November 29, 2010 Day Fifty-Six

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Math

5 Vocabulary

1. Wednesday: The fourth day of the week

2. Experience: An act or activity that you've done before, that you're good at; you can offer experience

3. Sincerely: A formal closing remark in a letter

4. Experiment: Usually pertaining to science to test out a theory

5. Especially: With special emphasis

5 Details/Facts

1. Wednesday comes from the god Wodan.

2. Virgo is the biggest constellation in the zodiac.

3. The next unit I'm going to learn about is colonial life.

4. My play on Thanksgiving was called The Voyage of 1586.

5. Celestial is referring to the stars and sky.

5 Sentences

1. At 7:00 in the morning on Wednesday, I'm on the ice!

2. Dead reckoning doesn't have a tool to help out other than a brain, good eyesight and experience.

3. If you were writing a letter to the president, you would always sign it sincerely.

4. We did a science experiment a while ago, with the bottle cap and the needle.

5. I love to skate, especially in performances.

5 Questions & Answers

1. What was the theme of today's 5 x 5 vocabulary words? A: easily misspelled words

2. What are two common pairs of letters that often lead to misspelled words? A: c and s and e and i

3. What is the goal for school for December? A: To make ALL of our Christmas presents.

4. What is the purpose for taking a Review? A: To make sure I've learned everything

5. What was your favorite part of presenting your play and portfolio? A: Writing the script

5 Math Problems

1. 240 x 81 = 19,440
   

   
    

2. 4562 / 24 = 185r2
   

   
    

   
    

3. ½ + ½ + ½ = 1 whole and a half?
   

   
    

4. How many degrees for a half-circle? 180%
   

   
    

5. Name one Greek mathematician. Hypatia, was considered the first notable mathematician.
   

 

 

Sophie's Blog: Hello folks, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I sure did, Uncle Aaron and Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda came down. In the morning, I performed my play, and everyone watched my portfolio presentation. Tonight I have rehersal, we're going to run through the whole show. Next week we start with costume!! I can't wait to perform it next weekend. Mom said I could get a T-shirt. I want one because this is the first play I've ever really been in, and I'm starring in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday at skating I fell and brused my hip. I was really proud of myself though because I didn't cry. I can't wait for the Christmas show. It's going to be so much fun doing Lasso Santa Claus.

November 24th & 25th, 2010 Day Fifty-four and Fifty-Five

Pics and video to come.........
Day 54 was spent preparing and rehearsing and finalizing for the Portfolio Presentation and Play Performance. Sophie woke up early and went to skating, like she always does on Wednesdays. Then she and Emma, and Eloise and Lily, and Coach Linda went to LL Bean's for the holiday story hour. Sophie had a lot of fun being big sister for the little girls and showing them all around Bean's and looking at all the animals. Then we got packed and went to the farm.

We rehearsed the play twice, set and checked all the props, finalized the set (which looked great!), and practiced with the sound effects. We all worked hard and felt ready for the play the next morning. Sophie stayed at the farm with Gamma and Bill and helped get everything ready for Thanksgiving.

Day 55, which was Thanksgiving, we welcomed friends and family to the farm for a 10:00 performance of the play. We successfully presented Sophie's wonderful play, "The Voyage of 1586," which was written completely by Sophie for the purpose of demonstrating her knowledge of the Age of Discovery in a fun, informative, exciting play. And boy did she ever accomplish her goal! We're all so proud of her and we will be posting the video of her play soon.

After the play we gathered and viewed the video of Sophie's portfolio presentation of her Age of Discovery Scrapbook. She wrote and prepared her video and it too was successfully presented and received. We had the scrapbook, her play props, and some of the books we used set out on tables for guests to look through after the presentation. Emma and Andy spent a lot of time with Sophie looking through all her schoolwork and when Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda arrived, we watched the presentation and the play again. Sophie was beaming proud and happy to share her accomplishments with some of the most important people in her life. And now we have the opportunity to share with all of you too.

Sophie and I do not "grade" homeschool. But I do assess. She has completed 55 days of homeschooling and her first major Core Unit: the Age of Discovery—Explorers, Navigation, & Astronomy. She passed all of her Reviews—Vocabulary 1 & 2, Explorers You Should Know, Astronomy, Math. She presented her Portfolio for the unit in a significant and public manner. She wrote and performed a play demonstrating her gained knowledge of the unit. As her teacher I am more than satisfied and impressed with her work and I am happy to report she is ready to move forward!

Enjoy the video and her presentation and pictures from the play. We will post the video of the play as soon as it's ready! Thanks for your support and for the reading the blog thus far.
Please feel free to make any comments or ask Sophie any questions you have.

November 23, 2010 Day Fifty-Three

Almost there...almost done…two more days! Wow, what a lot of work Sophie's done. Now that we're getting even closer and finishing the unit up and we're reviewing all she's learned and finalizing all her projects, she really has accomplished a lot in these first fifty-plus days of homeschooling. Sophie, I am so proud of you sweetheart.

Activities

Music—lesson with Kat

Art—lesson with Gamma, finished Ben's Portrait for play and scrapbook and man is it good!

Play Rehearsal—two run-throughs in preparation for performance on Thursday

Portfolio Presentation—written and filmed

Scrapbook Presentation Directions

Goal: To present all the work you've accomplished to an audience.

Objective: To tell the "story" of your scrapbook.

Remember, your audience will have an opportunity to look through and read your Age of Discovery Scrapbook and all its "facts" and labels. Your presentation is your opportunity to tell them more about the story of the Age of Discovery that you learned.

Keep it casual, like you were sitting down with each of them and looking through the scrapbook together. What would you explain? Which parts do you like best? What else can you teach them about the subject? What parts are you proud of? What did like most about what you learned?

Prepare a written paragraph (or more) for each page of your scrapbook as a script to help you when we film your presentation. Think about writing your paragraphs like you were writing your blog or an email or a letter to someone.

Introduction. Hi, my name is Sophie Calderwood. This is my 5^th grade Portfolio Presentation about the Age of Discovery. I made a scrapbook on everything I learned about explorers, navigation, ships, Native Americans, maps, and how America was discovered.

The Sea Chest. On this first page I have my sea chest that Gamma helped me with in art class. It is important to a sailor because they carry their stuff in it. I made it based on a book report I did on a book called The Sea Chest. Inside it I have navigating tools like this parallel ruler, and this compass tool. I also have a regular compass and an astrolabe. I will be using the sea chest and all of its navigating tools as props in my play, "The Voyage of 1586." In my assignment with Bo I had to think of things that I would put in a sea chest if I were going on a journey. You can read about the ten most important things I would put in my sea chest.

Title Page. This is my title page, The Age of Discovery. I worked very hard on this map and it is very detailed.

Viking Page. When we turn the page we have my two Viking pages. I made my first Viking map at the Mystic Seaport with Grandpa Mike. Emma and I drove by this landmark in Providence, Rhode Island where the Vikings landed in the year 1000. On this map I can move Lief Erikson and Erik the Red's ships along their path to Newfoundland.

The Play. These are the pictures of the play I made up called "The Voyage of 1586." This play includes a whole bunch of key words that I learned and used in my dialogue. The characters in the play are my character Ben, Gamma's character Samuel, Bill's character Captain Berrin, Mom's character Adotte, and Lily's character Ariel the Dog. In my last couple of art lessons with Gamma we've been working on this portrait of my character Ben. As you can see I've improved a lot in my art. I thank Gamma and Bill for letting me have the time to go to the farm and work on my play.

Ships and Navigation. These two pages are about ships and navigation. The ship I used in my play is a carrack. The ship's name is The Calderwood. The other ship on my first page is a caravel and it's a much smaller ship and it has lateen sails. I painted this picture of The Calderwood and I chose it to be a carrack because it was used more often for explorers around the time of the voyage of 1586. As you can see, I labeled all the parts of the ship.

Field Trips. We went to the Mystic Seaport, the Pequot Village, and the Osher Map Gallery for our big field trips. We collected brochures to put on this page. Probably my favorite field trip out of these three was the Pequot Village because I liked all the statues in the village. It looked very realistic.

Native Americans. Now we move on to Native Americans and on this page it tells about the land bridge and how Native Americans got here. The Land Bridge was a big piece of land that crossed over from Asia to North America and people migrated over it thousands of years ago and they became the Native Americans. It also tells about the tribes in New England and Maine.

Native Americans have different houses for different areas if North America. The grass house, long house, cliff dwellings, tee pees, and wigwams. The character Adotte in my play lives in a wigwam.

Wampum. Wampum was very important to the Native Americans because they valued it. This is my handmade Wampum belt. Wampum belts were used to tell a story. My wampum belt says "We are peaceful." Mom and I also made this necklace that Adotte is going to use in the play.

This is the picture of Adotte or Mom in her costume. I found the costume at Salvation Army and Mom said I have a very good eye for costumes!

Columbus. Finally we move on to Explorers! The first explorer in this scrapbook is Columbus. Christopher, that is. I am moving the ships along the paths Columbus took. He took four journeys. The three most important things that Mom wanted me to know about Columbus is that he is a dreamer and he never gave up. This other most important thing is that he believed he had a destiny and he died believing he found the Indies. The third thing I learned about Columbus is that he was the first to have a relationship with the Native Americans and he didn't treat them very well. His three ships were the Pinta, The Santa Maria, and the Nina.

Web Quest. I did an explorers web quest and I learned about explorers that I didn't really know about like Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan. A web quest is an on-line quest where I go to sites and learn about whatever it is I am studying and I follow the directions. My explorer's web quest I think was very fun, especially learning about Ferdinand Magellan because he had an Animaniacs video tell the story about him.

In my web quest I also learned about Prince Henry the Navigator. It's ironic that Mom had this page that said "There lived a handsome prince," and I used it for Prince Henry! Henry was the first to open a navigating school in Europe.

Bartholemu Diaz was the first to go around the Cape of Good Hope, which is the tip of Africa and he's famous for that. Vasco de Gama was about ten years later than Dias and he took the same route but actually made it to India. All of these explorers were looking for one thing: spices and a faster route to the Indies. Most of the explorers did not find what they were looking for but found new land!

Conquistadors. The Spanish explorers were called Conquistadors. Some of the famous ones were Coronado, who was the first European to discover the Grand Canyon. Ponce de Leon who discovered Florida while we was looking for the Fountain of Youth. And Hernando de Soto who crossed the Mississippi River.

One of my favorite explorers I learned about was Sir Francis Drake. He was the second to circumnavigate the world and was one of the first English explorers. By the Spanish he was called "el Draco" and a pirate but by Queen Elizabeth he was called a privateer. The Spanish called him a pirate because he took the gold from them and the Queen called him a privateer because he gave the gold to her!

Hudson and Cabot. Next, these are the explorers I spent a lot of time learning about: Henry Hudson and John Cabot. They both came from England. I read a novel about John Cabot. I didn't really like it about half way through, so I gave it up but, I still really liked learning about him. Mom's favorite explorer, Henry Hudson, explored around Northern Canada and he was looking for the Northwest Passage. This is probably one of my favorite pages because of the ice!

Constellations & Polaris. Constellations were very important to navigators exploring on the sea. They were helpful because they were the calendar for sailors. It's like a calendar because as the Earth rotates around the sun the constellations in the sky change with the seasons and sailors identified the pictures or constellations in the sky and that's how they knew what month it was.

Polaris or The North Star was very helpful for navigation because that's always where North is. This picture illustrates how sailors used the North Star to navigate by measuring the ship's position or angle in relation to the horizon and Polaris. The North Star was particularly important before compasses because explorers like the Vikings used it to show them where North was.

Mexico and South America. The next explorers I learned about were Amerigo Vespucci, Hernando Cortez, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Cortes conquered Montezuma and the Aztecs in Mexico. America was named after Amerigo Vespucci because he was the first explorer to realize that it was a New World and not the Indies, so a mapmaker named the new continent for him. South America was mostly conquered by the Spanish. Balboa was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean while standing on Panama. He soon realized that that it he couldn't get his ships through the small bit of land that we call Panama.

Cartier & de Champlain. Jacques Cartier was a French explorer who explored around Canada searching for the Northwest Passage. He was one of the first explorers in Canada and he discovered the St. Lawrence River. He met the Iroquois Indians. Samuel de Champlain sailed after Cartier for France and he also explored Canada. He colonized Quebec City and started the fur trade.

Iroquois. The Iroquois were a Confederacy of six Native American tribes in upper New York/ Vermont / Canada area. In my web quest I had to choose three topics to learn about. I chose Music & Dance, Clothing, and Sports & Games. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a famous poem about Hiawatha, who was an Iroquois Indian. Before I watched the video and did my web quest, I read the poem with Bill.

On this page I talked about the Huron Carol, as well as the pow-wow dance. The Hurons were the Wydonot tribe in the Iroquois Confederacy. The Huron Carol is a Canadian Christmas hymn sung in the Huron language. I listened to it and I thought it was very pretty.

Picture Sentences. These were props in my play that Ben used to communicate with Adotte. They're called picture sentences. Picture sentences tell a story using drawings. This first sentence says "we come in peace and mean no harm." This one says "we welcome you to this land." And this one means "would you indigenous people have some food and shelter for us?"

Folder.And finally in the folder is my script for the play. I have also included the list of Key Words I learned and used in my script. You will also find copies of the Reviews I completed for this unit, as well as some really fun Mad Libs I wrote. Please feel free to try taking the Reviews yourself and doing the Mad Libs!

Conclusion. Thank you for watching my Portfolio Presentation and I hoped you learned as much as I did! It has been fun learning about the Age of Discovery and I thank Mom, Gamma, Bo, and Dad for helping me with this unit. I invite you to look through my scrapbook and read the facts. I will be available to answer any questions you have! I hope you enjoyed watching!

 

 

 

November 22, 2010 Day Fifty-Two

Review Day! 3 plus hours of Review work today and then on to farm for Play Rehearsal!

Good, hard work today but worth it because we're almost done with the unit!

 

Math Review: Sophie and I both struggled with this review. Sophie has a tendency to try to make math a lot harder than she needs to. Strangely, she goes at word problems especially assuming it's going to be a lot more difficult than it needs to be. She is also learning the hard lesson about math, especially with word problems, that a lot of the math you do are "steps" in a process towards the answer.

answer out. This can be interesting with me as her teacher because I struggle with math and numbers so much and it is in my nature to get very frustrated and to give up. One thing I have learned with math is to (and Sophie has heard me say this over and over and it's a lesson she is still learning) "TAKE YOUR TIME"!

So, we struggled. We worked on the Review together and Sophie did all the math on her own, with my support and guidance when needed. Math is going to be tough for us. But I think I am definitely challenging her with this Review and for the most part she did really well. The point of the Review is not to "test" her necessarily, but rather to "check in" and see where she is, where she's struggling, and where we need to work harder.

Because of this struggle we're having with Math, I have decided to alter the 5 x 5 for 5^th grade and we are substituting the 5 pictures/ illustrations, which are not always applicable or easy to upload to the blog, with 5 math problems. Sophie is not super-excited about this change, which will be implemented starting next week, but I think once she gets into the practice of it she will be happy with the results.

Math Review

1. You are building a stage! The measurements for your stage are 10 feet long by 6 feet wide by 1 foot tall. What is the Area of your stage? If plywood sheets are sold in prescribed measurements of 4 feet by 8 feet, approximately how many sheets of plywood do you need for your stage? If each plywood sheet costs $15, how much money do you need to build your stage?
   

   Area = 60 square feet 3 sheets of plywood $45.00
   

   
    

2. We are sending a package to the girls in Virginia. Our box is 24 inches long by 12 inches wide by 6 inches tall. We will send books that measure 6 in by 6 in. by 1 inch. We will send boxes of cookies that measures 4 in by 6 in by 2 inches. We will send ornaments measuring 4 in by 2 in by 1 inch. And we will send them 3 pairs of shoes in boxes measuring 12 in by 6 in by 6 inches. How much space do we have to fill the box with presents? Can we send all the presents we want to in this box?
   

   1728 inches cubed 1572 inches cubed of presents     Yes!
   

   
    

3. I have one whole pizza. I cut the pizza across four times. How many slices do I have? How do you write that in a fraction? If there are four people eating, how many slices each can they eat? How do you write their share in a fraction?
   

   8 slices 8/8 or 1 whole 2 slices 4/8 or ¼ of pie
   

   
    

4. Our Disney trip will cost approximately $2500.00. There are four people traveling and we will be gone for fourteen days. How much per person per day will we spend on our vacation? We have twelve weeks to save all the money. How much money per week do we need to save?
   

   $45.oo per person, per day    $208.00 per week
   

   
    

5. If we leave our house on Monday at 6:30 am and it takes approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes to arrive in Virginia, what time will we arrive? On the next day our travel time will be approximately twelve and a half hours. If we want to arrive by 7:30 pm, what time should we leave Virginia?
   

   5:45 pm on Monday
   

   7:00 am on Tuesday
   

   
    

   
    

   Bonus Question: Re-draw, label, and calculate our Columbus Day Nina experiment. (hint: really draw and "map out" the experiment we did in the driveway.)
   

   
    

   The dimensions of Columbus' ship the Nina are 67 feet long and 21 feet wide. The dimensions of an average sailor are 5 and a half feet tall and two and a half feet wide.
   

   1. Calculate the Area of the Nina. ___1407_________
      
   2. Calculate the Are of a Sailor. ____14__________
      
   3. Calculate how many "squares" of space a sailor had aboard the Nina if there were 25 sailors. ______4___________
      

      But remember! There are other "stuff" and people aboard who took up space. We figured all the fixtures (hatch, ropes, wheel, cargo-hold, etc.) took up approximately 81 square feet. We figured the Captain needed 224 square feet in his quarters. We calculated the officers took up 448 square feet.
      

   4. Calculate the total square feet of the other "stuff" and people on the Nina. ____448__________
      

      Using this new information.
      

   5. Calculate how much space the 25 sailors really had aboard the Nina. ____
      

      _2 ½ approximately___________
      

Plus 5 Approximate the Angles (all correct!)

Plus 5 double-digit multiplication—3 correct with 2 "wrong" with minor errors, which she corrected

Plus 5 Long Division problems using the 1 * 2 * 4 * 8 method to solve

Sophie also struggled with this portion of the Review. We discovered that she lacking the basic skills of rote, simple-math memorization and recovery. Her ability to easily recall basic, simple, one and two-digit subtraction especially is limited and leads to simple mistakes that cannot ever give her the right answer. I understand her frustration and her desire to give up, especially after you've done all the math "work" and even though all the steps were correct but the answer is wrong, you still have to start the problem over. It's a hard lesson and one I am still learning. So I say to her again, "Take your time." Math and numbers don't come naturally for either of us—we don't "think" in numbers and patterns. But that doesn't mean we can't learn math! For me, simplifying the math problem—even if that means extra steps and extra time—works better and more efficiently than guessing.

I look forward to implementing the new math aspect to Sophie's 5 x 5s and her Review worked as it should—it showed us the areas of math that she's ready to learn more: angles & geometry, fractions & decimals; and areas she needs more practice: word problems; and the math skills she needs to work on memorizing: basic subtraction and division problems.

Astronomy Review: She got a 98% we decided because out of 20 questions she had one she couldn't answer without help but when I guided her, she came up with the answer!

Astronomy Review

1. What is a "star"?
   

   A ball of fire and gas
   

2. If a star goes dark or "dies" five light years away, how long before we "see" it go dark on Earth?
   

   5 Earth years
   

3. Why is the planet Mercury named so?
   

   Because to the Romans it was considered a "speed demon" so they decided to name it after the super-fast god messenger Mercury
   

4. What is strange about Venus' rotation?
   

   It spins sideways on its axis
   

5. How long in Earth years is Neptune's year?
   

   164 earth years
   

6. How many asteroids have been spotted in space?
   

   Almost 5,000
   

7. What us the name of our galaxy? How many light-years is it at its widest point?
   

   The Milky Way, 1500 light years
   

8. What was the name of the first satellite? Which country sent it and when?
   

   Sputnick 1, Russia, 1957 * (Sophie needed some help with the actual date but approximated it on her own)
   

9. Who were Laika and Ham? What did they do for astronauts?
   

   Laika was a dog and Ham was a chimpanzee. They proved life could be held in space
   

10. What are space stations like and why?
    

    Little cities or towns in space. Because it is the home for astronauts
    

    
     

11. What are two other names for the North Star?
    

    Polaris or the Pole Star
    

12. What is a star's magnitude?
    

    *this is the one she skipped but after some minor "help" she answered it*
    

    How brightly it shines in the sky
    

13. What makes Virgo special in the Zodiac?
    

    It is the biggest
    

14. About how many minutes earlier does each star rise in the sky than the night before?
    

    4
    

    
     

15. In what direction do the stars rise and set?
    

    East to west
    

16. Does the sky move or do we? How does an umbrella help explain?
    

    We do. The point on the top of the umbrella is the north star and we spin under it, that's how it works.
    

17. What happens in the Summer at the North Pole? How about in the Winter?
    

    The sun never sets, never rises
    

    
     

18. What is a UFO?
    

    Unidentified Flying Object
    

19. Why do stars twinkle?
    

    They really don't it's just the reflection of the moon
    

20. What did a spacecraft recently get super close to?
    

    comet
    

November 19, 2010 Day Fifty-One

5 x 5 for 5th Grade
5 Pictures/Illustrations
5 Vocabulary
1. Thesaurus: An English language resource or tool that works like a dictionary except, instead of definitions for words it provides a list of words that are similar to the word I'm looking up, that I can use in place but it means the same thing
2. Resolve: To come to a definite decision about something
3. Resolution: The definite decision
4. Resolute: An adjective describing a person who makes definite decision; determined
5. Determine: To settle or decide

5 Details/Facts
1. The Native American word for wigwam is wetu.
2. There were 102 passengers, 35 crew man, and over 100 pounds of cargo on the ship the mayflower.
3. At Plymouth Plantation, everything in the village and Wampanoag site was built with no nails.
4. The Native Americans thought the Pilgrims acted like children.
5. The first Thanksgiving was in December actually.

5 Sentences
1. The thesaurus I'm using is used to be mom's thesaurus, when she was a little girl.
2. The pilgrims resolved that they wanted to go to the new world.
3. Our resolution at Plymouth plantation was to go to the Wampanoag village first.
4. The pilgrims were very resolute about their journey.
5. I'm very determined in my skating.

5 Questions & Answers
1. Describe a double-flip jump for skating. A: A Mohawk pick, two revolutions in air, come down and land.
2. What did we do today? A: We practiced the play w/ costumes and props.
3. What kinds of foods other than turkey did the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag share at their harvest feast? A: succotash, beans, corn/maize and other vegetables.
4. How many days did the harvest feast between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag last? A: 3
5. From what Maine tribe did the Native Warrior Samoset come from? A: Abenaki

Activities:
Play Rehearsal. "The Voyage of 1586." Two "run-throughs" with costumes and props and blocking. Great rehearsal—it will be an awesome play on Thanksgiving.

Book Report:
1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving from National Geographic

Book Report: 1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving

Author: National Geographic, et al

1. Summarize the story:

The story is about the real meaning of Thanksgiving and why the first Thanksgiving happened.

1. List at least 3 characters with one sentence describing them:

Hobbamock: Wampanog Native American translator

Squanto: Wampanog Native American with a very sad story

William Bradford: second governor for the Pilgrims

1. What did you like best about this book?

The photographs

1. Write a one sentence advertisement for the book.

A book about the 1621 Thanksgiving that is full of knowledge! The book's photographs were mostly taken at Plymouth Plantation.

1. 

   What did you learn from the book? What lesson does the book teach?
   I learned all about the myth of Thanksgiving and not to fully believe in the stories that people have passed on for 200 years.

Scrapbook Facts: Astronomy
Constellations & Navigation
1. Constellations acted like a calendar to the navigators.
2. Constellations were like pictures in the sky that were recognized as certain objects, animals, or people.
3. There are 88 official constellations.
4. Zodiac constellations are constellations that determine your personality depending on when your were born.
5. There are 12 zodiac constellations.


Polaris or The North Star
1. Polaris is at the bottom of Little Dipper.
2. Wherever the North Star or Polaris is, that way is north.
3. Polaris is in the middle of the constellation calendar.
4. Polaris always the first star that comes up.
5. Polaris is usually the brightest star.
Miracle on 34^th Street rehearsal

November 17 & 18, 2010 Days Forty-nine & Fifty

A special thanks to Uncle Aaron for making this wonderful trip happen!

Sophie's Blog: Where did we go on our big field trip? What did we visit on the first day? List three things you learned. Where did we go the second day? What was your favorite part? Why? What was your least favorite part? Why? List at least five things you learned. Why is it important to visit places like this?


In the last two days we went to Plymouth plantation. On the first day we went to Mayflower two, I thought it was going to be much bigger. I learned that there were 102 colonists that sailed to the New World in 1620. More than half of the pilgrims died in the first winter. On the second day we went to Plimoth Plantation. My favorite part was actually the Wampanoag Home site. I liked it because the Wampanoag Native Americans were actually real Wampanoag Native Americans. They were not actors and I thought that was super cool. In the Pilgrim Village, I thought it was very realistic. I asked one of the pilgrims a very good question. "Were you grateful to the Native Americans, after they helped you?" Her answer was, "Sure, but I think they will be more grateful for us, since we told them about God, and helped them civilize." I think that was a very good answer. I think it is important to visit a place like Plymouth Plantation because I think it's easier and more fun to learn when you are actually there.

November 16, 2010 Day Forty-Eight

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Vocabulary

1. Assembly: A group of people coming together usually for a particular purpose

2. Conform: To comply with the usages of an established church

3. Tolerance: A person or government or king who is nice to any particular person or group even if they don't conform to their doctrine

4. Lutheran: Of or pertaining to Martin Luther and the doctrines he created for the protestant church

5. Sedition: An act particularly in speech and writing that causes a rebellion against an established government or church

5 Details/Facts

1. We're doing some of Plymouth on Wednesday, and most on Thursday.

2. The first man to go up in space was Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut.

3. People who live in Sofia speak Belgarian.

4. The pilgrims left England because of religion.

5. Miley Cyrus gave up Hannah Montana 2 days ago.

5 Sentences

1. Every 3 months at Coffin School we would have an assembly.

2. The pilgrims, or Puritans, did not conform with the Church of England.

3. The Church of England was not tolerant to the puritans.

4. There is still a Lutheran religion today.

5. A sedition was sort of like a brochure that was one of the reasons the Church of England persecuted the pilgrims.

5 Questions & Answers

1. What is another example of a seditious act from American history? A: The Revolutionary War

2. How many new doctrines did Martin Luther propose for the Protestant church? A: 44

3. In the Church of England, who replaced the Pope as the most important person in the church? A: The King

4. What is the common name for the group of stars called The Plaides? A: The Seven Sisters

5. How would the first dog and monkey sent to space be like sending an astronaut to Mars on a one-way mission? A: They're sacrificing their selves

Activities

Current Events: Astronomy "Scientists Propose One Way Trip to Mars"—Read and illustrate article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_one_way_to_mars

Astronomy Review study—Review to be taken on Monday

Native American Picture Writing—4 picture sentences written by Sophie and used as props in play

Scrapbook Assembly—the last two pages!

Math Review—on Saturday Sophie spent time with Kevin reviewing her math worksheets in preparation for her Math Review (to be taken next week Monday)

Portfolio Presentation—begin work on writing and preparing script for Sophie's presentation of her Age of Discovery Scrapbook

November 15, 2010 Day Forty-Seven

Sick Day. Both girls were not feeling well at all today. Sophie had the virus the worst and spent all day on the couch or in bed. She slept over twelve hours, got up and ate, and is at work on Day 48.

November 11 & 12, 2010 Day Forty-Five and Forty-Six

Sophie's Blog: Tell us about your day yesterday—what did you accomplish? Write at least 5 sentences. Where are we going next week? What do you expect to learn about? Write 3 sentences.

I passed both of my tests yesterday. I'm very proud of myself. I also accomplished a whole 5 hour pretty much nonstop day of skating!!!!!!!!!!!!! I tested my pre- juv freestyle and the Willow waltz and Ten fox for dances. I was very tired after I tested. Next week we're going to Plymouth plantation and I'm excited about that because we are going to stay in hotel and SWIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm also excited to see the houses and native Americans. Last year in public school, we watched a video on Plymouth and I liked it a lot.

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

1. Vocabulary

1. Pilgrim: A person who journey's a long way to a sacred place because of religion/The puritans who traveled to Plymouth Mass in 1620
2. Puritan: Protestants who left the church of England because they wanted a pure simple less fancy Christian religion
3. Seperatists: People who want to be separate from the Church of England
4. Doctrine: Rules and lists of beliefs for a particular
5. Heretic: A person who rejects the doctrine
5 Details/Facts
1. The November constellations are Pisces, Cassiopeia, Phoenix, Andromeda, Sculptor, and Tucana.
2. It's ironic in Annie when the dog catcher says that Sandy's no more her dog than he is her father because he might actually be her father!
3. A quicker way to fill in sky in a drawing is to take of a crayon's paper turn it sideways and rub it on the paper.
4. Lily learned how to draw people with Gama
5. The little dipper is (I think) the smallest constellation.
5 Sentences
1. The Pilgrims sailed here on The Mayflower in 1620 because of religion, they were Puritans.
2. A way to remember the puritans is that they wanted a pure and simple church.
3. The separatists wanted to have a separate doctrine and church.
4. The Catholic doctrine said that the Pope and priest are the only people that can talk to God.
5. The Protestants were heretics of the Catholic Church.
5 Questions & Answers
1. What did you learn about studying for reviews? A: Don't rush
2. What level skater are you now that you passed your test? A: Pre Juvenile
3. Describe an axel jump. A: Starting out forward like no other jump, an axel is a one and a half revolution jump that is the hardest to land
4. Who would call the Puritans heretics? A: The Church of England
5. What were the two colonies in the New World in 1607 and where were they? A: Jamestown and Popham. Virginia(real Virginia!) and Maine


Activities
Math Review—in preparation for her big 30 Question "Review" next week
Vocabulary Review—Read & study past Blog posts to prepare for "Review" on Monday *Sophie decided she wanted to review and take the review today! So she studied—and I warned her not to rush through it too fast—she did rush through her studying and then struggled a bit on a few of the questions of the Review. I helped her remember # 6, #13, #17, #24, & #25 with some "Hints." Server was the only one that I "gave" her. She learned an important lesson to take the time I give her to study and just because she thinks she knows all her vocabulary and can rush to take the Review, taking her time to study is important and would have benefited her on this Review. I am not disappointed, she did well but she could have done better had she taken her time. An important lesson learned! Hopefully she remembers this when preparing for her Astronomy and Math Reviews!
Vocabulary Review 2

1. This word describes a place so big that it's virtually indefinable: _Universe______________
2. This word sucks all time and light into it: Black hole__________
3. Propel means to: Drive or move in a certain way ___________________________
4. The diameter of the Earth measures _________straight through_____________
5. The Earth rotates around its axis and it _______revolves___________ around the Sun
6. This fancy "P" word describes the spits of gas on the sun: _______Prominent_____________
7. This is the measurement around the world: ________circumference________
8. When a plane rises in the air it gains ___________altitude____________
9. This is a "D" word that describes the measurements of height, width, depth: _____Dimension___________
10. You are this marvelous word when you skate: ____Magnificent_____________
11. Percussion is another word for ______beat_____________ in music
12. This is the word for an idea thought of by educated people or experts: ____theory________________
13. This word means to bring together, usually used in reference to business:_____incorporate_____
14. This word describes the wonderful happenings in the world that make us wonder: __________Phenomenon________
15. Emulate means to ______imitate and be better____________
16. This is a "hard" word to spell that means something is not there: ____absence_____________
17. This is the word for the computers that Dad manages at Fairchild ______Server____________
18. This word can be used to describe a kind of food and also the things Fairchild makes: _wafer________
19. This is the word for the space Dad (and many other people) work in: _____Cubical__________
20. Dad sets up a Network to help computers do what to each other: ____________talk to each other____
21. This word is usually used to describe the South in the Civil War but it means a group of people: ________Confederacy__________
22. I used this word to describe you on Halloween: _____Ethereal _________
23. This word can be used to describe daily life at sea: __________monotony_________
24. We had these kinds of tides in Maine last week: ___________Astronomical__________
25. This is the word that describes the space on the edge of civilization: ______Frontier __________

Current Events: "Massive gamma rays discovered in galaxy center" Read and draw an illustration for article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101110/sc_afp/usastronomy/print

Astronomy Web Quest
Web Quest: Astronomy & You Tube

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUtLXjT81mg&feature=related

A: Listen to the Solar System Rap

B: Listen to it again

 

C: What is the sun? A super star

D: What colors can a star be? Red, Yellow, or blue

 

E: What galaxy is our solar system on the edge of?

The Milky Way

 

F: What is the "a" word for the imaginary line the Earth rotates on?

Axis

 

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8eFFnJsCjs&feature=related
   A: Watch, listen, and try to sing along.
   
    
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtaMNp72rlk
   A: What is the Latin word for "sun"?
   Sol
   B: How many planets are in our solar system?
   8 planets + 3 dwarf
   
   
   C: What does "terrestrial" mean?
   Earthlike
   
   
   D: What kind of planet is Pluto classified as?
   
   
   Dwarf

E: Where is the "asteroid belt"?

In between Mars and Jupiter

 

F: What kinds of tails does a comet have?

Gas and Dust

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6RcnCBzGdw&feature=related
   A: Watch the video and answer questions
   B: What's "wrong" with this video?
   It says there are 9 planets
   
   
   C: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqX2YdnwtRc&feature=related
   
   1. Why isn't Pluto a planet anymore?
      Because it's too small and follows a weird orbit
   
   
   D: What does the word "planet" mean in Greek?
   
   
   Wander
   E: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghiDsHtFsLY&feature=related
   F: Watch video and answer questions

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdv8V8gQa9w
A: What are the phases of the moon?
New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning Crescent.

5.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_J5rBxeTIk&feature=related

A: What did you learn from Yakko about the universe? Write a 3 sentence paragraph: There are a lot of things in the Universe, and we are all little specks. I learned that the universe can go on forever. And I also learned that there is not another place in Space called the Yakko Universe like I thought I was going to learn about before I watched the video.

1. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
   A: Click on the Level 2 "Solar System" tab and read
   B: Copy & Save As image of Solar System
   C: Click "Solar System Activities" and Choose "Song for all Seasons"
   D: Follow Instructions for activity. Listen to music and indentify season.

E: Copy & Paste the instructions for activity here: Artists throughout the ages have received inspiration from natural phenomenon taking place in the world around them. Italian composer and violinist, Antonio Vivaldi, used the Earth's seasonal relationship to the Sun as inspiration for his masterpiece "The Four Seasons". "The Four Seasons" consists of four violin concertos, each inspired by a different season. Listen to an excerpt from each of the concertos. After the selection has played, decide which season Vivaldi is trying to portray. Look at the chart of the Earth's orbit around the Sun above and the position (1, 2, 3, or 4) which you believe is where the Earth would be in its orbit during that season you hear. The Earth's tilt remains at a constant 23.5 degrees, but you must decide (depending on the season) if the northern he Artists throughout the ages have received inspiration from natural phenomenon taking place in the world around them. Italian composer and violinist, Antonio Vivaldi, used the Earth's seasonal relationship to the Sun as inspiration for his masterpiece "The Four Seasons". "The Four Seasons" consists of four violin concertos, each inspired by a different season. Listen to an excerpt from each of the concertos. After the selection has played, decide which season Vivaldi is trying to portray. Look at the chart of the Earth's orbit around the Sun above and the position (1, 2, 3, or 4) which you believe is where the Earth would be in its orbit during that season you hear. The Earth's tilt remains at a constant 23.5 degrees, but you must decide (depending on the season) if the northern hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the Sun, if the southern hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the Sun, or if neither hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun. After you have listened to each selection and made your choices of the corresponding positions, check your ears against the ears of Vivaldi!

F: Click Return to Star Child Main Page at bottom

G:Click on Question of the Month

H: Read and Answer Question

I: Copy & Paste Answer here The Earth spins on its "axis". This axis is an imaginary line running through the Earth. If you were to be high above the Earth, looking straight down along the axis, all the points on Earth would appear to move in circles around the axis. If you followed this axis out into space from the northern hemisphere on Earth, it would point toward a particular star in the sky. We call that star the "North Star" since it sits in the direction that the spin axis from the northern hemisphere of Earth points

 

 

J: Copy & Save As image of Polaris

 

1. http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/java/Caelum.html

A: Just play around with this site and turn the dial to see all the constellations.

 

 

1. Tonight we're going out constellation hunting after play rehearsal. Our goal is to find these constellations. Let's look at your constellation map and star-chart and get ready for our star-finding exploration tonight~

November

• Andromeda
• Cassiopeia
• Phoenix
• Pisces
• Sculptor
• Tucana

 

November 9, 2010 Day Forty-four

5 x 5 for 5th Grade
Sophie's Blog: Summarize the story of The Phantom Tollbooth. 5 sentences
Once there was a boy named Milo, who was always bored. Until he went through a magic tollbooth, that changed his life forever. Nothing once he went through the tollbooth was quite the same. Stranger and stranger things kept happening. He met a little man called the whether man, went to a market place selling words, and has a best friend dog named tock who has a clock in his stomach. That is as far as I've gotten.

5 Vocabulary
1. Theology: The study of god or religion
2. Persecution: To subject, or do cruel treatment because of religion L
3. Reformation: The 16^th century movement that resulted in the establishment in protestant churches
4. Protestant: Any western Christian not an adherent with a catholic church
5. Plantation: A very large estate were a lot of people live, who had a common goal
5 Details/Facts
1. Definition of medallion: something, as an ornament, resembling a medal.
2. On the ship the Calderwood, the crew gets about 7 and a half boxes or 5 and a half feet by 2 and a half feet.
3. Dad played Charlie in a play when he was little, in Charlie and the chocolate factory.
4. On Monday it will be day 50!
5. Thanksgiving was actually in December.
5 Sentences
1. People can go to college to study theology.
2. In Europe, in the 16^th century, catholic people persecuted people who believed in different.
3. Reformation occurred in the 16^th century and changed the Christian religion forever.
4. Most of the protestant people were catholic at one time.
5. Me, mom, and Lily are going to Plymouth plantation next Wednesday and Thursday.
5 Questions & Answers
1. What are "marks" in reference to a play and why are they important? A: They're lines on the floor to where in actor should go
2. What is the major difference between Protestants and Catholics and how they talk to God? A: Catholic people believe only the pope can talk to God, and Protestant people believe that they can all talk to God.
3. Why did the Pilgrims leave Europe? Hint: use one of your vocabulary words. A: Persecution
4. What is the name of the ship that the Pilgrims came to Plymouth on? A: Mayflower! (Easy one)
5. What is the name of the Indian guide who helped the Pilgrims during their first hard winter? A: Squanto, or Tisquantam
Activities
Music—almost an hour lesson with Kat today working on "Annie" songs and even recording a few to help Sophie practice!
Art—began work on Ben's "after" portrait. Very good already!
Current Events: "Spacecraft has closest encounter ever with comet." For this article I had her read it and then draw an illustration that summarized what she learned.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/comet.close.encounter/index.html?hpt=C1
Script Read-through—Sophie's assignment for this play was to write, direct, and perform a two-Act play that realistically demonstrated all that she has learned about the Age of Discovery and Exploration. She had a list of Key Words that she was to use in her play and other than those guidelines, she was on her own. This is her final, edited script and we had our first read-through today with Gamma and Bill, who are members of our cast. Please keep in mind, that although not always historically accurate—not the information but the access to information—the play absolutely fulfills the intended assignment. I am again very proud and impressed with what my daughter is able to accomplish~ and so we present her final script. Later this month we will perform and film the play as part of her Portfolio Presentation and will post it here for all to enjoy.
The Voyage of 1586
Cast
Ben Smith, Age 12 from Bristol England, Cabin boy on ship The Calderwood.
Samuel Baker, Age 45, from Scotland, Sailor on ship, "The Calderwood.
Captain Thomas Berrin: Age 34, from London, England.
Ariel the dog, Bens dog/ figure head/sailor James.
Adoette: Native American, tribe Abanaki, age 26.
Scenery
Ship with 2 masts, 2 sails, a bow, sleeping quarters, a head, and main deck.
Land, tree with leaves, grass, flowers, and wigwam.
Props


Act 1
Scene 1
Cast: Ben, Samuel, Captain, and sailor James.
Location: Main deck
Name of scene: The sea shanty
Dialogue:
Cast sings shanty while working on deck of The Calderwood
The Calderwood's flying among the great seas, To me way hey Blow the man down.
The folks that were leavin' are sayin' goodbyes, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
The sorrow I feel will be washed by the sea, To me way hey Blow the man down.
But an adventure is growing inside of me, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
The sailors and I workin hard as we can, To me way hey Blow the man down.
The waves are a crashin' so gimme a plan, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
Oh Calderwood sailors the new world we attend, To me way hey Blow the man down.
Land ho me good boys our journeys to it's end, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
Curtain down


Scene 2
Cast: Ben and Captain.
Location: In the Captain's quarters
Name of scene: Getting to know the characters
Dialogue
Captain: Now Ben, ya ready to take the big voyage of 1586?
Ben: Yes, sir I think I am.
Captain: You think you are huh, well tell me all the parts of this vessel.
Ben: Right now we're in the Captain's quarters and above is the main deck and the bow/ bowsprit and the head is the bathroom.
Captain: Impressive, impressive, yes! But are the sails lateen sails? And what's the word for moppin'?
Ben: No, the sails are not lateen and the word for mopping is swab. Oh! and left is larboard and right is starboard.
Captain: Very impressive, I will be teaching you navigating skills next week, ok?
Ben: Yes, thank you. But I have a question. What do you eat for lunch, or supper or something?
Captain: Well Ben, usually we have gruel in the morning,' hard tack for lunch, and salted cod or haddock occasionally for supper.
Ben: Could I try some please?!
Captain: Of course, but I don't want to waste any right now. We're having cod tonight, see you then!
Ben: Goodbye Sir!
Captain: Oh wait! One more thing. (calls Samuel in )
Samuel: Yes sir, what's the matter?
Captain: Samuel, this is Ben, our new cabin boy. Ben, this is Samuel. I'll bet you two will be spending lots of time together.
Ben: Hi, nice to meet, you. What is that you're holding mister? May I have a look?
Samuel: Of course, here you go lad.
Ben: Is this a sketch?
Samuel: Why yes it is, do you like it? It's a sketch of the sailors who were singing the sea shanty.*
Ben: Yes I love it! Could you teach me how to do this? I'm an artist as well. Here are some of my paintings. (Shows sea chest, self portrait, and painting of the Calderwood. Waits anxiously for Samuels opinion. )
Samuel: These are nice, very good for a young boy. I will help you though. You will someday be as good as me.
Captain: Come on my fellow sailors, our journey awaits us!
End of Scene 2


Scene 3
Cast: Ben, Captain, Samuel, Sailor James, and Ariel the dog.
Location: The dining room
Name of scene: Other Explorers
Dialogue
Curtain up
Captain: Now, Ben how do you like that salted cod?
Ben: Well actually sir, this happens to be one of my favorite foods. I'm enjoying it a lot.
Sailor James: Hello, I'm sailor James!
Ben: Nice to meet you James. I'm Ben your new cabin boy.
Captain: Ben, you and James will be sharing the same room. You'll have one hammock for each of ya, and ya own head!
Samuel: Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one, sir!
Captain: James, why don't ya go and set the room up for your new bunkmate.
(Sailor James exits)
Captain: Now, who wants to start a little conversation? Ben………how about you?
Ben: Well, could we talk about Christopher Columbus and John Cabot and Samuel De Champlain and other explorers! That will make a good conversation.
Captain: Bloody good idea son!
Samuel: Yes, sir yer right, but in me hometown in Scotland, we say "Great idea lad," and it sure is!!
Captain: I'll start. Now where we are headed, John Cabot explored back in 1498. The east coast of Virginia. John Cabot took two journeys to the New World. He died on his second visit to Virginia. But his son Sebastian Cabot made journeys to Virginia for him and kept the Cabot name in history. And we hope it will still be in history 1,000 years into the future.
Samuel: Yes, but Christopher Columbus was sailing from Spain at the exact same time, except in the lower half of Virginia. He was the first man to set foot on Virginia, but he believed he was stepping on The Indies. Rumors say he died believing he found the Indies, but we know that he didn't.
Ben: Wow! Thank you so much for this lesson about explorers, you can teach me more about explorers tomorrow. Good-nigh……….
Samuel: Wait, you need to know about the Vikings, young lad.
Ben: ( with a look of confusion ) The Vikings?!
Captain: Oh yes, back in the year 1,000 Erik the Red and his crew sailed to the New Found Land. They went up to Iceland and then to Greenland, then to The New Found Land. Erik the Red's son was right behind him, his name was Leif Erikson. So when Samuel here said that Columbus was the first man to set foot on Virginia, he was incorrect.
Samuel: Ok lad, you can go to your room now, I think sailor James has already fallen to sleep.
Ben: Come on Ariel, let's go to our room.
Ariel: Ruff ,Ruff , Aooooooh!!!
End of Scene 3


Scene 4
Cast: Captain and Ben
Location: Captain's quarters
Props: The navigating tools
Name of scene: Navigating lesson
Dialogue
Captain: Ben, Ben, where are you Ben?
Ben: ( Ben's rushing in) I'm here sir, I just had my art lesson with Samuel.
Captain: Ah, good, now would you like to learn about navigating?
Ben: Yes sir, I sure would. My father taught me a little bit about in back in Bristol.
Captain: Ya don't say…well than what's this here instrument?
Ben: (pauses with a look of confusion ) Do you use in cookin?
Captain: Ha ha ha ha! No, it's a compass. It's used for telling you where north is. This is one of the most important navigating tools. It helps you find your way when you get lost. ( hands it to Ben )
Ben: Well why are the letters N, E, W, S on here?
Captain: News? It doesn't say that….oh, You mean North, South, East and West.
Ben: Hey, what's that instrument there? Do you use it for making clothes?
Captain: No, son ha ha ha ha ! This is a sextant, it's used for measuring the angle between two visible objects, as well as determining a celestial object and the horizon.
Ben: Oh cool!! What's this thing here? It kind of looks like the compass.
Captain: Yes you are right son, but that is an astrolabe. It's used for finding the latitude and longitude of the Earth. This is one of my favorite tools. Now I have one more thing to teach you about navigating, and that is dead reckoning. Dead reckoning doesn't have a tool to help out other than a brain and good eyesight. The first thing you need to know is how many knots you are traveling.
Ben: ( holding up a rope with a knot in it ) But sir how do you measure knots?
Captain: Oh Ben, that's not the knot I'm talking about. This knot is referring to speed. Or how many nautical miles per hour we're going. Now, Ben the other thing you need to know about dead reckoning is the wind. Dead reckoning involves the wind a lot and speaking of wind, I smell a storm coming on from Euthos. Better get into your cabin, I'm going aft.
Ben: Thank you so much for my lesson sir!
Captain: I have a lot on my hands for the next couple of weeks. How about our astronomy lesson in a month?
Ben: Of course sir, goodbye!!
End of scene 4


Scene 5
Location: The main deck/bow
Cast: Captain Berin, Ben, Samuel, Sailor James
Sound Effects: Thunder storm, waves crashing, Lightning
Name of scene: The Storm
Dialogue
Ben's voice over: Look how much rigging there is. It's like a spider's web! And that there hull must be 65,000 feet long or more. Oh, wouldn't it be grand to be on a ship like The Calderwood! I remember when Da said he was a cabin boy on a vessel called The Voyager. I remember when Kyle and James used to tease me about being an artist. They said that art was just for girls. I miss James and Kyle though. I miss Mary and little Emily. I miss Chris, and even Tim. I miss Mam and Da. But I have my own family right here. The Captain, Samuel, Sailor James, and Ariel. And this ship is my own. My home away from home.
Samuel: Ben , Ben Wake up! There's a storm! We need your help. Come outside and wake sailor James.
Ben: Oh no, a storm! I'm so scared of storm. But I should help and not be a nuisance because that would make things worse. Sailor James wake up there's a storm!
Sailor James: Okay Ben, let's go!
Captain: ( while the sound effects are on ) Secure the lines! Get out of the crow's nest! People up fore, bring up the sails! ( lightning ) Ben steer the ship, starboard!!!! Ben, now!
Ben: Okay sir!
Samuel: Ben, don't be scared, just steer!
Ben: You're right Samuel, if I'm scared, I won't be able to help the ship!! ( Ben steers the boat )
Ariel: Ruff, ruff( The barks getting softer and softer ) ruff, ruff, ruff!
Ben: Ariel, Ariel, where are you? Ariel!!!! Did you go over board? ( Ben goes back and hides in the corner of his cabin, starts crying) Ariel!
Narrator: The Storm is still going. Ben is sad because he thinks Ariel is gone. Will the ship sink, or will they land to safety in a month and a half? Let's find out in Act 2!
End of Act 1!
Intermission
Act 2
Scene 1
Location: main deck
Cast: Ariel, Ben, and Samuel
Name of scene: Feeling better
Dialogue
Samuel: ( bailing out water) Ben, come over here lad. ( Ben goes over ) Now lad, you made it through your first storm. You should feel brave, courageous, and more mature. Tell me.
Ben: Yes Samuel, I do feel more mature and more courageous and not so frightened. I do miss Ariel though. She was my very best friend.
Samuel: Well, I don't know what to tell you lad, but I'm glad you feel alright. Now, how about we cheer you up with a little art lesson eh?
Ben: Yes, I'd like that. Thanks Samuel.
Ariel: Ruff, Ruff, Aoooh! Ruff, ruff!
Samuel: Now, who could that be?!
Ben: Oh Ariel, I've missed you so much!!! I thought you went overboard! Oh I love you Ariel!!!!!
Ariel: Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff!
(Samuel and Ben start getting their art supplies ready while singing sea shanty)
The Calderwood's flying among the great seas, To me way hey Blow the man down.
The folks that were leavin' are sayin' goodbyes, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
The sorrow I feel will be washed by the sea, To me way hey Blow the man down.
But an adventure is growing inside of me, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
The sailors and I workin hard as we can, To me way hey Blow the man down.
The waves are a crashin' so gimme a plan, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.
Oh Calderwood sailors the new world we attend, To me way hey Blow the man down.
Land ho me good boys our journeys to it's end, Gimme some time, to blow the man down.


End of scene 1


Scene 2 act 2
Location: Captains quarters
Cast: Captain and Ben
Name of scene: Astronomy Lesson
Ben: Hello sir, it's been a month, can I have my astronomy lesson today please!!!???
Captain: Yes, actually right now would be a perfect time for an astronomy lesson. You know, we'll be landing on the east coast of Virginia in a half month, according to my ship log here. (shows Ben log)
I've taught to you about parts of the ship and navigation (pointing out entries in log). Oh! But what I didn't tell you is that longitude measures from the North Pole to South or northern hemisphere to southern hemisphere. Did you know that? Well today we're having our astronomy lesson.
Ben: Wow, that's grand! What are you going to teach me about? What is astronomy?
Captain: It's the study of the planets and stars. The Romans were one of the first astronomers. That's why the planets are named after the Roman gods. Do you know what planets are Ben?
Ben: Planets are big balls of gas that revolve around the sun, according to Galileo. I do believe that the planets revolve around the sun. I also know about constellations, but I didn't know this was the study of astronomy. Why does it come in handy when on a ship?
Captain: If you know astronomy, you know where you are in the world if you study constellations. At night, look up and you see one, if you know which one it is, you know where you are. Also if you can find the North Star, that way is North. Now, tell me some names of the constellations.
Ben: My father taught me this. Little Dipper, Ursa Major, Virgo, and Taurus. Oh and Ares.
Captain: Outstanding my Ben! You know, next journey, how would you like to be my apprentice?
Ben: Oh Captain Berin! That would be an honor.
Captain: You're doing well on your astronomy. There's not much more I can teach you, you actually know more than me!! I'll see you at dinner tonight. This has to be our last lesson for this trip but when you're my apprentice, I'll teach you much more!


End of scene 2


Scene 3
Location: Samuel's cabin
Props: Ships log
Name of scene: Art lesson
Dialogue
Ben: Hi sir, can we have our next art lesson?
Samuel: Sure lad. (still writing in the ships log )
Ben: Are you writing about the whales we saw yesterday?
Samuel: Yes lad, but usually it's the same old thing. Either the knot record, or the weather, or bird drawings. Life on a ship is full of monotony . The same thing every day. You wake up, you change your clothes, you have gruel, make sure the sails are tightened, have hard tack, look out at the sea. If you're lucky you'll find a sea creature. Then have cod and go to bed. Don't you feel that way Ben?
Ben: Yes sir, I do. Life on a ship is boring.
Samuel: Well, one of the hardest lessons about being a sailor is that every day is the same thing.
Ben: I can see you're right sir. You know, I never thought I'd miss being alone. When I was back home in Bristol, I'd always want to be by Mary or James or Kyle. Samuel, why doesn't the crew get lots of space?
Samuel: Well, lad, I know it seems like such little space, but on this ship compared to Columbus's ship the Nina, we get a lot of space. On Columbus's ship the Nina, the crew only got 50 square feet of room per sailor or 3 boxes, as we sailors say. That's not much.
Ben: How much space do we get on this boat Samuel? It seems like so little.
Samuel: Each crew member gets approximately 7 and a half "boxes" . Or about 75 feet. That's a lot. It may seem little. But it's not.
Ben: My dad told me before I got on the Calderwood, when he was a cabin boy for the ship The Voyager, he had approximately 3 boxes. Samuel, what's a box?
Samuel: A box is 5 and a half feet by 2 and a half feet imaginary rectangle or 14 square feet. That's a sailor's space.
Ben: Three boxes? That's not much at all.
Samuel: No, it's not. It's only about 35 square feet.
Ben: You know, coming to think of it now, I'm alone most of the time. I don't miss it at all.
Samuel: Yes, let's get to that art lesson now, okay lad?!
Ben: Sure Samuel, I brought the portrait you helped me work on, I finished it last night.
Samuel: Oh lad, let's me see!
Ben: (hands the picture to Samuel)
Samuel: (shows audience picture) Amazing Ben, just amazing!
Ben: Thank you sir!
Samuel: You know we won't have much more of that monotony. The ship's about to land in the new world.
Ben: Really? I can't wait!
End of scene 3


Scene 4 act 2
Cast: Samuel, Ben , Captain Berin , Adoette , Ariel
Location: Landing in Penobscot bay
Name of scene: The landing
Props: Tree, necklace, wampum belt, paper with picture sentence, telescope
Dialogue
Samuel: (looking through telescope) Land ho! Captain, send sailor James up in the crow's nest!
Captain: Thank you Samuel, bring Ben in here please.
Ben: Hello sir, are we close to land yet?
Captain: Go see for ya self son.
Ben: Oh boy! Land, land!! I wonder if there are any savages on the land?
Captain: Oh Ben boy, that is not the correct word to use. Savages are also known as native people and that's what they really are. Savage is just what Columbus called them. I trust these Native people and they are truly peaceful and will trade with us and help us in the New World. But one of us needs to know Indian language.
Samuel: Indian??
Captain: I mean native language. Samuel, do you know the language?
Samuel: Well sir, I happen to know just a tiny bit of ….(Captain interrupts)
Captain: Well then, it's settled. Choose some things to trade.
( successful landing music playing in the back as they land in Penobscot bay.) ( curtain goes down, not end of scene )
Ben: ( to Samuel ) Wow sir, it sure is beautiful. What are those pretty colors hanging from those trees over there? I'd sure love to use them in my art Samuel. They're floating in the sky, it's so peculiar.
Samuel: Oh Ben, those are just leaves. But you're right, it would be wonderful to paint them.
Captain: Hey, look there is a natives over there. Samuel, go talk with him.
Samuel: Sir, I was saying I knew the native language for the southern Virginia natives, but not these ones.
Captain: Oh.
Ben: I might be able to communicate with them with art….
Captain and Samuel: Ben, what a great idea!
Ben: In my cabin, I was working on a piece of art to communicate with them. It tells them we come in peace and mean no harm. It's based on pictures of them that I thought they looked like. Sailor James helped me with it, since he has been to Virginia before and seen the natives.
Samuel: Ben, this is wonderful. It's talking to them with pictures. It's a picture sentence!
Adoette enters.
Adoette: ( Indian call)
( Ben shows the picture sentence )
Adoette: ( quickly draws another picture sentence. Talks in native American language )
Ben: (Slowly reads the drawing) "We welcome you to this land."
( Ben quickly draws picture sentence )
Samuel: What does it say?
Ben: Would you indigenous people have some food or shelter for us?
Adoette: ( reads the drawing ) Indian language ( draws sentence )
Samuel: ( reads ) Yes, just come inside my wigwam, I have some succotash and maize for you.
Ben: Yum!!!
Captain: Ben, you saved us all!
Everyone: (Cheering) Ben, Ben, Ben!
Ariel: (jumping around) Ruff, Ruff, Ruff
Adoette: ( in sign language ) Do you have anything to trade?
Ben: ( in sign language, but translates to the audience after ) I'll trade my hat for that belt.
Adoette: ( sign language ) Yes.
Ben: This food is delicious.
Captain: Yes, now when we head back to Bristol, we'll all become famous, since we were the first to land in this region. ( putting down the English flag ) Are you ready for that boys?
Ben: Let's sir, I am. But I am really tired. (turns to Adoette and in sign language) Can I rest here?
Captain: Goodnight Ben. (Samuel and Captain exit)
Adoette: (sign language ) Goodnight Ben ( Indian call )
Ben: Indian call
End of Play

November 8, 2010 Day Forty-three

We had a crazy storm last night and woke up to discover that quite a few schools were cancelled due to high wind damage, no power, and some coastal flooding. But Brunswick schools were open and so were we! We are busy now finishing this first unit on the Age of Discovery. Sophie completed her first Review on Explorers You Should Know and she got a 100%! I am very proud of her. She completed the review on her own without notes or my assistance. She studied today for her Astronomy Review, which she will take next Monday. We also have a plan to review math this week in preparation for her Math Review, which she will take next Thursday. She also has an up-coming Vocabulary Review, which she'll take next Tuesday. On the days she completes and review and/or studies for an up-coming review, she will not complete a 5 x 5.
She's all done now on her script. We worked on Friday reading through it and correcting grammar errors and some minor confusing bits. We're all set to have the cast read through it tomorrow! I will post the final, completed script later this week on the blog.
She' almost done with her scrapbook, which looks awesome! She has two more pages for Astronomy and Navigation and then a few for the play once we're in "production," which will be starting next week.
She's also preparing to work on her presentation of the scrapbook, which she will write and then video in order to present it to a gathered audience of family and friends on Thanksgiving morning at the farm.
We hope the weather will cooperate and even though it's a holiday on Thursday and her testing day and we don't have school, we are planning to go out in the evening and search for constellations! Let's hope for a nice fairly warm, dry, clear night!
Activities
Game—Professor Noggin's Explorers (worked as a great review for the "Review" Sophie completed today to finish this unit)—Sophie won! 10-8 cards
Review—Who am I? Explorers. Sophie decided to try her review without the benefit of me providing her with the names of the explorers that she had to identify. I gave her the option and she completed her review without the list of explorer's names to check off. She got 100%!
Who Am I? Explorers You Should Know Review—We encourage you to try the review!

1. I built the first school of navigation in Portugal. Who am I? ___________________
2. I am the first to navigate the bottom tip of Africa. Who am I? _________________
3. I am the next to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope but I completed the voyage to the Indies. Who am I? ___________________
4. I was called "El Draco" by the Spanish but I was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Who am I?
   _____________________
5. I died in the Philippians and never finished my voyage but am often credited with being the first to circumnavigate the globe. Who am I? ________________
6. I was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean but I called it the Southern Sea. Who am I?
   _________________________
7. I am the first to sail around South America and now there's a straight there named after me. Who am I? _________________
8. I traveled the Asian and Indian world and wrote a "best seller" about my journeys that inspired other explorers after me. Who am I? _____________________
9. The United States was named after me because I was the first to understand I was exploring a New World. Who am I? __________________
10. I discovered Florida but I was looking for the Fountain of Youth. Who am I? _____________
11. I am the first European to see the Grand Canyon but I was not at all nice to the Native People I met in what is now southwest America. Who am I? ______________________
12. I am a conquistador who tricked Montezuma in Mexico and conquered the Aztecs. Who am I?
    __________________________
13. I was searching for the Seven Cities of Gold and found the Mississippi River instead. Who am I?
    __________________________
14. I sailed for France and discovered the St. Lawrence River. Who am I? ________________
15. I was set out in a rowboat with my son and other crewmen on my fourth voyage searching for the Northwest Passage. Who am I? ____________________
16. I was lost to history after my second voyage to the New Found Land. Who am I? ____________________
17. My father and I deserve to be credited for discovering the New World in the year 1000. Who are we? _____________________
18. I spent twelve long years convincing someone in Europe to give me money to make my voyage west to find a quicker route to China. Who am I? ________________
19. I discovered Quebec and began the fur trade between the Native people of Canada and the French. Who am I? ____________________
20. I am the son who was left behind in Bristol and grew up to be an important explorer myself. Who am I? ______________________

Study for Review—Astronomy review next Monday. Sophie studied her notes and questions from The Night Sky, which is where her 30 review questions will come from.
Arts & Crafts—finished the box of presents for the triplet girls' birthday. Sophie painted a lovely picture for them, we made a necklace, some cool buttons, some colorful puppets, and homemade cards—all kinds of neat stuff!

Music-we watched Annie and Sophie worked on memorizing her lines for the songs "Maybe" and "Hard Knock Life"
Skating--4:30-5:30 Freestyle
Rehearsal—6-8:30 pm