga party at 4:00.

And along the same lines, for those interested in self-publishing their Manga artwork, there are a couple of SPL programs on creating your own zine: tomorrow night, 6:00 at Orangevale branch, and Saturday the 17th, 3:00, at Valley Hi-North Laguna in the Elk Grove area. Go to http://cal.saclibrary.org/eventcalendar.asp for more information.

The Cottonmouth Club

If you haven't read this fantastic book by local author, Lance Marcum, I suggest you do. It's awesome and appealing to all ages. My husband read it, I read it to my teenaged daughter when she was younger, and my son is reading it now (he's in third grade). It's set in the 1960s, and it's about a California boy who spends the summer with his cousins in the South. Their adventures are sometimes amusing and sometimes dangerous and intense. The story is fast-paced and entertaining, funny but meaningful. I think you'll love it. The author recently retired from the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County and is currently substituting at my son's school. So guess what? He got our book autographed yesterday! I was so excited! If I were still a public library librarian, I'd definitely have Mr. Marcum give a book talk at my branch. He's cool.

No matter where you live or how old you are, read the book. If you are a grade-schooler in the Sacramento area, keep your eyes peeled for a sub named Mr. Marcum.

Athena Takes Her Tea with Milk

Athena Takes Her Tea with Milk
Originally uploaded by MargaretKeys185

Who's the cutest little kitty in the world? Athena is! We love her. She's a loyal, loving pet who takes her tea with milk.

National Library Week...

...is coming up, so during April I'm going to be compiling a list of my students' favorite books and authors, figuring out which are available for free at Sacramento Public Library, and then making that list available the first week of May. Public participation is welcome. Please jot down your favorites by making a comment to this blog post. Thanks!

Information Portal

Most of the middle school students I know rely on books and Web sites when they are doing research for a school project. Sometimes you do need to read books to get all of the required information and to get to know your topic thoroughly. But sometimes you need quick, factual information, and for that, encyclopedias, atlases, and other reference books are helpful. But, you don't drive yet, so getting to the public library can be difficult. And the school library might only be open at lunch, which doesn't give you enough time to find all you need.


Here's the good news: you don't always have to go to a library to use quality reference materials. Infoplease is an excellent Web portal to all kinds of information you need for science and social studies projects and reports. Just click on one of the tabs in the horizontal blue bar to access information. Tabs of particular interest are Atlas (maps), Encyclopedia (quick facts and overviews), Countries (flags and more in-depth information), and Timelines. Remember that encyclopedias provide information on a wide variety of topics, like countries, social and political movements, historical periods, scientific theories or discoveries, inventions, and technology. They are a great place to start researching a topic that is new to you. You will learn enough about a broad topic to figure out what aspect you want to focus on, and you’ll probably also discover through reading the encyclopedia entry what words might make good search terms. From there, you’ll be prepared to find a good book and maybe a couple of magazine articles or Web sites, depending on what’s available and what your teacher requires. But honestly, you often only need the type of information that is available in these types of reference materials.

Anyway, using Infoplease can save you from those general, unfocused searches on the Web that either lead to nowhere or everywhere. Why be overwhelmed when you can get right to some reliable, appropriate information? Infoplease has even more useful links in the left-hand blue column on its home page. Of special note: Biography, Sports, and Homework Center. Check it out!

Tree Frogs of Sacramento County

Last night there was a tree frog in our pool! He swam around, perched on the tile just beneath the surface so that his face stuck up just enough for air, and then he swam away to another part of the tile. Eventually he scaled the side of the pool like Spiderman and hopped away.

Is chlorine good for frogs? I kind of doubt it, don't you? We had a pet frog for about three years. He'd been caught by a neighbor. Since he had already been removed from his natural habitat (which I don't think you should do to a frog), we kept him. He had a terrarium with frog bedding in the bottom, real tree branches, a couple of tiny ponds, and a fake miniature tree. His name was Flip. We filled his ponds with bottled spring water, as frogs are very sensitive and cannot tolerate chemicals, such as chlorine. In fact, the health of frogs indicates the health of our environment because their skin is so porous and they are so sensitive.

So, I worry about frogs swimming in pools. There are so many frogs in our neighborhood--I hear them at night--that I was wondering where they are all getting their water. It's not like we live near a stream. Now I know. Backyard swimming pools!

This reminds me that it is vernal pool season in Sacramento. If you are interested in visiting ponds and seeing what creatures and plants thrive in them, go to http://www.vernalpools.org/MatherSchedule.htm for information about visiting the vernal pools at Mather Field. To ensure the protection of this special ecosystem, you can only visit the pools with a guide, but the tours are free. You just have to sign up in advance.

It's Almost Research Project Season!

With Spring Break just a month away for most of you, I thought it was about time to get some helpful research paper information up here. Or do you not expect to be doing research papers and projects over the vacation? Maybe that's just my kids' schools who always assign things during vacation. Anyway, I've made a short slide show with narration so you can start getting an idea about why you have to keep track of your research materials--because you're going to have to refer to them in the final product you submit to your teacher. Teachers, if any are reading this, feel free to show this in class. Here is a link to Part I of MLA Documentation. Part II will follow as soon as I have time, and it will include suggestions for incorporating or introducing the information you found in your research into your paper (or the text of a poster).

Border Schmorder

DSC04153
Originally uploaded by MargaretKeys185

These two flags, flying side by side, remind me that we feel more connected to Canada than separated. We love you, Canada--you and your clean bathrooms!

Winter Olympics in Summer

Olympic flags at the outdoor Whistler Awards Plaza, August 2009.

Here I am in front of the then-unfinished Awards Plaza. The flag poles were already in place, as you can see. This is where the athletes who win in Whistler will stand on the podiums to receive their medals. Look for it on TV--I know I will.


This play structure, in Whistler Village, is made of beautiful logs.

Sledding track, near the bottom, where the athletes finish their runs. The cover to the right is, I think, where they actually exit--at least, that's what it seemed from the description provided by the Australian construction worker pictured below.

This is the lower part of the sledding track in Whistler.


This is an Australian guy who was putting finishing touches on the sliding center at Whistler.

During our summer vacation to Canada with my sister and brother-in-law, I took lots of photos of the sliding center, as that was under construction just on the edge of Whistler Village, where we stayed. The photo of the construction worker, above, was taken in the area where the sledders end their run, where all the media are gathered. They actually start their runs way up the hill, out of sight from where we were allowed to stand.

My love for the Olympics started in grade school, possibly because my brother was an avid watcher. He especially liked the bobsledding events when we were kids. I hope he enjoys these photos! My love of the Olympics was also fueled by shaking hands with Innsbruck Olympics gold medalist Dorothy Hamill at the end of an Ice Capades performance in Seattle just a year after her glorious win. A few years later, I visited the ski jump in Innsbruck (during the summer) where there were commemorative plaques of all the medalists from the 1976 Olympics. As a young adult, my new boyfriend and I went to watch the Olympic torch being run through Los Angeles just before the start of the summer games there. A couple of years later, still together, we went to Vancouver to the World Exposition. And this past summer, as we neared our 20th wedding anniversary, we went up to the Vancouver area again for another Olympics-centered event. Our kids seem to enjoy the Olympics as much as we do.

Olympic Tragedy--Already

Having looked forward to the Olympics for months, I was just about to post an Olympics Trivia quiz to this blog today, when I heard the news of the tragic death of luge sledder Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia (a country near Russia). He was killed today during a practice run on the track in Whistler, a track I have photos of that I was also going to post. It all seems so sad now, that I feel posting a trivia quiz is, in fact, inappropriately trivial, and posting photos of the track under construction just kind of creepy.

There is also a grim shadow on the Canadians, as they restricted access to the sledding center. Only their own team members had access until recently. Is the track safe? Is it fair to restrict access to other countries, who might have raised safety concerns earlier? Now it will probably be too late to adjust the track for safety. Perhaps once the snow fell, it would have been too difficult anyway.

We will see if the sledding competitions will take place at all, now. Of course, the souvenir magnet that I bought in Canada this summer was of a skeleton sledder--at least not a luge. Anyway, I vote for the Georgians leading the parade of nations tonight--entering without music, pausing for a long moment of silence, in honor of Nodar Kumaritashvili.

Silk Road

Check out the American Museum of Natural History Web site. This museum, in New York City, is currently featuring an exhibit called Traveling the Silk Road. The site has ancient music to listen to and ancient fables to read, all related to the cultures that surrounded and frequented the Silk Road trade route. Additionally, the site has instructions for making your own paper, a quiz on mythic creatures from around the world, and a photo tour of the sandstone cliff dwellings of ancient Petra.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month, so dust off your library card and check out these titles-- for free--at your local library. These titles are recommended by American Library Association’s Booklist. Reviews I’ve borrowed from Booklist are in quotation marks. The titles are links that will take you to longer Booklist reviews. Enjoy!

Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice. By Phillip Hoose. 2009.
Memoir about a teen who was arrested for her activities in the civil rights movement.

The Rock and the River. By Kekla Magoon. 2009. Gr. 6–10.
Historical fiction set in 1968 Chicago. According to Booklist, this novel “…follows a young teen who is torn between his militant older brother, a Black Panther, and his father, a civil rights leader passionately committed to nonviolence.”

Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary. By Elizabeth Partridge. 2009.
This photo essay, accompanied by quotes, illustrates the role children played in the Civil Rights Movement. An excellent companion to a wordier text!

Riot. By Walter Dean Myers. 2009.
“In this dramatic novel told in screenplay format, Myers describes the New York draft riots of 1863 from the viewpoint of 15-year-old Claire, the biracial daughter of a black man and a white Irishwoman.” --Booklist

Traveling the Freedom Road: From Slavery and the Civil War through Reconstruction. By Linda Barrett Osborne. 2009
Focuses on lives of African Americans from 1800 to 1877.

Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided with the British during the American Revolution. By Margaret Whitman Blair. 2010.
“Illustrated with crisp reproductions, this exemplary historical survey of African Americans in the Revolutionary War provides a well-researched account of slaves in Virginia who fled to the British.” --Booklist

Martin Luther King, Jr., and Web Site Evaluation

Here are some great sites for learning more about Martin Luther King, Jr.
King Center in Atlanta Georgia
Nobel Peace Prize Biography
mlkonline.net Listen to, read, and watch King's speeches.
"I Have a Dream" (An ABC News film on YouTube featuring King delivering this famous speech)

But, before you start surfing and searching, I'd like you to think about how you determine what Web sites to use for your school research.

We recently observed the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., which brings to mind a story a colleague of mine once shared. He was working as a university librarian in Oregon when a couple of students told him they'd received failing grades on history papers they'd written about Martin Luther King, Jr. They felt they'd written good papers and had done quality research, carefully including information they had gathered on the Web. When he reviewed their references--the list of Web sites and other sources they'd used for their research--he discovered that not only had they used Web sites almost exclusively, but they had used one site in particular. He checked out that site. It was full of information about Martin Luther King, Jr., that to him was clearly untrue, but to the students who were just learning about King seemed perfectly plausible.


When my colleague looked into who was sponsoring the site, he discovered that it was maintained by a white supremacist organization. Now, do you think a group of people who wish humanity all had one color of skin, white skin, would publish accurate information about a powerful, African-American civil rights leader? Unlikely.


Two research lessons can be learned here:

• First, don't just rely on Web sites. If these students had used other sources, such as books, they would have noticed that only the web site said some of the things it did. They might have then questioned the validity of that Web site and its information. They might have gotten credit for the papers they wrote.
• Second, evaluate Web sites using the journalist questions (who, what, where, when, and why). Who is writing the information and maintaining the Web site--a reputable organization you've heard of, or another middle school student? You can sometimes find out by reading the About Us section of their site, and if there isn't one, beware. Sponsors of quality Web sites should have nothing to hide.

Other questions to ask when evaluating a Web site:

• Why does it exist? To inform, to sell something, to recruit members, persuade, entertain? Try to use sites for research that seem to exist simply to inform people of something.
• What kind of information does it include--information you've seen elsewhere in print (paper)?
• When was the site last updated? Try to use current information. If you're doing an astronomy report, watch the dates of information. You don't want to say Pluto is a planet because you found that on an out-of-date Web site. It's no longer a planet!!
• Where does the site exist on the Internet--in what domain? Is it a .com, .edu, .gov, or .org site?
• .com means it is most likely sponsored by a corporation or a person; the information found there may be useful or it may be created by a company hoping you'll buy their products or by a person with an interest in a topic but with no special knowledge of it.
• .gov means the site is maintained by a city, county, state, or federal government. Governments have lots of useful information for you, including reliable statistics.
• .edu means the site is maintained by an educational institution, such as a university or school district, or someone affiliated with it, like a teacher. Not all .edu sites are useful, but some libraries, science centers, and museums have Web addresses that end with .edu., and they usually do provide valuable, credible information.
• .org means the sponsor is some sort of organization, usually nonprofit, such as PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), or a museum, library, or charitable organization. The information is frequently high-quality, but, as in the case of martinlutherking.org, not always.