Plate tectonics and Cartography

We will wrap up our plate tectonics and cartography unit next week. We learned about reading a map and a compass this week with a great scavenger hunt around Eldridge Park! 

We also discussed what "paces" are. Paces are a way to measure distance using parts of your body.

 A pace (or double-pace or passus) was a measure of distance used in Ancient Rome. It was nominally the measure of a full stride from the position of the heel when it is raised from the ground to the point the same heel is set down again at the end of the step. Thus, a distance can be "paced off" by counting each time the same heel touches ground, or, in other words, every other step. In Rome, this unit was standardized as two gradūs or five Roman feet (about 1.48 metres or 58.1 English inches). There were 1000 passus in one mille, and a mille was sometimes referred to as a mille passuum. (Wikipedia)

Measure your pace at home using a tape measure or ruler. Everyone's pace is different and may change over your lifetime!

A great online resource

There is a great, free educational resource called Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/  I would invite you all to explore the site and the many subjects of learning it offers. The mission behind this organization is incredibly inspiring, as well.

It is a wonderful learning tool that can aid any level of student in a variety of subjects.

Landform models!

The landform models are finished and they look great! We are so happy to see that many students went above and beyond the required number of landforms for their project. Here are a few pictures of some great projects. Pictures of each project can be found at facebook.com/EPDnature 

Next week we will be presenting our projects and getting ready to end landforms and move on to our next topic! 

Week 6 - Landforms project

We got a great start on our landform projects this week. We will continue working on them for the next class where we will begin painting and labeling our landforms.

We are happy to see alot of students going above and beyond the required number of landforms for their project! Great job!

As you move around in your daily lives, take some time to notice all the different landforms around you.  You may be surprised at how many you find.

Whats the difference between and river and a creek?? Whats the difference between and lake and a pond??  Can you figure it out??

Miss Beth and Mr. Dan

Week - 5 Landforms & play dough recipe

We started our land-form unit today.  The older students were challenged with a 25 word match game.  The younger students made land-form books.  These will be used to help the students create a diorama next week.  Dioramas will be 3 dimensional and will take a few classes to complete.  I'm including the recipe for the play dough the students need to make.

4 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of salt
2 tbs oil (veg, canola, etc) anything really
1 cup warm water
food coloring

Mix the flour and salt in a large zip bag or bowl.(dry mix)

You can do this in one of 2 ways now.  In one big batch or 4 little batches.  That's up to you.
For one big batch: Add water, oil, and food coloring to a large bowl.  Then add dry ingredients to the bowl.  Stir until it's dry enough to handle with hands.  Finish forming into a ball and wrap in plastic or place in zip bag.
For 4 small batches: In 4 smaller bowls, add 1 tea of oil, 1/4 cup of warm water, and food coloring.  Now add one cup of dry mix to each small bowl.  Stir until it's dry enough to handle with hands.  Finish forming into a ball and wrap in plastic or place in small zip bag.

Here is a link to the recipe I used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ytbSa3mPg

Sorry for the ad's on the video.

Mr. Dan and Miss Beth

Neat Videos to Watch

I love Bill Nye!!  Sorry about the short ads that may be attached to videos.

Erosion video (24min) close the add and video will start
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=274944


Rocks and Weathering (23min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xv1DoqkARQ

Week 4 - Wind and Water

This week we took what we learned about erosion and weathering and tried to figure out how to stop it or at least slow it down.  The students made erosion blockers on a soil bed and watched the water wash it away.  We had a blast doing this project.  Then they made small posters about how to help farmers slow down the wind on their farms.  What a bunch of great ideas!!  I'm adding a link with a neat weathering and erosion video.  Enjoy!!

http://www.unitedstreaming.com/videos/dsc/externalApplications/interactiveVideos/index.html?vid=32

Mr. Dan and Miss Beth