Category Archives: Learning Opportunities

#27: Jeff Kinney

Early Enrichment

If you like reading, writing, or illustrating stories, you are in the right place!

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your early enrichment mini spark recording page: #27: Jeff Kinney

2. Watch this interview. On your recording page write another question that you would like to ask Jeff Kinney.

3. Writing a story can be challenging sometimes, but the author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has some great tips for you to follow.  

  1. Take your time writing. To become an expert, you need lots of practice! 
  2. Find someone to help you out. Ask someone who can edit your work to make it even better!
  3. Be unique. Try something new and make your work stand out. 

Which tip is the most important in your opinion? Write the number for that tip on your recording page.

4. Your turn! Write your own diary entry in the style of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Print this template or make your own on your recording page. 

5. Share your early enrichment mini spark recording page and your diary with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

#21: Inventions

Reading Enrichment, Uncategorized

Invention is transforming your wildest daydreams into reality, like a robot making pancakes! It’s about mixing ideas and experiments to create something cool and useful!

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #21: Inventions

2. Watch this intro video. Summarize a few of the ideas you liked from this video on your recording sheet.

3. Did you know a 15-year-old boy invented earmuffs back 1858?  Write the steps for how this came about on your recording sheet.

4. Watch this video and write a 1 sentence summary for each of the inventors.

5.  These kids all used their hearts and their smarts, and started somewhere!  Watch this video to get some ideas about the process. Take 5 detailed notes on your recording sheet.

 

6. On your recording page, do some brainstorming about how you could combine two items into one, like the examples from the video. Try to come up with 3 ideas. They do not need to be useful-but perhaps more creative and fun.

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

Check out this badge at the EY website

#24: The Bean

Math Mini Sparks

Math concepts are fantastically weaved into all kinds of artwork and Cloud Gate, or “The Bean”, in Chicago, IL is no exception!  Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor’s first public outdoor work in the the United States.

cloudgate

Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rmlowe/6144649661

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #24: The Bean

2. According to the city of Chicago website, The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a “gate” to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high.  Watch this summary video below and record 5-10 details on your recording page.

3. Watch a video on how they “Clean the Bean”. Record 3 sentences about what you have learned about this process on your recording page.

4. Take a look inside the Bean during construction.  What math and science was involved in creating the bean?

5.  “The Bean” is 33 feet high, 42 feet wide, and 66 feet long. It weighs about 110 tons — roughly the same as 15 adult elephants. Suppose a regular bean was sitting next to Cloud Gate. Do some research to find out the dimensions of a regular bean.  Do some math calculations. About how many times bigger is cloud gate? Record your work on your recording page.

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

Thanks to the Hoffart boys at Sunset for inspiring this math mini spark!

#20: Open a Book

Reading Enrichment

Have you ever wondered what’s happening in your brain while your are reading to turn all these weird symbols into meaning? Check out this reading mini spark to learn more about this process.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #20: Open a Book

2. Reading is something you’re doing effortlessly right now. Ever wondered how your brain turns symbols into meaning? This video will help you rediscover the amazing process of reading.

3. After watching this video, choose 5 of these questions to respond to on your recording page. Each response should be at least 2 sentences. Remind your teacher that the answer key is in the reading mini spark folder.

  1. What secret does Joe mention about how we read?
  2. How do rounded letters differ from flat-topped letters in terms of height?
  3. Explain the “Müller-Lyer illusion” and how it relates to letter recognition.
  4. What is the “paradox of reading” that Dr. Erica Brozovsky discusses?
  5. Describe the concept of “neural recycling” as explained in the video.
  6. How do our eyes gather information when we read, according to the video?
  7. What is the “Word Superiority Effect,” and why is it important in understanding reading?
  8. Discuss the role of the fovea and parafovea in reading. How do they contribute to our ability to recognize words?
  9. How does the brain process the shapes of letters and words according to the video?
  10. What happens in our brains when we recognize a word, as described by Joe in the video?

4. Read this article about benefits reading. List your top 3 on the recording sheet.

5. On your recording sheet write title of the book you’re currently reading and write about your opinion about the book at this time. Support your decision with 3 specific examples and 3 details.

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

#12: The Mystery of the Glowing Soldiers

Social Studies Enrichment

 After the Battle of Shiloh during the Civil War, some wounded soldiers were said to have wounds that glowed with a faint blue light. Years later, scientists discovered that a glowing bacterium may have helped protect these soldiers from infection. In this Mini Spark, you will explore this fascinating connection between history and science. The “Angel’s Glow” story is a well-known Civil War legend, though historians have found little contemporary evidence that it actually occurred. The science behind the glowing bacteria is real and remarkable.

Spark Your Learning!

  1. Set up your Social Studies Mini Spark recording page: #12: The Mystery of the Glowing Soldiers.

  2. Watch this video. Record 3 details on your recording page.

3. Read the article about “Angel’s Glow.”

On your recording page, write:

    • Three facts you learned.
    • Two questions you still have.

4. Choose one question to answer:

      • How did science help explain the legend of Angel’s Glow?
      • Why is it important to investigate stories from history using evidence?
      • What surprised you most about this story?

5. Submit your completed Mini Spark page to your teacher or EY Coordinator.

Learn more about the Civil War in Social Studies Mini Spark #71

Check out the Civil War Inventions badge that the EY website.

#26: Metric Me!

Early Enrichment

 

Did you know that during the Olympics things are measured differently? At school, we learn how to measure with inches, feet and yards. However, during the Olympics races are measured using the Metric System. They use centimeters, meters, and kilometers.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your early enrichment mini spark recording page: #26: Metric Me!

2. Find a ruler to use for this mini spark.   

If you look closely at a ruler you can see the centimeters system. 

ruler1_36459_md

On your recording page write about what you already know about the metric system.

3. Watch this video.

 

On your recording page draw a hand. Draw the same lines they made in the video. Label it with decimeter (dm), centimeter (cm), and millimeter (mm). 

4. When you qualify for the Olympics, you may be asked to send in your stats. Print the Metric Me! worksheet. Get a ruler and practice measuring using the metric system. You’ll be ready for the Olympics in no time! 

** Metric Me! By Jackie Higgins, downloaded from TPT 

5.  Share your early enrichment mini spark recording page with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

#23: A Yummy Infographic

Math Mini Sparks

infographic |ˌinfōˈɡrafik| noun- a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. a good infographic is worth a thousand words.

I went out to lunch recently with my family and noticed an eye-catching infographic at the center of each table.  I wish I could post a picture of it, but that would ruin the surprise! In this math mini spark you are going to create your own infographic using the data from the restaurant.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #23: A Yummy Infographic

2. Explore some infographics created for kids. Write about what you noticed/liked/didn’t like on your recording page.

3. Your job is to create a picture/word combo (INFOGRAPHIC) that displays all the information.  The only requirement is that all the information below is somewhere on your 8 1/2 x 11 page.  Use colors, crayons, pencils, Canva, or another digital tool…whatever!

Data to be included on your infographic…

  • 39,598,080 mini gingerbread muffins devoured last year from this salad bar
  • 1980 was when this restaurant introduced a salad bar.  It was based on the suggestion of a radio salesperson.
  • 10,000,000+ salad bars were ordered at this restaurant in 2020
  • The original salad bar at this restaurant offered 9 ingredients.  Now there are 50+ ingredients and they include select USDA-certified organics.
  • There are 1,906,884 possible combinations for a 5-ingredient salad with a base of lettuce.
  • If you had 1 salad a day, it would take 5,224 years before repeating a salad combination.
  • No MSG since 2008 and everything on the salad bar is trans-fat free.

4. Share your minit math spark recording page and infographic with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#19: Awful (fictional)Olympic Host Cities

Reading Enrichment

 

Have you ever been frightened by places you’ve read about in books or seen in movies or on television?  What if those places were under consideration for hosting the Olympics?  Can you IMAGINE???

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #19: Awful (fictional)Olympic Host Cities

2. What cities have hosted the summer or winter Olympic games? Go to this page, read the intro and look over the list. Record 5 of the cities on your recording sheet. Find them on the map and find 3-5 facts about that city.

3. Go to the following link and read about the 6 fictional places that the author hopes NEVER hosts the Olympics. Add all 6 places to your recording sheet and explain why it would be an awful venue. If you haven’t heard of the place or don’t understand the information about the location, do some research so you can tell why it is so terrible.

4. Think about books you have read, movies or  tv show you have seen.   What fictional place do you hope never hosts the Olympics and why?  Please add 3 responses and reasoning to your recording sheet.

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

#20: Animal Olympians

Full STEAM Ahead, Learning Opportunities

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.

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