Forum Questions
Questions from
previous discussions:
Question:
“…that we highly resolve that
these dead should not have died in vain.”
Abraham Lincoln- Gettysburg Address 1863
As you recall, we discussed this quote in class. We decided
that if slavery were to have continued after the Civil War, all of the soldiers
who fought to end slavery would have died in vain. Share a time when you have
done something in vain.
We
learned about several aspects of the Civil War. One thing we did not discuss
was how soldiers spent their free time. Click on the site below and find out
just how soldiers coped with boredom. After all, they weren't fighting all the
time! Once you have read about these things, tell which way you would have most
liked to spend your time if you were a soldier and why.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/gettex/
In
our skit, we acted out a family whose sons wanted to fight for different sides
in the Civil War. Just like this family was divided, so was our country. Have
you ever heard of the saying "blood is thicker than water?" In the
Civil War, many soldiers did not agree with this saying. They thought the issue
of slavery was so important many of them fought against members of their own
family. Why might a soldier have done this? Can you relate this to anything in
your own life?
The
outcome of the Civil War (which you better know
) helped to end slavery. If the South had won the Civil
War, do you think slavery would still exist today or do you think something
else would have happened to end it? EXPLAIN
Explain
how refraction occurs when you put a penny in a cup of water. Where else have
you seen refraction occur?
Each
musical instrument produces its own particular kinds of vibrations when it is
played. Do you think the sound waves it produces depends upon the size AND
shape of the instrument? WHY?
Insulating
windows have two layers of glass with air sealed in between. Why is this layer
of air important? 1. How does the sound of a plucked string travel through the
air?2. Why do we hear a sound when the string is
plucked?
Watch
the following video:
http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/videos/LincolnNomination.MOV
Answer this question:
What do you think
Why was
Other
examples and ideas:
Writing
Ideas
Peer
conferencing- Have students post writings and assign peers/teachers to
conference
Group
story- Assign groups of students to write a story, each child continuing what
the previous child began.
Poetry Scramble- List several words.
Students may use only these words to create a poem.
Example
Tongue
Twisters
Alliteration
is one type of figurative language that repeats the use of a dingle letter at
the beginning of each word in a phrase or a sentence. Tongue twisters are short and simple
alliterative lines or words that tell a story, ask questions or make a
statement. There are two rules for saying
tongue twisters correctly. First, they
must be said fast and second they need to be repeated a certain number of
times. It the tongue twister is several
sentences long (like the size of a paragraph), you
only need to say it once. If the tongue twister is just one or two short
sentences, say it twice and if it is less than a sentence long say it three
times.
Analyze
these three tongue twisters and determine what makes them so difficult to say
fast without stumbling over the pronunciation of the words. Determine what letters of the alphabet you
think are most difficult to repeat in a tongue twister.
Can
an active actor always actually act accurately?
A
big bug bit a bold bald bear and the bold bald bear bled blood badly.
Three
gray-green greedy geese, Feeding on a weedy piece, The
piece was weedy and the geese were greedy, three gray- green greedy geese.
Icebreakers
Create your own definition for cat
whistle. Use it in a sentence.
Ideas
Post
selections from a book to discuss.
Literature Circle discussions
Have
students discuss a topic and require they use certain vocabulary in their
answer.
Examples
Watch this movie about the Dust
Bowl. http://www.weru.ksu.edu/vids/dust002.mpg
Then read this selection from Out
of the Dust by Karen Hesse.
Breaking Drought
After seventy days
Of wind and sun,
Of wind and clouds,
Of wind and sand,
After seventy days,
Of wind and dust
A little
Rain
Came.
February 1934
Describe what the author is talking
about. Why do you think she used the
word “wind” repeatedly?
Discuss with your team a time when
you waited on something and how you felt when it finally arrived.
Retell
your favorite part of a story. Tell why
it is your favorite.
Math
Ideas
Use
as a way to poll your class
Discuss
different solutions to the same problem
Ask
an expert
Have
students explain how they came up with an answer to a problem
Examples
Four
black cows and three brown cows give as much milk in five days as three black
cows and five brown cows give in four days.
Which
kind of cow is the better milker, black or brown? Why?
101
Puzzles in Thought and Logic
Discuss with you teammates, a good
solution to this problem:
Farmer Joe has chickens and cows
roaming in his field. When he counts
them, he has 19 heads and 62 feet. How
many cows and how many chickens does farmer brown have?
How
many different ways can you make 98 cents using quarters, nickels, dimes and
pennies? As a group, list all possibilities then come up with what you think is
the best combination of coins and tell why you think that.
Tag Team Math
Post a math problem. The
first person to post needs to solve that math problem, and then create a new
one. The next person who posts solves
that problem then post
How Many Different Ways
How many different ways can
we get the correct answer? You throw a
die ten times. The total number you have
to throw is 47. What numbers could you
have thrown to arrive at the right answer?
Social Studies
Ideas
Pair up with another class to
compare school communities, regions, states, countries.
Great for open ended social
studies questions!
Insert video and sound clips
and have students respond.
Communication platform for
group projects
Example
Visit this site about farms.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualfarm/main.html
Choose one farm and tell
three facts that you have learned. Farm
choices are horse, aquaculture, beef, dairy, poultry and wheat.
Compare the farm you picked to
talk about to one that is different by replying to a classmate.
Why are we still exploring today?
What parts of our planet do we know little about? Why do you think it would be important to
explore there?
Community Workers
Tell about an emergency where
Fire Fighters, Police Officers and Ambulance Drivers have to work together.
Science
Ideas
Pair up with another class to
compare data after completing the same experiment.
Ask an expert
Examples
Visit this site:
http://www.marsquestonline.org/coolstuff/faceonmars/index.html
Compare the surface of Mars
to our planet. What things are similar?
What is different?
Cells
Visit this page on Plant
Cells
http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/plntcell.htm
Then visit this page on
Animal Cells
http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/animcell.htm
What do these two cells have
in common? Why do you think it is
important for scientist to study both animals and plants?