Did you hear that Scooter’s Coffee broke the Guinness World Record for the largest cake pop?! This mini spark will give you the opportunity to learn more, explore spheres, and maybe even make your own cake pops!
Spark your math thinking!
Set up your math mini spark recording page: #93 Cake Pop Math
Have you ever bought a cake pop? How much was it and was the cost worth the taste? Explore the price of cake pops from different stores and make a table comparing the data. You can find out the cost by visiting a place in-person, or find a website that tells you the information. Display your data in a creative way.
Look up a few recipes for cake pops. Which one would you like to try?
Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Explore the engineering innovations that made the construction of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible. Notably, it stands at a height of 828 meters (2,717 feet) and features a unique Y-shaped design that enhances stability and reduces wind forces.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #58: Burj Khalifa
2. Watch this video and record details on your recording page.
3. For this STEAM mini spark please choose 5 of the following questions to answer on your recording page. Please use 2-3 sentences for your responses. Remind your teacher that the answer key is in the STEAM mini spark folder.
Describe the main challenge architects faced by the end of the 20th century when designing skyscrapers.
What innovative material helped buildings to shed weight and reach new heights in the early 20th century?
Explain the concept of tubular design introduced by Fazlur Rahman Khan and its significance in skyscraper construction.
How did the buttressed core design contribute to the stability of the Burj Khalifa?
What design feature of the Burj Khalifa helps to minimize the impact of strong winds?
Discuss the human cost associated with the construction of the Burj Khalifa as mentioned in the video.
Why was the construction of the Burj Khalifa completed in a short period of five years considered significant?
What are some of the criticisms faced by the United Arab Emirates regarding worker protection laws after the Burj Khalifa’s completion?
In what way did the design of the Burj Khalifa differ from traditional skyscraper designs?
Reflect on the importance of prioritizing workers’ rights in future construction projects. Why is this significant?
4. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Find your “Pi Day” using this site. Type in your birthday and record where in pi your date appears. Do this for a friend or your teacher and record their pi day. I put in my birthdate and the sequence of numbers does not show up until digit 169, 266!
Choose an interesting way to represent Pi! Check out the ideas at the end of this post.
Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
In January, we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If you could change something about the world, what would you change?
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page: #61: Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. Read these informational points. On your recording sheet record all of the bold words.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s father was a pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
Martin was a very smart student and earned several university degrees.
He wanted to be a minister, and he gave his first sermon at his dad’s church when he was just 18 years old.
In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a Black woman, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for not giving up her bus seat to a white man.
Martin Luther King Jr. became the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which organized a bus boycott, where people stopped using the buses to make a change.
The bus boycott lasted 381 days, and in the end, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that segregation was not allowed anymore.
Martin believed in peaceful protests, but he faced many dangers, including having his house bombed and being arrested multiple times. Sadly, he was shot and killed at the age of 39 in Memphis, Tennessee.
His famous speech, “I Have A Dream,” was heard by 250,000 people, and now Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a public holiday in the USA on the third Monday of January.
3. Watch Kid President tell the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. On your recording page, tell us how will you celebrate and honor Dr. King.
4. Share your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page with your teacher or EY Coordinator.
Ancient cities were often built around a fortress on top of a hill. When a city spread to the area below, the high part came to be called the acropolis, which means “city at the top” in Greek. The best-known acropolis is in Athens, Greece. The Acropolis of Athens contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #52: The Acropolis
2. Watch this introduction video and respond to this prompt: Why was it important to the Greeks to have a location high above the city?
3. You will go on a virtual tour of the Acropolis of Athens. The Virtual Tour of the Acropolis highlights the most prominent monuments. Record these 4 monuments on your recording sheet: The Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Leave room so you can record 3-4 details about each one.
Thanksgiving is one of the favorite holidays we celebrate in America. As we get ready, let’s take a look at some fun facts about the holiday.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page: #60: Thanksgiving Lessons
2. Read these thanksgiving facts. On your recording page record one of the facts that you did not know.
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three-day harvest festival. It included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians. It is believed by historians that only five women were present.
Turkey wasn’t on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobster, eel, and fish were likely served, alongside pumpkins and cranberries (but not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce!).
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863. Sarah Joseph Hale, the woman who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, convinced him to make Thanksgiving a national holiday after writing him letters for 17 years!
There are 4 towns in the United States named “Turkey”. They can be found in Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana.
The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4, 500!
The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
3. Thanksgiving is a time to be THANKFUL! Watch a video below to see what Kid President is thankful for! List 5 reasons you are thankful.
4. Share your Early Enrichment Mini Spark recording page with your teacher or EY Coordinator.
As a nation we celebrate Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday in November each year. Thanksgiving wasn’t alway a national holiday. In this mini spark, you will learn about the history of Thanksgiving and how it became a national holiday.
Spark your thinking!
1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #50: Thanksgiving
2. Set up your recording page with a section for each of these topics
Native Americans
The Settlers
Settling and Exploring
The Celebration
The Myths
Native Americans and Thanksgiving
Modern Thanksgiving
3. Read this article. For each category, record 3+ bullet points.
4. Watch this video about how Thanksgiving became a national holiday. When you are done watching, choose 5 questions to answer thoughtfully. Remind your teacher that the key can be found in the social studies mini spark folder.
What year did the first Thanksgiving celebration take place in Plymouth, Massachusetts? Who was the great Indian chief that attended the first Thanksgiving celebration? 9. In what year did Congress officially make Thanksgiving a national holiday?
Describe how Abraham Lincoln contributed to the establishment of a national Thanksgiving holiday.
What message did Lincoln convey in his Thanksgiving proclamation during the Civil War?
Identify why Sarah Josepha Hale believed a national Thanksgiving celebration was important. How did Hale promote the idea of Thanksgiving through her work as a magazine editor?
What was the significance of Lincoln’s proclamation being the first in a series of annual Thanksgiving proclamations?
How did Lincoln’s view of Thanksgiving differ from the political divides of his time?
Reflect on the idea of gratitude discussed in the video. Why is it important to express gratitude during Thanksgiving?
5. Optional: This is an interactive about Thanksgiving and the early settlers. Check it out.
Explore the engineering innovations that made the construction of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible. Notably, it stands at a height of 828 meters (2,717 feet) and features a unique Y-shaped design that enhances stability and reduces wind forces.
Ancient cities were often built around a fortress on top of a hill. When a city spread to the area below, the high part came to be called the acropolis, which means “city at the top” in Greek. The best-known acropolis is in Athens, Greece. The Acropolis of Athens contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three-day harvest festival. It included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians. It is believed by historians that only five women were present.
Code a spooky game for others to play. Follow the tutorial instructions to make a simple game. Customize your game to make it your very own.