May the Votes
Be with You
Dear classmates,
Mayor Tupper came in to talk to our class about her great-grandmother Nell Tupper, who was a really good citizen. Nell made our town so much better and even organized the town’s first school bus. Thank goodness, because I can’t imagine walking to school in pouring rain. Who makes your town better?
Your friend, Trixie
TASK:
Interview someone from your community who is a good citizen. Before your interview, create a list of at least five questions you want to ask that person. After the interview is over, write a newspaper article to share what you have learned about that person.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
1
Who do you want to interview and why?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
2
Write at least five questions you want to ask._______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ SUGGESTED SUPPLIES: • notecards to write questions and take notes on
K-2.ETS1-2. Develop a simple
sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a problem.
3-5.ETS1-2. Define a simple
design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time or cost.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2/4.2/5.2 Write
informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Dear Classmates,
Jack and Trixie worked hard to convince our class that they would each be the best student council representative. They made posters and gave speeches to tell us how they wanted to make our school better. How would you improve your school if you had the chance?
Your friend, Newton
TASK:
Pretend you are running for student council. Create a campaign poster. Your poster should have a slogan for your campaign and include at least three ideas for change that you would work on if you were elected.
After your poster is created, share it with your classmates. Explain why and how you will make those changes in your school.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
1
What would your campaign slogan be? Why did you choose it?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
2
What three changes would you want to make to your school? Why do you think they are important changes and how would you make them? _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ SUGGESTED SUPPLIES: • poster paper • crayons • markers • rulersK-2.ETS1-2. Develop a simple
sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a problem.
3-5.ETS1-2. Define a simple
design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time or cost.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Dear classmates,
I want to improve my school by “going green.” That means taking care of our environment by making good decisions about what types of products to use. We also have to decide how to get rid of them so they don’t just collect in heaps in landfills. Do you recycle? It’s so easy! I bet there are lots of things around your school and home that you can recycle when you’re done with them, instead of throwing them out.
Your friend, Piper
TASK:
Collect recyclables in your home or your classroom. After collecting the recyclables, sort them into paper, plastic, metal, glass, and “other” categories. Graph the number of recyclables you collected from each category.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
1
How will you gather your recyclable materials?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
2
How can you tell if a material is recyclable?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
3
How many of each type of recyclable item (paper, plastic, metal, and glass) did you collect?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
4
What other types of recyclables did you collect? How many recyclable materials did you collect that fit into the “other” category?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.D.10
Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems1using information presented in a bar graph.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3
Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.
SUGGESTED SUPPLIES:
• recyclable materials
• box or bin for collecting recyclable materials
SPORK’S SAFETY NOTE: This activity should be completed with adult supervision. Use care when handling recyclable mate-rials. Be especially careful to avoid broken glass and sharp metal edges.
Dear classmates,
What did you think about my Blasteroid Simulator? It was only a hologram, but did you know that real asteroids can travel up to 160,000 miles per hour? Watch out for them when traveling through the galaxy in your spaceship!
Your friend, Spork
TASK:
Scientists believe many meteors come to Earth from an asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter. Using the information below, estimate how long it would take meteors to reach the Earth from there.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
1
When Sporks says “faster than a speeding meteor” he means fast! Meteors can travel 160,000 miles per hour. Is 160,000 miles more or less than the distance around the world at the equator? How can you find out?_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________
2
Mars is approximately 48,000,000 miles from Earth. About how long would it take for a meteor to travel from Mars to Earth? Explain your thinking. _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________3
Jupiter is approximately 480,000,000 miles from Earth. About how much longer would it take a meteor to travel to Earth from Jupiter than from Mars? Explain your thinking._______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ SUGGESTED SUPPLIES: • scratch paper • calculators
• maps or globes with mile scale
