Are you an elementary school Teacher, Librarian, or Media Specialist?
Then SANDRA MARKLE invites you to become a Markle Book Explorer.
If you don't already know this multi-award winning children's book author and curriculum materials developer, check out this interview with SANDRA MARKLE.
As an MBE, you will receive monthly (September through May) resource-packed emails and ready-to-go discovery-learning activites along with an activity guide. These are all yours FREE to use and to share with others at your school. AND they come personalized to you via your school email.
To get started,just send your name and school email address to sandramarkle@yahoo.com
Wondering WHAT WILL I GET MONTHLY!?
Here is the April 2026 activity, activity guide, and resource-packed email as a sample. ENJOY! 😀
[copyright Sandra Markle 2026 All rigths reserved to following materials]
ACTIVITY
GO AXOLOTLS GO!
Teams all have their mascots: LIONS, TIGERS, FALCONS, BULLDOGS, and more. The mascot represents the team. And the team is meant to be lucky by sharing its mascot’s special features.
Your class is a team and needs a mascot. You want it to be the AXOLOTL because it’s COOL! GREAT! SPECIAL!
But you need to persuade your teacher to have your class mascot be the AXOLOTL. Read to discover and collect axolotl facts. Next, think why axolotls being your class mascot is important for the classroom...and to you. Then follow the steps to write your teacher and win AXOLOTL being your class mascot.
But
READ! THINK! What are 3 facts about axolotls that make them special?
__1._________________________________________________________
__2. _________________________________________________________
__3. _________________________________________________________
Put an X in front of the one you believe makes them a good choice for being your class mascot.
4. What is there about axolotls that makes you really want them to be your class mascot?__________________________________________________
5. Your class mascot will need to be pictured on posters, T-shirts, and such. What about the axolotl will make it easy to draw and display that way?
WRITE! Now, its’ time to write your persuasive letter to have the axolotl be your class mascot.
Dear____________________________________________(teacher’s name)
Have you ever wondered what animal would be a great class mascot for us? I believe it’s the axolotl because____________________________________
___________________________________________________(tell one reason you want the axolotl). Also, did you know______________________
___________________________________________________________.
(share your most WOW reason it’s a good choice)
In fact, I believe without axolotls as our mascot, our class will be_________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.
(tell something that will be sad, bad, missing, upsetting…NOT wonderful)
With BEST Wishes!____________________________(your name)
ACTIVITY GUIDE
GO AXOLOTLS GO! Activity Guide
LAUNCH: Introduce the following vocabulary words before reading:
Lifespan: Total time lived from birth until death.
Amphibian: Animals with backbones that can’t produce their own body heat. Most are juveniles in water breathing through gills like a fish and then change to become adults, moving onto land and breathing air through lungs. Axolotls are amphibians that usually remain in juvenile form. But they still grow bigger and reproduce.
Webbed: Having stretchy skin between toes.
Captivity: Kept living confined to a set space.
BUILD UP TO READING: Share these videos to introduce both axolotls and persuasive writing.
10 Amazing Axolotl Facts for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sN0bfeH9Ak
Great, quick overview.
Can We Save Mexico City’s Famous Axolotls? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_lOASkYvjM
For Older Ss, this video shares an overview of wild axolotls, their home, why they are endangered, and efforts to save them. Pause at about 3 minutes into the video to challenge Ss to identify the key problems for axolotls and how each affects these animals. At the end, encourage Ss to list each of the conservation efforts underway and how these will help axolotls. Be sure Ss realize scientists do a survey to count at night because axolotls are nocturnal.
5 Tips for Persuasive Writing Introductions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp2UV6nR6dc
Can I Be Your Dog Read Aloud for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liGPckseaJI
Share this fun read aloud of the book by Troy Cummings (Random House Books for Young Readers). Discuss how the dog is using persuasive writing to reach a goal. What is its goal? How is it changing its persuasive writing with each letter?
CLOSE READING: Help Ss be reading detectives. Have them do a quick overview read. Then encourage them to examine the Fact page and the one spread again to search for clues they can use to answer each question. That means besides reading the text they need to read the photos and illustration.
1. Regrow lost body parts as often as needs to.
2. Power up with both tail and webbed feet to swim as fast as 10 mph.
3. Have toes perfect for grabbing and digging.
[where the X goes will vary]
4. Will vary but likely to be their natural smile.
5. Answers will vary but likely to be their simple shape.
What’s included to fill-in-the-blanks for the letter will vary, but it should be persuasive enough to make everyone want the class mascot to be an AXOLOTL. Allow time for Ss to share their persuasive letter.
STRETCH: There are fiction stories about axolotls. But none about your class’s adventures with their mascot AXOLOTL. Use this story starter page to launch Ss writing a one paragraph or longer story.
AXOLOTL TO THE RESCUE!
Last Friday, our class went on a fieldtrip to the City Aquarium. We took our Axolotl mascot named____________ with us. It travels so well in its clear plastic, motorized, rolling fish tank. It was my turn to operate the controls. Everything was going super until we got to the top of the giant coral reef.
OH NO! The axolotl’s tank went crazy. It spun. Bounced. Then WHOOSH! It tossed our mascot into the coral reef tank. I jumped in after it. So did everybody in my class—even my teacher. As soon as we were in the water we changed. We were still ourselves, but we could breathe and see and swim just like our mascot. It was fun for a second. Then we saw a big shark swimming straight for us. You won’t believe what happened next! [TELL US!]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MARKLE BOOK EXPLORER APRIL EMAIL
Dear YOUR NAME WILL APPEAR HERE because emails are sent personally to each subscribing MBE!
It’s APRIL and this month’s theme is IT’S CHANGED! Lots of changes are happening this month wherever you live: the weather; sports being played; how early and late it’s daylight; plants budding or even blooming; how you need to dress going outside; and more. How many more things changing can your Ss name? And how have they personally changed since last Fall? Are they taller? Have they gained skills they didn’t have before? Of course, the days to celebrate have changed so here are some special events to celebrate this month.
April 1: April Fool's Day The day marks a big calendar change that happened in 1564. Now, it’s known for people doing things to fool others. But it started when New Year's Day officially changed on the calendar from being April 1st to January 1st. People who continued to celebrate the year's new beginning on April 1st were called "April Fools". I just discovered this It’s Changed! historical moment and thought it was so cool I had to share it with you.
April 3: Pony Express started in 1860 with this first fast mail delivery heading out from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento CA. Mail delivery is a great topic for how It’s Changed!.
Here’s a quick overview to share with historic photos.
https://www.history.com/articles/post-office-mail-delivery
WATCH:
History of Mail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxk9kQncIQI
Lively, British version of this history. Once past the introduction to Egyptian mail pause after each section to create a timeline together. Could be fun to have a note you’ve written passed to children who then stand up to form a line—a human timeline—who pass it on. At the end of the video, challenge Ss to think about how Roman mail delivery connected to one mail system used in the past in the US? FYI, It was the Pony Express!
What Was The Pony Express
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c55rsUfCoGk
The narrator is a child who does a fantastic job making this interesting and memorable. He tells that there were over 190 pony express stations where riders changed horses across the country from MO to CA. Great chance to check a map for those starting to stopping states. What states did the riders cross in between. Do any of you have a pony express museum near you? If so, LUCKY YOU! Challenge Ss to help you list all the things that made being a pony express rider a hard—even dangerous--job. Why did the pony express only deliver mail for about a year?
We Used to Mail Children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reG96x09L4o
Fun! Though when the narrator shared how inexpensive the postage was, I wondered the value of that cost in today’s money. You might want to Google that?
For Older Ss—Both of the next two are really interesting! Encourage Ss to work in groups to research and report on two key people featured: Katherine Stinson and Charles Lindbergh. Also, have them recall and discuss what were the challenges faced by early airmail pilots.
The History of US Mail and the Birth of Commercial Aviation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsJQw79YPq0
I thought the connection to today’s commercial airlines was interesting.
The History of Email
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZHSME72an8
This was fascinating!
DO:
5 Fun Ways to Use Snail Mail With Your Children
https://www.myjoyfilledlife.com/5-fun-ways-use-snail-mail-children/
This has some fun activity ideas.
Downloads for Friendly Letter Writing Acitivies
https://luckylittlelearners.com/how-to-teach-friendly-letter-writing/
Useful how-to guides you can download and use.
READ: These books share examples of letter writing—they also share persuasive text while hoping for something to change. That’s a great connection to April’s activity.
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings (Random House Books for Young Readers) A heartwarming story told through letters as a dog tries to convince a new owner to adopt him.
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff (G P Putnam’s Books for Young Readers) A masterclass in persuasive letter writing, featuring a boy trying to convince his mom to let him have a pet.
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (Philomel Books) Crayons write letters to their owner, expressing opinions and demanding changes, serving as excellent, humorous persuasive writing.
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague (Scholastic) A dog writes letters to his owner arguing that he should come home, providing examples of opinion and emotional persuasion. Watch and listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPBJf488FJo
The next three April dates go together with how air travel has changed from the first flight to landing on the moon. And sometime in April, 2026 the US Artemis II mission to the moon is supposed to launch—the first since Apollo 17 in 1972. This will take four astronauts on a 10-day flyby around the moon. So, as you celebrate these dates that spotlight the past inspire your Ss to look to the future.
April 12: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gaganin became the first man in space in 1961. The flight lasted 108 minutes.
April 16: Aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright was born in Millville, IN, in 1867.
April 19: Surveyor 3 landed on the moon in 1967. This let scientists learn the surface is solid and not covered in fine powder as was once believed. That opened the door for the lunar landings that followed, starting with Apollo 11 in 1969.
WATCH:
NASA Science Space Place
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/launching-into-space/en/
A great site for an overview on rocket travel into space. Start with the video How Do We Launch Things Into Space? From there, explore the site because it’s a whole universe of resources. For, older Ss who are space enthusiasts under “Crafts” find NASA Activity Books and download the PDF “Power Up With Solar System Activities”. It’s a fun discovery learning resource. I also loved
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/en/ under videos. One of the clearest, simplest presentations ever for why we see a blue sky.
DO:
National Geographic Kids Passport to Space
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space
This site is packed with FUN discovery opportunities. Be sure Ss don’t miss these:
Weird But True: Space; Making the Moon; The Moon Walk—also watch What Is Hubble?
38 Space Activities for Kids that are Out of This World
https://www.weareteachers.com/space-activities-for-kids/ There are activities for lots of ages/ability groups. You’ll know what’s best for your Ss. Don’t miss #12 which is a video tour inside the International Space Station.
READ:
Ticket to Space by Adrienne Romberger (Independently Published) I don’t usually suggest independently published books, but the link lets Ss watch it read by an astronaut aboard the Space Station.
https://storytimefromspace.com/ticket-to-space/
Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story by Mark Kelly (Beach Lane). This is the first is a series of FUN mousetronaut books. Sure to be a popular read aloud. Encourage Ss to create their own Mousetronaut stories.
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) A nicely illustrated personal story from the astronaut about overcoming his fears to chase a dream of space exploration. Good SEL connection—what fears have Ss faced having to overcome to do something they really want to do. I faced the fear of being lost as I hiked alone in remote wilderness areas in Antarctica to observe and photograph penguins. I found what I was experiencing was so amazing I only remembered later I’d been afraid to begin. And my training on how to find my way was really enough to keep me from becoming lost.
Also, Watch You Are Going This is the story of the Artemis mission launching in April read by the actual mission team astronauts. COOL!!!! And available to share in Spanish or French https://www.nasa.gov/you-are-going/ There is a teacher’s guide (called Comprehension Guide) that’s worth checking out. For Older Ss, don’t miss the link to more about Artemis and being able to track it in real time once it launches. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-2/track-nasas-artemis-ii-mission-in-real-time/
That’s all until MAY. Don’t forget there is always more action on Write On! Sandra Markle! https://sandra-markle.blogspot.com
Stay SAFE! Stay WELL! And Stay CREATIVE!!! Sandra Markle
