Balloons over Broadway

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Balloons over Broadway

A RIF GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY COORDINATORS

Themes: Celebrations, Physics, Puppetry

Grade Level: 3rd to 5th grade

Book Brief: This book tells the story of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the Macy’s

Thanksgiving Parade.

Author and

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

TIME TO READ!

Before reading: Has anyone in the group ever seen or been to the Macy’s Parade? What about another parade? What was the parade like? Who was in the parade? What was it for? What’s the point of a parade?

RELATED ACTIVITIES

TECHNOLOGY LINK (ALL AGES)

Watch this clip of a marionette puppet show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhYdvvnZ9Ko. Then watch this clip of the 1939 Macy’s Parade:

www.vimeo.com/24693682. How are the puppets and the balloons alike?

RUBE GOLDBERG CONTEST (AGES 8-12)

Materials: whatever you have around the center A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that performs a very simple task. Tony’s pulley system for feeding the chickens is like a very simple Rube Goldberg machine. Divide the children into teams and have them compete to make some more complicated ones! Pick an easy task (like knocking a cup over), then have children set up a complex chain reaction of as many steps as possible to complete it. Use only what you find around the center. First team to complete the task with their machine wins! (Watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOFeC-Dm7U

to see a sample machine.)

BALLOONS ON PARADE (AGES 6-12)

Materials: balloons, markers, tape, rods (unsharpened pencils or straws)

Hold a balloon parade at your center! Give children a number of balloons in different colors and sizes to blow up. (Younger children may need help inflating balloons.) Have the children tape the balloons together to make animals, like dragons or tigers. Let them decorate with markers. Tape rods to the balloon animals at each

end so children can carry them. When every child has a balloon, put on some music and hold your own parade!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Carmine: A Little More Red (2008), Fiddle-I-Fee (2002), Tupelo Rides the Rails (2008).

TECHNOLOGY LINK FOR KIDS www.rif.org/kids

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NOTE TO EDUCATORS

u Extension Activities for Educators also available. u Vocabulary Scaffolding Sheet also available.

TIME TO READ!

BEFORE WE READ, LET’S LOOK AT… The Cover: See if the students can predict what the book is about based on the title and cover illustrations. Where is Broadway? What is the Macy’s Parade? Have any students ever been to the parade or watched it on television?

The Pictures: Briefly flip through a few pages. Based on the pictures, what does the main character do? Do the students know what a puppeteer is?

Prior Knowledge: Ask students what they know about puppets. Can they give any examples of puppets? Explain that puppetry is actually an ancient art form practiced around the world. A marionette is a special kind of puppet controlled from above by strings. To familiarize students with the Macy’s Parade, have them watch this clip of the 1939 parade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoeZafIgzF0 (or www.vimeo.com/24693682).

Vocabulary: marionette, gear, pulley, immigrant, helium

Purpose for Reading: “As we read, think about the different problems Tony faces and how he solves each one.”

WHILE WE READ

MONITORING COMPREHENSION

u Why does Tony’s father stop making him do

chores?

u Why does Macy’s begin putting on a parade? u What does the first parade look like?

u Why does Macy’s want to replace the animals? u What makes the balloons float?

LET’S THINK ABOUT

Our Purpose: “How does Tony solve each of the problems he faces? How does he use his different interests, skills, and knowledge to come up with creative solutions?”

Extending Our Thinking: Watch this clip of the 2011 parade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=We3svBFgGjQ (or this 2010 clip: www.vimeo.com/17371275). How is today’s parade different from the parade in 1939? How is it the same? Why do you think it’s changed? How will the parade look in 70 more years?

Balloons over Broadway

A RIF GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS

Book Brief: This book tells the story of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Author and

Content Connections:

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TIME TO READ!

RELATED ACTIVITIES

MACY’S DAY PARADE FLOAT

Ingredients: lemon sherbet and fizzy lemonade Everyone loves a good float! Fill a glass halfway with fizzy lemonade and top with a scoop of low-calorie lemon sherbet or vanilla frozen yogurt. Enjoy! (You can also use more traditional flavors like vanilla ice cream and soda, though that version is less healthful.)

RUBE GOLDBERG

Materials: whatever you have around the house A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that performs a very simple task. Tony’s pulley system for feeding the chickens is like a very simple Rube Goldberg machine. Help your child make a more complex one! Pick an easy task (knocking a cup over, for example), and then help your child set up a com-plex chain reaction of as many steps as possible to complete it. Use only what you find around the house.

(Watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOFeC-Dm7U

to see a sample machine.)

BALLOON ANIMALS

Materials: balloons, markers, tape, rods (unsharpened pencils or straws)

Let your child create a parade balloon! Blow up a number of balloons in different colors and sizes. Tape them together to make an animal, like a dragon or a tiger. Decorate with markers. Tape rods to the balloon animal at each end so you can carry it. Make more than one and have your own parade!

TECHNOLOGY LINK

Watch this clip of a marionette puppet show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhYdvvnZ9Ko. Then watch this clip of the 1939 Macy’s Parade:

www.vimeo.com/24693682. How are the puppets and the balloons alike?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Carmine: A Little More Red (2008), Fiddle-I-Fee (2002),

Tupelo Rides the Rails (2008).

Before reading, build background knowledge: Has your child ever seen or been to the Macy’s Parade? What about another parade? What was it like?

While reading, make connections: How does Tony use the things he’s interested in and the things he’s good at to solve problems with the parade?

After reading, ask questions:

u Why does Tony love to make things move? u How does the Macy’s Parade start?

u Why does Tony invent the balloons? u What other celebrations or holidays have

parades?

Balloons over Broadway

A RIF GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES

Book Brief: This book tells the story of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the Macy’s

Thanksgiving Parade.

Author and

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department store: a big store that sells a lot of different kinds of things separated into sections or departments

to wobble: to move back and forth without falling

heave-ho: a hard pull or tug on a rope

to deflate: to let the air out of something

mechanical: has to do with machines or tools; has moving parts like a machine

creature: a living thing, usually an animal

to tether: to tie something to; to tie something down

the El: the elevated train, the part of the subway that goes through the city above-ground

rigging: fixing, arranging OR the ropes that control the moving parts backstage in a play or show OR the ropes that control the sails on a ship

float: a special kind of vehicle that people drive in parades

Balloons over Broadway

A RIF VOCABULARY SCAFFOLD

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RIF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS

STEAM-THEMED: Science, Technology, engineering, ArT, MATh

Balloons over Broadway

THINK-TAC-TOE ACTIVITY OPTIONS

u Individual students can choose an activity to complete.

u Student pairs or cooperative groups can work together on a choice of their own.

u Educator can assign an activity for an individual, pairs, or groups.

FLEW THE COOP Tony figures out how to feed the chickens without leaving his bed. Design a machine to help you do one of your chores. Make an advertising brochure to “sell” your machine. Include a labeled drawing—and be sure to explain how it works!

Writing, Science, Engineering

PULLING THE STRINGS Put on your own puppet show! Pick a book you’ve read in class this year. Retell the story with puppets! Write a short script. Use what you have in your classroom—or your hands—to make puppets. Draw your set on a large sheet of paper. Perform your show for the rest of the class! Can they guess the story you picked without hearing the title?

Art, Writing

GAS CAN

Helium is the gas that makes balloons float. It’s actually lighter than air! What are some other gasses? Find at least 5 other gasses and what we use them for. Do we use any of them in balloons? Share your findings on a poster or in a PowerPoint.

Science

HE’S GONE!

Uh-oh, looks like there’s a shortage of helium—we can’t use balloons in the parade this year! What can we do? Like Tony does, use your skills and hobbies to come up with a way to solve this problem. Write a story or draw a comic strip about how you saved the Macy’s Parade.

Science, Writing

EN ROUTE

The path a parade takes is called a route. Plan the route for a parade through your town. Go to

www.maps.google.com and type in your town. With this guide, draw a map of your parade route. Make your route about 2.6 miles, like the Macy’s Parade. Pick a good starting and ending where people can line up to see! Label your map.

Technology, Art, Geography, Social Studies

ON PARADE

Parades are popular worldwide. Find at least 5 different cultural holidays or celebrations with parades. What is the holiday about? Where and how is it celebrated? Who celebrates? Are there puppets or floats? Share your findings in a poster, brochure, or PowerPoint.

Art, Social Studies

KEEP IT SIMPLE Tony uses pulleys to make his puppets work. A pulley is a simple machine. What are the 5 other simple machines? Using materials in the classroom, make a model of each of the 6 simple machines. Label each machine!

Engineering, Art

HANDLE WITH CARE Each year, the parade has 50 balloons and 1,600 balloon handlers. If each balloon has the same number of handlers, how many handlers does each balloon have? What if 10 balloons had 20 handlers each and the rest of the balloons had the same number? How many handlers would the rest of the balloons have?

Math

ROD-ICAL

Tony is inspired by an Indonesian rod puppet. Make your own simple rod puppet by drawing an animal figure on paper and cutting it out. On the back of the figure, write a few basic facts about Indonesia: location, population, capital, etc. Glue or tape a pencil to your figure as a “rod.”