Summer Reading

I just finished reading "A Long Walk to Water" by, Linda Sue Park.
This gripping narrative delves into the lives of two Sudanese children who are dealing with civil unrest and a struggle for their own survival.   The main characters stories intertwine in the chapters and have a common thread throughout the captivating story.  As I read the story I was left to contemplate how courageous and self-less people are in meeting life's challenges.  This style of this story reminds me of Linda Sue Park's earlier novel, "When My Name Was Keoko" which also has two young adult narrators, one boy and one girl.   This style that
Park uses in her novels makes the books fascinating with connections between
characters and great cliff hangers to keep you wondering what will happen next.

You can take action to help support the Sudan region at Salva Dut's webpage http://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/ 
If you'd like to find out more about the books you can begin by looking at 
Long Walk to Water
When My Name Was Keoko

If you'd like to to use your iPod or MP3 to listen to book recommendations a helpful podcast comes out each month at Text Messages: Book Recommendations for Young Readers

What are some favorite books you would recommend for summer reading?
Some books I heard on Text Messages that I think I'll try out are
 "Divergent", By Veronica Roth
"Where Things Come Back" by, John Corey Whaley, and
 "A Monster Calls" by, Patrick Ness

Enjoy!

Music and Rhyme Patterns

Music often follows a rhyme pattern.  Take the last word in a line as your rhyming word and on an regular interval it rhymes with the last word in another line.
A song pattern can go a, a, b, a, b where the last word of line a rhymes with all of the a lines, and the last word of the b lines also rhyme.  Norah Jones song, Shoot the Moon fits this pattern. This is from http://www.poemhunter.com/song/shoot-the-moon/

a   The summer days are gone to soon
a   You shoot the moon
b   And miss completely
a   And now your left to face the gloom
c   The empty room which smelled so sweetly
c   Of all the flowers you plucked if only
d   You knew the reason
c   Why you had to be so lonely
d   Was it just the season?

e  The Fall is here again
e  You can't begin to give in
f   It's all over

g  When the snow comes rolling through
f  Your rolling too with some new lover
h  Will you think of times you told me
d  That you knew the reason
h  Why we had to each be so lonely
d  It was just the season

This song makes me think of changes in life, like the changes in season.  At different points in life people choose to go their separate ways.  I think 'shoot the moon' means try very hard, or go all out for someone.  Norah's song has a sad tone that I can relate to, but also seems to have a hopeful message as well. Here's a video link that has the song-   Norah Jones Shoot the Moon.

Are there rhyming words in songs you know?  Share a favorite song, or check out the website, Rhyme in Lyrics for more information about rhyme patterns.  http://www.musiclyricsfyi.com/rhyme-in-lyrics.html

Metric Measurement on Graphs!

What is the relationship between different systems of measurement?  By looking at graphs and data patterns we can learn how the systems of measurement are related.  Temperature is a measurement system that affects us all every day, and 8th graders at Swift began to look at switching back and forth between Celsius and Fahrenheit scales.
Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures scales were originally based on the freezing and boiling points of water.
On the graph below we can find the freezing and boiling point for water in both systems. The coordinates for these points are (32, 0) for the freezing point and (212,100) for the boiling point.  When finding the slope or rate of this line we calculate (y2-y1) / (x2-x1), or the rise over run.  
(212-32=180) / (100-0=100)
     180 / 100 = 1.8
The slope can be written as the decimal 1.8, or as a fraction, 9/5 (in simplest form).

• Ready to try out your skill at finding patterns in graphs?  Go to Math-play.com for interactive games. 

The temperature graph below can be used to generate an equation for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit.
It shows that the starting point for Fahrenheit is 32 degrees, the point at which water begins to freeze.  So, the number 32 can be added to the product of Celsius times 1.8 to find out the degrees Fahrenheit.  This equation fits into the slope intercept form;  y= mx + b,  F=1.8*C + 32   F= Fahrenheit, C= Celsius.
                             
For example, if the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, what is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit?
F=Fahrenheit and C= Celsius     F= 1.8 * C  + 32
                                                 F=  1.8 * 25 + 32
                                                 F=  45 +32
                                                 F=  77 degrees    So, 25 degrees Celsius  =  77 degrees Fahrenheit

Another pattern in measurement involves different systems in measuring distance, Miles and Kilometers.
The relationship between miles and kilometers is similar because for every 1 mile we use a slope of  .621 kilometers. In an equation we can write k=.621*m  (k= # of kilometers, m= # of miles)

If a family traveled in a car 36 kilometers, how many miles did it travel to its destination?
k= Kilometers and m= miles    k = .621*m
                                              36 = .621*m
                                        36 /.621 = about 57.97 miles    So, 36 kilometers equals about 58 miles.

Since both of these measurement patterns are written in slope-intercept form it is helpful to put them in graphic form, by using an online graphing calculator.  The graph below is the equation  y=.621* x  in graph form.  Even though the graph shows negative integers for x and y values, since we are figuring out distance the values that are useful are those that begin at zero and have positive values.   

• Practice Game: Use slope intercept form to make an online graph.  1) Create a table of values to solve for x and y.  2) Then, move the graphing position to create a line that matches your data points.