Ready to dive into the new year with Early Enrichment?
Let’s learn all about the Olympics!
Once every four years countries put together teams of the best athletes to compete for a gold, silver, or bronze medals. During the summer olympics, athletes compete in wrestling, weightlifting, volleyball, track, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, and many more sports.
Read about the sports that are part of the Olympics at Wonderopolis.
Welcome to the Animal Olympics, where species compete daily in the wild to thrive and survive. Different species have adapted different athletic abilities to succeed in their respective environments, from running fast to chase prey to swimming great distances in search of food and safety. Animals are amazing athletes and their performances in the wild are of often above and beyond Olympic caliber. And the medals go to……..
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #20: Animal Olympians
2. Record make a section for each of these categories on your recording sheet.
Event #1: The Marathon
Event #2: 100 meter sprint
Event #3: Swimming
Event #4: The high jump
Event #5: Weightlifting
3. Read this article and take notes for each event on your recording sheet.
4. This article compares humans to animals. Pick 3 of the examples and record the animal and human details on your recording page.
5. Look over the fastest animals on this document and record the name and one detail on your recording page.
And the medal goes to………
6. Choose an animal not on any of these lists, but who should be! Decide what the category should be, and how this animal beats out all of the other animals to win the gold medal. Be specific and add facts to support your choice. Design the medal for you animal olympian as well. Add all of this to your recording page.
7. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your with your teacher/EY coordinator.
This mini spark is all about giant pizzas. Take a look at the math involved in making a mile long pizza.
Spark your math thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #22:A Mile of Pizza
2. May 19, 2016: Along the seafront of Naples in Italy, 100 chefs collaborated to create a 1,853.88 metres (6082.2 feet / 1.15 miles) long Neapolitan, which Guinness World Records confirmed is officially the Longest pizza ever made. This record was broken the following year in California.
3. Read this article to find out about all the “numbers” associated with creating the mile-long pizza in Italy! Many of the measurements in the article are given in metric units. Use an online conversion calculator to change any of the measurements from metric to customary. Record these on your recording page.
4. Instead of looking at a mile of pizza , let’s watch a video about a mile of Pi. One your recording page write about what challenges the the researchers faced while doing this project.
5. If you could choose to make a “mile” of your favorite food, what would it be? What ingredients would need? What special tools would you need to have on hand? Write a few paragraphs about your “mile of food” and include an illustration. If you would rather write a story about your mile of food, that is great!
On May 3, the 25th and final book in the “Elephant & Piggie” series goes on sale. In “The Thank You Book,” Gerald (the elephant) and his pal Piggie thank everyone they know, but not before embarking on one more endearing experience.
Elephant and Piggie books, by Mo Willems have been children’s favorites since they were first published in 2007. Since then, Willems has published 25 adventures with the beloved characters. The final book, The Thank You Book, was released on May 3rd, 2016.
To celebrate the Elephant and Piggie books, check out the Thank-O-Rama Website. You can create a thank you for someone special, learn how to draw Piggie, make puppets, and color.
While teaching an enrichment lesson to 3rd graders a few weeks ago, one of them asked what a 13-sided figure was called. Did you know it is a called a TRIDECAGON? Explore polygons and polygon names in this math mini spark.
Spark your math thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #21:Tridecagon
2. Choose 2 activities to complete this mini spark
Watch The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns. Reading this book aloud is my favorite ways to start a geometry unit. After watching the video, make a recording on your recording page about your favorite shape and where it appears most often. Pick a polygon and draw 4-5 pictures of where that shape appears.
At Math is Fun, research the names of polygons that you don’t already know and create a visual showing what you have learned.
Create a “Geometry Around Us Presentation.” Look at this example: as a starting point. You can use any tool (Explain Everything, Pic Collage, Canva, etc.) and include as many vocabulary words as you like. Try to find pictures of polygons in your school or outside.
Write your name in block polygon letters. Color the letters and under each one, write the correct name for each polygon.
3. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
A colon is used to give emphasis, present dialogue, introduce lists or text, and clarify composition titles. Learn about this misunderstood punctuation mark in this mini spark.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #17: How to use a colon
2. Read this information about colons. Record the bold word and the sample sentence.
Emphasis—Capitalize the first word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. (She had one love: Western Michigan University.)
Dialogue—Write the speaker’s name, followed by a colon and his or her statement. (Reporter: What is the 49th Parallel? Dunn: It is the line of latitude that acts as the boundary separating Canada from the United States in North America.)
Introduce lists—Capitalize the first word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. (I want the following items: butter, sugar, and flour.)
3. Watch the video. Pause the video as needed to record notes. Pay special attention to any words that are new to you, rules, specific examples and sample sentences. These items should all be included on your recording page. You you have at least 5 items on your note page when you are done.
4. Look over this teaching page. Scroll past the video and read the intro sentence and then 1, 2 and 3. Read each one and write down the rule and an example.
5. Write two of your own sentences using a colon correctly.
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Thousands of years in the making, the Olympics began as part of a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus in the rural Greek town of Olympia. But how did it become the greatest show of sporting excellence on earth? Armand D’Angour explains the evolution of the Olympics.
Below, please view the video about the origins of the Olympics:
For all things Olympic go to Olympic.org, and take a look at the featured athletes, youth development and future Olympic cities. Which city will host the next Olympic games in 2024? Read about how the next Olympic city will be chosen and the process that goes along with it here. After all the festivities and competitions are done, see “What Becomes of Olympic Stadiums.” Interested in following Olympic news on social media? Visit Twitter!
Ever wonder about the meaning behind the Olympic Symbols? What is the meaning of the five rings, the flame, and the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius.” Read this and find out their meanings. Interested in Olympic Medals? Are they really made of Gold, Silver and Bronze? Learn the truth here!
Finally, think about the following question and respond in the comments section below with your thoughts:
Do the Olympics encourage sporting activity at all levels or just for elite sportspeople?
Our school district is going through a lot of changes, and classrooms will begin to look very different over the next few years. Have you ever imagined your classroom looking different?
Here’s your chance to become an architect and design your new learning space.
Design your dream classroom or learning space. Grab a poster and other materials to create your new learning space. You can add whatever features you think would help your learning, but make sure to include the following:
(1) A place to collaborate or work with your classmates
(2) A area to create and make things
(3) A space to showcase your learning
(4) A quiet area to work and read
Share your designs with your EY Coordinator.
We will post the top designs on our Student Showcase!
Patents are like superhero capes for inventions, keeping them safe from copycats! Trademarks are the cool name tags for products and services, making sure everyone knows who the cool kids are! Copyrights are like magic shields for books and art, protecting them from sneaky pirates who want to steal their treasure!
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #19:Patent, Trademark, & Copyright
2. Are you someone who keeps an eye out for the latest inventions? Do you enjoy tinkering with objects to see what you can create? Then knowing about patents and trademarks might be helpful in your future endeavors! The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) has a website to help kids understand more about the patent and trademarking process. Divide your recording page into 3 sections.
Patent
Trademark
Copyright
3. What is a Patent? Trademark? Copyright? Read about this the USPTO website. Take detailed notes about all 3 on your recording page.
4. Look at real life examples. Record the examples on your recording page.
5. Watch this three videos. For each one record 5 details.
7. On your recording page, add an idea you would love to create a patent for or something interesting you learned about the patent/trademarking process.
8. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Check out the Kids Invent Stuff Badge the Problem Solving Invention Badge at the EY website.
