Octopuses possess the capability to tackle challenges, acquire knowledge through watching others, and even utilize tools – similarly to humans. However, what makes the intelligence of octopuses truly remarkable is that it arises from a biological framework that is entirely unlike our own.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts recording page: #84: The Incredible Octopus
2. Watch this TED Ed video. Record 5-10 interesting details from the video on your recording page.
3. Listen to the story Inky the Octopus. The story is written in a poem format. Record the rhyming sets of words as you listen.
4. Look over these reminders about how to write a diary entry.
Written in the first person
Includes the date and/or time it was written
Starts with ‘Dear diary,’
Include an introduction to set the scene
Signed with the writer’s name
Writes events in the past tense
Tell events in chronological order
Include personal emotions and feelings
5. Imagine you are Inky the octopus living in the aquarium. Write a 6+ sentence diary entry for the day you planned your escape. Describe what you saw, how you felt, and the challenges you faced. Don’t forget to include the details of your successful escape into the ocean. Check the reminder list before you start.
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Use steps 2 and 4 from this mini spark to get a start on a new badge! Check out the Inky the Octopus badge at the EY Website.
Hidato Puzzles (or Hidoku Puzzles) are the creation of Dr. Gyora M. Benedek, an Israeli mathematician. The Hebrew word “hida” means riddle. In a hidato puzzle, you are given a grid with a selection of the numbers already filled in.
Spark your math thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #107: Hidato Puzzles
2. Watch THIS VIDEO and write down, in your own words, how to solve a Hidato Puzzle. A sample sentence can be found at the end of this post.
3. Visit THIS SITE and get some additional information about Hidato Puzzles, as well as some tips for solving them. Write down 3 tips on your recording page.
4. Try solving some Hidato Puzzles on your own! THIS LINK will take you to several puzzles at varying difficulty levels. Work with your EY Coordinator to decide how many you need to complete to finish this Mini Spark.
5. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Want to go further? You can by earning the Hidato Puzzle Badge! Check out the requirements HERE. NOTE: Scroll to the bottom of the page.
Sample Sentence: One can solve a Hidato Puzzle by connecting numbers in ascending order (starting at 1) to the next number either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #106: Plethora of Patterns
2. Watch the video and try to create the pattern. If you have toothpicks, GREAT! If not, don’t worry. Just draw lines with your pencil to represent the toothpicks. Take a picture of your pattern and add it to your recording page.
3. Watch the video and write down at least 3 of the patterns given on your recording page.
4. Watch the video and write down at least 5 notes/images about triangular numbers.
5. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #105: The Birthday Problem
2. Watch this video. Write a summary of the birthday paradox to someone who has not heard of it before. Use at least 3 sentences.
3. Carefully read this article from Wonderopolis. Record three ideas from the article.
4. Watch this video from the beginning. Take notes while watching when they start to do the math around 2:00 and record the percents as well. Continue to take notes. On your recording page, explain why people are not able to answer the birthday problem very easily.
5. Advanced option-Read this lesson at Math is Fun. Record details as you work through the lesson.
6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
The concept of this math mini spark is straightforward. The probability of an event happening is the number of times you expect that event to happen out of many tries. Probabilities always fall between 0 and 1.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #104: Probability
2. Make a chart like this on your recording page.
Event
Probability→ Fraction
Probability→Decimal
P (yellow)
P (green)
P (not red)
P (green or orange)
P (blue)
3.Watch this intro video. Pause the video @ 3:40 and record the probability of each of the events on the chart on your recording page. You can use a calculator for the decimals.
4. Copy this chart in your notebook.
5. Number your recording page from 1-5. Read each example and record if it is experimental or theoretical. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to check your work. Add a star if it is correct or add in the correct answer.
Probability Puzzles: Theoretical or Experimental?
A fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of rolling an even number? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
Sarah flipped a coin 50 times and got 28 heads. What is the probability of getting heads based on Sarah’s experiment? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
In a bag, there are 3 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 5 green marbles. What is the probability of picking a blue marble without looking? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
A weather station recorded that it rained on 12 out of the last 30 days. Based on this data, what is the probability that it will rain tomorrow? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
A spinner has 4 equal sections colored red, blue, yellow, and green. Jack spun it 40 times and it landed on red 8 times. What is the probability of the spinner landing on red based on Jack’s results? Is this theoretical or experimental probability?
6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
A fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of rolling an even number?theoretical
Sarah flipped a coin 50 times and got 28 heads. What is the probability of getting heads based on Sarah’s experiment? experimental
In a bag, there are 3 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 5 green marbles. What is the probability of picking a blue marble without looking? theoretical
A weather station recorded that it rained on 12 out of the last 30 days. Based on this data, what is the probability that it will rain tomorrow? theoretical * note since “tomorrow” hasn’t happened yet it isn’t experimental.
A spinner has 4 equal sections colored red, blue, yellow, and green. Jack spun it 40 times and it landed on red 8 times. What is the probability of the spinner landing on red based on Jack’s results? experimental probability
Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics which is about counting – and we will discover many exciting examples of “things” you can count. You can use combinatorics to calculate the “total number of possible outcomes”.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #103: Combinatorics
To do this mini spark you need to know a little about factorials. Steps 2 and 3 will review them for you.
2. The factorial function (symbol: !) says to multiply all whole numbers from our chosen number down to 1. Example: 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24.
Complete these two problems so that they look similar to the example:
Example: 6! = 6 x 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 720
5! =
9! =
Scroll to the bottom of this post to see if you are correct. If you got it correct, add a star. Add the correct answer if needed.
3. Watch this short video that show you how to divide factorials. Don’t worry. It isn’t hard. Do the problems with the teacher on your recording page.
4. Study this teaching page. Write the type of the formulas and the formulas on your recording page.
5. Watch this video. Do the first two math problems with the teacher on your recording page. Try the last problem by yourself on your recording page. The answer is at the end of this post.
Advanced: Check out this teaching page. Each of the sections has a mini lesson, a practice problem, and a solution. Read each lesson and try the problem on your recording page. Check your work. If you complete this, talk with your EY teacher about using this as a badge option.
Factorials
Permutations
Combinations
Combinatorics and Pascal’s Triangle
Combinatorics and Probability
6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator
5! = 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120
9! = 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 362,880
50 people are in a race. How many ways can gold, silver, and bronze be awarded?
We are all storytellers. Good storytelling involves captivating an audience through the effective use of narrative elements, such as compelling characters, vivid imagery, and an engaging plot.
Spark your thinking!
Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #82: The Story Spine!
Watch this video Pixar in a Box: Introduction to Storytelling. Pause the video to record 5-10 ideas about storytelling and what is needed to make a good story.
3. Watch this video about the story spine. Write the story spine prompts on your recording page.
4. Use a story you have just read or a story suggested by your teacher. Use the story spine template and fill it in for your story.
5. OPTIONAL: Create your own story idea using the story spine prompts.
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Check out the Pixar in a Box badge on the EY website
An origin myth is a special story about imaginary people meant to answer difficult questions such as, “Where did the seasons first come from?” or “How was earth was formed?”. Myths are passed generation to generation in order to teach a lesson about a people’s customs or virtues. In each of the myths you will hear a story from a different tribal group.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #81: Origin Myths-Fire
2. Read these two paragraphs.
Native American or Indigenous peoples of North America do not share a single, unified body of mythology. Each of the many different tribal groups has developed their own stories about the creation of the world, the appearance of the first people, the place of humans in the universe, and the lives and deeds of deities and heroes.
Despite the great variety of Native American mythologies, certain common mythic themes, characters, and stories can be found in many of the cultures. Underlying all the myths is the idea that spiritual forces can be sensed through the natural world—including clouds, winds, plants, and animals. Many stories explain how the actions of gods, heroes, and ancestors gave the earth its present form.
On your recording sheet answer these two questions. What is the purpose of myths? What are some common elements in myths?
3. You will use a chart for the step 4. You can create one on your recording page, print out this PDF, or make your own digital copy to add to your digital recording sheet.
4. Listen to or Read these myths about how fire was created. Fill out your chart for each story.
5. For the last task, decide which two origin stories that are the most similar. On your recording page record the titles. Make a bulleted list of 5 ways the stories are the same and then list 5 ways that the stories have differences.
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Many of you are VERY excited that Halloween is coming up? But, did you know that Halloween (or All Hallow’s Eve) is the night before Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)? The celebrations for each culture are woven together in interesting ways!
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your social studies spark recording page: #61: Dia de los Muertos
2. Read the following information and record 8-10 pieces of information on your recording page.
Day of the Dead combines the ancient Aztec custom of celebrating ancestors with All Souls’ Day, a holiday that Spanish invaders brought to Mexico starting in the early 1500s. The holiday, which is celebrated mostly in Mexico on November 1st and 2nd, is like a family reunion—except dead ancestors are the guests of honor. Day of the Dead is a joyful time that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory.
First, people set up a candlelit altar in their homes so spirits can find their way back to their relatives. The altar also offers some of the favorite foods of the deceased—just in case they get hungry. Items that were important to the ancestors when they were alive, such as a favorite book or musical instrument, are placed on the altar as well.
Then it’s off to the graveyard for a big party. Families bring a huge feast to eat while they clean tombstones, sing songs, and talk to their ancestors. Parents might even introduce a baby to a grandparent who died before the baby was born.
And don’t forget the skeletons. During Day of the Dead, life-size papier-mâché skeletons and miniature plastic or clay skeletons are everywhere. Why? Mexicans honor their ancestors on Day of the Dead, but they’re also reminding themselves that death is just a part of life. Hanging out with skeletons reminds people that one day they will be skeletons—but not for a very long time!
The skeletons are posed doing all sorts of wacky things, such as playing guitar, taking a bath, or making tortillas. Apparently people aren’t the only ones who get to have fun on Day of the Dead!
3. Look over the pictures at National Geographic Kids. Choose one of the pictures and describe it in detail using 3-5 sentences.
4. Some of you may have seen the Disney movie, Coco! Click on the video below to see how Coco honors Dia de los Muertos. Watch the clip carefully. Write down 3 things you liked about the clip. Explain why you liked each thing. Write 2 suggestions for how the clip could be improved.
5. Share your social studies mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Did you know that dinosaurs are related to birds? Or that the biggest dinosaurs had hollow bones?
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page: #69: Dinosaur Facts
2. Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that have lived on Earth for about 245 million years. In 1842, the English naturalist Sir Richard Owen coined the term Dinosauria, derived from the Greek deinos, meaning “fearfully great,” and sauros, meaning “lizard.” Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents! Record the bolded information on your recording page.
3. There are all kinds of fun facts about dinosaurs! And, there are so many types of dinosaurs scientists are learning about! Choose a dinosaur fact page to read about at National Geographic Kids. Record the name of the dinosaur and 3 facts from the article.
4. Watch and learn fun facts about dinosaurs. At the end of the video there is a review. Pause the video and write the answers on your recording page then unpause your video and check your answer.
5. Share your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page with your teacher or EY Coordinator.
Did you that there are two digital badges about dinosaurs? Check them out at the EY website.
