PERFECT PRESENTATIONS 9-25

Today was the first day of presentations covering the first six weeks of material discussed in class. Six students shared about different assigned topics today. They set the standard for the class. The bar now sits very high! Their preparation was evident, their visual aids were neat and creative, and their understanding of the topics exceeded my expectations! I was impressed today with the efforts!

Additionally, my compliments to all of the students for their encouraging words to each other, and their respectful behavior during the presentations. Everyone listened and learned!

Our presentations began with an informative address about Stonehenge by NW. Did you know each block must have been carried by over 500 people for at least 50 miles!? Did you know there were ditches dug around Stonehenge? Did you know that bones have been found nearby indicating perhaps where the builders of Stonehenge lived? Did you know Stonehenge is made of chalk? Did you know all of this was in NW's report?

He presented a marvelous detailed presentation containing these and many other interesting facts about this curious structure in England. It was very interesting to hear the legends surrounding Stonehenge.

WP introduced the heliocentric view first discovered by Nicolas Copernicus. (Helio = Sun, Centric = Center) At a time when the entire civilized world believed all celestial objects revolved around the Earth, Nicolas Copernicus questioned this belief. He served as a clergyman in the church, and centered his own belief on God! (That is awesome!) His picture circulates on Polish currency, and he is buried at the same church where he served. WP did a fabulous presentation on this great man.

Sadly, I was so enthralled with his speech that I neglected to take pictures. His poster was informative and eye-catching. :-) I will have a picture of WP with his visual aid next week! I am sorry I missed it today! Please extend a little grace to me! I do want everyone to see his creative work!

Galileo stretched the minds of ancient times because of his belief in Nicolas Copernicus' view that the Sun was the center of our Solar System. Galileo spent many years under house arrest for not recanting his belief. ES shared these and other intricate details about his life. For instance, I learned that he kept a doctor near to his house so he could still have medical care while being under house arrest. :-) MS displayed her colorful graphic organizer to represent this man who made such an impact on our understanding of the universe.

The Latin words "umbra" and "penumbra" are not only used to describe eclipses as we learned in class. Today, ES informed us that these words are also applied to Sunspots on the Sun! (I did not know that!) She also shared that the Aztecs had a Sun God with dark spots on his face with the presumption that the Aztecs had witnessed the Sunspots. ES shared her extensive research on sunspots and solar flares teaching all of us many facts we did not know. She did a wonderful job!

The students learned a tremendous amount of information about the Sun today from PB. She shared some facts about our central star, quizzed the kids on their knowledge, discussed the different layers of the Sun, and taught about some of the positive and negative consequences of having the Sun above us! (Wear your sunscreen! Ha-ha!) She did a superb job of interacting with the class while making her points. :-) Very clever and imaginative!

The entire class was engaged when PB asked for help "labeling" the parts of the Sun. She chose people in the class to come up and place the correct name on that part of the Sun. It was very creative!

PC ended our day with a great presentation on Solar and Lunar Eclipses. We could even see where the craters of the moon were outlined by the Sun! Very cool! Did you know there is geometry during a Lunar Eclipse? (We are now learning Math and Astronomy!) Did you know the moon turns reddish/orange when there is a lunar eclipse?! Check out his visual display and you can witness a lunar eclipse from beginning to end! Whoa!

I learned so much today from these students. Today they literally taught all of us something new. It was evident they all worked very hard preparing for their presentation. Every child had researched and studied their topic! I was impressed with the content of the presentations today! The students presenting later in the semester have a hard act to follow! Every child did GREAT today!

Mercury, Craters, and Light 9/18

Today's class covered quite a bit. We reviewed the reading from the book and discussed facts about Mercury. We talked about it's speed of rotation, length of days, temperature, exterior features, type of orbit - elliptical, etc...

We then moved outside to make "craters" in flour. This was the activity suggested in the book reading. Hopefully, even with issues, they were able to see how craters are formed and some of the things that affect how craters are formed (size of object, distance, speed).

Once we returned inside, we continued to talk about Mercury's core. Currently, astronomers believe that Mercury's core is one of the largest of any planet in our solar system. It is made of iron and nickel, so it is extremely dense. Mercury's mass is very great. I passed around a heavy cast-iron skillet so that the students could grasp the dense nature of iron.

Additionally, scientists believe that the core extends out to the crust of Mercury. There are not additional layers as in Earth and the Sun. I sliced an orange and showed them that the inside resembles the core of Mercury. The outside of the orange resembles the exterior of the planet as well because it is pitted!

One question still remains for scientists; is Mercury's core a solid or liquid? The children made their own guess and ate an orange slice if they thought Mercury's core is solid and drank orange juice if they thought it is liquid. :-) (Yes, I found this idea in a book!)

We ended today's class with a short Magic School Bus video. It is called "MSB Makes a Rainbow" and it is the best source I have found to explain color to children. Last week, they were amazed by the color spectrum refractions, so I thought we would "go a little deeper" with it. They were able to see how all of the colors separate out of white light and combine to make white light.

For extra focus on Mercury, have your child play the game in the link below! It's really neat!

Don't forget next week begins the presentations! Yeah! I'm bringing popcorn! Parents are welcome to join us for presentations! We would love to have you!

Great Interactive Mercury Game

Here's a great link for your children to try. As they answer questions correctly, it will compose a photo of Mercury.

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/activities/radiobuttonquiz/Mercurypz.shtml

Studying MORE About The Sun 9-11

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures this week. However, the reason is because we were so busy learning in class! (I'm challenging your children! Ha-ha!)

Today, we reviewed all of Chapter two from the text. Students orally answered the questions posed and we enjoyed a Socratic dialogue about the topics from the book. The scripture used in class today was Psalm 19:1, and it supplies an answer to the purpose of our astounding skies!

During this discussion, I gave them a general definition of thermonuclear fusion by drawing a simple picture on the white board of Hydrogen atoms exploding to form Helium atoms. The chemical element abbreviations were used.

I also taught them the terms umbra and penumbra. These refer to the shadow, and these terms are used often to describe an eclipse. (Umbra is the Latin term for shadow and the word "umbrella" uses the same root word.) Your children should remember which term refers to a complete shadow. :-)

The students learned another mnemonic to memorize the order of the color spectrum. ROY G. BIV (pronounced just like a name) R-red O-orange Y-yellow G-green B-blue I-indigo V-violet. This order is never altered. The spectrum is another thing that God designed with SEVEN components!

After our discussion, I divided the students into three "centers." All students rotated through all three during the remainder of class.

Center One -
1 - Students drew a color spectrum with the mnemonic above it. (They will receive a prize next week if they know it!)
2 - Center One worked on creating a poster containing pictures and fact we have learned about the Sun.

Center Two -
1- Students colored and labeled the layers and outer portion of the Sun. New vocabulary was introduced, but I felt the kids should have some exposure to the words.
2 - Students answered 10 True/False questions about the Sun.

Center Three -
1- A "top" was spun so the "axis" of the Earth could be visualized.
2- We directed a flashlight onto a white surface and then a black surface. You children should remember which color absorbed the light.
3- Using a flashlight (Sun), a ball (Moon), and a globe (Earth) we were able to model a Solar and Lunar Eclipse. What was the umbra?
4- A crystal refracted the light from the flashlight to project many color spectrums onto the wall! Guess what? They were all in the same order - ROY G BIV!

We ended class today reviewing the True/False questions! Your kids did FANTASTIC! Be sure you ask to see their Sun model. I was impressed with their artistic ability!

By the way, I LOVE what your children are learning at home and the creative ways they are sharing it! We have had some incredible drawings, short reports, magazine articles, etc... Encourage them to learn on their own! They are rewarded in class for bringing some "new knowledge" to share! Remember, it doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to be written down on paper.

Your children are a joy! I hope they are enjoying this class, because I have certainly been blessed to teach it!

DON'T FORGET THE FIRST PRESENTATIONS ARE DUE IN TWO WEEKS!!

Exploring the Sun's Heat 9-4

Thank you for reminding me to put these pictures on the BLOG! Sorry for the delay!

Here's the update from last week...

Don't worry - this chocolate-licker belongs to the teacher! Oh my!

M is enjoying melting the Hershey bar! It's beginning to melt!

Last week was an interesting and informative class. After reviewing the reading assignment with oral questions, we walked outside for the remainder of our class time. All of our activities required space for movement...and heat from the Sun.

We role played revolving, rotating, and orbiting. The students saw how difficult it was to rotate, revolve and orbit at the same time! They were dizzy! We also discussed how the Earth turns on it's axis.

Here are a few pictures from our fun day with CHOCOLATE! The children explored the Sun's heat by melting Hershey bars with magnifying glasses. They determined if the chocolate melted faster with a larger or smaller concentrated area. They also held the MGs at different angles to focus the heat! The children had A LOT OF FUN during this class!

Big smiles!
This chocolate lover belongs to another TC teacher! Our families must LOVE chocolate!

Yes, with some persistence, the chocolate CAUGHT ON FIRE!

W is patient!

I tried to keep the magnifying glasses on the chocolate, but I think a few of the boys now know how to burn leaves armed with a magnifying glass! Sorry parents! :-) You can be comforted that they are learning something in this Astronomy class! Hee-hee!