Dutch was absent today.

I planned for science.

Dutch researched and organized facts in preparation for his new comparison piece on inboard and outboard motors. He did a great job selecting categories and completing a venn diagram to organize his thoughts.

Dutch began an exercise from the 7th grade math Envision textbook, Solving Equations Using Subtraction. He also practiced several multiplication facts.

Dutch and I reread pages 25-27 in his Social Studies book titled, “The American Republic”. He was then asked to write a journal entry as if he was Columbus using details from his reading.

Lesson 1: Earthquake Risks – Dutch located the tectonic plates covering Earth’s surface. Then he identified the movement of the Pacific Plate as transform, the South American Plate as divergent, and the Indian Plate as convergent which is how the Himalayan Mountains were formed. He learned what factors affect the amount of damage caused by an earthquake. One factor is the amount of loose sediment on which a building stands. Another factor is liquefaction or wet soil which is responsible for most damage to buildings. Earthquakes can trigger landslides too. When they occur on the seafloor and the plates shift vertically they can generate a large wave or tsunami.
Assignment: Add pictures of types of tectonic plates and liquefaction to science notebook.

Dutch read an example of a compare and contrast article. This piece compared and contrasted butterflies and moths. We discussed the structure of the piece and he completed an activity where he had to highlight the introductory sentence and the supportive details. Tomorrow he will be writing a piece of his own using the same structure.

Dutch completed an exercise from the 7th grade math Envision textbook, Solving Equations Using Addition.

Today we learned about the workings of the inner ear. We did a short hearing test with a frequency sweep. We looked at the advancements in hearing aids as well as how cochlear implants work.

Dutch did research about sharks, using both technology and text. This is an interesting subject for Dutch as he has a personal connection; he mentioned that he has caught sharks before, but had released them. We reviewed subject-relevant vocabulary, such as oviparous (egg-laying) and viviparous (live birth), which came up as we learned about the interesting diversity in the shark's reproductive system. We discussed the root words, 'ovi' and 'viv,' both from Latin, which mean egg and life, respectively. This segued into a discussion of how knowledge about the origin and meaning of root words can help one understand the meaning of other words. The 'viv' words Dutch was able to name included 'revive' and 'survive.' We agreed that sharks are amongst the most misunderstood of sea creatures - that fact and fiction about sharks is often confused - and researched some common misconceptions, including the shark of myth - the great white, which is featured in the movie Jaws. Dutch shared that he watched this movie when he was 4 and was scared of the ocean for 4 years, subsequent to its viewing. How wonderful that he's overcome his fear and is now an avid fisherman who loves being on the water.