(Don’t forget about the discussion questions and activities already included with each book! Use these extra ideas as a springboard to further enrichment of student learning.)

Activities for Meghan Rose Has a Secret

Since Meghan Rose Has a Secret is all about secrets, diaries, and the power of words, so are all these fun related activity ideas.

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Give classmates a secret pen pal for a week. First, teach a mini-lesson on how to address an envelope. Follow this link for an envelope addressing lesson plan. Then demonstrate how to build a letter. Follow this link for a letter writing lesson plan. Next, set up a mailbox of sorts (such as a shoebox with a slit on top). Ask students to write and mail at least one top secret letter full of kind words to their pen pal.
• Tap into the power of positive words! Show students how to write an acrostic poem using their name. Example: Meghan…Marvelous, Exciting, Go-getter, Happy, Adorable, Nice. Students can add photographs or drawings to their name poem to celebrate their unique and special qualities.

SCIENCE

• It's no secret…magnets are cool! Magnetic force can pull objects together, or attract them. This happens when two opposite poles (positive to negative) meet. Magnetic force can also push objects apart, or repel them. This happens when two parallel poles (positive to positive or negative to negative) meet. Allow students to free explore with magnets to discover this phenomenon. Then put the power of attraction to work. You’ll need a shoebox, a strong magnet on a long handle (such as a wooden spoon), and a paperclip. Attach the magnet to the end of the wooden spoon. Cut a hole in the side of the shoebox large enough to fit the spoon. Place the paperclip on top of the shoebox. Move the magnet/spoon beneath the object to make it move…as if by secret force!
• Make invisible ink…and write a secret message with it. You need lemon juice, a cotton swab, paper, a light bulb, and handy adult. Dip the swab in the lemon juice and write or draw on the paper. (Start with something simple. Why? Because it’s tricky to see your work!) Once your message is written (or picture drawn) and the paper is dry, get your handy adult to hold the paper to a hot light bulb. As the paper heats up, the secret writing will appear. It’s the interaction between the acid in the lemon and the heat source that makes it work.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Study secret codes that were used during wars. Follow these links to find background information on the morse code or the Navajo Code Talkers...but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE come back here for more fun when you're done!
• Sign language is like a secret code, but it's used every day by millions of people. But did you know that just like the spoken language, sign language has different dialects? Not only that, sign language is not international. Different countries use different signs for the same object! Here is a fun link to learn more about ASL (American Sign Language).

MATH

• Play the “Guess my Secret Number” game. Here’s how…pick a number between one and one hundred. Students must ask you yes or no questions to narrow down the answer. (Examples: Is it an even number? Is it greater than 50?) When they think they know the answer, have them write it down.
• Solve a math secret riddle message. Click here.

 

ART

• Make a secret crayon relief picture. Use a white crayon to draw a secret picture or write a secret message. Then paint over the paper with watercolors to reveal the secret.
• Meghan and her friends visited the book fair. Design a cover for your favorite book or design a cereal box that features your favorite book characters. (You can even use a real cereal box, cover it with construction paper, and color/paste on your design. These make nice classroom displays.)

MUSIC

• Listen to secretly mysterious classical music, such as Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, Hayden’s Symphony No. 94 Surprise, or Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. You may talk to students about the history behind each tune, draw pictures to go with the songs, or move to the melodies.
• Introduce students to a variety of instruments (or review the ones you discussed with Meghan Rose All Dressed Up). Then secretly pick out an instrument. Play the instrument out of eyesight and see if students can identify it or give the students clues, such as, “It has strings.”