1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #105: Shared Birthdays
2. Watch this video. Explain the birthday paradox to someone who has not heard of it before. Use at least 3 sentences.
4. Carefully, read this article at Wonderopolis. Take the wonderword challenge and the did you get it quiz after reading.
5. Advanced option-Do this lesson at Math is Fun. Record details as you work through the lesson.
Storytelling has been an important part of human cultures for a very long time. For thousands of years, storytelling was the main way to pass on cultural knowledge and beliefs from one generation to the next. Stories teach and entertain, which has helped keep traditional ways of life going. Cultural ideals, medical practices, folk wisdom, historical accounts, and religious beliefs have all been shared through stories told by many people over the centuries. Storytelling is still important today, even though the ways stories has evolved. 4. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
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 4 myths about how fire was created. Fill out your chart for each story.
The First Fire – Cherokee
Coyote Brings Fire to the People – Shoshone
Fire Race- Karuk
How Beaver Stole Fire – Nez Percé
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.
“Hidden Figures” is a biographical book about four African American women who worked as mathematicians at NASA during the Space Race and played pivotal roles in the Apollo program. Their contributions were essential in advancing America’s space exploration efforts, particularly during the historic Apollo missions to the Moon1. Set up your social studies mini spark recording page: #60: Hidden Figures
2. Record the names of the mathematicians you will learn about in this mini spark on your recording page: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden.
3. Listen to Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race. For each of these dates you hear in the story, pause the story and write a phrase about that date.
1943, 1945, 1951, 1953, (1950s), 1957, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969
4. In 3-5 explain how Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. Use details from the story. Add your response to your recording page.
5. Read more about Katherine Johnson at this Wonderopolis page.
6. Share your social studies mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Check out the Mission to Mars badge and Space traveler badge at the EY Website.
Fit words into a grid in this popular game, often seen in puzzle magazines as fill-ins. The grid looks like a crossword, but there are no normal clues. Instead you must find the right place in the grid for each word from a given list.1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #80: Word Fit Puzzle
2. Watch this short intro video. What is the goal of this game?
3. Go to the Word FIt Puzzle website. Explore the grid sizes and the difficulty levels. Record all of those on your recording page.
4. Start easy to get the hang of it. Choose a level. Record your choice. Play a level. Take a screenshot of your ending time and add it to your recording page or write your ending time on your recording page.
5. Move to a harder level. Choose a level. Record your choice. Play a level. Take a screenshot of your ending time and add it to your recording page or write your ending time on your recording page.
6. What do you like about this game. What changes would you recommend?
7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Want to keep playing? Keep moving up levels as you are ready. Document your progress. Talk to your EY coordinator about doing these puzzles to earn a badge.
Peter H. Reynolds is a champion of creativity and a best-selling author and illustrator. His books, including The Dot, Ish, The Word Collector, and Happy Dreamer, are published in over 25 languages. They inspire children and adults with messages about creativity, bravery, empathy, and self-expression.
3. Read the information about Peter Reynolds, his book The Word Collector, as well as the interview at this website. On your recording page, record at least 5 details about what you learned from reading the interview.
4. Hutch Magazine is a semi-annual literary and creativity magazine for kids, directed by Peter H. Reynolds. It showcases stories, art, poetry, book reviews, travel logs, and interviews created by children. Add one sentence to your recording sheet explaining Hutch Magazine.
5. Go to the Hutch Magazine site. The issues are numbered and the theme of the issue is written under the number. Pick an issue that you would like to read. Record the issue # and the theme you choose on your recording sheet.
6. Choose 5 different stories/poems to read from the issue. On your recording sheet record the following 3 items for each piece you read.
7. Share your language arts spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
To write your own story to be submitted to be part of Hutch Magazine, check out the Hutch Magazine badge at the EY website. Check out the Dot Day STEAM Mini Spark.
3. What makes the title of this story funny? What would you change about the title? Write your ideas on your recording page.
4. Look over these prompts. On your recording page record the two ideas that you like best.
Write a story about two characters who are opposites. They could be opposite in size (one big, one small) or opposite in personality (one grumpy, one cheery) or opposite in what they want (one wants to sleep, one wants to dance). What happens when these characters meet? Do they become friends? Or enemies?
Write a story about an everyday object or animal (for example, a door, a carrot, a puppy, etc) that is secretly evil.
Write a story about a pigeon and a kid who swap bodies.
Write a story about an everyday activity you do all the time – for example, brushing your teeth, visiting the supermarket, riding your bike, etc. Then make the story weird by changing one small detail. For example, your toothbrush might be a banana. Or the supermarket might only sell gorillas. Or the tyres of your bike might actually be snakes.
5. Print off this prompt page. Choose one of the prompts and record your work on the page. You can choose to write your story on your mini spark recording page if you want.
6. Choose a title for your story and record it.
7. Share your language arts mini spark recording page or the prompt page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Post adapted from https://realpigeons.com/activities/how-to-write-a-silly-story/
1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #78: Literary Device Lesson-Irony
2. Record this definition on your recording page:
IRONY- The use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning.
3. Set up your recording page with three sections.
Situational irony Dramatic irony Verbal irony
3. Discover three types of irony using this TED-Ed lesson. Read all of the teaching paragraphs and the watch each video. Record 3 details for each video on your recording page.
4. To show what you learned from the TEd-Ed lesson page create a visual with definitions and examples. Include at least 10 ideas on your visual.
5. Share your language arts mini spark recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.
1. Set up your science mini spark recording page: #24: Orangutan Lessons.
2. Watch this TED ED video and record 3 details from the video on your recording page.
3. Read 9 facts at this information page from World Wildlife. Choose 3 and record what you learned.
4. Read this journal from scientist who photographed orangutans in 2022. Write down the 3 main lessons on your recording page.
5. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.
Jane Goodall is a scientist who is helping endangered animals. Check out the Jane Goodall Badge at the EY Website.
1. Set up your science mini spark recording page: #23: Rachel Carson
2. Watch this intro video lo learn about Rachel Carson. Record 3 of her accomplishments on your recording sheet.
3. Read about DDT and record 3 details on your recording sheet.
4. Read this Silent Spring book summary. On your recording page choose TWO of these questions to answer in two sentences or more. Reminder for your teacher that the answer key can be found in the science mini spark folder.
5. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.