Thursday, June 15, 2023

Summer Reading 2023

 Summertime Reading 2023

Do you appreciate great book recommendations?  Literary Hub Recommendations 2023

Science Fiction- Nyxia by Scott Reintgen,

                        Ambassador by William Alexander,

                        Legend by Marie Lu,

                        Cinder by Marissa Meyer,

                        Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac.



Novels-         Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga,

                    The Wild Book by Margarita Engle,

                     They Call Me Güero by David Bowles,

                     You Can Fly by Carole Boston Weatherford



Do you have a favorite reading place?

Outside-  park bench, porch chair/swing, hammock, beachside chair

Inside-  sunny room, near an open window, favorite library, bookstore


What books are you interested in checking out this summer?  



Tuesday, August 24, 2021

STEAM Explorations

Would you like to create a STEAM exploration? (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, or Math) 

S-  Science experiments make for interesting STEAM explorations. 
       Use a plastic bottle to create a boat design

T-  Technology projects
       Use a Google application to create a research project. (Slides, Sheets, Web Stories, You Tube)
        
E-  Engineering designs 
       Use a plastic straw and a sheet of paper to make a rocket design

A-  Art projects using a virtual illusion
    Use colored pencils and a sheet of paper to create a tessellation (a repeating geometric pattern)

M-  Math create a math pattern or secret code
     Use numbers or symbols to create a secret code that you can use with family or friends. 

Please Try out and share in the comments about one of these STEM explorations, or share a topic or idea that you have done.   



Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Explore STEAM

Explore STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)






A Hero For The Arts And Sciences: Upcoming Marvel Covers Promote STEAM  Fields : The Two-Way : NPR  

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Summer Math Project

My Summer Road Trip Book
It’s time to plan your summer vacation! Use the next few pages to decide your
destination, vehicle, and hotel. You will have a budget of $900. Be sure to spend wisely so
that you will have money left over in case of emergencies!

Choosing a Destination      
Distance from Chicago
790.8 miles to New York City
926.1 miles to New Orleans
759.19 miles to Philadelphia
799.99 miles to Richmond
1,156.07 miles to Orlando
989.33 miles to Boston
297.21 miles to St. Louis
697.03 miles to Washington D.C.

1. Which city is the furthest distance from Chicago?
2. Which city is the closest to Chicago?
3. How much farther from Chicago is Richmond than St. Louis?
4. How much farther from Chicago is New Orleans
than NYC?
5. How much farther from Chicago is Orlando than
Boston?
6. ABOUT how far is Washington D.C. from
Chicago?
7. ABOUT how far is Philadelphia from Chicago?
8. ABOUT how much farther from Chicago is
Richmond than Philadelphia?

Order the cities by distance (Nearest to Farthest) from Chicago

Round each city’s distance from Chicago to the nearest mile.

New York City
New Orleans
Orlando
Boston
Philadelphia
Richmond
St. Louis
Washington D.C

Thinking about Gas
If the national Average for gas per gallon in the United States is cur-
rently $3.49, how much will you be spending on gas for your trip?
Choosing your Vehicle  Car Mileage Weigh your Options
Do the Math to find out how much you would spend on gas to your two top destination choices.

Toyota Prius 48miles per gallon
Jeep Wrangler 21 miles per gallon
Honda CRV 31 miles per gallon

How do calculate the cost?
Divide the total distance in miles by your car’s miles
per gallon to find out how many gallons of gas you will
need for your trip. Then, multiply that number by the
average cost of a gallon of gas. Don’t forget to
multiply by two for a round trip.

How many hours are you willing to drive per day? How much ground will you cover?
Safe Speed—60 MPH
# of Hours
Miles Driven
1
60
2
120
3
180
4

5
300
6

7

8

9


How many hours/miles are you willing to drive per day? WHY?
For some destinations, you will need to break your trip into two days.
Calculate how many days of driving each destination will take.
New York City
New Orleans
Orlando
Boston
Philadelphia
Richmond
St. Louis
Washington D.C
HOTEL COSTS
Hotel
Cost per Day
Special Features
La Quinta Inn
$49.92
Low Ratings             Breakfast
Outside Pool Only    AC/Cable
Days Inn
$59.62
Okay Ratings           No Breakfast
Outside Pool            AC/Cable/WiFi
Comfort Suites
$96.72
Okay Ratings           Breakfast
Inside Pool              AC/Cable/WiFi
Hampton Inn
$93.48
Great Ratings           Breakfast
Outside Pool            AC/Cable/WiFi
Courtyard by Marriot
$84.52
Good Ratings           Breakfast
Inside/Outside          Pool AC/Cable
1. How much more money does the Courtyard cost than La Quinta Inn?
2. How much more money does Comfort Suites cost than Hampton Inn?
3. How much more money does Days Inn cost than La Quinta Inn?
How many days will you need to stay in a hotel?
Days on the road ____________ (Based on mileage– If you need to stop to stay at a hotel
because the distance is farther than what you are willing to drive in one day Remember, you
will need to do this twice for a round trip!)
Days at destination _______________
What is the cost of your hotel stay?
Round the daily rate of your selected hotel to the nearest dollar amount. Then,
multiply that amount by the number of nights you will be staying in a hotel.
Total Cost of my Hotel Stays:_______________________

Use the chart below to help you decide where you would like to visit! :)
City
Things to Do
Washington D.C
National Zoo-Free
National Children’s Museum $10
Six Flags America $39
New Orleans
Ghost Tours $25
Swamp & Bayou Tours $49
Cool Zoo Water Park $11
Richmond
Museum of Fine Arts$13
History Tours $27
Go Carts $32
Boston
McDonald’s Museum- $10
Whale Watching- $36
Mayflower Tour- $14
Philadelphia
Insectarium $9
Musical/Theatre $16
Sesame Place $63
St. Louis
Gateway Arch-$18
Six Flags- $40
“M”yseum- $10
NYC
Coney Island $24
Big Apple Circus $32
Botanical Garden $10
Orlando
Universal Studios $99
Lego Land $55
Magic Kingdom $102
Further Research
Use an online search engine to help you find more information about the cities you are considering,
City
City
Research Notes





Research Notes
Weighing Your Decision
Take your two top choices and weigh the costs and benefits of each
Choice #1: _____________________________
Costs
Benefits  
*

*

*
*

*

*
Choice #2: _____________________________
Costs
Benefits  
*

*

*
*

*

*
My Destination Choice
Use the space below to tell about your decision making process.
The city I choose to visit is ____________________________ because ________________
The Logistics
Miles (Round Trip– Multiply the distance by 2!) ___________________
Vehicle: _________________ Mile per Gallon: ________________
Total Cost of gas (Round Trip): ______________________________
Number of Nights I will stay in a hotel: _______________________
Total cost of hotel stays: ______________________________
Selected Activities (Entertainment Budget):
_______________________________________________________
Total Cost of Selected Activities: ___________________________
Total Food Cost: ________________________
$$TOTAL TRIP COST$$
__________________
How much money have you left for emergencies or unforeseen
circumstances?_________________

The Plan
Use the space below to jot down your plan for each day. Will you be driving? If so, how far? Will you
be spending a night in the hotel? Which one? Will you be going sight seeing? Where?
Day 1


Day 2


Day 3


Day 4


Day 5



Day 6


Day 7


My Trip Scrapbook
Use the space to draw pictures of the memories made on your trip. Use the
space beside the photos to describe your memory.



Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Summer Math Project Board

The project ideas listed below are some ways to do math over the summer. Give yourself a challenge and work to earn at least 50 points.
Math Project Board
Make a math vocabulary dictionary.  
20 points
 Write a compare and contrast essay about area and perimeter.
20 points  
 Make a math poster explaining about your topic.
30 points
Watch a Khan Academy video and complete the practice questions.  (Create an account)
10 points
Make a math puzzle and include a solution to the puzzle
10 points
Long division practice sheet

10 points
Create an informational booklet about your math topic.
30 points
Solve an investigation problem
30 points
Create a math song/skit to learn a math skill.
20 points

Examples of "Investigation Problems"
  • What are the different ways can you find the area of each polygons? Write a number sentence or an algebraic expression that would represent each of your methods.      
  •  What different shapes can you make with 5 cubes?  Compare the surface area of each of these different shapes, what do you notice?  Compare the volume of the 3-D shapes what do you notice?

Examples of "Math Puzzles"
  • Operations Puzzle- Which operations (+, -, X, /) must be performed to get the solution?  
    •  For example
      (4 * 1) * (6 * 2) = 1 
      (The correct answer is (4 + 1) - (6 - 2) = 1 or in simplest form 5 - 4 = 1) 
    •  More examples   (6 * 4) * 12 = 12;  (4 * 2) * (4 * 3) = 24;  (6 * 5) * (9 * 2) = 19
  • Equations Card Game- Write an equation showing (First Expression)=(Second Expression)
    • For example:  6 cards numbered 6, 4, 8, 7, 2, 10                                                             (Possible answers 8+2=6+4, 10-4= 8-2, and using Exponents 10^2 - 8^2 =  6^2)
    • Game directions and more math puzzles are at:  Home Page for Math Games and Puzzles  
Math Topic Ideas for Project Board (above)
Area, Volume, Surface Area Least Common Multiple/ Greatest Common Factor
Ratios 3-D Shapes
Equations                       Experimental Probability
Number  Patterns Scientific Notation
Inequalities Fractions

Slope of a line Parabolas and Quadratic Equations

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Percent of Body Height

Complete the chart below by measuring your body parts and total height.

Body Part                   height (in)                  total height                % of body
head                           ________                  _________                ________
torso                           ________                  _________                ________
leg                               ________                  _________                ________
neck                           ________                  _________                ________
foot                             ________                  _________                ________


Example
Body Part     Body Part Height (in.)  Total Body Height(in)  Work Steps   % of body
head                           10 inches                   72                        10/72=.14       14%
torso                          25 inches                   72                        25/72= .35       35%
legs                            30 inches                  72                         30/72= .42       42%
neck                           4 inches                     72                         4/72=  .05        5%
foot                             3 inches                    72                          3/72=  .04       4%
                                                                                                            1.0       100%