NEXUS: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ― André Gide

"Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. . . My grandfather would say we're part of something incredibly wonderful - more marvelous than we imagine. My grandfather would say we ought to go out and look at it once in awhile so that we don't lose our place in it." -Robert Fulghun

"By day, space is one with the earth and with man - it is his sun that is shining, his clouds that are floating past; at night, space is his no more. When the great earth, abandoning day, rolls up the deeps of the heavens and the universe, a new door opens for the human spirit. . ."

- Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1933

Once again, I am in awe. I look up at the stars, and, like a child, I wonder.

How often have you gazed up at the night sky wondering if there are other planets like ours in other universes? Wondering if anyone else is out there is not just the whimsy of children.

Mankind has been asking these questions from the time of the great philosophers of ancient Greece.

They remained questions without answers until now.

Thanks to Nasa's Kepler spacecraft, more than 100 alien planets have been discovered. (FYI: When you think Alien, do you think little green men? Au contraire, my friends! It simply means not from around here, or existing outside the earth and its atmosphere. So, alien planets are just planets far away.)

We are beginning to be able to answer questions people have pondered for thousands of years! For example, On July 23, NASA's Kepler mission confirmed that it discovered another planet 500 light years away. (Want to know what a light year is? Look HERE.) It's about our size and in the "habitable zone" of another star, much like our own sun. So cool! If you want to see pictures or read more, go HERE. . .or HERE for an amazing variety of videos and pictures that must be viewed to be appreciated.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR

THE WEEK OF

JANUARY 25-29

SCIENCE

Tuesday: Use these great sites to learn all you can about our atmosphere!

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE information can be found HERE
Introduction to our Atmosphere
The Earth's Atmosphere
Go HERE for a review of what we've learned so far.

Then take THIS quiz and check your answers. Play games and create new quizzes as often as necessary to learn this information for the REAL quiz coming up SOOOOON! (Know your layers!)

THIS interactive notebook activity will help you learn them, and. . .

. . .this video will show you how to create it!

And now for a melodious method of memorizing!

Wedesday: Use THIS fun site to learn even more. We'll do a thought-provoking "How thick is our atmosphere?" demonstration, too.

BHT PREP

Atmosphere Jeopardy. Get ready! Teams TBA

Earth The Biography Part 02. Atmosphere by carlo1974

How far does Earth's atmosphere extend above its surface? Not far!

Over 90% of Earth's atmosphere is within 7 miles of its surface!

Thursday: BHT on Layers of the Atmosphere

Friday: Discussion/Video about the Water Cycle. Check out the. . .

Animated Water Cycle Diagram and the. . .
The Water Cycle Interactive

SOCIAL STUDIES

Monday: Finally! Let's discuss frontalism. This will be the last new learning before you work independently to personalize your Ancient Egypt Book. It will be turned in

no later than Friday.

Tuesday - Friday: Use any free time to complete your Ancient Egypt Book Independent Project. Use the Ancient Egypt link to the left of this blog for more information on any topic! Clipart pages, Hieroglyphics, Coloring Pages, Make Your Own Cartouche Anything else you need?

LANGUAGE ARTS

Pharaoh PowerPoint should be completed. Use this week to finalize, peer share, edit, and revise. We'll discuss peer editing by reviewing THIS. Use the checklist I provide. We'll present on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Go HERE for a little more information about Egyptians' portrayal of Pharaohs as divine.

presentation rubric HERE

MATH

Look HERE for a little drill (get it?) to support your learning. It's a site worth exploring!

Monday: 5.2 Write Percents as Fractions and Decimals. Share & Show, pgs. 276-278. Practice & Homework, pgs. 279-280.

Essential Question: How can you write percents as fractions and decimals?

Here's a great explanation. Watch & Learn!

Tuesday: 5.3 Write Fractions as Decimals and Percents. Share & Show, pgs. 283-284. Practice & Homework, pgs. 285-286.

Essential Question: How can you write fractions and decimals as percents?

Well. . . Here's how to turn a fraction into a decimal. . .

A little more practice. . .

Wednesday: Jump for Joy; it's Mid-Chapter Checkpoint time! Do it, check it, grade it, discuss it, fix it.

Be one with the frog. . .

And then: 5.4 Percent of a Quantity.
Share & Show, pgs. 290-292. Practice & Homework, pgs. 295-296.

Essential Question: How do you find a percent of a quantity?

Well, let's see--

More support needed?

Friday: 5.5 Problem-Solving - Percents. Share & Show, pgs. 297-298. Practice & Homework. pgs. 200-300.

Essential Question: How can you use the strategy "use a model" to help you solve a percent problem?

Problems in the real world. . .

Percents Missing Total. Say what?

Practice Test and Final Test for Chapter 5 (PERCENTS) on Monday & Tuesday. After that, we'll be. . .

READING

DON"T FORGET: By Friday, you will need to turn in your Reading Contract for the month and complete the independent book project for your January book. ARE YOU READY? (Say yes. . .)

Because of Winn Dixie