Archive for the ‘social sciences’ category

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Ground Hog’s Day Fun for K-12!

February 2nd, 2012

Hi! It’s Thursday, February 2, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Groundhog.org

Age Range:  All (with parental supervision)

Today, February 2nd, is Groundhog’s Day! In North America the groundhog is said to wake from winter hibernation and crawl out of its burrow. If the groundhog sees his shadow, he gets frightened and returns to his den for another six weeks, prolonging winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he emerges from his home and spring begins. The “official” groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil. He lives at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

At this official (and ad-supported) website you can watch a podcast of the Ground Hog’s Day proceedings at Gobbler’s Knob and get lesson plans and fun educational activities designed for grades K-12. 

NOTE: This site gets so much activity on February 2nd, that you may get an error message.  Don’t let it deter you.  Keep trying or wait until tomorrow and try again. The lesson plans and educational activities (including weather science) can be done anytime. So, bookmark this site to access them when there’s less traffic. 

You’ll also find “Groundhog’s Day Fun” free activities and coloring pages to print out that young children will enjoy at my UniversalPreschool.com website.  

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Why Pluto Isn’t A Planet & Much More!

January 12th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Thursday, January 12, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Spitzer/Caltech

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)
 
My son recently posted a video on his Facebook page explaining why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. (Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler.) It was on YouTube, but the source was The Spitzer Science Center (sponsored by NASA and CalTech). 
 
They have a series of free multi-media videos called “Ask An Astronomer” that include brief explanations to complicated stuff by scientists. The videos use animations to illustrate the explanations. Other titles inc lude:

  • Where is the center of the universe?
  • Why is the sky blue?
  • Why aren’t there any green stars?
  • Infrared: More than your eyes can see!
  • What happens when galaxies collide?
  • What’s between the stars?
  • What will happen to Earth when the Sun dies?
  • How do you discover an asteroid?
  • How can we see a black hole?
  • What is a Brown Dwarf?

And many more! 
 
If you poke around the rest of the site you’ll find other cool videos and podcasts as well.

You may wonder why I decided to feature this science resource on “Social Sciences” day at ClickSchooling. It’s because the downsizing of Pluto was historical, and I like to encourage cross-curricular connections. Sometimes students will resist a subject like science, for example, but be fascinated by an important event in history that gently leads them to an enjoyable exploration of science. The content of this website has that potential.

And while you’re exploring, you’ll be covering a variety of “subjects” including language arts, math, science, history, social studies and more. It’s all connected!  :)

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Thanksgiving Social Studies Activities!

November 17th, 2011

Hi! It’s Thursday, November 17, 2011 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Fran’s World

Age Range:  All (with parental supervision)

Learning takes on a life of it’s own at this website created by veteran homeschool mom Fran Wisniewski who provides terrific Thanksgiving-themed activities that explore the history of the holiday and the symbols associated with it. Get ready to have some fun!

When you get to the site you’ll see the featured post of the day. You can simply scroll down the page to read the entries, or use the menu on the left side of the page that includes:

*Wild Turkeys – Trace your hands and feet to create a turkey masterpiece.

*The Three Sisters – Find out why Native Americans referred to corn, beans, and squash as the “Three Sisters” and do an art activity that combines all three!

*Squash Pumpkins – Bake a pumpkin pie right in the pumpkin shell!

*Beans – Make Bean Soup and grow a bean plant.

*Corn – Make traditional corn bread.

Not only does Fran provide the complete instructions for how to do the activities at home, but she provides pictures of her family’s efforts that clearly illustrate the results you can expect. Plus you’ll find links to more web-based resources to further your learning experience.

Fran wrote “The Three Sisters: A Native American Curriculum for Thanksgiving” that is featured for free on UniversalPreschool.com. It is chock-full of innovative ways to learn math, science, history, and art – all themed around Thanksgiving! The whole family will enjoy these educational activities.  

Fran wrote, “In my world education is interesting, the choices are endless and everyone learns at their own pace, in a way that works for them.” Her website is testament to her point of view.  Don’t miss it!

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How Women Won the Right to Vote!

November 10th, 2011

Hi! It’s Thursday, November 9, 2011 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Scholastic: Women’s Suffrage

Age Range: 6-14 (grades 1-8, with adult supervision)

This site offers free information and lesson plans about what it took for women around the world to win the right to vote, with a special emphasis on how it happened in America.

When you get to the site, you will see an icon menu with three choices that include:

*History of Women’s Suffrage – Read about the Women’s Suffrage movement in the United States and learn when voting rights were won in some other countries. Look to the left side of screen and click on “19th Amendment” to learn what major historical event lead to the adaptation of the amendment. After reading these two sections, take a short test to “Show What you Know”.

*When Did Women Vote? – Equipped with an interactive map of the world, each click of the mouse will tell you when women in any given country won the right to vote. Print the, “Voting Dates Fact Sheet” (pdf) before you begin to help guide your research and record your findings.

*Effie Hobby’s Story – Read the biography of a real woman who remembers what it was like to vote in the first U.S. Presidential election.

After exploring those menu choices, return to the home page and below the menu icon, click on “Teacher’s Guide” to find instructions for planning and teaching the lessons for grades 1-8 based on Scholastic’s Women’s Suffrage unit.

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Breathtaking Exhibit About Native Cultures!

October 20th, 2011

Hi! It’s Thursday, October 20, 2011, and time for Social Studies at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Smithsonian: Beauty Surrounds Us

Age Range: 7-18 (with parental supervision; young students may enjoy looking at the photographs in this collection)

This website, brought to you by the Smithsonian, “presents an array of breathtaking and culturally significant objects made by Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere.” The point of this interactive presentation is to increase appreciation for the beauty with which Native peoples have always had a natural desire to surround themselves.

When you enter the site, you will see a menu of ten photographs. Each photo leads to a virtual display case full of objects. The cases available are:

*Nurturing Identity – clothing

*Containing Culture – bags for holding things

*Recreation and Pastimes – objects used for games

*Design as Identity – traditional/indigenous designs and the incorporation of new materials and art forms

*Elegance of Presentation – adornment

*Power of Transformation – masks

*Tools of Existence – knives, arrows, tools, tool cases, bowls, etc.

*Communication Through Sound – musical instruments

*Expressions of Movement – dancewear

*Honor and Respect – items designating individuals of importance

Once you have chosen a virtual display case, you can opt to navigate the site as a slideshow. Notice that in the upper right corner of the screen you can click on the arrows to move from case to case for a quick overview. You can also click on any object within a case to explore it.

While viewing an individual object you will see some information about it displayed, as well as one or more of the following:

  • Map- where the object was created and used
  • Related- photos of people actually using the item
  • Activity - something to try (it’s best to read all about the object first before attempting this)

Once you have finished exploring all of the objects in a case, such as “Design as Identity” for example, try your hand at its main activity, which in this instance would be the identification of individual objects as “Indigenous,” “Mixed” (incorporating elements from other cultures), or “New.” This is a great way to see how well you have retained what you have learned by viewing this exhibit.

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YouTube Space Lab – Teen Science Contest!

October 18th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, October 18, 2011 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!
 
Recommended Website:
YouTube: Space Lab
 
Age Range: 14-18 (with parental guidance)

YouTube has teamed up with NASA and others to launch a “Space Experiment Contest” that challenges students (ages 14-18) to use their skills in science, math, and engineering to design a science experiment that can be conducted aboard the International Space Station. 

The top 60 experiments will be announced on January 3, 2012. One of the judges will be renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.

According to Space.com, six finalists will meet in Washington, D.C., in March 2012, and get a chance to experience zero-gravity flights on an aircraft and receive other prizes.

Two global winners (one from the 14-16 age group and one from the 17-18 age group) will be picked from among the six finalists. The winning experiments will be performed on the space station next summer.

But that’s not all! The two winners will get to choose one of two grand prizes: a trip to Japan to watch their experiment blast off, or (after they turn 18) a chance to undergo spaceflight training in Star City outside Moscow, the training center for Russian cosmonauts.

When you get to the website, watch the welcome video. Then use the menu on the left side of the screen to learn:

*What is the YouTube Space Lab? – Learn more about this video archive that helps people learn about space.

*The Competition – Get all of the details to enter and wind teh competition. You can enter as a group of 2-3 or solo. You have to submit your video entry on YouTube by December 7th, 2011 (by 23:59 PT) – no exceptions!

*Direct From Space – Get the latest news and images from the ISS.

*Discover Space – Take a journey through the Solar System and watch the most inspiring space videos from across YouTube.

*Technology In Orbit – Find out what laptop they use in space.

Whether you enter the competition or not, you can use this site to learn a lot about space science. Wouldn’t it be cool if a homeschooler won?  :)

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