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All posts by lspady
#56:Word Art
WordArt.com is an online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page #56: Word Art.
2. Look over this example.
3. Decide what you would like to use as a topic for your word art. Record your choice on your recording sheet.
Some ideas for your Word Art:
- Type on word but in different languages
- Type the things you are thankful for
- Type your favorites (food, music, color, artist, subject, etc.)
- Type in the names of your favorite books/characters
- Type in words associated with your favorite seasons
- Type words about a history or science topic that you are interested in
4. Create a piece of word art using the following website: https://wordart.com/
5. Add a screenshot of your art to your recording page or print it out.
6. Create a second piece of word art with a different theme. Use the same website and experiment with different shapes, fonts, colors, etc. Add a screenshot of your art to your recording page or print it out.
7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page and your art with your teacher/EY coordinator.
#48: Make a Crystal
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #48: Make a Crystal
2. Watch this video that shows the steps for making a crystal.
3. Gather your materials. Take a picture and add it to your recording page.
- measuring spoon
- colored pencil
- pipe cleaner
- hot water
- food coloring (optional)
- spoon
- Borax (Available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section. Use 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster, not Boraxo soap.)
- a glass or jar
Safety first! Borax can irritate your skin, eyes and lungs, and it can be harmful if you swallow it. Ask a grown-up for help handling borax, and don’t touch your crystal once it’s done
4. Watch the video again and work on your experiment. Take pictures while you are working and add them to your recording sheet.
5. The following day, take a picture of your crystal and add it to your recording sheet.
6. Read this information and add a summary to your recording sheet.
Understanding Borax Crystals.
Borax is a type of crystal, defined as “a solid with flat sides and a symmetrical shape due to its molecules being arranged in a specific, repeating pattern.” Each crystal exhibits a unique repeating pattern that corresponds to its shape. Crystals can vary in size, but they all share this characteristic structure. Examples of crystals include salt, sugar, and Epsom salts. Salt crystals typically form in a cube shape, while snow crystals display a six-sided design.
How Do Borax Crystals Form?
Hot water can dissolve more borax than cold water. This is because the molecules in heated water spread further apart, allowing more borax to dissolve. When no additional borax can dissolve in the solution, it is considered saturated. As the solution cools, the water molecules come closer together, creating less space for the dissolved borax. This change allows crystals to start forming as the water evaporates and releases the excess borax.
7. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
#47: STEAM Challenge: Paper
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #47: STEAM Challenge: Paper
2. Look over the STEAM challenge.
3. Make a sketch of what your structure will look like and any ideas that you have. Add a picture of your sketch to your recording page.
4. Gather the materials you will need. Ask an adult to help you if necessary.
5. Take a picture of your supplies before you start. Add the picture to your recording sheet.
6. Take a picture of you final project at add it to your recording sheet. Explain your project, what you did well on this challenge and where you can improve.
7. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
# 7: Platypus Study
Platypuses continue to uphold their status as one of the most unusual animals on the planet. Recent research published in the scientific journal Mammalia reveals that platypus fur emits a bluish-green glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Only a handful of other mammals possess this ability, and the platypus is the first monotreme— a type of mammal that lays eggs— to demonstrate this phenomenon.
Spark you thinking!
1. Set up your science mini spark recording page: # 7: Platypus Study
2. Look over this info page and record 5 details on your recording page.
3. Read this article published by Newsela to learn more. Take the quiz after the article, Scroll down carefully as the answers are at the bottom and you don’t want to see them until you are done. Write your answers on your recording page. When you are done, check your work and record your score it on your recording page.
4. Go to this webpage and read more information about the topic. Take 5 notes on your recording page.
5. Choose 1 of these projects
- What other animals have biofluorescence? Do research to find out. Create a list of 5.
- Research scientific sketching. Create a scientific sketch of a platypus. Add a picture to your recording page.
6. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Weekly Challenge #14 Highlights
And the winner is…
Waylon from Oakdale with a paper tower height of 60 inches!
Check out some of the other awesome structures students built!
Don’t forget to check out the new Weekly Challenge!
2020-21 Weekly Challenge #15: Snowflakes
image source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/flake-snow-snow-flake-snowflake-2029377/
Whether you’re creating one with a folded piece of paper and pair of scissors or you’re learning about the science and math behind them…
Snowflakes are so FASCINATING!
For this week’s Weekly Challenge, you have several different learning choices. Pick as many activities as you’d like and then demonstrate your learning by creating a product.
- Learn about The Science Behind Snow: https://www.noaa.gov/stories/how-do-snowflakes-form-science-behind-snow
- TED-Ed The science of snowflakes – Maruša Bradač: https://youtu.be/FwGH4gulLX4
- The Beauty and Science of Snowflakes: https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/beauty-and-science-snowflakes
- Making Paper Snowflakes: https://www.marthastewart.com/266694/decorating-with-paper-snowflakes
- Make a 6-Pointed Paper Snowflake: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-6-Pointed-Paper-Snowflakes/
- The Koch Snowflake: http://gofiguremath.org/fractals/koch-snowflake/
- How to Make Borax Crystal Snowflakes: https://www.livescience.com/41636-borax-crystal-snowflakes.html
Feel free to find other snowflake resources! Learn something new and have fun creating!
Submit Your Work Here: https://forms.gle/xis68jyeLR31efLj7
#79 Really Big Numbers
What is the biggest number you can think of? What does that number mean? For this math mini spark, you will be exploring some “really big numbers” and what they mean.
Spark your math thinking!
- Set up your math mini spark recording page: #79 Really Big Numbers
- In the episode, “Have You Seen This Snail?”, SpongeBob SquarePants is given a challenge of hitting a paddle ball 29,998,559,671,349 times in a row. This causes SpongeBob to neglect Gary (his pet snail) and so Gary leaves. Write this number out in words.
image source: https://images.app.goo.gl/6adwmDetkF9r1Vds7
3. Visit https://www.britannica.com/science/Avogadros-number and write down Avogadro’s Number and what it means.
4. How many different positions are there on a standard Rubik’s Cube? Visit this site and record the number in your notebook. BONUS: Write the number out in words.
5. Read this Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and record the really large number found in it. BONUS: Read about another number found in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and record it in your notebook.
6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Thank you https://sites.google.com/site/pointlesslargenumberstuff/ for inspiring this this math mini spark. It definitely sparked my curiosity!
#6: Marie Curie
Marie Curie is famous for discovering two important radioactive elements called radium and polonium. She was a pioneer in studying radioactivity, which is the energy released by certain materials. Marie Curie was also the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, receiving awards in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911 for her amazing work.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your science mini spark recording page: #6: Marie Curie
2. Read this article about Marie Curie. Make a 5 question quiz to go along with the article. Include an answer key.
3. Watch this video. Take detailed notes on your recording page while watching. Include at least 8 pieces of information in your notes.
4. Choose 2 of these questions to answer with at least 3 thoughtful sentences. Remind your teacher that the answer key can be found in the science mini spark folder.
- Describe Marie Curie’s early life and the challenges she faced in pursuing her education.
- What motivated Marie Curie to enroll in the Floating University, and what was its significance?
- What were the key discoveries made by Marie Curie in her research on radiation?
- How did Marie Curie’s work during World War I change medical practices?
- In what ways did Marie Curie’s discoveries influence the field of science, particularly in medicine and physics?
- Reflect on the personal cost Marie Curie faced as a result of her research. What can we learn from her story?
5. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
#46: Make Oobleck
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #46: Make Oobleck
2. Watch this video. Record the science terms from the video on your recording page. When you see the materials needed to make oobleck, pause the video and record the list on your recording page. Also write a summary of the directions.
3. Gather your materials. Add a picture of your materials to your recording page. **Note a bowl works better than a cup for this project.
4. Make the oobleck. Take a few pictures during the process and at the end.
5. Record the answers to these questions on your recording sheet.
- What do fluids and solids do, what determines their shape, and can they be compressed?
- How is Oobleck like a fluid?
- How is Oobleck like a solid?
6. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.