|
|
Mini Page Archive - October 2006: Issue 40 - 44
Discover Explorers - Issue 40 -- Sept. 30-Oct. 6
This week's standards: Students use biographies and stories to understand the individuals who are honored by
the nation. (Social Studies: History) Students describe the geographic context that has influenced people and
events in the past. (Geography) Students understand how historical events, people, places and situations
contribute to our understanding of the past. (Social Studies: Time, Continuity and Change)
Activities:
- Draw a picture of yourself exploring some exciting location. Write several sentences telling about
your adventure.
- Look at the weather map in your newspaper. Select three places you would like to explore. Find the
weather or the temperature in those places today. Which place will be the warmest? Which will be the
coldest?
- What would you take with you on a trip to explore a rain forest in South America? Find newspaper words
and pictures for items you would take with you on your trip. Cut them out and paste them on a piece of
paper. All of your items must fit inside one large suitcase.
- Which explorers in today*s Mini Page (a) discovered land in the Americas, (b) explored or visited the
North or South poles, (c) studied science as a young person, and (d) explored more than one part of the
world?
- 5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of the explorers in The Mini Page.
Use these questions to guide your research: When did the individual live? How did the individual become
involved with exploration? What education or training did the individual receive? How were the
individual's explorations financed? What new discoveries did the individual find? Use your research to
write a character profile on your explorer.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
Fire Trucks and Labels - Issue 41 -- Oct. 7-13
This week's standards: Students understand that safety and security are basic needs of humans. Students'
understanding includes following safety rules for home and school, avoiding injury, and knowing where to
go for help. (Science: Personal Health) Students understand the abilities of technological design.
(Science: Science and Technology)
Activities:
- Draw a picture of yourself as a firefighter working with one of the fire trucks pictured in
today’s Mini Page. Write a story to go with your picture.
- Make a “Hot Times” poster. Cut out newspaper pictures and words about fire and heat.
Paste them on your poster.
- Which equipment in the fire trucks in today’s Mini Page (a) is used to collect or spray
water, (b) warns people the fire truck is coming, and (c) helps firefighters save people?
- Use the checklist for fire safety in today’s Mini Page to survey family members and friends.
Ask people the questions on the checklist. Put a check by a question when someone answers 'yes'
to it. Which questions received the most 'yes' answers?
- Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about firefighters. Use these questions to
guide your research: How many professional firefighters are there in the United States? What kind
of education or training do firefighters have to complete before they can work in a fire department?
What kind of training do they receive to update their skills and knowledge? How much are they paid?
What specialty jobs exist within the fire department? Use the information you find to write a
paragraph about becoming a firefighter.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
Who Builds Our Houses? - Issue 42 -- Oct. 14-20
This week's standards: Students develop abilities of technological design and to distinguish between
natural objects and objects made by humans. (Science: Science and Technology) Students understand the
interaction of human beings and their physical environment. (Social Studies: People, Places and Environments)
Activities:
- Cut out pictures of houses from the newspaper. Paste the houses on a large piece of paper.
Circle the house you like best. Write several sentences explaining why you would like to live
in that house.
- What types of houses are in your neighborhood? Count the number of houses that have outside
walls of wood, vinyl, brick/stone or stucco.
- Locate five different items in the newspaper that would be helpful if you were going to build
a house. Write the name of each item. Then explain how you would use it to build a house.
- Which house-building jobs in today’s Mini Page (a) require special machines, (b) require
special hand tools, (c) are concerned with the structure of the house, and (d) are concerned with
the way the house looks on the outside?
- Select a house-building job you think would be challenging. Write a paragraph about that job.
Use these questions to discuss the job: What special education or training do you think you would
need? What special clothing would you have to wear? Would you have to work with someone else, or
could you do the job alone? Why does this job appeal to you?
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
The Bat Caves - Issue 43 -- Oct. 21-27
This week's standards: Students understand the characteristics and life cycles of organisms. (Science: Life Science)
Students understand the interactions of animals and their environments. (Science: Life Science)
Activities:
- Draw a picture of a bat on a large piece of paper. Be sure to make the wings very full. On the wings,
write at least three facts about the lives of bats.
- Look through ads in the newspaper for pictures of Halloween bats. Cut out the bats and paste them on
a piece of paper. Write a Halloween story about bats.
- Write the word "bat" at the top of a piece of paper. Now cut out pictures or words from the newspaper
that rhyme with "bat." Paste them on your paper.
- How are each of these activities important for bats: (a) hanging upside down, (b) eating insects,
(c) using echolocation, and (d) having creases on their faces?
- Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of these bats: the vampire bat, the bumblebee
bat, the hoary bat and the brown bat. Use the questions to guide your research: How large is the bat?
Where does it live? What does it eat? How is it useful to humans? How did it get its name? What are its
numbers today? Use your research to write a paragraph describing your bat.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
It's Voting Time - Issue 44 -- Oct. 28-Nov. 3
This week's standards: Students identify key ideals of the United States' democratic republican form of government.
(Social Studies: Civic Ideals and Practices) Students understand the ideas, principles and practices of
citizenship in a democratic republic. (Social Studies: Civics)
Activities:
- Pretend you are running for Congress. Design a campaign poster telling people to vote for you.
- Find newspaper ads for two candidates running for a local, state or national office. Circle all the
words that say good things about the candidates.
- Look at the map in today's Mini Page. Put a star on your state. Now find three states that have either
more or fewer representatives than your state has.
- Find two people in newspaper stories or the comic strips that you would nominate to be in the U.S.
Congress. Write a short paragraph explaining why each person or character would be a good national lawmaker.
- Look at the different ways the Mini Page shows of how candidates try to get their message out to voters.
Identify the three ways you feel are most effective in reaching voters. Write a paragraph explaining why you
believe these messages are more powerful than others.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
|
