As a treat, Charlie and I spent the hour today exploring dinosaurs. We examined aspects of dinosaurs that were relative to our social studies. We looked to different dinosaur teeth, evidence of what they ate. We answered questions about size, coloration, food sources, climate, and migration of nomadic herbivores and carnivores, looking to maps and skeletons to prove scientists' findings. We read about where they lived and looked to a climate map and discussed where they lived - Pangea, one connected continent. I showed Charlie "The Land Before Time" on YouTube. We watched a video on National Geographic/NOVA about Charlie's favorite dinosaur, the spinosaurus. We read about the triassic, jurassic and cretaceous periods, and specifically the cenozoic era. Finally, we discussed what to expect on Friday's Quiz.

This morning we began with a review of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. We read sentences about them and Danny had to determine if the sentence needed a period or a question mark. Then, we worked on a booklet about the presidents which includes information about the position of president, Washington and Lincoln, and finally, Danny added information about our current president. Next, we read an informational book about the White House by Lisa M. Herrington. Danny even helped me read. We read that all presidents lived there, except George Washington as the house was under construction at the time. The White House has three main parts: East Wing, West Wing, and the Residence. We watched a video of digitized model that gave us a tour of the White House. We even saw that they have a bowling alley and theater! In our Florida Studies Weekly packet, we read about American Monuments. We saw some of the monuments in Washington DC, the Empire State Building in NY, and the Citrus Tower in Clermont, FL. To end our session, we continued our Magic Treehouse book, Hour at the Olympics. Jack and Plato watched the athletes come in the arena. Jack noticed a strange looking short soldier watching him. He realized Annie had snuck into the arena in disguise! As the chariot races began, Annie got so excited she started cheering and yelling. She lost her helmet and was revealed as a girl spectator, which was not allowed! The guards grabbed her and we’ll find out tomorrow if Jack and Plato are able to save her!

Henry did a lesson on the New England Colonies. We went over the colonies in New England and who lived in them. We also discussed how they survived and what they did for trade. We read an article and talked about the differences in the Pilgrims and the Puritans and watched a short video on the colonies.

Craig and I reviewed for the Quiz on Friday. We finished looking at "In Their Own Words: The Vietnam War: A Primary Source History" by Andrew Mason. We began reading "The Things They Carried." We also began integrating review of geography into our lesson by finding Vietnam on the map and using geological terms and landforms to identify location and surroundings. HOMEWORK: Please finish p. 364 Study Guide. During our second hour today, we reviewed for the Quiz. We looked to the Atlas and the map of Vietnam to review landforms, oceans, continents, latitude and longitude. We quickly discussed the Korean War and its similarities to the Vietnam War in terms of policy and, specifically, the demilitarized zone - the 38th parallel as compared to the 17th parallel. We read from Brown University's Choices Program "The Limits of Power: The U.S. in Vietnam" and looked to short videos on History.com about the use of Agent Orange and the Tet Offensive. Finally, I discussed the procedure for Friday with a substitute - the Quiz and HOMEWORK for the weekend - to read 3 pages of Study Guide Section 1 about Vietnam.

Yanuell finished his studies on China today with a fried rice cooking class. He found a recipe in a Chinese cookbook that we followed. He chopped broccoli into very small pieces, cut shredded carrots in 1/4 inch shreds, cubed the ham, and cut the shrimp in half. I would step in when his hand got too tired. Then, Yanuell cracked and whisked two eggs with 1 T. soy sauce. Once all of the food was prepped, the pan was heated and oil was added. First, the egg was scrambled and removed from the pan. Next, the broccoli and carrots were cooked for 2 minutes before adding the ham and shrimp for 2 minutes and finally the pre-cooked rice, peas, and scrambled eggs until heated through. It was delicious. Yanuell ate two plates while watching a BrainPop video about the Great Wall of China and saved the rest for lunch tomorrow.

Charlie and I reviewed for a Quiz on Friday. He completed his mythology homework in class, writing a well composed and information paragraph about his mythological character. Afterwards, we decided we would incorporate social studies and science and study dinosaurs. We will begin in our next class. We reviewed what we learned last week about Antarctica and added the word "indigenous" to the word wall.

Jayne worked on a Social Studies Weekly lesson on the rights and responsibilities of citizens. She learned about the governor and his responsibilities. She also read about our rights to equal treatment and our right to vote for people to represent us. Jayne will continue this reading at our next session.

Arianna and I reviewed new words. We watched BrainPop Jr. about the the Lewis and Clark expedition. We also looked to books and illustrations to study maps, see journal pages, and look at illustrations - landforms, routes, etc. We added two new words/vocabulary - interpreter and territory.

Craig completed part of his homework, since his dog ate the second page! We discussed using flashcards to review for the Quiz on Friday. I will be absent. We read together in Howard Zinn's "A Young People's History of the United States" about "Black Revolt and Civil Rights." This was informative and contained several primary sources, covering the Watts riots, Malcolm X, Brown vs. Board of Education, civil rights and voting rights, and the great migration. We discussed an AP article on Newsela about outlawing the linking of Poland with the Holocaust of WWII. Afterwards, we began learning more about the Vietnam War from books, black and white photos, and primary sources. We will continue in our next class. Craig never did turn in the monologue assignment.

Charlie and I reviewed today to prepare for a Quiz next Friday. We discussed mythology HOMEWORK. He will need to make another attempt to do the assignment, writing a paragraph, or more, about his mythological character - his powers, symbols, personality traits, and a story including the character which seeks to explain or answer a question. One idea Charlie had was the explanation of darkness at night. We read the Usborne book "Antarctica" today. We learned a lot about Antarctica. It was very interesting. Afterwards, we went to Usborne links to websites to learn more - National Geographic, Mocomi, BBC Earth, and Amazing Animal Babies. We learned about blubber on whales, examined photos of icerbergs (above and below the water), icebreakers, clothing for scientists, etc. We learned that there are blue and green icebergs, tourists are limited to 100 per year, and the population is 0. We will add "indigenous" to the word wall.