All posts by lspady

#11: That’s hard to pronounce!

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

A heteronyms are words that have the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.  For example, wind and wind can easily cause confusion since both word are spelled the same BUT can be pronounced differently and have different meaning. We’ll outline heteronyms and some other words that are hard to pronounce in this mini spark.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #11: That’s hard to pronounce!

2. Write this definition on your recording sheet. A heteronym occurs when two or more homographs – words which the same spelling – are pronounced differently. In a written text, this can be confusing.

3. Watch this video. On your recording page record at least 10 ideas you learned from this video.

 

4. Look at this list of words. Practice the different ways the word can be pronounced.  Ask your teacher to listen to you say the words in the correct format. Have your teacher put her signature on your recording sheet by step 4.

  • Bass – a fish, or a low-pitched instrument
  • Bow – a thing you fire arrows with, or when you bend over in a respectful greeting
  • Desert – to abandon, or a (usually sandy) area with little rain
  • Moped – when you were sad, or a low-powered alternative to a motorbike
  • Perfect – when you get really good at something, or when something is flawless
  • Polish – when you make something metal look great, or something from Poland
  • Wind – when you twist something, or when the air moves

5.  Number your recording sheet from 1-9.  Your challenge is to try to think of a word that will fit into both blanks. These are tricky but spend at least 5 minutes trying to work on these challenge.  GOAL-Try to solve at least 6!  After 5 minutes or when you have at least 6, scroll way to the end of this page to check your work. Put a star for those that were correct and add in correct answers for those that were blank.

    1. She will ———- if you try to bring that ugly ———-into her house.

     2. I saw a ——– in her eye when he threatened to ——– up the agreement.

     3. They were able to ———- the gates before the enemy got too ———-.

     4. The secretary will ——– the items until she has a complete ———-.

     5. A ———- occurred when the prisoners were ordered to line up in a ———-.

     6. It took less than a ———— to identify the ———— virus.

     7. His followers will ———- him if he forces them to live in the arid ——–.

     8. He ——– all that he can to protect the ———- from harm.

     9. The will written by the ———- was declared by a lawyer to be ———-.

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

Check out mini spark #9 The Dove Dove which is about words and how they are used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS

1. Object

2. Tear

3. Close

4. Record

5. Row

6. Minute

7. Desert

8. Does

9. Invalid

Lesson idea from https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/aug/12/super-quiz-heteronyms/

#10: Silly Zoo Stories

Reading Enrichment

Use the ideas from this mini spark and the story starter guide to make your own silly animal themed story.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #10: Silly Zoo Stories

2.  Listen to the book, A Couch for Llama. What did you learn about this llama in the story. Write two sentences.

3. Listen to the book, Books Aren’t for Eating.  Write 3 examples of how Leopold is good at his job.

4. You are to write your own silly animal story. Open up or print this super silly story starters page to get some for ideas.  Look it over and decide which of the prompts you will use for this mini spark. Record 3 prompt ideas on your recording page.

5. Start thinking about your animal’s personality. Here are some question to answer on your recording page before you start your story.

  • What kind of personality does the animal have? Is it shy or outgoing, even-tempered or grumpy, be specific.
  • What does your animal like to do for fun?
  • Why does the animal choose to live where it lives?
  • What does the animal like to eat and what does the animal NOT like to eat at all???
  • Who are the animal’s best friends. Who is your animal afraid of seeing?

6. Choose one prompt and add it to your recording page.

7. Write your story on your recording page. Reminder: INCLUDE YOUR ANIMALS PERSONALITY AS YOU WRITE!

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

OPTIONAL: If you would like to write more stories using this guide, please do! Talk with your EY coordinator or teacher about making these into a badge.

Lesson adapted from https://craftingagreenworld.com/writing/funny-journal-prompts/.

Social Studies Mini-Spark #1: The First Trick-or-Treaters

Social Studies Enrichment

Trick-or-treating has been around for quite awhile in America. By now, however, it’s mostly about the treats.

Like other Halloween customs, trick-or-treating comes from Ireland and Great Britain and has to do with the souls of the dead coming back to earth.

People would go from house to house, asking for “soul cakes,” little baked items that people inside the houses would give in exchange for having a prayer said for their soul.

Also, people would leave food and drink outside their houses, in hopes that the spirits roaming the earth would take the offering and leave the house alone.

It was said that both the people asking for the “soul cakes” and the spirits who didn’t find any food or drink outside a house would play a trick, or practical joke, on the people who lived in that house.

Some people still play practical jokes today. Most people, however, prefer to give treats to the kids who say, “Trick or Treat!”

Article Source:  Socialstudiesforkids.com, Graphics courtesy of ArtToday

  • Go to this website to find the recipe for soul cakes. Bake your own soul cake, take a picture of it, and e-mail it to the EY coordinator at your school.
  • We’ve all heard the rhyme, “Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat”.  Write your own “Trick or Treat” rhyme, incorporating the facts from the above article.
  • Or, respond to this article with something new you learned in the comment section below.

 

#8: Zombie Math

Math Mini Sparks

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #8: Zombie Math 

2. You need to get away from these mutant zombies-FAST! Can you solve the bridge riddle? Watch the riddle. IMPORTANT! Pause the video to record your possible solutions on your recording sheet. After you have written down your solution, you can watch the rest of the video. Record the solution from the video on your recording video and if you found the solution write “I SOLVED THE BRIDGE RIDDLE!!”.

2. Can you escape the web of zombies in 13 steps and exit safely? Challenge yourself with a web made up of algebraic expressions that include exponents and square roots, all tangled up with angles, area, and other ghostly geometry concepts. Print the Zombie Web page.  Reminder for your teacher-the answer key is in the math mini spark folder.

3. Practice using the exponential growth formula-with Zombies! Take notes on your recording sheet showing the math from the video.

4. **Advanced Option: The Mathematics of Escaping Zombies. Check out this video from Numberphile.  Watch this and take record some important details on your recording sheet showing the math you learned.

5. Share your math mini spark recording page and zombie web with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Quarter 1 is behind us!

Sindt Blog, Uncategorized

First quarter is over!  Wow – this year is flying by already!

We have had a busy, fun first quarter.  Our focus has been on invention and innovation, which has always been a fun theme for students. We had a variety of events and experiences that provided students with the opportunity to explore invention and innovation both inside and outside the classroom.

One such event was the Invention Convention Seminar in September.  This was open to all students grades 2 – 6 (at two separate seminars) and had a focus on the engineering process, as well.  Fifth and sixth grade students had the opportunity to create their own musical instrument, work through the reverse engineering process, market their invention, and look at improving the world through inventions all while creating an engineering notebook.  Second through Fourth graders worked through the process of engineering by creating electrical circuits and they even got to put together a light up greeting card using a circuit they made.  It was exciting to see all of the innovative thinkers we have at Westside!

Math and Reading enrichment classes are in full swing now.  For reading enrichment, we are doing some higher-level novel studies.  The students enjoy digging deeper into their reading and writing.  When we’re not working on a novel, students are encouraged to complete their Current Events on the Google Doc, and look into Reading Enrichment opportunities in the EY Blog.  For math enrichment, we’re working off of a Math Enrichment menu, which gives students the opportunity to personalize their own math enrichment experience.

We continue to encourage all students to check out the EY blog regularly for enrichment opportunities in many interest areas both within their classrooms, and beyond.  Please encourage your student(s) to explore the blog at home as well.  Like I always say…the blog doesn’t ever take a day off!

Thank you for making this first quarter a success!

#7: Mayan Math

Math Mini Sparks, Uncategorized

The Mayans were a classical civilization of Mesoamerica.  Originating in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C.E., they rose to prominence around A.D.E. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Belize.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #7: Mayan Math

2. Mayan Math was the most sophisticated number system ever developed in the Americas.  Astronomers and architects used Mayan Math, but it was also simple enough to be used by uneducated traders and farmers.  Where we use ten different symbols to represent numbers (1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0), the Mayans used only three: a dot for a one, a bar for five, and a symbol (usually a shell) for zero. (The Maya were the first civilization to discover and understand the concept of zero.)  The chart below shows the Mayan numbers 1 – 19. Draw this chart on your recording page or use this online tool to practice making the numbers 1-19.

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 11.32.27 AM
3.  We use a decimal system, based on the number ten, but the Mayans used a vigesimal system, based on the number twenty. So, where we learn to count on our fingers, Mayan children counted on their fingers and toes. In fact, the number twenty was very important to the Mayans, so much so that the words for “human being” and “twenty” share the same root in most Mayan languages. Record a summary of this information on your recording sheet.
Watch a video about base 20 and how it is used. Record important details on your recording sheet.

4. The Mayans wrote their numbers from top to bottom rather than from left to right, but apart from that, their system was not so different from ours. For example, to write the number 34, we place a three in the tens column and a four in the ones column. The Maya put a one in the twenties column and a fourteen in the ones column. Draw this image on your recording sheet.

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 12.25.02 PM

5. Practice making larger numbers at Round 2 at Mayan Math Games. Then you will move to Round 3 at Mayan Math Games where you make numbers in the base 20 system.   If you think you can move to round 3 without starting in round 2 that is ok. Add a note to your recording page about what you learned.

6. Adding in the Mayan system is simply a matter of juggling the dots and bars. To calculate 36 + 13, for example, you start by adding the units (i.e., 16 + 13). This gives you 29, so you leave 9 in the ones column and carry the 20 up, giving you a grand total of 2 twenties and 9 ones = 49.

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 12.26.44 PM

Pretty smart, right? Especially, when you consider that the Ancient Egyptians never cracked the concept of zero and that complex calculations with Roman numerals were way too complicated for ordinary Romans. Practice adding in Round 4 at Mayan Math Games.

7.  Optional: If you would like to try subtraction go to Round 5 at Mayan Math Games.

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

Check out the ancient number systems badge at the EY website

Early Enrichment #5: Matific Episodes

Early Enrichment, Uncategorized

Matific is a math website/app that features hundreds of playful interactions called “episodes.” Practice your math skills by practicing some of their free episodes!

Go to the link below, click the box to continue to website, and choose one of the activities on their homepage.

https://www.matific.com/us/en-us

(note: activities found off of the homepage will require an account created by  classroom teachers. Scroll down to see some of the free episodes).

Spy a Meerkat

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 11.59.00 AM

Monster Shop

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.00.18 PM

Cherry Chomp

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.01.54 PM

Cut, Paste and Figure

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.02.47 PM

Weighing the Options

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.04.46 PM

Get Mixed Up

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 12.06.17 PM

The Monster’s Share

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 2.08.40 PM

Writer’s Block

Spady Blog

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.42.16 PM

Can I count the image above as a blog post?  I know, it’s more of an excuse, but I’m really struggling with my goal of writing two blog posts a month.  Even though I’m only a few posts in, I’m really beginning to understand why some students struggle with writing.  It can seem like such a daunting task!

Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all. ~Charles Bukowski

So I guess this post will be about writer’s block.  I found this blog post to be very useful in finding some possible solutions.  Fear and Perfectionism are probably my two biggest obstacles.  I can definitely think of at least 100 excuses why I can’t write…not enough time, there’s nothing interesting to write about, the dishes need washed…

Alas, excuses won’t get me anywhere.  For now, I will be satisfied with the fact that I at least wrote something and remind myself of why I set a goal in the first place.  I want to become a better writer and I want to be able to empathize with students when they are struggling to write.

I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for writer’s block.  Leave a comment below!

#6: The Mathematical Secrets of Pascal’s Triangle

Math Mini Sparks

Pascal’s Triangle, named after Blaise Pascal, a famous French Mathematician and Philosopher, is more than a triangular shape of numbers.  The patterns found within the triangle are FASCINATING! Investigate some of the treasures found within the triangle in this math mini spark.

1

1     1

1     2     1

1     3     3     1

1     4     6     4     1

1     5     10     10     5     1

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #6: The Mathematical Secrets of Pascal’s Triangle

2. Watch this video about Pascal’s Triangle. On your recording page answer these questions: Describe a pattern you notice within the triangle. What numbers would be in the next row?

 

3. At 1:20 in the video, the Triangular Numbers are highlighted.  The picture below shows the first 5 triangular numbers.  Draw the next 2 triangular numbers on your recording page.

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.19.52 PM4. At 1:58 in the video, the Pentagonal Numbers are highlighted.  The picture below shows the first 5 pentagonal numbers.  Draw the next 2 pentagonal numbers on your recording page.

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.24.02 PM

5. Do some more research on Pascal’s Triangle at Math is Fun. Don’t feel like you have to explain everything about the triangle, just pick a couple patterns to highlight on your recording page.

6. This TED Ed Video takes the explanation of Pascal’s Triangle to a higher level, but it’s worth a watch to discover even more patterns within the triangle. Record 5 details from the video on your recording sheet.

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

Early Enrichment #4: Alien Invasion

Early Enrichment

aliens-36912_640

Imagine you are a scientist for NASA responsible for a top secret research project on one of the planets. Your job is to inform the world on what your planet is like, and if there is any form of life living there.

First, watch the videos to learn about what planets you can find in our solar system. 

 

Then, choose a planet to research using one of the links below.

Planet for Kids 

National Geographic Kids- What is a Planet?

Here are some questions to think about as you research your planet:

What does your planet look like? How far away from the sun is your planet?

What can you find on your planet? Is the temperature cold or hot?

What is the surface like? How long does it take your planet to go around the sun?

After researching your planet, show what you have learned by designing a Planet Report. Your report should include important information about your planet and a drawing of an alien life form that could survive on it. Be sure to label and describe your alien’s  features, for example eyes, and why they are vital for your alien’s survival.

Share your Planet Report and Alien with your EY Coordinator!