John Peterson was born and raised in the small town of Bradford, Pennsylvania. After high school, he moved to New York City to study illustration but left his studies to volunteer for the U.S. paratroopers in World War II. During his three years of service, he saw combat, fighting with the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific. After the war, Peterson returned to New York to finish his studies in illustration at the Pratt Institute where he graduated in 1948. After spending nearly 20 years doing illustrations for advertising, magazines, and textbooks, he wanted to create a children's book and needed a story to go with the art. So John worked with his wife, Holly, and wrote his first story, Terry's Treasure Hunt. Luckily for readers, Peterson enjoyed writing and continued doing it. Among his many books for children, the most popular have been the stories about the family of tiny people known as the Littles.
In your Literature Group and with your high school mentor facilitating, predict what the Littles will be exploring. Use the information from the video and the book's cover to make your predictions.
Part II: Create your own version of "One Inch Tall" by writing a short story or poem starting with "If I were one inch tall...". Be sure to have your writing edited before going on to the next part.
Part III: Click the discussion tab at the top of this page and reply to the discussion thread entitled If... by typing your short story of poem.
Extension Activity #2
Invention Convention - create an invention which will better the Littles lifestyle
Part I:Brainstorm: click the discussion tab at the top of this page and reply to the discussion thread entitled Invention Convention. Remember your invention has to be made from household items. The invention also needs to be made to scale. In other words, the Littles would actually be able to use it.
Part II:Design: draw a 'blueprint' of your invention. You may do this by hand or use software in the lab.
Part III:Create: gather your supplies and bring your invention to life
Part IV:Share: explain the purpose of your invention and how it will benefit the Littles with your Lit Group members;
you will be videotaped with the pocket video camera, so you should rehearse your description and explanation
The Littles Go Exploring by John Peterson
John Peterson was born and raised in the small town of Bradford, Pennsylvania. After high school, he moved to New York City to study illustration but left his studies to volunteer for the U.S. paratroopers in World War II. During his three years of service, he saw combat, fighting with the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific. After the war, Peterson returned to New York to finish his studies in illustration at the Pratt Institute where he graduated in 1948. After spending nearly 20 years doing illustrations for advertising, magazines, and textbooks, he wanted to create a children's book and needed a story to go with the art. So John worked with his wife, Holly, and wrote his first story, Terry's Treasure Hunt. Luckily for readers, Peterson enjoyed writing and continued doing it. Among his many books for children, the most popular have been the stories about the family of tiny people known as the Littles.
Pre-reading
Watch the video...
In your Literature Group and with your high school mentor facilitating, predict what the Littles will be exploring. Use the information from the video and the book's cover to make your predictions.
Vocbulary & Reading
Listening
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapters 7-9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Extension Activity # 1
Part I: Read the Shel Silverstein's poem "One Inch Tall"
Part II: Create your own version of "One Inch Tall" by writing a short story or poem starting with "If I were one inch tall...". Be sure to have your writing edited before going on to the next part.
Part III: Click the discussion tab at the top of this page and reply to the discussion thread entitled If... by typing your short story of poem.
Extension Activity #2
Invention Convention - create an invention which will better the Littles lifestyle
Part I: Brainstorm: click the discussion tab at the top of this page and reply to the discussion thread entitled Invention Convention. Remember your invention has to be made from household items. The invention also needs to be made to scale. In other words, the Littles would actually be able to use it.
Part II: Design: draw a 'blueprint' of your invention. You may do this by hand or use software in the lab.
Part III: Create: gather your supplies and bring your invention to life
Part IV: Share: explain the purpose of your invention and how it will benefit the Littles with your Lit Group members;
you will be videotaped with the pocket video camera, so you should rehearse your description and explanation