October 5th, 2022
Middle School Resource
In this activity, students will explore how westward expansion increased the number of jobs available in the nineteenth century, including being a flatboatman through a painting by George Caleb Bingham. Working in pairs, students will write a letter to their partner from the standpoint of a person moving westward. Then they will construct a poem in the guise of Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” about a modern-day job.
Related NY State Academic Standards: W.5.3, W.5.3.a, W.5.3.b, and more!
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October 3rd, 2022
Elementary School Resource
This site provides information about the history of steamboats. It also offers information about Robert Fulton and related articles about steamboats. There are additional links on the side and bottom of the page that lead to articles about other inventors and their technology that furthered the capabilities of humans.
Related NY State Academic Standards: SS.3.GEO.3.b, SS.4.6, SS.4.6.c, and more!
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September 30th, 2022
High School Resource
For this activity, use a dictionary to look up the CAPITALIZED words and write a definition. The words are given in the poem’s format so students should try to understand the meaning of the word by applying it in context.
- Hear the SLEDGES with the bells
- In a sort of RUNIC rhyme
- the MOLTEN-golden notes
- a DITTY floats
- a gush of EUPHONY
- BRAZEN bells
- they scream out their AFFRIGHT
- in a mad EXPOSTULATION
- a RESOLUTE endeavor
- on the BOSOM of the PALPITATING air
- solemn thought their MONODY compels
- the MELANCHOLY meaning of the tone
- they are GHOULS
- a PAEAN from the bells
- Keeping time as he KNELLS
Related NY State Academic Standards: ELA2.I.LR1D and ELA2.C.LR1D!
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September 28th, 2022
Middle School Resource
In a series of lessons, this unit explores a variety of literary concepts related to poetry using the texts “Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems” and “A Light in the Attic.”
Related NY State Academic Standards: RL.5.2, RL.5.4, RL.5.10, and more!
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September 26th, 2022
Elementary School Resource
This page demonstrates how to create a 5-line who-what-where-when-why poem. This form can be used both for personal narratives and as a response to a text.
Related NY State Academic Standards: W.1.11, W.2.11, W.CCR.4, and more!
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September 23rd, 2022
High School Resource
In this lesson, we will have an opportunity to view weather related videos, weather websites and map symbols, as well as have a chance to practice forecasting ourselves. Let’s see if we can predict the weather better than the pro’s!
- Meteorologists prepare weather maps with information and observations from various weather reporting centers. Before a weather map is prepared, the information from the centers must be translated into internationally recognized weather symbols.
- To read a weather map, you must be familiar with the various weather map symbols . The weather symbols, maps and procedures are printer friendly and can be accessed through the support materials section.
- Students should incorporate the web reources linked below to enhance this lesson. The videos can be accessed either through streaming video, ordering a VHS copy (Passport to Weather only), or by phoning 973-656-9403. WeatherBug has a free, downloadable weather reporting service. Students can view current conditions, forecasts, radar, live weather cameras, etc.
Related NY State Academic Standards: WST.9-10.6, WST.11-12.6, MST2.I.IS.1.3, and more!
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September 21st, 2022
Middle School Resource
On this site, students can learn about the “ingredients” that make weather. Students can learn how to make fog, clouds, tornadoes, lightning, and rain through hands-on science activities. They can play weather games as a review of weather concepts, read about weather-related stories, and learn about safety tips to deal with extreme weather conditions.
Related NY State Academic Standards: S.3.ESS.2.1, S.3.ESS.2.3, S.MS.ESS.2.5, and more!
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September 19th, 2022
Elementary School Resource
This site allows students to find out the current weather conditions in any city and/or country in the world. They can also click on weather maps from various countries/areas and get the current forecast, temperature, and satellite view. Students also can read about “extreme weather stories,” such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Related NY State Academic Standards: S.K.ESS.2.1, S.K.ESS.3.2, S.3.ESS.2.1, and more!
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September 16th, 2022
High School Resource
In this activity:
- An odometer is a device that measures how far a bicycle (or a car) travels. Sometimes an odometer is not adjusted accurately and gives readings which are consistently too high or too low.
- Paul did an experiment to check his bicycle odometer. He cycled 10 laps around a race track. One lap of the track is 0.4 kilometers long. When he started, his odometer read 1945.68 and after 10 laps, the his odometer read 1949.88.10 laps Compare how far Paul really traveled with what his odometer read. Make a table that shows numbers of laps in multiples of 10 up to 60 laps, the distance Paul really travels, and the distance the odometer would say he traveled.
- Draw a graph to show how the distance shown by the odometer is related to the real distance traveled.
- Find a rule or formula that Paul can use to change his incorrect odometer readings into accurate distances he has gone from the start of his ride.
- An odometer measures how far a bicycle travels by counting the number of times the wheel turns around. It then multiplies this number by the circumference of the wheel. To do this right, the odometer has to be set for the right wheel circumference. If it is set for the wrong circumference, its readings are consistently too high or too low. Before Paul’s experiment, he estimated that his wheel circumference was 210 cm. Then he set his odometer for this circumference. Use the results of his experiment to find a more accurate estimate for the circumference.
Related NY State Academic Standards: N-VM.1, N-VM.2, N-VM.3, and more!
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September 14th, 2022
Middle School Resource
Activity:
A leading newspaper stated that the majority of the information it contains is in the form of advertisements. To investigate this, distribute copies of the local newspaper to student groups. Have the students reach a consensus on their definition of “news” and on general headings to be used to categorize newspaper content, e.g., sports, entertainment. Using transparent grid sheets as overlays, students can estimate the total area of a newspaper page, excluding margins, and determine the area of each category of their assigned pages. Students then express the area of the article in relation to the area of the page as a fraction and decimal. The class then records all findings. The total area of each of the categories is computed. These totals are compared to the total number of pages. On the basis of this data, students decide how much of the newspaper is really news.
Related NY State Academic Standards: 5.NF.3, 6.RP.3.c, 6.G.1, and more!
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