The Ghost in the Courthouse Statue
by Bill Bailey
►Download Teacher Guide
►Download Author/Artist bios
► Download the story
(Password included in DNIE Weekly News e-Newsletter sent on Mondays to participating teachers)
Lyrics for The Detroit Song
►Click to read
A set of weekly educational activities geared toward younger readers
►Parents
►Teachers
►Kids
►Download this week's installment!
Kids Scoop
Learn! Laugh! Play!
Kids Scoop Game Zone
Interactive games.
Funny Fillers. Word Searches
Kid Scoop Parents Information
Each month we feature an article
on an aspect of children's
education, health or wellbeing.
Kid Scoop Pop Quiz
Kids Scoop Word Search
Sample this read-along animated book here online
Artie Knapp's children's book Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand is now available as a free flash-animated storybook from MightyBook Inc.
Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand - teased and bullied about his stuttering, Stanley the squirrel refuses to let on that his feelings are being hurt, until one day he learns an important lesson from a new friend.
►Click here to read Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand
At mightybook.com there are more than 60 free animated stories, songs, games and puzzles.
NIE Institute Educational Resources
As an NIE subscriber, you can access a wealth of free educational resources available through our membership in the national NIE Institute. All are appropriate for classroom instruction when used with the electronic or print edition of The Detroit News or Detroit Free Press.
►Visit our NIE Institute page for these topics:
|
Art |
Language Arts & Literacy |
Parent Resources (Updated every Monday)
Online Extras geared toward younger children
►Don't forget to check the Student Resources page for activities for older students
Get the Yak here every week
Yak's Corner is an eight-page news magazine for kids ages 6-13 that's filled with stories about Michigan places, events and people. You'll also find news briefs from around the world in "Yakking About the News" and "Kids in the News" lets your students see how kids across the county are making news. "Your Page" is a weekly look at student art or writing, which is expanded in our online Yak Art Gallery and Yak Readers Write features. Each issue is written with the objective to engage young readers with informational text that is both educational and entertaining .
You can download each complete issue or single pages below or order print delivery in the metro Detroit area.
Also available for download each week, is our roundup of "Yaktivities" based on the content in that week's issue. "Yaktivities" include two pages of content quizzes, a vocabulary activity and a word search for students and a separate teacher's page that includes an answer sheet and discussion starter. And the teacher's page shows the correlations between the content in each issue with Common Core State Standards.
Need more reasons to add Yak's Corner to your elementary classroom? Read these unsolicited comments from a local principal:
“My name is Pat Cavanaugh and I am the principal at Susick Elementary in Troy. I want to share with you my appreciation for the YAK's Corner.
In a recent visit to formally observe a teacher, I noticed her using the YAK's Corner as a effective part of the lesson. She discussed with the students the highlights of YAK's paper as a way to expose students to current events. This particular teacher is a wonderful proponent of making connections from real world events to the classroom and the YAK's Corner enhances this connection wonderfully.
In addition, our teachers are aware and will be encouraging our students to participate in the YAK's Corner Favorite Book Character Contest (NOTE: This is an annual contest held each fall with winners' artwork featured online.) This contest along with the weekly YAK's corner is an excellent resource for our students and families and I am thankful that we are able to take advantage of it.
If I can ever be used as an advocate for YAK's corner, please do not hesitate to contact me. The recent observation of my teacher's lesson was eye-opening of how important this newspaper can be for our students.”
►Yak readers write
Download Yak's Corner and the Yaktivities worksheet here each week
Yak's Corner will be published on 30 Thursdays during the 2012-2013 school year, beginning Sept. 13, 2012 and continuing through May 30, 2013. During this period Yak's Corner will not be published on these eight dates: November 22, December 20 & 27, January 3 & 10, February 28, March 28 and April 4
2012-2013 "Yak's Corner Favorite Book Character Contest" for Grades K-6
Sponsored by Michigan K.I.D.S., Inc.
Yak's Corner, the weekly news magazine for grades K-6 produced and distributed by Michigan K.I.D.S., the Detroit Newspapers in Education (DNIE) nonprofit for the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, annually invites Michigan students in Kindergarten through sixth grade to submit drawings of their favorite fictional book character and tell us why this is their favorite character. To encourage exploration of superior children's literature, drawings have to be based on a fictional character that is NOT originally from a television show or film. That means no SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora or Pokémon drawings!
Yak's Corner personnel select first- through fifth-place winners and honorable mentions for those grades with the most entries. Entries are judged initially on artwork merit (about 70 percent), then writing skill (about 30 percent). If drawings are judged to be equally well done, judges look at how well the entrant answered why a character was a favorite when selecting and ranking the winners.
First- through fifth-place winners receive Barnes & Noble Gift Cards in the amounts of $40, $30, $25, $15, and $10 respectively. All winners, including honorable mentions, receive letters of congratulation and Certificates of Excellence.
For the 2012-2013 contest, we received 1,942 entries from students throughout Michigan: 58 from Kindergarten students, 218 from first graders, 124 from second graders, 361 from third graders, 506 from fourth graders, 290 from fifth graders and 385 from sixth grade students.
Each year, Yak's Corner features artwork by the first-place winners in the first March issue and may feature other winning artwork in other March issues in celebration of Reading Month. You can view issues online at www.yakscorner.com.
Certificates of Participation that may be personalized for each student who created an entry are also provided to requesting teachers. Additional certificates may be requested by emailing smartin@dnps.com with "Yak certificates needed" in the subject line.
On behalf of Yak's Corner personnel, please extend our thanks to the students who share their favorite fictional book character in pictures and words. Their artistry, creativity and ability to explain why they chose their character always makes it difficult to recognize the work of just a few students for special merit.
Although this is an annual fall contest, with winners selected in February of the following year, students are always encouraged to send artwork to Yak's Corner. We publish drawings during the school year in weekly issues of the Yak's Corner news magazine and in the online Yak Art Gallery. Students should draw on white, unlined 8-1/2 by 11 paper in bright colors. Students should print their first and last names, age and city only on the BACK of each drawing, along with a school or home number if needed to verify any information.
►Click here for a complete list of 2012-2013 winners
►Kindergarten winners
►First Grade winners
►Second Grade winners
►Third Grade winners
►Fourth Grade winners
►Fifth Grade winners
►Sixth Grade winners
Download the Guide
to Community Resources
Community programs and a guide to literacy from birth to high school