At-Home Activities: Polar Quest - Discover Natural Wonders

November 30 – December 4

Workshop Classes Activities

See a suggested week schedule at https://www.celebrationeducation.com/single-post/free-curriculum

Copywork

“The Titanic hit the iceberg not because they could not see it coming but because they could not change direction.” - Dean Devlin
“When I look at the northern lights ... I see our ancestors dancing around a sacred fire, lighting the way for us when it's time for us to cross over from this physical world and join them.” - Molly Larkin

Language arts lesson

A how-to piece tells how to do something in step-by-step sequence. Here are six steps to follow when you write a how-to piece.

Writing Activity

Write a how-to piece on something. You can write about how to wrap a present, how to make a sandwich, or how to bathe a dog, etc.

Journaling

If I was stranded in the South Pole, I would want a trunk with these things in it...

Math Concept

One week is seven days. Two weeks (a fortnight) is fourteen days. How many days is three weeks?

Math Project

Counting by weeks, figure out how many days it is until • winter solstice • Christmas • New Year’s Day • your birthday

Math Concept

The shortest day of the year this year is December 21, winter solstice. In Southern California on that day, the sun rises around 6:50 AM and it sets around 4:40 PM, making the daytime only about ten hours long – this is shorter than the night!
The farther north you go on this planet, the shorter the days are in winter. As a matter of fact, at the north pole, there is no daytime for around 11 weeks. (How many days is 11 weeks?)

Math Project

Make a chart to show how many hours in a day on winter solstice in Murmansk, Russia; Edinburgh, Scotland; Cairo, Egypt; Fairbanks, Alaska; the city you live in, and two other cities of your choice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

Mental math

Think about some mental math problems that you frequently answer incorrectly. Write these down, along with their answers. Record yourself reading these problems, leaving a few seconds between the problem and the answer. Play the recording back, this time writing down the answers in the seconds before the answers are said. How many problems do you answer correctly? Repeat as necessary.

Math games

In this game, you and your opponent each have a pencil and a paper to keep your score. The goal is to score as close to 101 points as possible without going over. On your turn, you roll a die, deciding if it’s best to count the number at face value or to multiply it by 10. This number is added to your total. The game ends when someone gets 101 points or goes over -- whichever comes first.

Research and Report

Research about Narwhals. Collect at least five interesting facts. Make one postcard to highlight each of these facts.

Themed Fireworks Project

Use toothpics and candies to make molecule models: https://sciencing.com/understanding-chemical-formulas-6300361.html

6-week project

Edit your rough draft from last week to create a final draft of your written report.
Practice your oral report.
Finish your display.
Invite family and friends to see you present your report next week.

Write a newspaper opinion piece about expanding oil drilling in Alaska.
Learn about glaciers: http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/glaciers/
See some videos about glaciers: http://www.neok12.com/Glaciers.htm
Read a book about the polar exploration: ◦ Trial by Ice: A Photobiography of Sir Ernest Shackleton ◦ Spirit of Endurance: The True Story of the Shackleton Expedition to the Antarctic
Watch some videos about the poles: ◦ http://www.ted.com/talks/ray_zahab_treks_to_the_south_pole.html ◦ http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_saunders_skis_to_the_north_pole.html ◦ http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_nicklen_tales_of_ice_bound_wonderlands.html
Make a tundra diorama.