Studycast - Electricity and Magnets

Click here to listen to our studycast on Electricity and Magnets.  The test is Friday, October 22nd, and the study guide came home on Monday, August 18th.  If you have any questions about the material, please leave me a comment below this post or send me an email.  Good luck!

Studycast Correction

It was brought to my attention that I may have left out some information on the Social Studies Chapter 3-4 studycast.  The last two questions on your study guide ask about encomiendas.  You can read about this on page 148 in your textbook (and we covered it in class today).  An encomienda is a large piece of land owned by a peninsulare (a person born in Spain).  The peninsulare controlled all of the Native Americans living on his land.  The Native Americans were forced to work for the land owner and give him the crops they grew or goods they produced.  Often times the Native Americans were also forced to convert to the Catholic faith and give up their own customs and culture. 

Hope this information helps! 

Studycast - Social Studies Chapters 3&4

Click here to listen to the studycast for our upcoming social studies test on chapters 3-4.  The focus of this test is the early explorers - from Marco Polo to DeSoto.  The study guide was sent out this past Wednesday, and the test will be on Wednesday, October 13th.  If you need an extra copy of the study guide, please visit the homework page on our classroom website.  If you have any questions, leave me a comment below or send me an email.  Hope this studycast helps - good luck!

Native American Tableaus

To review everything we learned about Native Americans, small groups of students created tableaus for each Native American cultural group.  Each group had to answer these questions with their tableaus:

• What is their environment like?
• What kinds of homes do they live in?
• What is their greatest resource?
• How do they get food?
• Explain something about their culture. 

As we shared these tableaus with the class, I was so impressed with how our students used their new learning to interpret each scene.  They did an amazing job. 

Switching On a Motor

After learning about circuits, we continued our investigation by figuring out how to make a motor run.  Our students quickly got their motors running, and then I extended the challenge - How could you use a switch to turn your motor on and off?  Once again, our students quickly discovered how to open and close a circuit.  Some of our students connected a switch to the idea of a drawbridge.  When the bridge is closed, the cars (or electricity) can flow.  If the bridge is opened, the cars (or electricity) cannot flow.  What brilliant thinkers!

Building Circuits

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