All entries must be received between August 1, 2005 and January 16, 2006.

Using the space below, in 500 words or less, tell us how you incorporate the
Magic Tree House books to help you meet your objectives across the curriculum.
(If you need more room, feel free to continue on the reverse side of this form.)

My students and I have been fans of Mary Pope Osborne since the days of the old Apple II computers, on which I planned my first Magic Tree House unit. Since then I have created 14 additional units for this extraordinary series. All units have been placed on our school's website for parents, educators, and students worldwide to use. With a hit counter on the title page for each unit, I have calculated that 210,367 visitors have seen the units with approximately five times that in page views just on the title pages! Almost weekly I receive e-mails from teachers and students who have found these units a valuable time saver, creatively educational, and just plain fun.

These units contain interactive multiple-choice comprehension questions for each chapter. Vocabulary practice, some interactive, and phonic practices are also included for each unit. Most importantly the units contain hundreds of ideas for meeting teaching standards across the curriculum.

One example of using the Magic Tree House Series across the curriculum is with Mummies in the Morning, Hour of the Olympics, and Vacation Under the Volcano. While reading books from this Ancient Worlds series, my students constructed a walk through style museum. Students researched topics related to the books though the Internet, cable television, and the Magic Tree House reference books. Next the students prepared presentations and displays on their topics. The presentations included making and modeling costumes, building dioramas, crafting tools, and cooking authentic foods. The students set up their presentations in the school cafeteria and became the "teachers" as parents and students visited the museum.

Earthquakes in the Early Morning is a great book for teaching technology standards. My students have researched the sequence of events relating to the San Francisco Earthquake. Next they used an online Time Line Maker to record these events. Using the Create a Graph Website, students have also made graphs illustrating the number of deaths, the damage in dollars, and the magnitudes of U. S. earthquakes.

Many social studies topics have been covered using the Magic Tree House Series. While reading Thanksgiving on Thursday, my students reenacted the first Thanksgiving by dressing in costume and eating an appropriate meal in our school courtyard. While reading Pirates Past Noon, I divided the class into two groups. Each group chose a location on the school grounds to hide chocolate coins. Students then drew maps for the other group to follow to lead them to this hidden "treasure".

The Magic Tree House Series has been a springboard for many science projects as well. Students have made crystal snowflakes and artwork of the Northern Lights while reading Polar Bears Past Bedtime. While reading Dinosaurs Before Dark we covered a unit on fossils. Students "dug" M&M's from cookies to see what scientists feel like as they dig for fossils. They also "created" fossils using clay and plaster of Paris.

This essay barely skims the surface on all the ways the Magic Tree House Series has helped meet our objectives across the curriculum. Please visit our website and see for yourself.  http://www.mce.k12tn.net/units/tree_house.htm I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Your name: Gay Miller

School Name: Mountain City Elementary School

Grade: 4th Grade

Full Address: Mountain City Elementary School
                     301 Donnelly Street
                      Mountain City, TN  37683

Phone number: (423) 727-2621

Official rules available at www.randomhouse.com/teachers/magicth