Have you ever thought about the journey a raindrop takes? This mini spark shows you that path through the United States that a raindrop will follow to get to the sea.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page #46: A Raindrop’s Journey
2. Read these 3 paragraphs. Write a summary of a raindrop’s journey using 5 bullet points.

You may think every drop of rain falling from the sky, or each glass of water you drink, is brand new, but it has always been here, and is a part of the water cycle.  At its most basic, the water cycle is how water continuously moves from the ground to the atmosphere and back again.  As it moves through this cycle, it changes forms.  Water is the only substance that naturally exists in three states on Earth – solid, liquid, and gas.

Over 96% of total global water is in the ocean, so let’s start there.  Energy from the sun causes water on the surface to evaporate into water vapor – a gas.  This invisible vapor rises into the atmosphere, where the air is colder, and condenses into clouds.  Air currents move these clouds all around the earth.

Water drops form in clouds, and the drops then return to the ocean or land as precipitation, often rainfall.   When it rains, the raindrops fall to the ground, and run off into a lake or river, which flows back into the ocean, where it starts the process again.

3. This website allows for you to click anywhere on the map to drop a raindrop and follow its journey to the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic or the Pacific Oceans! Once you click, you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the path the raindrop takes!

Try it out! Set your timer for three minutes and spend time exploring the site. At the end of the three minutes, write two sentences about what you noticed about the raindrop’s journey.

4. In the top right corner of your search, you are able to see the actual distances that the raindrop is traveling, and along what path.   Choose a location to drop your raindrop, look at the data in the top right corner, and record all of the waterways and the distances on your recording sheet.

5. Find 3 spots on the map where the raindrop makes a journey to different ending point: Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic or the Pacific Oceans. Record these three starting locations on your recording page.

6. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

                                                                          Source: IFL Science

The Internet has a new favorite interactive map system!

ORBIS, the Stanford geospatial network model of the Roman world, allows you to check how long it would take you to travel from location to location during Roman times.

It’s customizable too! In the unlikely event that you were transported back to 200 BCE and yet somehow the 4G network traveled back in time with you, thanks to these maps you’d be able to calculate how long it would take you to get from Londinium to Corinthus by ox, or Augusta Treverorum to Alexandria as part of a military march.

As well as time, the map, which is of course based on historical evidence, shows you how much each journey would cost.

“Conventional maps that represent this world as it appears from space signally fail to capture the severe environmental constraints that governed the flows of people, goods and information,” Stanford wrote at the time of the release of the first version of ORBIS. “Cost, rather than distance, is the principal determinant of connectivity.”

We thought we’d have a look at how long it would take us to get from Londinium to Ierusalem, to ask them a few questions about what made them eventually change the I in their name to a J.

We gave the parameters that we would be traveling by donkey (as well as boat where necessary) and during the winter. According to Google, if we floored it and didn’t need things like sleep, we could arrive by car in 52 hours, or a much nicer 6-8 hours by plane. But, we know that that the journey would take a lot longer in Roman times:

“The Fastest journey from Londinium to Ierusalem in January takes 53.5 days, covering 5,433 kilometers [3,375 miles]. Prices in denarii, based on the use of a faster sail ship and a civilian river boat (where applicable), and on these road options:

Per kilogram of wheat (by donkey): 22.74
Per kilogram of wheat (by wagon): 27.45
Per passenger in a carriage: 1897.51″

If you were to select the cheapest route, it would take you 98.4 days to complete a 6,129-kilometer (3,303-mile) journey. However, you would save yourself nearly 1,000 denarii per passenger, and 7 denarii per kilogram of wheat. And is it really a holiday if you aren’t shipping a wagonload of wheat back with you as a souvenir?

Check out the map for yourself, it’s pretty cool to play with!

In the comments below, let us know what you discovered!

Revisit the extraordinary life story of Harriet Tubman – a freedom seeker, conductor on the Underground Railroad, abolitionist, suffragist, and human rights activist. Tubman was born around 1822 Maryland. She is widely celebrated as one of the most respected individuals in American history.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #44: Harriet Tubman

2. Read this information about the underground railroad. On your recording page, create a web diagram with a circle in the center and 10 circles around the center. Record “underground railroad” in the center.

3. Read these paragraphs and fill in 5 of the spots with information about the underground railroad. 

4. Watch this TED-ED on the life of Harriet Tubman. Use information from the video to fill out the remaining 5 spots on your web with information about her. 

5. Look at a map, and imagine Harriet, in her 20s, running away, alone, on foot. She managed, with the help of the Underground Railroad, to make it a hundred miles to the Pennsylvania border, and freedom. Bravely, Tubman went back – 13 times over 10 years – leading more than 70 people to freedom.  Why did she risk her life to do this? Respond to this prompt with 3+ sentences. 

6. Choose one prompt and respond with 2-4 sentences. 

Discuss the significance of the Underground Railroad in Harriet Tubman’s life.

What role did Harriet Tubman play during the Civil War, and what was one of her notable achievements?

Describe Harriet Tubman’s involvement in women’s suffrage and her contributions to the cause.

7. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Many of you know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a crusader for Civil Rights. He had a dream. In some ways, that dream became a reality through the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #43: The Civil Rights Act

2. Read the background information below. Identify 5 pieces of information that are new to you.

The Declaration of Independence declared that “All men are created equal.” However, when the country was first formed this quote didn’t apply to everyone, only to wealthy white landowners. Over time, things did improve. The slaves were set free after the Civil War and both women and non-white people were given the right to vote with the 15th and the 19th amendments.

Despite these changes, however, there were still people who were being denied their basic civil rights. Jim Crow laws in the south allowed for racial segregation, and discrimination based on gender, race, and religion was legal. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for the civil rights of all people. Events such as the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Birmingham Campaign brought these issues to the forefront of American politics. A new law was needed to protect the civil rights of all people.

On June 11, 1963 President John F. Kennedy gave a speech calling for a civil rights law that would give “all Americans the right to be served in facilities that are open to the public” and would offer “greater protection for the right to vote.” President Kennedy began to work with Congress to create a new civil rights bill. However, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and President Lyndon Johnson took over.

President Johnson also wanted a new civil rights bill to be passed. He made the bill one of his top priorities. After working the bill through the House and the Senate, President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended the official signing-in of the law by President Johnson.

A year after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, another law called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. This law was meant to insure that the right to vote was not denied any person “on account of race or color.”

3. Watch the video about the civil rights movement and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While watching, write down 8+ important details and key points.

4. The law was divided up into 11 sections called titles. Read the list. On your recording sheet record the title that you would like to learn more about.

• Title I – The voting requirements must be the same for all people.
• Title II – Outlawed discrimination in all public places such as hotels, restaurants, and theatres.
• Title III – Access to public facilities could not be denied based on race, religion, or national origin.
• Title IV – Required that public schools no longer be segregated.
• Title V – Gave more powers to the Civil Rights Commission.
• Title VI – Outlawed discrimination by government agencies.
• Title VII – Outlawed discrimination by employers based on race, gender, religion, or national origin.
• Title VIII – Required that voter data and registration information be provided to the government.
• Title IX – Allowed civil rights lawsuits to be moved from local courts to federal courts.
• Title X – Established the Community Relations Service.
• Title XI – Miscellaneous.

5. Take a 10 question quiz to test what you learned about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Record your score on your recording page.

6. OPTIONAL: Research one of the titles of the Civil Rights Act. Make an information page to share with your classmates.

7. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out these mini sparks to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Social Studies mini spark

Check out this mini spark and explore a list of famous firsts throughout human history. Take the challenge and learn more about an event that happened in history.

Spark you thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #42: Famous Firsts in World History

2. Watch this video and record all of the firsts on your recording page.

2. Each famous first is briefly highlighted – not much information is given. The idea is to spark an interest in you to know and learn more. Which of the 7 events do you want to learn more about? Record this on your recording page.

3. Choose one. Do research to find 10 details about the famous first you picked.

4. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the famous firsts badge on the EY website. This mini spark help you with the badge.