A Look at HIGHLIGHTS Page 5 Recently, I saw a call for "page 5" material for HIGHLIGHTS. Now, we know they want "page 5" nonfiction pieces but we don’t know precisely what that means. Let’s look at the information from the call notice: "[These] short articles (250 words) are often active, immediately involving readers with the magazine's content. Science experiments, crafts, history, world cultures, fiction, math, art, recipes, holidays, fitness, and other fun activities often find their way onto page 5." So we know page 5 material is short (250 words) nonfiction. The editor you would address this content toward would be Kim Griswell, Coordinating Editor. Let’s look at a list of "page 5" articles from specific HIGHLIGHTS issues. [July 2004] "Spying on Snails" This is really just a fact piece about snails but it uses the format of having the child "spy on a snail" and watch it -- then gives information about the snail. [June 2004] "Get to Know a Million" This activity uses different comparisons to help children grasp the concept of one million. The piece also includes little mini riddles to get children to estimate millions. [May 2004] "Plant a Sunflower House" This activity gives directions for planting sunflowers to make walls for a secret garden hideaway. [April 2004] "Three Cats in a Balloon" This is a "story without words" about cats who have to make a scarecrow to drive birds away from their hotair balloon. This is definitely an unusual use of page 5 space and probably reflects how much they need content. [March 2004] "Grow Spring Sprouts" This activity have children tape a plastic bag filled with dirt and seeds to the window to watch the plant sprout. [February 2004] "What's In A Web Name?" Nonfiction for older readers about how a computer find a website -- it explains about the number address for a web site and how the address is turned into words. [January 2004] "Pass the Noodles, Pork, and Peas, Please!" This piece focuses on food customs associated with New Year’s celebrations. The piece looks at six different countries (explaining the specific food custom for each in one paragraph.) The tone is light -- the reader is not specifically encouraged to do something. [December 2003] "The Chrismon Tree" This is another holiday piece looking at one specific item (the Chrismon Tree) and how it ties into a religious practice for the Christmas Holiday. It looks like "page 5" is where holiday articles tend to go at HIGHLIGHTS. This article lacks the subheadings that we used to organize the New Year’s food article, but it does look at specific decorations that are commonly used on a Chrismon Tree and what their symbolic meanings are. [November 2003] "Roll Up Some Fun!" This is a craft piece featuring two different paper crafts that use similar materials. One was a kind of toy (Chinese Yo-Yo) and the other was an unusual storybook (a scroll). Materials seem to be what tie the two crafts together and the fact that both have room for the creativity of the reader. Both were simple (and suggested adult involvement for cutting bamboo skewers). [October 2003] "A Fair Division" This is a folktale from India that is also a kind of fractions puzzle. The story itself occupies most of the page along with a short sidebar that walks the reader through the process of understanding the math puzzle within the story. This piece combines several things HIGHLIGHTS appreciates: awareness of other cultures, interactive content, and a puzzle that makes readers think. According to Kim Griswell (Coordinating Editor) this is a rather unusual piece for a page 5 article. This sort of story would normally be sent to Judy Burke ( who is in charge of older fiction). [September 2003] "Pose Like the Animals" This piece is geared toward the younger Highlights readers and combines very brief information about how three different animals move with suggested movements for the reader. The movements are basically 3 different kinds of stretches so they help increase flexibility, balance, and strength. Again, this piece has the interactivity that HIGHLIGHTS appreciates. Plus, it encourages children to be active, which is a growing concern for those who work with children. [August 2003] "Nature in the Round" This activity again is designed to appeal to their younger readers (though probably not preschoolers). The reader is encouraged to make maps of their immediate surroundings using information gathered through their senses -- sight maps, sound maps, etc. The activity is designed to make children more aware of their surroundings. [July 2003] "A Chipmunk’s Home" Here we have something completely different (to quote Monty Python). This piece is a first-person account of the writer’s experience with chipmunks who seemed determined to burrow under a brick sidewalk. Mixed with the writer’s experience is specific information about chipmunk behavior and appearance. Again, according to Kim Griswell, this is a rather unusual use of this page and would normally occur elsewhere in the magazine. [June 2003] "Let’s Make Ice Cream" A novel way to make ice cream without an ice-cream maker. This method involves a lot of activity by the ice cream maker so it combines a beloved dessert recipe with a fun physical activity involving two people. The recipe includes suggested variations and encourages the reader to invent new flavors. [February 2003] "How Bread Gets Full of Holes" This science activity allows the reader to see how yeast causes batter to rise. It includes information about how and why yeast works and what yeast is. The language and tone places this piece at the older end of the HIGHLIGHTS audience. Most "perfect" page five material is interactive. It encourages the reader to do something -- either physically or mentally and teaches through the doing. Page five material can target either the young readers or the older -- the key is interactive learning.