LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
You can’t feel it, but it is
striking your eyes with every word you read. During every
moment of the day you
depend on your ability to see. Light is needed not only for
sight, but also for
many of the things we need to live-plants for food and clothing,
and even oxygen to
breathe.
Visible light is a kind of radiation
that also includes radio waves, heat rays, infra-red
rays, ultra-violet rays, and x-rays.
These radiations travel very fast and usually in
straight lines. Light can go from New
York City to Los Angeles, back to New York,
and to Los Angeles again in the time it
takes for two successive flickers of a moving
picture.
You can approach the topic of light in
several ways. You can concentrate on light from
heavenly bodies and study all the ranges
of the spectrum, Doppler effect, radiation,
light years as a measure of distance,
and other astronomical references. Or-you could
concentrate on sources of light such as
stars, earthshine, moonlight, burning, artificial
sources (incandescent and fluorescent
lights, living creatures (lightning beetles,
glowworms, marine plants and animals),
and light from radioactive materials.
But I prefer to take a different
approach and begin a study of light with mirrors.
Initiate a discussion with your students
and brainstorm where mirrors are used-optical
instruments such as camera, microscope,
telescope, periscope, kaleidoscope, and
projector. Let them discover that not
all mirrors are made of glass. Some questions
for discussion could
be:
Why are mirrors
used?
How is a mirror
constructed?
How can we see behind
ourselves?
How can we see around
corners?
How can we see over
walls?
How can we change the path of
light?
Can we reflect light more than
once?
The responses to these questions should
lead to the construction of a periscope.
- Cut off the top and bottom of a quart milk carton.
Attach two plane mirrors at 45 deg.
- from the horizontal so that their reflecting faces
are parallel to and facing each other.
- Make two openings, each about one inch square,
opposite the middle of each
mirror.
If the mirror does not fit over the cut end of the carton exactly, use strips
of
cardboard
on which to cement the mirror.
- To use the periscope, hold it so that the lower
opening is held below an
obstruction.
You will see out of the top opening, held
above the obstruction.
Using a variety of mirrors, flashlights, and candles,
you can let the students discover, through
experimentation, the answers to the questions
above.
The recent Academy Awards presentation was a perfect
segue into the exploration of light
and the camera. Discuss the kinds of cameras the
children have. Have some students
demonstrate the proper way to take good pictures and
the parts of the camera.
To discover how a camera works, we begin by making a
simple pinhole camera.
- Obtain two boxes so that one slides snugly into the
other. These may be
cylindrical
(cereal and salt boxes) or rectangular (shoe or candy boxes).
- Waxed paper over one end of the inner box serves as a
screen on which the image falls.
- Cut one end off one box and place a pinhole in the
other end of the box.
- Cut off both ends of the second box, placing a waxed
paper cover over one open end.
- Slide the box with the pinhole over the waxed paper
end of the other box. Look
through
the back of the inside box at an object which is in strong light.
- Move the inside box in and out to see what happens to
the image. (focusing) The
image
is upside down and reversed from left to right.
Draw a diagram on the board to show how the light
travels from the object to the pinhole, passes
through and is bent, creating the image seen on the
waxed paper.
You can also make pictures on blueprint paper as well
as make pictures from a negative using
photographic contact paper. I find a fun project for
the students is creating a picture flip book,
making still pictures appear to
move.
There are many "lesson plan" sites you can surf on the
Internet for additional experiments on
Lesson Plans For All Areas of Curriculum [Study
WEB]
Art, Fine Arts, History, Languages, Language Arts,
Math, Music, Reading, Science, Social Studies,
Vocational, Writing Grade Levels:
Pre-school, Kindergarten, 1-12
http://www.teachersfirst.com/matrix-f.htm
TeachersFirst [Network for Instructional TV,
Inc.]
Art, Astronomy & Space, Biology, Chemistry,
Current Events, Earth Science, Economics,
Foreign Languages, Literature & Reading, Math,
Music, PE, Physics, Science(general),
US History, US Government, Vocational, World Cultures,
Writing Grade Levels: Elementary,
The Lesson Plans Search Index - 1600+ lesson
plans
Fine Arts, Language Arts, Math, PE/Health, Science,
Social Studies, Thematic Units,
Discovery Channel School Lesson Plans
Library
Ancient History, Animals, Astronomy, Earth Science,
Economics, Human Body, Literature,
Life Science, Oceans, Physical Science, Space Science,
Technology, U.S. History, World History
Grade levels: K-6, 7-12
The Smithsonian Institute section on the development
of the cinema industry.
Have fun!
Joan Berger
The K-12 situation in Japan is rather complex,
and
captured neither by glowing reports from abroad nor
by dire reports
from within Japan about the breakdown
of traditional order. Both of the above
might even be
found in one town or in the same elementary school.
K-6 is
arguably the best period in Japanese education,
before the onslaught of
university entrance exam backwash.
My two sons are happy as clams
(digging them as well) in
a countryside elementary school, and the
neighborhood
children get along in a way that I never saw in the U.S.
But
when I told this to a Tokyo teacher beset with
problems of youth delinquency,
she was struck with an
almost Rousseauvian view of our rustic and peaceful
island.
So much for the homogeneous monolith of Japan.
By the same
token, do not take any case including mine
as representative. It is just that
most Websites on K-12
in Japan are naturally in Japanese, so
up-to-date
information may be hard to find. Let me therefore
introduce a
Tokyo organization where Japanese educators
and other professionals concerned
with children speak out
in English.
The Child Research Net, a
non-profit branch of Benesse
(correspondence education) Corporation,
maintains a
comprehensive bilingual Website dedicated to Japanese
children's education and well-being. The Japanese language
site http://www.crn.or.jp/ attracts much public
participation,
while the English site http://www.childresearch.net/
serves international academics, educators, professionals,
policy-makers
and youth. Educational data, surveys,
statistics, professional articles, and
essays by Japanese
young people are featured. A free weekly e-mail
newsletter
is available by request to info@childresearch.net. There are
also several avenues for interaction including a 'Let's Talk'
bulletin
board":
http://www.childresearch.net/KEY/KSOCIETY/LT/index.html
Child Research Net (CRN) stems from a culture that highly
values
children and their education. The CRN English Website
offers insight into
Japanese culture and children. Scroll
through CRN for educational data,
surveys, statistics,
professional articles and essays by Japanese young
people.
Key issues are children in relation to society, media,
education
and lifestyle. There is a teacher's corner,
educational links by category, a
searchable Cybrary of
articles including research data, and columns by
leading
experts on Japanese children and education. See:
http://www.childresearch.net/
Global
University System Asia-Pacific Framework:
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/asia-pacific/index.html
Website
Map: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Pantheon/7197
Collegially,
CHOOSING EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR THE
CLASSROOM
I am
often asked about how to choose good programs for classroom use.
In this area, I am just like the students; I love to
explore new software to see
how it is put together and what the user gets from
it. I think it is useful to
think of software in categories. This helps you
to analyze what you are looking
at. I have described some categories with broad
definitions below.
 Software tools do not contain content but
help the user to organize
information and ideas. They would include such
applications as word processing,
database, spreadsheets, graphing presentation
programs, Timeliner
Skill drills are programs that require students to
input information that they
already know. Often a timer can be introduced
and the level of difficulty can
be adjusted to facilitate memorizing facts. This
group would include WordMunchers,
NumberMunchers and SuperMunchers and a great variety
of arcade-like games.
 Simulations create an environment that
allows the user to virtually experience
another time, place or culture. The user plays a
role in the drama and makes decisions
that affect outcomes. Examples would be the
Oregon, Amazon and African Trails and
Research tools provide factual information in a
multimedia format. It allows the
user to explore different aspects of the subject by
choosing links to related materials.
Examples are the encyclopedias, almanacs, the San
Diego Zoo, and ADAM (an
anatomy program), all of which are available on
CD-ROM.
Recognizing the broad categories of educational software will
provide you with a
framework for what you can expect your students to
learn from the program and
how it would fit into a unit of study. It is
also important to remember that while drill
and practice programs are a useful way to help
children learn facts, other kinds of
software foster higher level thinking skills and offer
a richer learning experience.
Putting software into this context will help you to
choose activities that will match
your teaching goals.
As parents and students make summer plans, a new piece
of educational
software should be considered as a worthwhile summer
project. With many
hours of leisure time ahead, a new program can
provide entertainment as well
as intellectual stimulation. Input and
interest from parents in the choice
and use of the program will reap
additional benefits. Although drill and
practice programs will help
with those elusive math facts, a program based on
puzzles or investigations
will be more intriguing and sustain interest
longer. If parents play
along at times, they can assure that the most
challenging and complex parts
of the program are being used. Happy Summer
Computing!
~Kathleen A. Catapano
Brooklyn, New
York USA
Educational Technology,
Medgar Evers College - CUNY
E-mail: catapano@mec.cuny.edu,
======================================
~ Tammy Bailis' Senior School
Musings ~
OOPS!!
and
THE MID-POINT
AND DISTANCE FORMULA MYSTERY :
OOPS!!
In my
last article entitled WHAT THE HECK IS A LINEAR EQUATION
ANYWAY??, I wrote
the following:
consider y = 2x + 3
and y = 6x + 9. As you can plainly see, the second equation is just
the first one multiplied by 3....
Well,
that's not quite true, now is it? The second equation should have been 3 y
= 6x + 9.
Then it would be the first equation multiplied by
3.
My sincerest apologies. It just proves how incredibly difficult it is
to simultaneously run
two major programs -- word processing and
mathpower -- on your cranial hard disk. I'll
try to do better, but it's great to know that
you're on the ball and catching the mistakes.
It means you're understanding what I'm saying and
that makes my little heart go pitter-pat.
<------------------------------------------------------->
THE MID-POINT AND DISTANCE FORMULA
MYSTERY :
Many of my students (I tutor privately) are presently
studying ANALYTIC GEOMETRY for
the first time. They're learning to use points in the
Cartesian plane to link algebra and
geometry through the creation of algebraic statements
which describe geometric
figures and shapes. Because each individual point in
the plane has a unique address,
(its coordinates), lines, circles, parabolas,
hyperbolas and various other important curves
such as the logarithmic, trigonometric and exponential
functions can be described by
algebraic statements and plotted by individuals or
computer programs which understand
the code known as analytic geometry.
So, I've
had to teach the midpoint and distance formulas quite a few times during the
last
week and I find myself mystified. I've been suffering
from frequent wrinkled brow, since
I'm having trouble comprehending why it is that the
classroom teachers are missing the
essential points in teaching these topics. So let's
clear up the mysteries surrounding the
midpoint and distance formulae (or formulas, if you
don't want to sound latindinous).
1) When the math lesson covers the
midpoint formula, most high school teachers don't ever
bother to tell their students that to find the
midpoint, you simply have to average the
coordinates. You learn to find an average in
Grade 6! If teachers would tell their students
to average the x's and y's, they'll never forget the
formula. How could they? There's 2-x's and
2 y's. Add them together and take half!! No
major brain strain there!!
Each one of my students who was told to
average the coordinates, turned to me and asked:
"Why the heck didn't the teacher say that in class???"
So this is what I'd like to know if any
of you can come up with a logical
answer.
Second Question:
When teaching the distance formula -- you
know that god awful square root thing with the
brackets and the squares -- why doesn't the teacher
complete the right triangle around the
two endpoints of the line segment, and illustrate the
relationship between the distance
formula and the Pythagorean Theorem? By time a student
is doing Analytic Geometry,
he or she knows that the square on the hypotenuse is
equal to the sum of the squares on
the other 2 sides. Show him its the hypotenuse of a
triangle he can solve and he'll
understand that you want the length of the hypotenuse
and he'll remember the
of the formula and comprehend the question.
So,
in future, when asked to find a midpoint, simply take the average of the two
pairs
coordinates. This way, you won't have to try to
remember a formula. And by the way, the
midpoint formula is one that is commonly confusing,
since it is the only formula in which
we ADD the coordinates. In both the slope and distance
formulae, we subtract the
finding midpoints. As for the distance formula, you're
simply finding the length of the
hypotenuse of a right triangle formed around the two
points. Since the two legs of this right
triangle can be found by subtracting the values of the
x and y coordinates, it's a simple task.
~ Tammy
Bailis
Montréal,
Québec
BA (McGill U.)
Masters in Teaching Mathematics
(Concordia U.)
A new and fresh approach to the ancient
science of chinese astrology
(published 1998 by The American
Federation of Astrologers);
(French version published 1990 by les
Editions de Mortagne)
Fluid Access with Steve
Feld
ArtiFFAQs
I am delighted to share with you a
science inquiry informed, student
centered ArtiFAQ 2100.
Microsoft
has challenged high school teams to consider a particular
aspect of the
future--arts and cultural activities in the next hundred
years and develop a
web site focused on graphic arts visions of this
future.
Kennedy High
School students opted to look back in time to reflect on
past art history and
use its achievements as predictors of the future.
Their vision of arts
and cultural futures are being developed as
illustrations and computer
graphics with text detailing specific artist
of the past whose influence they
see emerging in the art in the year
2100.
Please visit http://library.advanced.org/13681/data/nyc
ArtiFAQ 2100 is designed to predict how art will influence our lives
in
the next hundred years. Through probing past inspirations and
scientific
methods students can use available data to make reasonable
predictions
for the future.
Steve
Feld
New York State New
York USA
======================================
The Human Connection with Robin
Dominguez
THE HUMAN
CONECTION
Good day everyone! I hope that you are all well. My name
is Robin
Dominguez and I have been teaching in the inner city of New
York for thirty
years.
Over the years, I have developed what I call a
conversation for inner
change-a change of self-growth, not only for the
children but for the teacher
and parents as well.
My premise is that
in order for positive change to occur, everyone
connected to the
child needs to work on themselves. This is not a new
concept, however, most
people involved with the challenges of guiding young
people, tend to look
elsewhere for solutions or to place responsibility
on someone other then
themselves.
If we want the children to change, if we want the
parents to change,
then we as role models must change as well.
One of
the components of this conversation involves creating personal
and social
goal setting that is long term as well as short term.
Daily conversations
which inspire, guide, and discuss challenges associated
with personal growth
assist everyone involved so that they become a
supportive family
unit.
The results of this work are permanent for it helps to
develop
confidence, self-esteem, compassion for ourselves and others, and
the desire
to be altruistically loving.
This program is a far
reaching one. The children become very
accountable in school for their
actions- both the positive and the negative
ones. They also become more
empowered individuals who bring their monthly
goals home and share them with
their families and communities.
I have received many letters from parents
who tell me that this work has
created a more harmonious vibration in the
home. Everyone begins to unite
together to achieve a common
goal.
I am presently writing a book describing my work which I hope to
finish
in the summer of 2000.
The final goal of my program, is
for people to realize that in order to
become a happier human being,
we need to become more focused on helping
others. As I evolve and go
through this journey, I have come to realize that
in order to be in the
frame of mind to want to help others, one needs to
develop a loving
relationship with oneself. Children, teachers and other
people cannot see
beyond their own desires unless they are becoming
successful at being their
own best friend.
I hope to share more of my ideas with you in the
future. I will discuss
topics of discipline, self-discipline, being a
role model, and how to
encourage parents to work with
you.
We are entering a time in the world when we must all
unite together to
become harmonious human beings that
actively reach across barriers of
all kinds to erase
the sufferings of others. I feel very honored to be a
teacher and I will do whatever it takes to help the children of this
world.
Let us work together. I would love
to hear from you if you would like to
work with
me!
~Robin Dominguez
New York, New York USA
Teacher, Author,
Speaker
======================================
Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale
CONSCIOUS PRIORITIZATION
Over and over again, day in and day out, I
hear people
complain that there aren't enough hours in the day, that
they're too busy and that they're burned out. This seems to
be their
credo; sometimes it feels like their badge of honor.
Ultimately it makes
their lives less enjoyable and in the
end it hurts only them.
And so
as a society we spend millions of dollars a year on
books and self-help
products that teach us how to simplify
our lives and how to reduce some of
our stress. We search
ravenously for anything that seems as though it could
be the
"magic formula" for our over committed exhausted lifestyles.
We
crave a quick answer (because we don't have TIME for some
long drawn out
process), some miracle pill or a sudden
decreased need for sleep to put our
lives back in balance
again.
Unfortunately, it's just not that easy.
As we've heard so
much with respect to weight loss, it requires long term
lifestyle changes. So, I don't' have a quick answer; I don't
have a
miracle pill and I can't tell you how to obtain a
sudden decreased need for
sleep. But I can tell you that a
more enjoyable life of balance
includes:
1 Conscious Prioritization (a phrase I've just
coined!)
2 Time Management and
3 Organizational skills
This
article will begin with Conscious Prioritization. In
future articles we'll
address time management and
organizational skills.
Conscious
Prioritization: Conscious Prioritization involves
determining what it is you
really want in your life and
balancing that with what it is you really HAVE
to do in your
life. For example: You HAVE to sleep, you HAVE to take care
of your children and you probably HAVE to work. Other than
that your
time is your own. Now I know what you're thinking,
but NO, you really don't
HAVE to clean your house. No, you
really don't HAVE to be involved in the
PTA. No, you really
don't HAVE to be a den mother, a little league mom, a
Girl
Scout leader, a volunteer in your child's classroom or a
deacon at
church. I'm NOT telling you to resign from
everything but I am telling you
that there are a finite
number of hours in the day and I'm encouraging you
to spend
them on activities that bring you the greatest enjoyment!
There's an old expression in business that says we spend 80%
of our
time on activities that give us a 20% return and we
spend 20% of our time on
activities that give us an 80%
return. What conscious prioritization is all
about is
spending 80% of your time on activities that give you an
80% or
more return!!
So think about your life. Write down the "have to's".
Remember this list should be short. You have to sleep, you
have to take
care of your children and you have to work.
Taking care of your children
does NOT mean chauffeuring
them to all of their various activities. It means
feeding
them, clothing them, bathing them, getting them off to
school or
daycare and helping them to learn and to grow in
their educational
environment. We'll get to the chauffeuring
part later.
Now make a
list of the activities that bring you the
greatest enjoyment. Perhaps that
is supporting your children
in their numerous extra curricular activities.
If so, GREAT!
Maybe it's reading or hiking or playing softball or cooking
or painting or even cleaning the house. Whatever it is, this
list should
ONLY consist of the activities you enjoy. When
your list is completed, rank
it, in the order of your
enjoyment.
For example, my list consists of
spending time with my
family, working on the Internet and writing. It's a
short
list but so is my available time. Notice that no where on
my list
do you find cleaning the house. So guess what, my
house is not spotless all
the time (or even most of the time).
When this bothers me, as it does, I
remind myself that the
cost of having a perpetually spotless home is less
time with
my family, less time on the Internet and less time for
writing. Quickly, my sloppy house doesn't seem so bad.
Every day when
I'm tempted to spend my time on activities
other than the above, I ask
myself if the cost is worth it.
Is it worth it to stay up later to write
because I've spent
time cleaning the house? Is it worth it to spend more
time
at work and give up some hours with my family? Is it worth it
to
forfeit the Internet for a day to organize my closets?
Sometimes the answers
are yes! Priorities can and do change
daily. But the objective is for YOU to
consciously set the
priorities each day so that you're living your life
proactively rather than reactively and spending your time
the way YOU
want to spend it. Guess what? This may mean
saying "no" once in a while.
That's okay. You CAN'T do it all!
Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale is a CPA and
the editor of
"The Balanced Woman", a monthly ezine. It contains parenting
tips, household hints, ideas for pampering yourself and more.
Subscribing is easy and FREE. Just send a blank email to:
-TheBalancedWoman-subscribe@onelist.com.
She is also the
author of The Woman's Guide to Resumes and Interviewing,
Lessons From a Toddler and 77 Ways to Pamper Yourself. All
of these
publications are available through AJAY Publishing at:
==========================================
~ Internet Educational Hot
Spots ~
Cool sites to check
out!
(External sites are not
endorsed)
If any link is not underlined and completely in
blue, try highlighting the
entire link, copy (control C) and paste
(control V) into your browser so the
link will work
properly.
Send FREE Email Greeting Cards!
Great eCards for any
occasion...
Help the United Nations fight world hunger for
FREE!
Make just one click here to make a FREE donation!
Tutorial World provides free questions for your
practice.
Print out the worksheets and come back as many times
as you like.
The American Legion: Memorial Day
Address
Educate the Children
This site is dedicated exclusively to Primary
Education.
For the primary school teacher, there are lesson plans,
worksheets, articles
and teaching strategies available to view and
download. All resources are
National Curriculum referenced and designed
to fulfill key learning
objectives.
http://www.educate.org.uk
Memorial Day
Great site with lost of links to memorial
resources.
Vietnam Veterans Home Page
Arlington National Cemetery
Memorial Day
June 6th
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival - Photos and a brief
explanation.
Dragon Boat Festival
Also known as the Double Fifth Festival, occurs
on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar
calendar.
The Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival,
Presents the story of statesman and poet, Qu Yuan,
and the
traditional rites of dragon boat racing.
Qu Yuan the Poet - about this Chinese poet and the holiday observed
in honor of his death.
June 11th King Kamehameha Day
Birth Place of
Kamehameha I - profile of the king.
King Kamehameha I (1753?-1819) - features legends and
stories.
Brief descriptions with images including Kings David
Kalakaua and
Alexander Liholiho, and Prince
Lunalilo.
Earth Science and Planetary
Motion
Insectopedia
Lots of buggy information to scratch over in your
mind...
Flag Day - 14 June - tributes to and history of the
United Sates flag.
Flag Day in the United States is June
14th
365 Reasons to Keep the Flag Up
FLAG DAY- Craft, language, and reading activities for
children.
history of the holiday and the various flags that have
flown over America.
Flag Day - History, songs, and instructions on how to fold an American flag.
FLAG DAY- Flag
Etiquette
FATHER's
DAY June 18, 2000, Sunday
Brief history of the day, dedications to fathers,
poetry and links.
Father's Day Activities and ideas from the Children's
Television Workshop.
(Great!)
Billy Bear's Happy Father's Day - print-and-color
cards, a Greatest Dad Award,
and other ways to show Dad how much you
care.
