Tag Archives: fourth grade common core

Sep6

Tiffany Turner Will Be Appearing at the Almaden Art & Wine Festival Sept. 15, 2019

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Tiffany Turner

Tiffany Turner at her booth at the 2014 Almaden Art & Wine Festival.

The news has just been confirmed. Tiffany Turner will have a booth at the Almaden Art and Wine Festival on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. She is planning quite the experience. She will be in the children’s section at the festival where Mrs. Turner plans to have FREE FAIRY TEMPORARY TATTOOS and DRAGON/KNIGHT TEMPORARY TATTOOS for all children and the children at heart that visit her booth. She’ll have out a tattoo station for you to put on your tattoo at the festival. Plus, sign up for her newsletter, and spin her prize wheel for fairy and unicorn book swag. You could get a unicorn mini bubble wand, crystal, unicorn or dragon charm pendant necklace, or unicorn friendship bracelet.

PLUS, with a purchase of her book, choose from all of the book swag. One item for each book purchased. There are four in the series, so you could get all 4 items!

Join Wanda in the world of fairies. She finds out the secret and shares it with you. FAIRES ARE REAL! There are four fantastic books of helping the fairies solve problems in regards to pollution, bee death syndrome, and fracking, all while she is on the trail of the evil sorcerer, Balkazaar.

Come meet Tiffany Turner, spin the wheel, and buy and get your books signed. Yes, get a selfie too! Mrs. Turner loves meeting her young readers. Plus, the Almaden Art and Wine Festival is a fundraiser for the sponsors, the Almaden Valley Women’s Club.

Tiffany Turner in the hospital ICU Dec. 2014

Mrs. Turner has been a teacher in South San Jose for 20 years. She worked in the Oak Grove School District for 18 years, and is currently working in the private education sector as a tutor. She is enjoying an early semi-retirement due to health issues in 2014. Finishing the series has been a long time goal since her illness almost five years ago.

“I’m thankful to have finally finished the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. Back when I was so sick, all I could think of was getting better. I had a massive heart attack and blood clot. Thankfully, I had my writing to keep my sanity. It took awhile to finish the last book because of my illness. But I’m happy to have finally given my readers the ending they all have been craving.” -Mrs. Tiffany Turner

Mrs. Turner is looking forward to meeting all of her readers and sharing with them the last book in the series, The Lost Secret of Time. She will be available 10am to 6pm for book signings.

Jan30

Using Legends and Fairy Tales in Books

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Tiffany Turner

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Over the years, I’ve done a lot of research on fairies and elves. I’ve learned so much that I wanted to share some of the facts that I’ve found. Some of the research I was able to include in my books. Other facts are just fun to know. Together, it sometimes is good to see where a story starts. After all, every legend needs to start with someone telling the story.

The Top Interesting Facts I’ve Learned About Elves and Fairies:

1) Elves came from the fairy legends and evolved mostly from the changing of court society about 1,000 years ago. The courtiers wanted to hear tales and legends, but they wanted stories to reflect the life of court. Bards started to embellish their songs and tales to reflect this change in society. Thus, elves were born out of necessity to create fairies that reflected the human’s lives that listened to the stories.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. The Disney Castle design was based on this castle.

2) Dragons most likely came from people finding dinosaur bones. To explain what a Pterodactyl might have been, a dragon tale was born. Similar discoveries of early human tools had tales made up about them. Often they were considered tools of the Fey Folk that had come before. Tales told of the mysterious people leaving to different lands. Again, many times stories were used to explain what science explains today.

3) Traveling will gain you lots of information. I discovered the Menehune in Hawaii while on vacation. They are the little dwarf-like fairies that come from Hawaiian legend. They love to mend things, and some people will leave gifts to gain help from them. I bought a book on Hawaiian legends, and it was helpful when my main character Wanda, travels to Hawaii in The Lost Secret of Dragonfire.

Untersberg Sign at the top of the peak in the German Alps.

4) I learned to take lots of pictures. You never know where an elf may live. The classic is the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, pictured at the top, in which the Disneyland Castle is based. I also take pictures of plaques of local legends. I discovered legends of dwarves that live within Untersberg, one of the peaks in the German Alps. My imagination soared with these legends as a stepping ground.

5) Leprechauns are one of the most famous fairies or fey in Irish myths. The legends tell of Leprechauns being solitary shoemakers. According to Sir Walter Scott’s book “Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry”, they are also confused or combined with two other fairies, The Cluricaun and the Red Man. The Cluricaun tends to hide in the cellar while the Red Man enjoys doing practical jokes. Sometimes they are considered the happy brothers of the Leprechaun.

The Leprechaun is one of the most famous type of fairies.

The Leprechaun legend continues with tales of becoming rich if one can find the Leprechauns gold from selling his shoe wares. Later in legends, the rainbow became a marker for the hiding spot of the Leprechauns acquired treasure.

So, I’ve gathered and learned a lot about the Fey. Elves, fairies, and dwarves have proved to be a very interesting subject. Like most writers, I learn a lot about my subject, but can’t always include all of the details in my books. That’s why books are so exciting. I enjoy the research as much as writing the book.
References:

“Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry” by Walter Scott. Original published date 1888.

“Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures” by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda.

**This post can be used for teachers meeting Common Core Standards for Fourth Grade.

CCS ELA Reading Subject: Within range for literature focusing on myth, legends and fairy tales in a nonfiction format.

CCS ELA Writing 4.1: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

CCS ELA Writing 4.5 : 5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen
writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

CCS ELA Speaking and Listening Skills: 4.3 : 3. Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to
support particular points.

The Lost Secret of Dragonfire is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

***Tiffany Turner has released her third book, The Lost Secret of Dragonfire, in her Crystal Keeper series. She continues to teach fourth graders in California while writing fantasy adventure middle grade novels. This is her 17th year of teaching. She is working on other writing projects in her No Limits Writing practices. She actively plays the Gaelic Harp at Renaissance festivals throughout Northern California.

**Follow to connect with more Common Core related blog posts over the next few months. Available for use in the classroom courtesy of Tiffany Turner.

Jan28

How Do Writers Get Their Ideas?

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Tiffany Turner

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How do writers get their ideas? This is a huge, diverse question . To start, you have to often ask writers. Most often, they come to me in a blinding flash; with a flurry sometimes I hardly have time to write them down. One time I was carrying the groceries, and dropped them in the doorway as I ran, grabbing a piece of paper to write down my ideas. Another time I woke up from a dream; finishing it as I was waking up. I didn’t want it to stop. I got up, grabbed my laptop, and by the time my first cup of coffee for the morning was done, I’d written the first scene of a new story.

The orchard behind Tiffany Turner’s house growing up in the Santa Clara Valley.

The best way to get ideas is from your own experience. With my first book, The Lost Secret of Fairies, I drew my ideas from experiences as a kid. The big inspiration for the book was playing in the orchard behind my house growing up. Often, we put a ladder against the fence, climbed over, and ran about through the outer edge of the four acre orchard. At the time, it was known as the Santa Clara Valley. Orchards criss-crossed over the entire area that now have some of the top computer and Internet companies.

As a kid, there was nothing better than climbing up a tree and eating cherries just as they were ripening. We’d come up with exploring adventures that would take us through the orchard, into the creek, and travel beyond the freeway to see what lay beyond. Often, it was the next neighborhood or over-crossing for the freeway. But it was exploring beyond your own backyard, the best kind of kid adventure.

The “Boo” in his favorite sleeping position. He was the inspiration for the cat sorcerer, Brewford.

The other partner in my adventures was my cat. Often, I would sit in the orchard, and he would wander out to find me. I’d make a reading nest by mashing down the mustard plants, hiding among yellow flowers. One day, Booford, came out to see me. His tail bounced high above the tops of the mustard flowers as I heard his meows. I would yell back, shouting, “Boo, I’m over here.” Using my voice as radar, he entered my reading bowery covered in mustard petals meowing so loud as if to say, “Why didn’t you make that much easier? You know I’m not that tall.”

My family say I captured his attitude and personality in the Crystal Keeper series. Booford is my real cat that inspired Brewford, the cat sorcerer. I simply just asked myself the question, “What if Booford could talk?” So, from then on, he did, in my books. My family say I captured his personality. His half eyed stares had the wisdom of Garfield. He was an incredible cat, and he still lives today in my books.

When you put it all together, writers are inspired by the world around them. Whether you use your own experiences, dreams, or it comes to you in a flash, ideas come from everywhere. There is a saying, “Be careful, you might end up in my next novel.” This is not only true, but the more you write, the more the real world around you ends up in your books. If you know a writer, you might be the inspiration and don’t know it. If you are a writer, you already have an idea of what I’m talking about. So get out there, and experience life and the world. It’s the best way to write.

**This is the first of a series of blog posts that help support a novel study unit for The Lost Secret of Fairies, the first book in the Crystal Keeper Series.
Common Core Standards-4th Grade
Reading Level: 4.6 AR Level

ELA CCS Speaking/Listening 4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (Discussion Question: How Do Authors Get Their Ideas?)

ELA CCS Reading/Literature 4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.

ELA CCS Writing 3.b: Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.