All posts by lspady

#27: Interjections!

Reading Enrichment

According to grammar-monster.com, interjections are “words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are included in a sentence (usually at the start) to express a sentiment such as surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm.”

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #27: Interjections!

2. Watch the Schoolhouse Rock cartoon about interjections. Record several interjections on your recording page.

3. Practice your new knowledge by taking this 6 question quiz.  Record your score on your recording sheet.

4. Listen to the story If You Were an Interjection. There are some punctuation rules to use with interjections correctly. On your recording page write about when is the right time to use each of the following punctuation marks with interjections : exclamation point, comma, question mark, and period.

NOTE: Pay attention to how the sentences were punctuated in the video. You will need to pause the video to look at the words closely.

5. Study this grammar page. Add in 5 more ideas about interjections on your recording page.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#17: Jesse Owens

Social Studies Enrichment

Jesse Owens, son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, achieved what no Olympian before him had accomplished.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page #17: Jesse Owens

2. Read this information and make a timeline with at least 8 dates.

Who was Jesse Owens?  Track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at

the 1936 Olympic Games. His achievements were important for himself and for many other people at the time. The Games were held in Berlin, Germany. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was in power there. Nazi banners draped the sports field. The Nazis believed white athletes were best. But Owens proved that they were wrong.

James Cleveland Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913. His family later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in search of better opportunities.

Jesse became a track star at a young age. In 1928 he set track records in the high jump and the running broad jump (long jump). In 1933, while he was in high school, he broke three other records. He then went to Ohio State University.

In the 1936 Olympics Owens won gold medals for the running broad jump, the 100- and 200-meter races, and the 4 × 100-meter team relay. He also set new Olympic and world records.

Owens graduated from college in 1937 and worked for the Illinois Athletic Commission. He later got involved in guidance activities for young boys. He also made goodwill visits to countries in Asia for the U.S. government. Owens died in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 31, 1980.

3. To learn more about Jesse Owens, watch the video below.  Record 1 idea you would like to remember, 2 words to describe Jessie, and 3 facts.

4. This information page has more detailed information about Jessee. What is the most important thing you learned about Jesse Owens? Respond with several thoughtful sentences. Add this to your recording sheet.

5. Share your Social Studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

#35: Animal Enrichment

Early Enrichment

Did you know that you are not the only person that gets to do enrichment activities? Animals do, too! It may look like they are just playing or eating, but these enrichment activities challenge the animals’ brains and get then moving around. 

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page: #35: Animal Enrichment

2.  Watch animal enrichment activities at the Smithsonian National Zoo.  Which activity did you like the most? 

3. Read this article.  Add 3 details to your recording page.

4. Share your early enrichment mini spark recording page with your teacher or EY Coordinator.

Check out the Save the Animals badge and the Animal ABCs badge at the EY website.

#26: Use Every Meaning

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

Homonyms can also have identical pronunciations and spellings but different meanings, such as “quail” (the bird) and “quail” (to cringe). Homographs are words that are spelled the same, have different meanings, and MAY be pronounced differently. This mini spark will let you be creative in your writing to create fun sentences.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #26: Use Every Meaning

2.  This morning before school, I made a racket when I dropped my racket down the stairs.

Check out this website that shows some words with multiple meanings. Pick out the 2 most interesting and record each of the meanings on your recording page.

3. Watch this short clip two times.  Do research and record all of the meanings of not, knot, and naught.   How could you use one of the other definitions of knot to add to this clip?

3. Look over this sentence with the word “subject” used in different ways. On your recording page, write all three of the definitions for subject.

Evil King Byrd liked to subject his subjects to lectures about his favorite subject: the history of the toothpick.

4. Choose one of the options below to complete on your recording sheet

Option A. Research the word “bow” and record as many definitions as you can find.

OPTION B. Write 2 of your own sentences that are like the sample above.  If you want to look at a list to get started then click here. You are not limited to just using words with two meanings. You can use your own ideas as well. Record your sentences on your recording sheet.

OPTION C.  On your recording page, write the all of the definitions for duck, bank, and dove as used in this sentence

The skateboarding dove banked her skateboard off a river bank, ducked into a spin, and then dove under the water, barely missing a duck.

Set your timer for 3 minutes. Try to think about how to add one more sentence that fits with the story using another meaning not used. Ideas for you

Bank: a place to store money

Bank: Storage: A collection or supply of things kept for future use, like a blood bank or a data bank

Duck: Fabric: A heavy, strong cotton cloth used for tents or clothes.

OPTION D:  Include multiple meanings of three different homographs in one or two sentences like the duck/bank/dove sentence above.  As a reminder a homograph are words that is spelled the same but has a different meaning and potentially a different pronunciation.

5. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Lesson adapted from https://www.byrdseed.com/homographs-homonyms/

Looking to try more word puzzles? Check out the Rhyme Out badge at the EY website.

#25: Golden Ticket

Reading Enrichment

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, five golden tickets are concealed in Wonka chocolate bars. The lucky children who discover these tickets are invited to tour Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory and win a lifetime supply of Wonka products. The adventure kicks off in the Chocolate Room, where the children encounter the Oompa-Loompas, the factory’s small, cacao-loving workers. However, each child’s undesirable traits ultimately lead to their undoing.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #25: Golden Ticket

2. Watch this video which tells the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Write a 3 sentence summary on your recording sheet.

3. The author, Roald Dahl, wrote many children’s books. Visit this site to get “Life Advice from Roald Dahl in 13 Scrumdiddlyumptious Quotes!” Pick your favorite quote. Record it on your recording page and explain why you picked it.

4. Watch this video and write the definition and 5 examples on your recording page.

5. How good are you at guessing definitions of words? Open this document which has a list of tons neologisms created by Roald Dahl. Choose 10 of the words. Write the word and your definition guess on your recording sheet. Then click this link to find your word and see how you did. How did you do?

6. The golden ticket in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory allowed for the winner and a guest to visit the factory. If you could find a golden ticket, what would be the event/location/place you would like to be able to visit. You can pick something from the past, future or present. Describe your selection in detail and give several reasons to support your decision.

7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

 

 

#16: New Year’s Eve

Social Studies Enrichment

Happy New Year!!!!!!  You might be wondering, “Where did the tradition of celebrating the new year come from?”  Or, “Why do we celebrate the new year on January 1st?” In this mini spark you will learn about the history of New Year’s Eve and some of the traditions celebrated.

Spark you thinking!

1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #16: New Year’s Eve

2. Watch this introduction video. Record 5-10 details from the video.

3. One of the traditions on New Year’s Eve is the New York Times Square ball drop. Read about this tradition at in an article from Wonderopolis. Record 3 details from the article, 2 words that were new to you or unique, and 1 question you have.

4. Read the article about New Year’s Eve traditions from around the world.  For each location, record 3-5 details.

  • Spain
  • Greece
  • Brazil
  • Japan
  • United States
  • Denmark

5.  Which New Year’s tradition do you find most interesting, and why? Provide evidence from the text to support your opinion.

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

 

#30: What day of the week is it?

Math Mini Sparks

Screen Shot 2017-01-10 at 11.34.09 PM

I found this very complex mathematical formula that allows one to figure out the day of the week any date falls on.  Don’t let the formula intimidate you!  I did this with some 3rd graders and with a few explanations, they were able to figure it out.  So can you!

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #30: What day of the week is it?
  2. Watch this tutorial to learn the process. Write down the formula on your recording page.  Do the math with the teacher on the page.

3. Write all of this information on your recording page. You will need this information for step 4.

4. Figure out the day of the week you were born on using your birthdate and year. Add your math steps to your recording page.

5. Grades 5 and up. Use the formula to find the day of the week for one of these dates. Do your math steps on paper.

  • July 20, 1969: Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the lunar surface.
  • March 10, 1876: The first telephone call was successfully made by Alexander Graham Bell, a pivotal moment in global communication history.
  • April 6, 1896: The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece, reviving the ancient Greek tradition and promoting international sport and goodwill.

6. Check this date calculator to see if you did the math correctly. How did you do on steps #4 and #5?

7. OPTIONAL: Scroll down to the bottom of this post to read about the Zeller’s Algorithm in JavaScript code that is used to find out the day of the week. Write down some patterns that you notice in the code.

8. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out another method to find an exact day with this math mini spark #90.

Zeller’s Algorithm in JavaScript

Zeller’s Algorithm takes year, month and day numbers and uses some basic math (+ − × ÷) and the floor function (which removes any digits after the decimal point).

This is what it looks like in JavaScript (parseInt is used instead of floor):

if (nMonth >= 3) {
	nMonth -= 2;
} else {
	nMonth += 10;
}

if ((nMonth == 11) || (nMonth == 12)) nYear--;

var nCentury = parseInt(nYear / 100);
var nYear100 = nYear % 100;

var h = 0;    // day of week number
h += parseInt(nDay);
h += parseInt((13 / 5) * nMonth - 0.2);
h += parseInt(nYear100);
h += parseInt(nYear100 / 4);
h += parseInt(nCentury / 4);
h -= parseInt(2 * nCentury);
h %= 7;

if (nYear >= 1700 && nYear <= 1751) {
	h -= 3;
} else {
	if (nYear <= 1699) h -= 4;
}

if (h < 0) h += 7;

 

#29: Fractal Fun

Math Mini Sparks

A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #29: Fractal Fun

2. Watch this video to build your background knowledge about fractals. Record several details on your recording page.

3. Draw Sierpinski’s Triangle by watching this tutorial

4. Check out the connection between Sierpinski’s Triangle and Pascal’s Triangle by watching this video. Record notes on your recording sheet.

5. Watch this video about Fractals and write about what you learned on your recording sheet.

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

#34: Meet the Quirkles

Early Enrichment

The Quirkles are 26 cartoon scientists teach science through experiments.

Spark your thinking!

  1. Set up your Science Mini Spark recording page: #34: Meet the Quirkles
  2. The Quirkles are 26 imaginary scientists that love to read and to experiment.  Examine the names of the scientists. Record 10 science words on your recording sheet.

3. Botanist Bert set up an experiment to demonstrate how flowers can change colors.  Answer these questions on your recording page. How long did the flowers need to stay in the water to change colors? How was the water pulled up through the stems?

 

 

 

4. Ronny Rock has set up an experiment for you to see how rock crystals form.  Answer these questions on your recording page.  How long did it take the water to evaporate? What kind of crystals were formed?

 

 

 

5. Share your early enrichment mini spark recording page with your teacher or EY Coordinator

 

#33: Colorful Crayons

Early Enrichment

 

How many crayons colors are there? Learn more about now the crayon color options have changed over the years and some of the fun names given to crayon colors today.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #33: Colorful Crayons

2. Go to this website and study the graph showing how the the colors of crayons have changed over time. Record 5 observations.

3. Read this paragraph from Bedtime math.  Record the math information on your recording page.

We just love this map of Crayola crayon colors over the years. In 1903, there were just 8 crayon colors, but by 1935 it had doubled to 16 colors. The chart creator, Stephen von Worley, uses years with an exact multiple of the original 8 colors, so the stripes line up nicely. 1949 has 48 colors, 6 times as many 8, while 2010 shows about 15 times 8, or 120 colors. It all helps us draw much better pictures today! Today, Crayola® Crayons are made in 148 unique colors, but don’t stop counting there! Some colors are offered in special effects, further expanding our color selection with specialty crayons like glitter, pearl, confetti, metallic, bold & bright, and more!

4. Answer these questions in your notebook.

  1. By 1972 there were 9 times as many shades as the first 8. How many colors were there that year?
  2.  If the vat of wax for red-orange uses twice as much red wax as yellow, and it uses 36   cups in total, how many cups of each color are in there? Draw a picture to help you solve this problem.

Scroll to the end of this post to check your work.

5. Go to the Crayola website and explore the color choices.  Pick 8 of your favorites. Record the color name and the hue family on your recording page.

6. Share your mini spark with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

Lesson adapted from Bedtime Math

Check out the Crayon Project  at the EY website.

 

 

 

 

 

72 colors.

24 cups red and 12 cups yellow. There are 2 parts red and 1 part yellow, making red 2 parts out of 3, and 1/3 of 36 is 12.