1. Language Arts –

• Explore colloquialisms in Blue.
• Identify common misuses of grammar in Blue.
• Select other parts of the United States and seek out colloquialisms for those areas
• Explore ways the author used speech to set characters apart.
• Discuss the ways letter writing has changed since the WWII era. Practice writing letters (including email) that communicate effectively.

2. Health & Science

• Explore the history of polio.
• Identify the scientists who studied polio and those who created vaccines.
• Create a Polio Timeline.
• Discover Sister Kenny’s contribution to polio treatment.
• Study history of iron lung, how it works, & advances in respiratory technology.
• Explore Rotary International and the campaign to eradicate polio from the earth.
• Learn about the history of vaccinations and immunities.
• Study other epidemic diseases.

3. Franklin Roosevelt & his Contributions

• Explore FDR’s experience with polio.
• Discover the history of the Warm Springs Foundation.
• Research the history of the March of Dimes.
• Explore FDR’s political history.
• Research FDR’s economic programs.

4. Other Famous People Who Had Polio

• Alan Alda – actor,
• Wilma Rudolph – teacher, runner, 3 time Olympic gold medalist
• Dorothea Lange – photographer
• Ann Adams - artist (by mouth)
• Tenley Albright – doctor and olympic gold medalist for figure skating
• Ray Ewry – Track & Field Olympic Champion
• Henry Holden - actor, comedian, athlete, activist
• Walter “Buddy” Davis – Broad Jump Olympic Champion, Basketball
• Georgia Coleman - Olympic diver
• Annette Kellerman – Australian marathon swimmer and actress
• Hildegard Knef – German actress, singer, writer
• Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar – Cricket Champion from India
• Wah Ming Chang – sculptor, artist, master of special effects

5. World War II

• Explore the causes & review the consequences.
• Research Adolf Hitler and the rise of Germany.
• Discover the various countries involved and their roles/alliances.
• Explore the internment of Japanese Americans.
• Research the bomb & other technology used.
• Learn about the peace treaties for VE Day & VJ day.

6. Plants & Nutrition

• Learn about wisteria & other invasive plants in NC (or in your state).  What makes them so invasive?
• Study plant species that are native to your state.
• Explore the propagation and care of garden plants mentioned in Blue.
• Explore nutrition of foods mentioned in Blue.
• Study food shortages created by the war and rationing.
• Discover how soldiers were fed on the battlefront.
• Identify foods & brands of food popular during the 40’s.

7. Entertainment

• Discover popular entertainers of the day.
• Identify songs, movies, radio programs, and newsreels of the 40’s.
• Learn about magazines, books, and print media of the 40’s.
• Identify board games, sports & other play of the era.

8. The Arts

· Draw bottles that represent you and your characteristics (based on Chapter 19).

· Create a graphic novel version of Blue

· Design endpapers for Blue that show Ann Fay’s yard and neighborhood .

· Discover works by famous artists that use the color Blue to express mood.

· Explore other colors & their connotations.

9. Math

• Explore the war’s financial effects on individual families and their finances.
• Discover what soldiers were paid for their service to the country.
• Search out prices for foods and other items during 1944-1945.
• Learn about “Rosie the Riveter”/women in the workforce.
• Track the #’s of polio cases in America by epidemics between 1916 and 1955.
• Explore fundraising & expenditures of the March of Dimes during polio years.
• Discover costs of foods in 1944 and plan a week’s grocery list with a set amount.
• Create a “victory garden”, calculate the size, and lengths & numbers of rows.
• Graph the numbers of people killed during World War II from various countries.
• Explore the financial aspects of the depression and WWII.