Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Learning | Dem Bones

SSJCPL carries a children's magazine, Ask! : Arts and Sciences for Kids, which lends itself to lesson planning for teachers and parents.  Each issue has a particular theme; the October 2012 issue is called "Skeleton Stories." The contents range from an x-ray themed episode of their "Nestor's Dock" comic, to the difference between endo- and exoskeletons; seashells; how bones heal; the role of bones in archaeology; and even cultural significance, with the Mexican Dia de los Muertos.





Children in grades 4 through 8 will probably benefit most from this magazine, but some of these ideas may be adapted by thoughtful parents in lessons for younger children. There's a nice balance here, between scientific facts and artistic representation of these ideas. Children are encouraged to imagine what the skeletons of non-animal things would look like, if they had them. They can draw a picture of its skeleton, and submit it to ASK!  for possible publication, through their October Contest, "Skeletons in the Closet."

The themes of past issues of ASK! have included robots, electricity, numbers, wind and caves.  Any issue of the magazine will provide inspiration for exploring a subject from many sides; it's sure to inspire everybody from science buffs to budding artists and poets.

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