Using “The Fumblebuster” for Academic Skills Connections

“The Fumblebuster” is a STORY MINI-BOOKLET that may be used for classroom or family storytime or for other imaginative, creative purposes.

To READ THE TEXT of this story (without illustrations) in advance--so you'll know if you WANT to use it--click HERE. A suggestion: Read the story paragraph-by-paragraph before scrolling to the end.

©2008 by Flora Joy, www.storytellingworld.com

Note: “The Fumblebuster” pages may be printed as desired for non-monetary gain.

The handouts in this section require the use of Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click here to get it. This is a FREE file from Adobe (with no strings attached).

Stories have enough magic to entice young learners to want to explore related content areas such as science, social studies, and language arts. This story was written intentionally for these academic correlations. It may be used to investigate the geographic regions of Brazil (and anything relating to the students’ current curriculum for that region), the science involved in the development of the Brazil nut tree (and the harvesting/use of the nuts), the biology of the agouti and ocelot in the animal kingdom, and language skills involved in retelling the story.

PRIOR PREPARATION: If possible find (in advance) at least one Brazil nut—and perhaps one for each young listener.

PRINTING THE STORY ON STANDARD PAPER (FOR REFERENCE AND FOR TANDEM TELLING). Although the mini-booklet (see below) is highly recommended for story use, the following may be used for organizational and tendem-telling purposes:
To print a copy of the STORY ONLY on regular 8 1/2" x 11" paper (without the pictures), click HERE.
To print a copy of the story highlighted for TWO TANDEM TELLERS, click HERE.
To print a copy of the story highlighted for THREE TANDEM TELLERS, click HERE.
To print a copy of the story highlighted for FOUR TANDEM TELLERS, click HERE.

PRINTING MINI-BOOKLET COPIES FOR YOUR CHILDREN/FRIENDS/STUDENTS: Please feel free to download and print the provided pages of this mini-booklet. There are four sheets needed for the booklet, and they will be printed front and back—making a total of TWO PIECES OF PAPER. After printed the desired number of copies, CAREFULLY MAKE A HORIZONTAL CUT EXACTLY in the middle of the pages (horizontally). Then collate these four half-pages to make the 16-page mini-booklet. Here are the printing instructions (with hotlinks to the pages)

Print SHEET A in COLOR.
Print SHEET B in black and white—onto the BACK of SHEET A.
(Sheets A and B will now be ONE PIECE OF PAPER—printed back and front.)

Print SHEET C in black and white.
Print SHEET D in black and white—onto the BACK of SHEET C.
(Sheets C and D will now be ONE PIECE OF PAPER—printed back and front.)

To MAIL the above mini-booklet, purchase 4 3/8" x 5 3/4" envelopes commonly found in stationery sections of stores (such as Wal-Mart). These may be mailed WITH a Brazil nut by placing BOTH the nut and the addressed envelope inside a zip-lock baggie and sealing the baggie. Extra postage will be needed. Check with your local postal service for details.

INCLUDED TEACHING AIDS: There are numerous correlating pages that may be printed to support this story in various academic fields. These were primarily gleaned from the Internet, and you should feel free to add many more to this collection if your students express an interest in them. The following are provided:

The SKY IS THE LIMIT on how many additional academic skills may be enhanced with this story. Use your imagination, and HAVE FUN!

Thanks to DOLORES HYDOCK for her assistance in proofing the text for this mini-booklet.