What Would YOU put in a "Digital Memory Box"? Using the News as a Bell Ringer Activity

What Would YOU put in a "Digital Memory Box"?
A company in Great Britain is hoping to send a robotic vehicle to the Moon and land it on the South Pole of the Moon. Once at the location, the plan is to bore into the lunar surface down about 65 ft., a depth never tried before on the surface of the Moon. The retrieved rock samples would give scientists information on the origin of the moon such as examining rocks that haven't been touched by cosmic radiation, in millions of years. To raise money for the project, the Lunar Mission One, is asking people to contribute "digital memory boxes" which would be placed in the hole, as a type of time capsule. Additionally, the complied digital memory box database would eventually  be available for free to anyone to view.The mission is still in the planning stages.

Questions: 
What would be three things you'd place on your digital memory box for others to learn about you?
Which do you think is best and why? Private companies conducting explorations in space or governments(like NASA) being the main source of missions into space?

What are three facts you know about the moon?  

What is something you would like to learn about the moon?

Illustration from gizmag.com

Try my resource on Space: The Final Frontier. Learn about the history of space exploration with this informative web quest. There are 12 web questions, comprehension questions and extension activities.http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Space-The-Final-FrontierWebquestExtension-Activities-1526888

Gail

Will SNOW DAYS be a Thing of the Past?

Here's a little secret. Teachers love snow days, too!  And, they may be a thing of the past as schools turn to technology. Imagine, a snow storm and school closed but students still have... virtual classes.  It's being tried at a private high school in Minnesota.  With virtual classes, students can go online to work on assignments that teachers have posted. Schools must be in session for a specific number of days each year. For most schools, this is at least 180 days. Too many snow days often mean having to make up the days over other breaks.  If states approve this alternative virtual school day, such make-up days would not be needed.

Questions:

Which would you rather have, a virtual school day or have to make up the day over other school breaks? Why?

Can you see any problems with virtual school days?

Could You Stay in Bed for THREE Months? Bell Ringer Activity

Perhaps, this news story might be of interest for a Bell Ringer Activity.


Ever have a day when you wished you could stay in bed? Andrew Iwanicki not only is staying in bed for one day but for THREE months! As part of a NASA program to study how bones and muscles react to long periods of weightlessness  in space, they have asked for volunteers to stay in bed for 70 days. NASA has actually gotten 54 people to volunteer for this experiment in addition to Iwanicki. No getting out of bed, no going outside, just staying in a bed  with your head slightly tilted downward and your feet up, hooked up to different monitors to see how your body is handling "complete bed rest",is  what Iwanicki will be doing for about seven more week. There is television and internet available and NASA suggests that participants use the time for achieving goals. One bright side is that the volunteers are paid about $15,000 to lie in bed for this period of time!

1. Would you be able to participate in such a study? Why, why not?
2. What would be the most difficult aspect of participating in this study?
3. Watching television and playing video games might get old after a while, what might you decide to do with some of your time?

Illustration from Openclipart.org

Welcome to the NY Skyline: The One World Trade Center!

Perhaps, you might find this bell ringer activity of interest to use with your students.

The tallest building in the United States(and the Western Hemisphere) has opened for business. Built at the site of the original World Trade Towers which was destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001, the new One World Trade Center has 104 floors and took eight years to build. Standing 1776 ft. tall, the skyscraper will have a ceremony marking its official opening later in the month. I am very proud to see this new building standing proudly in the New York skyline! 

Bell Ringer activity for students: 
1. What statement do you think this new building tells the rest of the world? 
2. What meaning does the height of the skyscraper have? 
3. Write a sentence describing the new skyscraper. 

Gail 
Photograph from Timesdispatch.com

Halloween is coming:MUMMY FACTS to Share with your Students.

With Halloween around the corner, you may find these MUMMY FACTS of interest to share with your kids.

Many  mummies, male and female, were buried with extra hair wigs for the afterlife.

Mummies of pharaoh (kings) had onions place in the eye sockets for eyes.

With Halloween around the corner, perhaps, you may find these MUMMY FACTS of interest to share with your students.

Many mummies, male and female, were buried with extra hair wigs for the afterlife.

Mummies of pharaoh (kings) had onions place in the eye sockets for eyes.

Some mummies were wrapped in 20 layers of linen.

The oldest mummies are not Egyptian. Found in what is now Chile and Peru, the Chinchorro mummies date to 5000 BC.(Egytians date back to 2500 BC)

The Takla Makan Mummies are 3000 year old mummies found in China. Interestingly, their features are NOT Chinese!

Egyptians didn’t just mummify people.Mummified gerbils, birds, cats, dogs, fish, snakes, baboons,crocodile,hippo and even a lion have been found!

During the 70 day mummification process, ancient Egyp- tians removed the brain through the nostrils using a hook shaped instrument. Believing it had no value, the brain was thrown away.

The center of intelligence and caring, the ancient Egyp- tians kept the heart, wrapping it and replacing it back into the mummy.Other organs were placed in special contain- ers called canapic jars.

Believing mummies had healing powers, for almost 500 years, mummies were ground up and used to treat stom- ach aches and other ailments.Yuck! 

During Victorian times, mummies being unwrapped after dinner was popular entertainment for the guests!

Believing you could take possessions into the next life, King Tut was found with licorice root,watermelon seeds as well as chariots, games, weapons and furniture and a change of underwear. 

One mummy actually has a passport! When Ramses 11 went from Egypt to France, a passport was issued! 

             
Extension Activities:

If you were a mummy, what are 5 things you’d pack away for the afterlife. Why would you place these items in your tomb?

Draw/color a mummy coffin. Write 5 facts learned about mummies on your drawing in complete sentence form.

Write a day in the life of a mummy on display in a mu- seum. What do you hear? See? Smell? Feel?

Do you think mummies should be on display in a museum or be left in their tomb? Write a persuasive paragraph on your position. Include at least 2 reasons for your position. 

Try my Resource: All Things Halloween! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-All-Things-Halloween-Webquest-1360175

Amazing Jump! Bell Ringer Activity

Google computer scientist Alan Eustace has just broken a record held by Felix Baumgartner for the the highest altitude jump. Eustace used a helium ballon to reach 26 miles above the earth(or about 135,000 ft.) and then...jumped! Wearing a specially designed suit, Eustace hit speeds of 830 mph, actually traveling the speed of sound, in his 15 minute descent back to Earth. Baumgartner, in 2012, jumped from 128,100 ft. As for the amazing jump, Eustace said that he could see the layers of the atmosphere, the darkness of space and that it was an amazing experience.  

Questions:

What would you be thinking as you hurled back toward earth in such an altitude jump?

What are three character traits of someone such as Eustace or Baumgartner?

Write a headline for this news event.

Write 3 descriptive sentences to describe your jump.

photograph from DailyMail.co.uk

Gail

Pumpkin Smashes Record in 2014

The world record (North America) for heaviest pumpkin has been smashed once again! Last year,Guinness World Records crowned Tim Mathison, Napa, California,with the record for his 2032 pound pumpkin.This year's gourd , grown by John Hawkley, was weighed at a pumpkin contest in California. It tipped the scales at 2058 pounds! That's the size of a small car. Amazingly, Hawkley also had another pumpkin that was over 2000 pounds(that's ONE ton!). 

Photograph from LATimes.com

Learn lots of fun things about pumpkins:http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Fun-Fun-and-Informative-Webquest-359886