2009 New York Statewide Summer Reading Program: Explore New York
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Be Creative @ Your LibraryExplore New YorkNew York State History Addendum to the Collaborative Summer Library Program ManualFor an outline of the CSLP programming manual, visit http://www.cslpreads.org/2009/cp09.htm This document also available in .PDF [1.5meg] |
This year, in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, as well as the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s development of the steamboat, the New York State Library has incorporated New York State history-related activities and reading material into the 2009 Statewide Summer Reading Program. Be Creative: Explore New York is the New York State slogan along with the CSLP slogans of Be Creative @ your library and Express Yourself @ your library. Use it to spark ideas to help children and teens celebrate New York State’s rich cultural history this summer.
Be sure to visit the NY400 web site for more information on New York State’s Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration. Contact your local museums, galleries and music organizations for ideas for your library’s summer activities.
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Contents
- Web sites related to New York State History, Culture, and the Arts
- I've got rhythm!
- Ham it up!
- Now you see it!
- Dance
- Free play
- Attachment A – color the baseball mitt
- Attachment B – "barge" door hanger
- Attachment C – New York Counties True or False Quiz
Web Sites Related to New York State History, Culture, and the Arts
Visit the New York State Museum web site for further information and on-line resources for their upcoming exhibit “1609”- scheduled to open in July 2009.
Visit the Albany Institute of History and Art for information on their upcoming exhibition - “Hudson River Panorama: 400 Years of History, Art and Culture.”
The Hudson River Museum will host an online exhibition -“Dutch New York: The Roots of Hudson Valley Culture,” June 13, 2009, through January 10, 2010.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum web site contains a 1609 Quadricentennnial Curriculum.
The New York Council for the Humanities offers grants up to $2,500 to plan and implement programs related to the Quadricentennial.
The New York Folklore Society web site provides a wealth of information on New York State culture.
The New York State Alliance for Arts Education (NYSAAE) is dedicated to ensuring that the arts are an integral part of every person's education in New York State. NYSAAE provides professional development and information for teachers, artists, school administrators and parents. NYSAAE also serves as a leader in advocating for the arts at the local and statewide level.
Researching New York: Perspectives on Empire State History, sponsored by the Department of History at the University at Albany, is an annual conference that provides a forum for the exploration of all aspects of New York State's rich and diverse history.
The National Museum of the American Indian hosts an online exhibition “Mohawk Ironworkers Build New York.”
The Hudson River Maritime Museum is a rich resource for information on Robert Fulton’s Clermont and other steamboats on the Hudson River; Henry Hudson and the Half Moon; Hudson River Sloops and more.
The New York State Education Department has created a web page for educators focusing on the broad historical themes related to Champlain, Hudson, and Fulton.
Visit the New York Council On the Arts web site for information on their grant program.
The New York State Summer School of the Arts sponsors eight programs for teens: ballet, choral studies, dance, jazz studies, media arts, orchestral studies, theatre and visual arts.
The official New York Statewide Summer Reading Program web site is updated each spring for the coming summer season. It is filled with activities, links, and information for children, teens, families, caregivers, librarians, and educators.
The New York State Performers and Programs Database web site includes a listing of performers and programs for library staff who plan the summer reading program and year-round programs for youth.
The New York State Library web page contains helpful information and links for librarians, educators and other professionals about all aspects of summer reading as well as the Statewide Summer Reading Program.
The Collaborative Summer Library Program is a consortium of states which provides a summer reading program theme, graphic design, and promotional materials for New York and 46 other member states. For an outline of the program manual and other helpful information visit their web site.
Visit the web site of the New York Folklore Society for CDs of music from New York State.
Search the ILOVENY web site for music festivals in your region.
Visit festivals.com to search for music festivals in your area of New York.
Pete Seeger – Folksinger and environmentalist in the Hudson Valley. [An appreciation web site for Pete Seeger]
Preschool: Abiyoyo – read picture book of same name, have children make a puppet, mask or drawing of Abiyoyo. Play CD of Seeger’s performance of this story-song.
Canal songs -- Long hours between hauls and waiting in line at locks meant that boat men had a lot of free time. They took to singing to pass the time and also to pass on folklore.
Preschool: Sing along with Erie Canal (also known as “Low Bridge”) available on Wee Sing America, Laurie Berkner’s Buzz Buzz, and Pooh’s Top 40 Tunes. Read Peter Spier’s book The Erie Canal and/or Eric Kimmel’s The Erie Canal Pirates.See a great animation of how canal locks work
Woodstock – Woodstock was a three-day music festival held in Bethel, NY, in Sullivan County in August 1969. Thirty-two of the best and most popular musicians performed for half a million people.
Young Adult: Watch DVD of Woodstock, make tie-dyed t-shirts, love beads.
Steamboat music – In 1807, Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clermont traveled from New York City to Albany. Listen to calliopes and steamboat whistles
Preschool steamboat coloring page
Underground Railroad songs
School age and Young Adult – songs with secret meanings
Harlem Renaissance music – The Harlem Renaissance was the African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Young Adult – listen to examples of famous jazz musicians
Iroquois music – The instruments used in various combinations are the water drum, the horn rattle, hard sticks and the beating of the feet on the floor. Social songs vary in length, verses and tempo depending on the song selection of the singers.
An explanation of Iroquois Nation songs; listen to them in Real Audio format.
Folk Music – The Bitter End, The Gaslight Café, The Village Gate and The Limelight were just a few of the coffeehouses in Greenwich Village that hosted up-and-coming singers like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon in the 1960s.
Caffé Lena, The oldest, continuously operating coffee house in the United States, is located in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Young adult: Host an open-mic night for teens to play/sing songs by Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Melanie. Listen to today’s acoustic artists and compare styles. Be sure to serve food and drinks that were served in coffeehouses – they couldn’t get liquor licenses so they served coffee, hot and cold drinks … and ice cream!
Henry Hudson and the Half Moon – Six performers from the Netherlands perform their original songs about Hudson’s voyage in Dutch and English languages.
Contact:
Andy Spence
Old Songs, Inc.
PO Box 466
Voorheesville, NY 12186
(518) 765-2815New York State Music – Visit www.daveruch.com/store.htm for a selection of CDs by artists from all across New York State. Titles include Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors, Adirondack Tall Tales, Songs and Tunes from Wolf Run and Folk Songs of Upstate New York.
Visit http://www.newyorkfirst.com/store/display.cgi?cart_id=&page=7202.html for information on a CD called New York Songs, which includes such selections as On Broadway by the Drifters, 59th Street Bridge Song by Paul Simon, and Spanish Harlem by Ben E. King.
Doo-Wop - The epitome of strictly a capella NYC street corner doo-wop, the Brooklyn-based Persuasions stand out as an American original. Check out for their CD called Street Corner Symphony.
Visit the web site of the New York Alliance for the Arts for theaters in your area – ask for a visiting artist to come to your library.
Check out the web site of the National Association of Black Storytellers for performers in your region of New York State.
Visit the home page of the National Storytelling Network for liaisons in New York State.
Visit the web site of the Hudson Valley Storytelling Alliance for stories all year long, up and down the river.
The Arm and the Sea Mask and Puppet Theater has developed Mutual Strangers: Henry Hudson and the River That Discovered Him.
Renaissance Fair (There are many in New York State during the summer: New York City, Cairo, East Aurora, New Paltz, Tuxedo Park, Port Washington and Sterling)
Preschool: Weave ribbons around a flagpole or thin tree and have children dance around it, weaving their ribbons.
School age: Make coat of arms
Catskill Resorts – hold a joke-telling contest.
School age – Jokes
Young Adult: Jokes from the Catskills comedians (Henny Youngman, Milton Berle, etc. – so corny that teens love taking turns telling these jokes)
Re-enactments at forts – During the American Revolution, the British viewed control of the Hudson River as vital to their domination of the American Colonies. Forts in your area.
Check out Civil War reenactments in your area – ask for a member to visit your library in uniform.Broadway – From the Great White Way to local theater, there is plenty of inspiration for children to “ham it up” this summer.
School age and young adult: Have a karaoke contest of famous songs from Broadway musicals – High School Musical, Hairspray, Rent. The Broadway Kids CD might be a good starting point.
Storytelling – Everyone has a story to tell! To spark young patrons interest, look at a great selection of Native American myths, New York ghost stories or folktales.
Puppets – From sock puppets to full puppet shows on a stage, everyone has fun making believe.
Preschool – For easy puppet crafts visit http://www.preschoolrainbow.org, http://www.enchantedlearning.com, http://www.preschoolrock.com or http://www.preschooleducation.com.
Be sure to contact local museums and galleries before the summer and ask if they have a speaker series or if a local scholar can visit your library. To find museums in your area visit www.nyhistory.com/links/museums.htm or www.iloveny.com/SeeDoInNY/CulturalMuseums.aspx.
Go to the web site of the Hudson River Valley Institute for links to Native American art in New York State and archaeological digs throughout the State.
Visit the web site of The Museum for African Art in New York City and take a virtual tour of several of their exhibitions.
Links to the Hudson River School.
Stained Glass – Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in New York City, and his innovations in stained glass are reflected in works throughout New York State, from Union Church in Pocantico Hills and the Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown to the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester.
Preschool: Make a “stained glass” butterfly.
School age: Make “stained glass” using wax paper.
Dream Catchers – The Algonquian Indians believed that dream catchers would catch bad dreams and allow good dreams to pass through the web.
Use a 5” hoop or ring and tie half-hitches all around. Make sure to pull the string tightly as you tie the knots. Keep tying knots until you reach the middle, and trim excess. Tie twine to the bottom of the ring and slide on beads. Use a dab of glue on the tips of feathers and insert into the holes of the bottom beads.
NYS Illustrators
3 Apples Book AwardPreschool: Read books illustrated by these award winners and have the children do their own illustrations of their favorite book.
School age: Talk about how every artist has his/her own vision. Ask your audience to draw pictures of what they see when you give them a simple sentence like “The rain fell on the car” or “The ball bounced into the yard.” Encourage them to compare pictures – what color was the car? Where did the ball land – in the flowers or on the lawn?
Underground Railroad Quilts – New York’s proximity to Canada and major water routes made it a destination of choice for many Africans fleeing slavery. Brooklyn, Ithaca, Buffalo, Lake Placid, Troy, Jamestown are just a few of the cities in New York State that played an integral part in the Underground Railroad. Designs were incorporated into quilts to help slaves make their way north on the Underground Railroad.
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Preschool: Read The Secret to Freedom by Marcia Vaughan and/or Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson. Have children color the log cabin design (click on image above) or paste strips of paper to form the design. Visit this web site for closer detail.
School age: See an explanation of the various designs. Have children design their own quilts by drawing the different designs or cutting out paper in the proper shapes.
Native American False Face Craft – An injured or ill Iroquois Indian would sometimes ask the False Face Society to drive away the spirit of the illness or injury. The False Face Society wore masks carved from wood.
Preschool and school age: Have your children make their own mask out of paper plates. Ideas
Covered Bridges – These bridges reflect the history and development of communities and land-based transportation in New York. There are many still standing in the Hudson Valley – map | an incredible list of bridges throughout New York State
School age: Make a covered bridge out of cardboard and a milk carton.
New York State Architecture – New York State is home to the works of some of the world’s most famous architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, E.B. Green, Stanford White and H. H. Richardson.
School age and young adult: free online paper models of the Statue of Liberty, Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge and more.
Barns – “The history of timber barns in New York State begins with the Dutch settlers who farmed in the Mohawk, Schoharie, and Hudson River valleys and on Long Island before the Revolutionary War.” (Hudson River Valley Institute)
Preschool: Make a milk carton barn with doors that open and close. Instructions
School age: Learn about how farmers in Newark Valley, NY could buy a kit to build a barn from the Sears catalog. The cost in 1911 was $480! Read the article and view reprints of the actual Sears catalog ads. You can also find the answer to the age-old question “Why are barns red?”
Learn the differences between Dutch, English, Gambrel-Roof, Basement and Bank, and Round and Polygonal barns by reading a great article from the Hudson River Valley Review.
Longhouses – Longhouses were long and narrow bark covered houses that the Iroquois lived in until the latter part of the 1800's. These homes contained one large extended family.
School age: Print a free template to build a paper model of an Iroquois longhouse.
Hudson River School – The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement by a group of landscape painters, whose paintings depict the Hudson River Valley as well as the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains.
School age: Show children examples of the paintings from this period. Take them outside to sketch the trees and nature around them in the romantic style of the Hudson River School. Hang up their paintings and sketches throughout the summer. (Be sure to ask the young artists to name their art work and put a 3x5 card next to it on the wall, just as it would appear in a real art gallery.)
Swing over to the web page of the New York South Folk Dance Association for links to folk dancing in all or part of New York State.
Tap your keyboard to find a representative of New York State Dance Force in your area.
The Center for Traditional Music and Dance is a great resource for touring artists, recordings and books.
Swing Dancing – The Savoy Ballroom in New York City is said to be the birthplace of swing dancing, which is enjoying a resurgence with today’s young dancers. Variations include the Jitterbug and Lindy Hop.
School age and young adult: Listen to CDs by New York native Brian Setzer, or one of the many swing music compilations available online or in music stores.
Encourage your young patrons to give it a try! Watch the free online dance lesson or read the instructions.
And the dances of the 1950s were descended from the Lindy and Jitterbug – your teens might get a kick out of having a Sock Hop at your library. Call local dance schools to see if an instructor would come and lead the way.
Iroquois Dance – Socials within Iroquois communities are meant to be enjoyed by all in attendance, especially when everyone dances. Learn more about some Iroquois dances. Dances include the Moccasin Dance, Sharpened Stick, Round Dance and Friendship Dance. You’ll find easy-to-follow instructions AND music to listen to in Real Audio format.
Tap – It is thought that tap dance began in the 1830s in the Five Points neighborhood of New York City as a fusion of Irish and African Shuffle. From Gregory Hines to Alfonso Ribeiro (star of the Tap Dance Kid on Broadway,) New York has produced some of the greats in this dance form. 42nd Street, Spamalot, Cats, Anything Goes are just a few of the Broadway musicals that featured tap dancing.
School age and young adult: Very easy instructions if you can’t resist the temptation to tap your feet to the music.
To really impress your audience, show some of the videos on You Tube of the Nicholas Brothers, stars of New York’s Cotton Club!
Free play
Just run with your imagination and explore New York State history this summer in unexpected ways.
Visit the ExploreNY400 web site for ideas on how to celebrate New York State’s cultural
heritage in your own area.
The New York State Museum will host an exhibit about the Quadricentennial from July 2009 to March 2010.
Visit them online to see “1609.”Be sure to check out the NYSED Virtual Learning System for some lesson plan ideas, such as “Two Worlds Collide: European Encounters with the Native Americans of the Northeast,” and printouts about 1609, Hudson, and Champlain.
Foods – The Dutch brought cookies and doughnuts to New York State, and the Iroquois introduced popcorn and cornbread.
Preschool and school age: Make a popcorn tree. Use air popped popcorn or fat-free microwave popcorn, so it’s not greasy. Use pretzel sticks for the branches and popcorn for the flowers or fruit on the tree. White school glue will dry clear but if you have enough volunteers to help you during your program, you can also use a glue gun.
School age: Make a doughnut craft! Using the template, cut the doughnut shapes out of beige felt and frosting out of pink felt. Paste the frosting to the doughnut and then tack sprinkles on the frosting. Given enough time to dry, this will form a pretty cool doughnut. Put a stick-on magnet on back so children can hang it on the refrigerator when they get home.
Preschool: Laura Numeroff was born in Brooklyn … so play If You Give a Mouse a Cookie bingo! Get templates of game cards and spinner
Rip Van Winkle – Rip van Winkle fell asleep and woke up twenty years later, having missed the American Revolution, the death of his wife, the marriage of his daughter and the birth of his grandson.
School age and young adult: What will the world be like in twenty years? If you fell asleep for twenty years, where would your friends be? What will the world look like? Have younger children draw pictures and post around your library – what will the library look like in twenty years? Will books still exist? What will computers look like? Ask the teens to think about how they will listen to music in twenty years – will iPods still be around or will digital music be an outdated format? What was the world like when they were born and what has already been replaced by newer technology? Be sure to serve food at both of these programs …
Leatherstocking Tales – Four of James Fenimore Cooper’s five novels in this collection take place in the wilderness of 18th Century America. The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer, The Pioneers and The Last of the Mohicans take place in New York State. Natty Bumppo, pioneer woodsman, was called by Indians at various times Leather Stocking, Hawkeye, Long-Rifle, Deerslayer and Pathfinder.
Young adult: An old radio serial of Leatherstocking Tales is available on CD. The 31 shows total over seven hours BUT it’s interesting to hear the old-fashioned way people entertained themselves before television and HBO. The CD is only $5. An interesting program if you play a couple of episodes every time you meet.
Cooperstown – When Jackie Robinson took the field as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1947, he became the first African-American to play major league baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown showcases New York players Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Reggie Jackson.
Preschool: Have children color the baseball mitt (Attachment A) brown. Take Polaroid pictures or digital pictures (ahead of time so they’re ready for the program) of the children. Paste their pictures in the mitt for an easy picture frame. You can also put a magnet on the back and print “I Have a Ball Reading!” on the front.
School age: If you have access to a computer, have children take turns trying to play online baseball. You can also play an online baseball word scramble or try a baseball arcade, puzzles, quizzes, coloring sheets and mazes.
Native American Game – Play the Iroquois bowl game.
The Iroquois Indians played the Sacred Bowl Game during the last day of the "Ceremonial of Midwinter" which marked the end of the year. The wooden bowl was decorated with four clan symbols - the bear, wolf, turtle, and deer. To play the game a player placed the six nuts which were colored on one side inside the bowl and hit the bowl against the ground. If five of the six pits turned up the same color, the player scored and took another turn. The first player to reach 10 points wins the game.
Directions for making the Bowl Game [From: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110072/crafts/easterncrafts.htm]
- Cut a circle from Contact paper to fit inside a basket paper plate holder. The wood grain Contact paper looks bests.
- Have students use black markers to decorate the circle.
- Peel the paper backing from the Contact paper and place the circle into the holder.
- Gather six flat nuts in the shell or peach pits. Color one side of the nuts with the black marker.
Erie Canal – From Albany to Buffalo!
Preschool – Have children color and decorate the “barge right in” door hanger (Attachment B.)
Roses – The rose is the official flower of New York State and the national flower of the United States. Red and white roses were said to be growing in New Amsterdam in 1655. Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua has one of the largest displays of roses in New York State, and the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in New York City was the 1999 President’s Award winner for the most outstanding All America Rose Selections Public Rose Garden. Other public rose gardens throughout New York State
include Cranford Rose Garden in Brooklyn, Delaware Park in Buffalo, United Nations Rose Garden in New York City, Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, Maplewood Rose Garden in Rochester, Central Park Rose Garden in Schenectady and E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden in Syracuse.Grade school: Make a tissue paper rose. Easy instructions. Or if you have an extra box of coffee filters and some food coloring, make a bouquet of roses – click here for instructions and sample photos.
Young adult: Make an origami rose. This craft is slightly challenging but there are easy instructions and a video to follow.
Exploration – Explorers had to be creative and they used the stars to navigate.
Preschool: Make an explorer “movie.”
School age and young adult: EXCELLENT online interactive demonstration on how to navigate by using the stars
The sextant wasn’t invented until 1731, but find out how to use one.
All ages – Explore on your own! Choose a library on the other end of the state and start a summer correspondence. Tell your pen pals about the landscape, the places you like to visit in the summer, if there are farms in your area, if there are skyscrapers where you live. Send photos of your library and what you see when you look out the window. At the end of the summer, take a picture of your participants in front of all of the postcards and letters and ask your local newspaper to come and take a photo.
1609 – This exhibition, opening July 2009, looks back on the Dutch period in New York State history. It looks at the interaction of the Dutch and Native People of New York during these years through four myths. These are: a) Henry Hudson came here on purpose, b) Native People were happy to see Europeans, c) Europeans took advantage of Native People, and d) Native culture fell apart as a result of contact with Europeans. These four myths constitute one half of the exhibition. The other half begins with the myth that the Dutch experience in North America is irrelevant to who we are as Americans. Addressing these myths allows the visitor to experience the continuing legacy that these two cultures have left for us to see and experience every day.
Visit the New York State Museum web site for further details and on-line resources.
New York State Trivia – How much do you and your young patrons really know about New York State? Try the game (Attachment C.)
Attachment A
[click here for a large, printable baseball and glove for coloring; from preschoolcoloringbook.com.]
Attachment B
Click on the image at left for a large, printable version of this hang-tag.
Attachment C
New York Counties True or False Game
See how much you know about New York State!
1. Broome County received its name because it is the State’s largest producer of brooms. ANSWER
2. Clinton County was named after Hillary Rodham Clinton. ANSWER
3. Franklin County was named after Benjamin Franklin. ANSWER
4. Orange County received its name because its first governor liked orange juice. ANSWER
5. Queens County was named after Queen Elizabeth II. ANSWER
6. St. Lawrence County is named after St. Lawrence, the Patron Saint of cold water. ANSWER
7. Tioga County was originally named Ticonderoga County, but that didn't fit on the license plates. ANSWER
8. Erie County is named after the Erie Canal. ANSWER
9. Herkimer county is named after General Herkimer, who died at the Battle of Oriskany. ANSWER
10. Orleans County was named by Edward "Wrong Way" Smith, an explorer who thought he landed in Louisiana. ANSWER
11. Cortland County was named after a famous apple of the same name. ANSWER
12. Greene County was named in honor of General Nathaniel Greene, one of the greatest solders of the Revolutionary War. ANSWER 13. Lewis County received its name after its first governor, Jerry Lewis, moved to France. ANSWER
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