teaching ideas

Going on a Mushroom Foray

Hidden Superfood: Some people believe that mushrooms have little nutritional value. Wrong. Mushrooms are good for you. They contain protein, fiber, essential amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, ascorbic acid and Vitamin D. Mushrooms produce strong antioxidants, antibiotics, and antiviral compounds. Scientists are studying their medicinal compounds to cure cancers and small pox, to treat diabetes, obesity, immune disorders and more. See Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets.

Cook Before Eating: Make sure you thoroughly cook your mushrooms. White button mushrooms are commonly eaten raw in salads, but many mushrooms will cause digestive problems if eaten raw.

Mushroom Hunting:

Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, and even in the big city. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak. Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association toHidden Superfood: Some people believe that mushrooms have little nutritional value. Wrong. Mushrooms are good for you. They contain protein, fiber, essential amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, ascorbic acid and Vitamin D. Mushrooms produce strong antioxidants, antibiotics, and antiviral compounds. Scientists are studying their medicinal compounds to cure cancers and small pox, to treat diabetes, obesity, immune disorders and more. See Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets.

Cook Before Eating: Make sure you thoroughly cook your mushrooms. White button mushrooms are commonly eaten raw in salads, but many mushrooms will cause digestive problems if eaten raw.

Mushroom Hunting:

Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, and even in the big city. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak. Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association to find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.

find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.

In my book, Invisible Lines, Trevor’s science class goes outside for a mushroom “foray.” Looking for mushrooms is kind of like going on a natural treasure hunt. You don’t have to be in the wild. Mushrooms grow everywhere, even in New York City!

Photo by Jim Kuhn

Mushroom Hunting:

Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, etc. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak.

Photo by Ivan Amato

Looking over some mushroom identification guidebooks can be a great way to familiarize yourself with what might be out there.

Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association to find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.–Mary Amato

Skits from The Riot Brothers books

Kids at Barrington Elementary School in Ohio acted out scenes from the Riot Brother books and posted them as a slide-show on their school website. What a great way to encourage reading, improvisation, and playwriting! Students can improvise or write short plays, based on scenes from their favorite books, and act them out.

A Riot Brother rule: If you draw a mustache, do not use permanent ink!

According to Wilbur Riot, there is nothing quite so frightening as your mom chasing after you with kissy lips!

Can you flare your nostrils and raise one eyebrow? These are essential Riot Brother skills.

The Riot Brothers' Secret of life is to make something exciting happen everyday.

Wilbur and Orville Riot give annoying lessons at school to earn money! Do NOT try this at your school!

If you laugh while your brother is drinking milk, and milk comes out his nose, that is a Snarf Attack!

Slobber Trivia Game (From Books III and IV of The Riot Bros)

Slobber Trivia Game Questions (From Stinky and Successful and Take the Mummy and Run)

In which Riot Brother book does Slobber, the pet rat, first appear?
One of the chapters in the third book is called “Slobber and Frank.” Who is Frank?
On April Fools Day, where does Orville first hide Slobber?
In the same chapter, when Lydia Riot finds Slobber, what does she do?
At the end of the story, the boys find a hiding place for Slobber that makes their mom scream. Where do they hide him?
Fill in the blanks of this famous Riot Brother saying about Slobber that Wilbur says at the end of the April Fools story: “Just remember, slobber is what goes __ ___ of a pillow and Slobber is what goes _____ a pillow.”
In Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers are on a Roll, the boys put Slobber in a bucket labeled ____ _____.
In “The Riot Brothers Solve a Mystery” Orville throws Slobber at a _____ who turns out to be a ___.
What is the real Slobber made of?
According to Amelia, if the boys miss Slobber, what should they do?

Slobber Trivia Game Answers

In Stinky and Successful: The Riot Brothers Never Stop (Book 3)
Frank is Wilbur’s pet eyeball.
Orville hides Slobber in his mom’s desk drawer.
Lydia Riot doesn’t scream when she finds Slobber in her pencil drawer. She calmly says, “Actually I believe that Slobber ate all my pencils.
The boys hide Slobber under their mom’s pillow.
“Just remember, slobber is what goes on top of a pillow and Slobber is what goes under a pillow.”
In Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers are on a Roll, the boys put Slobber in a bucket labeled free candy.
In The Riot Brothers Solve a Mystery, Orville throws Slobber at a _____ who turns out to be a ___.
The real Slobber is made of rubber.
If the boys miss Slobber, they should chew gum really fast so that they slobber.

Rats Reading The Riot Brothers Video

Slobber the Rat is a character in Stinky and Successful: The Riot Brothers Return and in Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers are on a Roll. I had fun making these rats reading miniature copies of my books as a gift for my publisher, Holiday House.

Creative teaching: Toy travel diary

Mary Amato's desk

Learn a little something by sending your toy pet into the world…

My name is Inch, and I’m from Wilmette, Illinois. Recently, I traveled to Maryland to visit author Mary Amato (you can see me on the bottom of her rather messy desk holding her pencil). She was surprised to see me and read the tag attached to me. My card asked her to send a note, photo, or postcard to the school about what it’s like where she lives (her geography, culture, climate, population, interesting facts, etc.). Then she is supposed to pass me on to someone else. I’m hoping to travel all around the country. Maybe even the world. Cool, hunh?

Thanks to 5th grade teacher Teresa Dobson at Highcrest Middle School for inspiring her students to follow through with such a great idea.

Do you have a creative teaching idea to share?

Mary Amato’s Tips for Keeping a Diary

This is one of my first diaries. I have kept a diary on and off since the age of seven.

A diary is a place to write down your own life experiences. Keeping a diary can be rewarding, even if you’re not interested in becoming a writer. If you speak to its pages with honesty and emotion, it becomes the most amazing keepsake possible: a record of your life.

Writing in a diary is:

Comforting—a safe place to write down your questions, fears, and thoughts.
Clarifying—it helps you to figure out how you feel or what is happening.
Permanent—a record of your thoughts and experiences.
Good “Exercise” for Expression—the more you write, the better you will become at expressing yourself.

I wrote The Naked Mole-Rat Letters as a series of diary entries and e-mail letters.

There is no right or wrong way to keep a diary. Here are some tips for the writer:

Choose a small, thin notebook so that you have the satisfaction of filling it up more easily. A big, thick book can be frustrating for many writers.
Try an inexpensive, plain book. A fancy book can inhibit writers.
Write whenever you want. Don’t feel pressured to write everyday.
Write in your own voice. Don’t worry about the words. Write as if you’re talking. Don’t try to be too fancy or wise.
Dictate—if you find it hard to get your thoughts or ideas down, ask someone else to write for you. Make sure they use your exact words. No editing allowed.
Write for yourself—you don’t have to show anyone your journal.
Write for someone else—sometimes it helps to imagine someone reading it in the future, like your own child.
Try to write as concretely and specifically as you can. Instead of writing that you are angry, or sad, or happy, describe exactly what happened that made you angry, sad, or happy. Use details. This kind of lively writing will make your entries more satisfying to read later because the details you add will help you to re-experience the moment.
Look for what I call “shivery” moments–those times in your life when you have a big emotion or realization (maybe you witness an argument between your sister and your mother and it makes you realize something about yourself). Write the scene.
Take your diary with you when you travel.
Try a “collaborative” journal with a friend or family member—pass a notebook back and forth, each taking turns adding to it.
Remember to write the date. In the future you’ll want to know how old you were when writing.

Here are tips for parents or teachers who are encouraging a child to write:

Give the gift of the written word to the child in your life. Write real, meaningful messages in your own voice to the child for special events.
Establish writing rituals.
Once a month, have EVERYBODY WRITES night: gather around a table, light a candle, and write.
On New Year’s Eve, ask each member of the family to read over his/her choice of a diary entry.
Create a “dialogue diary” with your child: get a special book, write in it from time to time, invite your child to write in it, and pass it back and forth with your child.

Mary Amato’s Tips for Keeping a Writer’s Notebook

These are some of my writer’s notebooks. I like small ones that fit in my pocket. I carry mine with me all the time because I never know when I’m going to get an idea.

A writer’s notebook is a place where you can write all kinds of things: ideas, questions, thoughts, true stories, invented stories, rough drafts for poems, songs, or stories, bits of dialogue that you overhear, and more. It’s different from a diary, which is a record of your own life experiences.

If you are interested in being a professional writer, keeping a notebook is important for many reasons. Here are four important ones:

The more you write about what you see and hear, the more observant you’ll become.
The more you write, the more your writing will improve overall.
The act of writing down an idea often stimulates more ideas.
Writing down an idea “cements” the idea—you can’t lose it if it is written down!

There is no right or wrong way to keep a writer’s notebook. Here are some of my suggestions:

Pick a notebook that you like: a spiral notebook, a binder, a blank book. It doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, sometimes if it’s too fancy, you might be afraid to write in it.
Write whatever pops into your head that you find interesting: a story that you hear that isn’t true, a story that is true, a memory, a dream, a conversation, a description of something you see, an idea for a poem, a story, a song, character names, etc.
Dictate: if you find it hard to get your thoughts or ideas down, ask someone else to write for you. Make sure they use your words.
Use notes: If you get an idea or have a thought and don’t have your notebook with you, jot a note to yourself and tape it into your Writer’s Notebook later.
Experiment with rough drafts that you can later develop into stories or poems.
Try to write as concretely and specifically as you can. If you’re writing a description, use details. If you’re writing about something that happened, describe exactly what happened.
Look for what I call “shivery” moments–those times in your life when you have a big emotion or realization (maybe you witness an argument between your sister and your mother and it makes you realize something about yourself). These moments are important to document because they could become the inspiration to write a story or poem. Write the actual scene, using as much concrete detail as possible.
Take your writer’s notebook with you EVERYWHERE.
Date your entries: you might want to know when you came up with an idea later.

Mary Amato’s Tips for Parents: How to Encourage Creative Writing

How to encourage creative writing in children

Create a time and place for writing. Children will want to write if you make it a fun activity to do together. “Let’s write a story!”

Accept your child’s ideas. Your child may create a character/story you don’t like. Be open, and your child will want to keep writing.

Allow your child to dictate to you. Be a scribe, not an editor. Use your child’s words.

Allow mistakes if your child is writing. The goal is to increase creative fluency and make writing fun. Save the grammar and spelling lessons for later.

Ask questions if your child gets stuck. What is the story or poem about? If it’s a story, who is your main character and what does your main character want?

Talk it through one sentence at a time. If your child has trouble organizing or keeping track of thoughts, ask him/her to tell the story aloud one sentence at a time. Write down one sentence at a time. Model enthusiasm by writing your own creative stories and poems.

Encourage all kinds of writing. Stories, poems, jokes, riddles, comic books, cartoons, plays, songs.

Encourage your child to use his/her own voice. Rather than trying to “be poetic,” it’s important for a child to learn to capture his/her own voice.

Create venues for sharing writing. Have a “literary reading” when Grandma comes over, send poems and stories as gifts, help your child submit work to local venues.

Encourage your child to keep a diary. Don’t put pressure to write everyday. See my Tips for Keeping a Diary for more info.

Try a “collaborative” diary or writing journal with your child or your entire family. Leave a notebook out, each taking turns adding to it.

Try a “dialogue journal” just between you and your child. Get a special book, write in it from time to time, invite your child to write in it, and pass it back and forth with your child.

Give the gift of the written word. Model meaningful writing. Write real, meaningful messages in your own voice to your child for special events. No hallmark cards. Say what is really in your heart. This will make a big impression.

Once a month, have EVERYBODY WRITES night: gather around a table, light a candle, and write a poem or a story or even just a thought.

For encouraging story writing, use my WOW story technique to get started.

What is a WOW story?

WOW is an acronym that I created to help kids remember a simple story structure.

The story has a main character who Wants something. This is the beginning of the story.
There is an Obstacle that gets in the way of the main character. This is the middle of the story.
The main character either Wins or loses. This is the end of the story.

How to make up WOW stories

Choose a main character. This can be a person, an animal, or even an object: for example, a boy, a grandmother, a soccer star, a sock, or a paintbrush!
Decide what the main character wants. What might a paintbrush want? Some paint to play with? To belong to a famous artist? Try unexpected ideas. A grandmother might want to ride a motorcycle!
Decide what will get in the way of the main character’s desire. Brainstorm lots of obstacles and decide which one is the most fun or engaging. Obstacles can be simple. A rabbit wants to eat grass on a hillside, but a tiger lives on that hillside. The tiger is the obstacle. A boy wants a new bike, but his father says no. His father is the obstacle. Obstacles can also be emotions. What if a girl wants to ice skate, but she is afraid that she’ll fall down? Fear is her obstacle.
Decide how/if the main character will “win or lose.” Does your main character get what he or she wants in the end? How?

Write or perform WOW stories

Write or dictate your story: Write your stories on paper. Or make a book by folding pages and stapling them together. If your child hasn’t learned how to write yet, ask him or her to tell you the story and write it down word for word.

Act your story out: For reluctant writers, try acting out the story first. After you have brainstormed the basics for a specific WOW story using the steps above, act out the story. Choose a narrator who will tell the story and provide cues for the actors. This can be the job of the parent or a child. The narrator should be very clear and say “The End” so that everyone knows when the story is over. After acting out stories, the child may be more interested in writing them down.

Going on a Mushroom Foray

Skits from The Riot Brothers books

Slobber Trivia Game (From Books III and IV of The Riot Bros)

Rats Reading The Riot Brothers Video

Creative teaching: Toy travel diary

Mary Amato’s Tips for Keeping a Diary

Mary Amato’s Tips for Keeping a Writer’s Notebook

Mary Amato’s Tips for Parents: How to Encourage Creative Writing

Teachers, Librarians, and Parents:

Your Ideas