By Elaine Gallagher 

Regular practice with mental math has been shown to enhance any mathematics program and result in significant improvement for students on standardized tests of computation and problem solving. 

These mental math questions could be read to the students on a regular basis. The students should number 1 to 10 on their papers and write the answers to the questions quickly (within 10 seconds.)

The class should then check the answers and discuss ways to determine the solution mentally. This sharing of solution strategies is vital since students can hear and adopt other (possibly more efficient) methods.

The teacher may collect and record the results periodically. If students are weak in certain skills, additional problems involving those skills should be added to the items.

EVERY DAY give a Mental Math activity to your students. It will only take one minute, but practice over time will help your students to perform these tasks quickly and correctly.

I’ve given you 3 categories: EASY, NOT TOO HARD, and CHALLENGING. You can adapt the work to your students’ ages and abilities. 

Here are 5 days of MM activities: 

HERE ARE ACTIVITIES YOU CAN PRESENT ORALLY TO YOUR STUDENTS.  SUBSEQUENTLY< YOU CAN INVENT YOUR OWN OR FIND MANY ON INTERNET SITES.

EASY 

T: » I’LL START COUNTING AND YOU KEEP GOING WHEN I STOP.»

 1 , 2,  3……….          ( 4, 5, 6) 

5, 6, 7…….                ( 8, 9, 10) 

7, 8, 9……                 (10, 11, 12)

10, 11, 12….             (13, 14, 15) 

CONTINUE WITH NUMBERS THE CHILDREN KNOW. 

——————————————————————————- 

HOLD UP A NUMBER CARD. 

T: «WHAT IS THIS NUMBER?» 

SHOW A  4 . 

SHOW A 7.

SHOW A  9. 

SHOW A 5.

SHOW MORE NUMBERS THAT THE CHILDREN KNOW. 

—————————————————————————- 

T: «WHEN YOU COUNT, WHAT NUMBER COMES AFTER 7 ?» …..      (8)

4?    (5)                                9?  (10)                   6? (7) 

10?   (11)                             8? (9)                      2 : (3) 

17?  (18)_                           13?  (14)_              14? (15) 

ASK MORE NUMBERS THE STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW. 

———————————————————————————- 

GIVE THE CHILD A NUMBER CARD. 

T; «HOLD UP THE NUMBER 8.»…..».6″…….».5″ 

CONTINUE WITH ALL THE NUMBER CARDS. 

—————————————————————————- 

 T: «HOLD UP THE NUMBER CARD TO SHOW THE ANSWER.» 

«IF I WERE COUNTING, WHAT NUMBER WOULD COME AFTER THE NUMBER I SAY?» 

6          (7)                                        7         (8) 

4         (5)                                         16       (15) 

9         (10)                                      18       (19)

CONTINUE WITH ALL THE NUMBER CARDS. 

—————————————————————————– 

NOT TOO HARD

T: «COUNT BY TENS. WHAT COMES NEXT?»

START AT 30.                   (40) 

START AT 60.                   (70)

START AT 20.                   (30)

START AT 10.                   (20)

START AT 50.                   (60) 

————————————————————————- 

WHAT IS 40 + 30?                      (70) 

WHAT IS 30 + 60?                      (90) 

WHAT ARE THE NEXT THREE NUMBERS?

2, 4, 6, 8        (10, 12, 14) 

WHAT IS 90 – 60 ?        (30) 

WHAT IS 40 – 40?           (0) 

————————————————————————————– 

WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 5 TENS AND 2 ONES.  (52) 

WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 7 TENS AND 4 ONES.   (74)

WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 8 TENS AND 3 ONES.   (83) 

BE CAREFUL WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 6 ONES AND 5 TENS..  (56) 

WRITE THE NUMBER THAT IS 3 ONES AND 8 TENS…(83) 

——————————————————————————————- 

HOW MUCH IS 4 TENS?                       (40) 

HOW MUCH IS 2 TENS?                       (20) 

HOW MUCH IS 7 TENS?                       (70) 

HOW MUCH IS 9 TENS?                       (90) 

HOW MUCH IS 1 TEN?                          (10) 

——————————————————————————————- 

WHAT NUMBER IS BETWEEN 36 AND 38?                   (37) 

WHAT NUMBER IS BETWEEN 49 AND 51?                   (50) 

WHAT NUMBER IS ONE MORE THAN 96?                                  (97) 

I AM THINKING OF A NUMBER BETWEEN 40 AND 50. THIS NUMBER HAS A 3 IN IT. WHAT IS IT?                        (43) 

I AM THINKING OF A NUMBER BETWEEN 20 AND 40. THE NUMBER HAS A 5 IN IT. THERE ARE 2 POSSIBLE CORRECT ANSWERS.

                     (25 and 35)

——————————————————————————————

CHALLENGING

T:   «LISTEN CAREFULLY, WRITE THE NUMBER THAT EQUALS

        6 TENS, 2 HUNDREDS, AND 9 ONES.» (269)

HOW MANY COOKIES IN 4 1/2 DOZEN?   (54 COOKIES) 

WHAT IS THE DECIMAL FORM FOR 1/4?                       (.25)

300 DIVIDED BY 6  = ?   (50) 

ONE MINUTE 30 SECONDS EQUALS HOW MANY SECONDS?   (90)

—————————————————————————————-

 40 TIMES 120 = ?                       (4800)

WHAT IS 1/2 OF 1/8 ?              (1/16)

6 METERS EQUALS HOW MANY CENTIMETERS?        (600) 

WHAT IS 2/3 OF 12?                 (8) 

WHAT IS 1/5 OF 35?                 (7) 

——————————————————————————————–

WHAT IS 18/24 IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM?           (3/4)

WHAT IS 6 TIMES 10 DIVIDED BY 2?                   (30)

8 ORANGES COST $1.20. HOW MUCH WOULD 12 ORANGES COST?                   ($1.80) 

WHAT IS 91 DIVIDED BY 7?              (13) 

CHILDREN’S TICKETS SELL FOR $3.00

ADULT TICKETS SELL FOR $6.00.

HOW MUCH WOULD 3 ADULT TICKETS AND 3 CHILDREN’S TICKETS COST?  ($27.00)

——————————————————————————————– 

A $20 DOLLAR SHIRT IS REDUCED BY 50%. NOW HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?    ($10 DOLLARS)

WRITE THE FORMULA FOR FINDING THE AREA OF A SQUARE. 

(4 TIMES THE LENGTH OF ONE SIDE.)

REMEMBER: INA SQUARE, ALL SIDES HAVE THE SAME LENGTH.

WRITE THE FORMULA FOR FINDING THE AREA OF A RECTANGLE.

( 2 L TIMES 2 W)

L = LENGTH AND W= WIDTH. 

120 TIMES 30 =?            (3600) 

AN INCREASE FROM 20 TO 50 IS WHAT PERCENT INCREASE?               (150%) 

—————————————————————————————— 

WRITE THE FRACTION FOR 90% IN ITS LOWEST FORM.    (9/10) 

WRITE THIS NUMBER:  NINE AND 39 THOUSANDTHS,       (9.039)

WHAT IS 3/4 OF 80?                 (60) 

WHAT IS 12 SQUARED?                       (144)

«SQUARED» MEANS THE NUMBER MULTIPLIED BY ITSELF: 12 x 12. 

WHAT IS THE PERIMETER OF A SQUARE THAT IS 6 1/2 FEET ON ONE SIDE?   (26 FEET) 

——————————————————————————————–

 

By Elaine Gallagher     

Another way to reach students and to help with their learning process, is by excellent questioning techniques.  Here are some suggestions.

            Good questioning skills are part of the artistry of teaching.  Well-crafted questions can assist students in digging deeper for more thoughtful responses.  They can allow students to reflect on their own thought processes and to develop the ability to clearly articulate their thinking.  Skillful questioning leads students to make their own discoveries, create their own learning.  If you don’t do this already, spend some time anticipating the kinds of questions you want to raise during a discussion and the kinds of questions students are likely to raise. Think through how you want to respond to these questions and have several illustrative examples ready to explain and enhance more difficult material.

            You might also think about ways in which to get your students talking to each other. We have spent years programming them to filter all their responses through the teacher. We stand at the head of the room like a target.  We jump in to respond to each student with evaluative comments.  Our voice dominates.

            Try sitting with your students.  Consciously refrain from responding to everything.  Tell your students that you want them to handle the discussion and that you will act as a facilitator.  They may need preparation to take this step and that can come in the form of questions that you give them to use as a guiding structure for their discussion. Later you can ask them to create the structure.

• Give students «thinking time» or «wait time» after asking a question. If there are no responses to your questions, don’t answer your own question. As another, simpler question or give an example.
• Move from simple questions to those that require thought. Avoid questions that need only a yes/no answer. Don’t insult students by asking questions that are too simple and don’t frustrate them by asking questions that are too difficult. I think frustrating questions are okay, but allow them to collaborate with a partner, or put them in small groups of three or four to wrestle with the question for a few minutes.
• Ask only one question at a time.
• Make sure that everyone can hear a student question. Repeat the question if necessary. (Better yet, ask another student to repeat the question. ) If you don’t understand the student’s question, ask for clarification, «Give me an example» or «Do you mean…»(Again, seek the clarification from another student.) Sometimes turn a student question back to the class. If no one can answer it, you know it’s something difficult for all. (Not necessarily. Turn the question over to pairs or small groups for a couple of minutes and then open it back up to responses. If you’re still getting blank stares, ask where the confusion is.)
• Don’t let a few students dominate a discussion. Get all students involved. As the «quick» student to wait or, at times, ask everyone to first write down the answer. Then choose someone to give a response. (Or go for pairs and small groups to maximize participation.)
• If you ask a question and immediately get a response, you can ask others what they think. «Do you agree, Jon?» is a good way to get students involved in the discussion.
• If you decide to call on a student, first ask the question, pause, and then call on the student. This keeps everybody’s attention since they know they may be called upon. Never go around the room in obvious order asking questions. Always keep students on their toes; don’t develop patterns that will clue them into whom you might call on next. (I’m not sure «keep students on their toes» doesn’t translate to high anxiety. I suggest varying your questioning strategies. Sometimes it’s nice to have some time to think and formulate your answer. If you feel there is value in asking for a spontaneous response, set it up that way.
• Don’t ask, «Do you understand?» or «Do you have any questions from last week’s lecture?» Ask questions which require students to give answers which demonstrate that they understand. So if you finish working through a problem on the board, you might ask something like – «What three things do you need to consider before starting the problem…»
• If a student asks a question that was covered previously and he/she should know, don’t embarrass the student by saying, «You should know that,» or «We covered that last week.» Instead, consider asking another student to answer the question.
• Move around the room in a way that promotes discussion. When a student asks a question, it is natural for an instructor to move toward that student. This tends to exclude other students and focuses the interaction between teacher and student. Moving away from the student who is speaking draws others into the discussion.
• One of the most helpful things you can do if you want to improve your questioning skills is to have yourself videotaped during a discussion. When you watch the tape, pay particular attention to the kinds of questions you are asking. What levels of thinking are those questions requiring of your students? How much time do you give students to answer questions? How many times do you answer your own questions? How much of the «discussion» is really you talking? How often do you help a student examine his/her own thinking? What percentage of the time are students talking to each other? How often does a student challenge or ask for clarification on another student’s response

              Using these techniques regularly will help improve students’ active participation and increase their critical thinking skills. It will also help your class to be more interesting.

 

An excerpt from the book: «ON THE ROAD TO EXCELLENCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENGLISH PROGRAM» (2012) by Elaine Gallagher   

How does the PNIEB (Programa Nacional de Inglés en la Educación Básica) affect you?

            The focus of the PNIEB, since its approval by Congress of Mexico in 2008, is based much more on the CEFR standards and on CLIL philosophy than on methods or philosophies previously emphasized in traditional language studies.

            GONE is the emphasis on grammar.

            GONE are translations from L1 to L2 and the reverse.

            GONE is emphasis on memorization.

            GONE is the focus on errors and mistakes.

            GONE are the endless lists, copying, and writing patterns.

            The emphasis in the PNIEB is the social interaction among the students, practicing orally the social and the cultural aspects of the language to be taught…in this instance, English.

            Strong emphasis in the PNIEB is given to Vygotsky’s social /cultural impact on language acquisition. Later in this book, we will look at Vygotsky’s research so you’ll be able to see the connection between his theories and the expectations of the PNIEB.

          There are three areas of concentration in the PNIEB, which are closely related to UNESCO’s Pillars of Education, which we will see in Section Three of this book:

                        1. Understanding what to do with the language…..

                                               how to use it, when to use it,

                        2. Understanding about the language….

                                               how it is structured, how to express well

                        3. Understanding about being with the language

                                   knowing and using the cultural-social aspects

             These three understandings will guide teachers to focus more on the social-cultural aspects of language teaching, resulting in oral fluency as the base of evidence of language acquisition. These three areas re closely related to the Pillars of Education as developed by UNESCO, and the base of using competencies in our schools.

_____________________________

 

by Jolanta Nitoslawska

            That´s all it takes – Speak English!   That´s the CLIL philosophy – it´s really simple:  Speak English all the time and everywhere!  Speak English! – even if your students don´t understand, or you think they don´t understand.  Speak English!  even if your command of the English language is  not what you would like it to be. Speak English! even if your pronunciation is not native-like.  Speak English! and insist that your students – or rather the life-long learners who are in your classes – also communicate in English.  Believe that they can! Pretend you don´t understand when they speak anything but English.  (they know you really do, but  still, pretend that you don´t).  Insist that they communicate with you – and hopefully with each other –  in sign language, with invented  English-sounding words, using wrong verb tenses, and maybe using only  a few correct  English words. Praise any minimal effort to communicate in English. Provide learners with   the right words, model the correct way of saying things and encourage them to repeat the word, the phrase, the sentence, the request … and when they do, celebrate!   and of course, respond; but try not to respond until they say it in English or at least, repeat what you told them to repeat.

            Bilingualism is defined as the ability to speak two languages- but how well?   how much? Should reading and writing count too? There are so many variables and degrees that it is difficult to define bilingualism or multilingualism adequately; and does  the degree of bilingualism really matter for the learners in our schools?   Probably not for communication purposes, but maybe so, if you need diplomas or degrees- and that will come in time.

            In schools, our focus must be communication: the exact expression, the right vocabulary word, the correct grammar will all happen if we provide an atmosphere where the second language is heard, is spoken, is present.  We now know that a toddler in a literate environment has heard approximately 4.5 million words – many repeated over and over again – by the time he/she is 4 years old. Toddlers in non-literate environments hear approximately 1.3 million words. That is what it takes to begin to build up oral language skills in our mother tongue. So if we know that learners need to be exposed to language in order to absorb and then produce it, and if we want them to absorb a second language, it stands to reason that they   need to be immersed in a second language environment as much as possible.  What are we doing in our schools to ensure that this is happening? Is it enough to provide a rich second language environment and is it possible to do so in a unilingual society?   Do we need to teach grammar rules or do we mostly need to provide opportunities for practice, and at times, promote structured practice?

            Coming from a multilingual family and a bilingual society, (high immigration rates, now making it often trilingual) and having worked for over 40 years in «bilingual education» of some sort, it is my contention that a learner´s second-language acquisition rate is mostly determined by the emotional atmosphere generated by the teacher and the school. It is also determined by the consistent use of the second language in  the classroom and in  as many school  situations as possible, and perhaps mostly by the school community´s  belief that all learners can communicate in some manner in a second language  and that correctness  is not important  at first. Anyone can become bilingual if they need to, so let´s create that need!

Part Three 

By Elaine Gallagher 

This information is taken from Elaine Gallagher’s book, MY VERY FIRST ENGLISH ATLAS, published in 2009 by the Secretaria de Educación y Cultura de Coahuila, with copies donated to 300,000 primary school children in Coahuila, Mexico.

Our planet: The Earth

 

1. What is the circumference of the Earth?

(Circumference is the distance around the outside of the Earth, as if you were measuring a belt for the Earth to wear….It is the Equator of the Earth. The «equator» is an imaginary line that circles the middle of the Earth, from East to West.)

The Earth is not a perfect sphere. (Remember, a sphere is a solid, 3-dimensional circle. A circle is flat, but a sphere is not flat; it is three-dimensional.)

The Earth has an oval shape, a sphere slightly flattened at the North and South Poles, and slightly bulging at the equator.

The distance of the Earth at the equator is 24,902 miles (40,075 km).

The distance of the Earth through the poles is 24,860 miles (40,008 km).

(Did you notice that the Earth is slightly fatter at the middle than from top to bottom??? )

(TEACHER: Draw a picture showing a line where the circumference is.)

 

2. Who invented the telescope?

Hans Lippershey (1570 – 1619) a German-Dutch lens grinder and eyeglass maker is credited with the invention of the telescope in 1608 because he was the first scientist to apply for a patent.

 

3. Who is the «Hubble» for whom the space telescope named?

Edwin Powell Hubble (1889 – 1953) was an American (USA) astronomer known for his studies of the galaxies.

The Hubble Space Telescope was sent into space on April 25, 1990 and is designed to see deeper into             space than any telescope on land.

 

4. How probable is it that intelligent life exists on other planets?

The possibility of intelligent life on other planets depends on several factors. Just the Milky Way alone, the galaxy where Earth is located, is so large, that the possibility of life must be considered within the Milky Way.  There are hundreds of thousands of other galaxies, so intelligent life somewhere else in the universe is a very real possibility.

 

5. Is anyone looking for extraterrestrial life?

EXTRATERRESTRIAL refers to life on other planets.

SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) actively began in 1960 by USA astronomer Frank Drake.

Radio signals are monitored to see if there are any intelligent signals.  Radio signals are also sent into outer space with the hope that they will be received and answered.

Although at first ridiculed, the scientists of SETI now are seeing much support of people who want to investigate the probability of intelligent life on other planets.

Currently, there are millions of radio channels and a lot of sky to be examined. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence will probably continue for some time.

==============================================================

INTERESTED???

If you like the idea of extra-terrestrial life, read the book, CONTACT, written by Carl Sagan. It was made into a Hollywood movie, too, starring Jodie Foster. An interesting research project is to study the life of Carl Sagan, a science fiction writer of books and television series, such as The Twilight Zone.

THE END OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE COSMOS…BUT YOU CAN KEEP INVESTIGATING to find more SCIENCE information.

 

Part Two   

by Elaine Gallagher  

This information is taken from Elaine Gallagher’s book, MY VERY FIRST ENGLISH ATLAS, published in 2009 by the Secretaria de Educación y Cultura de Coahuila, with copies donated to 300,000 primary school children in Coahuila, Mexico.

(You can teach this data to your students, so they’ll see how SMART you are!)

                                           Let’s look at the COSMOS

 

PART TWO

Planets, moons, stars, meteors, asteroids, and black holes

1. What is a planet?

A planet is a huge ball of elements, minerals, rocks, and/or gases that revolve around a star, or around several stars that are close together. To be designated as a planet, scientists decided that they should have a size of more than 3,000 miles (4,800 Km) in diameter.

Because PLUTO is only 1,423 miles in diameter (2,290 km) it was taken off the list of official planets in 2006 because it was considered by scientists to be too small to qualify as a planet.

2. What is a moon?

A moon is a natural (NOT man-made) satellite of a planet.  It revolves around a planet, the same way that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

3. How many moons does each planet have?

                                   PLANET                     NUMBER OF MOONS

                                   Mercury                                          0

                                   Venus                                               0

                                   Earth                                                1

                                   Mars                                                 2

                                   Jupiter                                             16 (maybe more)

                                   Saturn                                              8 (maybe more)

                                   Uranus                                             15

                                   Neptune                                           8

             (TEACHER: Show a photo of the Earth and the moon.)

4. How far is the moon from the Earth?

The path of the moon around the Earth is not perfectly round; it is elliptical (like an oval). For that reason, the distance varies between 221,463 miles (356,334 km) from Earth to 251,968 miles (405,503 km).The average distance of the moon from the Earth is 238,857 miles (384,392 km).

5. What is the size of our moon?

The moon is 27% of the size of the Earth, so the Earth is approximately 4 times larger than the moon.

(TEACHER: Show a model of the Earth and the moon, with the earth 4 times larger than the moon. HAVE STUDENTS DRAW EARTH AND MOON, SHOWING THIS SIZE PROPORTION. )

The moon’s diameter is 2,159 miles (3,475 km).

The moon’s circumference is 6,790 miles (10,864 km).

6. Is a DAY the same on all the planets?

NO!  A «day» is how long it takes a planet to revolve one complete turn on its axis. (An «axis» is          an imaginary pole through the center of  planet, north to south.)

Our planet, Earth, takes about 24 hours (exactly 23 hours and 56 minutes) to make a complete turn.  That is Earth’s «day».

                   Here is a chart to study and compare length of days:

                                   PLANET        EARTH DAYS         LENGTH OF DAY

                                                                                          Hours    Minutes

                                   Mercury              58                     15             30

                                   Venus                 243                     0              32

                                   Earth                                              23            56

                                   Mars                                               24            37

                                   Jupiter                                              9             50

                                   Saturn                                             10            39

                                   Uranus                                            17            14

                                   Neptune                                          16             03

7. How far are the planets from the Sun?

                                  PLANET                      AVERAGE DISTANCE FROM SUN

                                                                        Miles               Kilometers

                                   Mercury                 35,983,000              57,909,100

                                   Venus                      67,237,700             108,208,600

                                   Earth                      92,955,900              149,598,000

                                  Mars                        41,634,800              227,939,200

                                   Jupiter                  483,612,200             778,298,400

                                   Saturn                   888,184,000            1,427,010,000

                                   Uranus              1,782,000,000           2, 869,600,000

                                   Neptune           3,666,000,000           5,913,490,000

 8. How long do the planets take to go around the sun?

The planets revolve around the Sun in oval, elliptical orbits (paths), not in a perfect circle. For this reason, sometimes planets are closer to the Sun than at other times. Sometimes, planets even cross the path of other planets. The distances given in the chart below are the average distance from the Sun, starting with Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, and moving outward.

TEACHER: Draw a diagram showing the orbits of these planets around the sun.  Then make a box labeled: «TRY THIS ACTIVITY»

Students: Draw a circle to represent a planet.  Then draw a circle outside the planet, all the way around it.  Do you see how the planet is the same distance from the circle at all points? 

Now: Draw another planet, and this time, draw an oval (elliptical) all the way around it.

Do you see how the planet is closer to the line you drew in some places than others?  This is how the paths (orbits) are in the 8 planets around our SUN. 

 ==========================================================

9. What are the diameters of the planets?

(The diameter is the distance through the middle of the planet, as if you were slicing across the equator.)

                        PLANET                                            DIAMETER

                                                                       Miles                      Kilometers

 

                        Mercury                               3,031                        4,878

                        Venus                                    7,520                      12,104

                        Earth                                     7,926                      12,756

                        Mars                                      4,221                        6,794

                        Jupiter                                88,846                    142,984

                        Saturn                                74,898                     120,536

                        Uranus                               31,763                       51,118

                        Neptune                             31,329                     50,530

—————————————————————————————-

                        Pluto                                     1,423                        2,290

  As you know, Pluto, since 2006, is no longer considered by scientists to be a planet because it is too small.  It is just a body in space which revolves around the Sun as do others bodies, such as comets.  We have included Pluto in this chart so you can see, from numbers, how much smaller it actually is than the other planets.                                                       

10. Which planets have «rings» around them?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings. (Rings are made of rocks, dust, and bits of gases or ice that surround some planets. Scientists think they are left from the «big bang».)

SATURN has the largest and most spectacular ring system, first discovered by Dutch astronomer, Christiaan Huygens (1629 – 1695).

Saturn’s rings are 169,800 miles (273,200 km) in diameter, but only 19 miles (16 km) thick. The rings appear to be composed of water ice ranging in size from tiny pieces to blocks of ice 10-20 yards in diameter. (A yard is 36 inches, a bit smaller than a meter, which is 39 inches.)

JUPITER’s rings were discovered by Voyager I spaceship in March 1979. The rings extend 80,240 miles (129,130 km) from the center of the planet. They are about 4,300 miles (7,000 km) in width and less than 20 miles (30 km) thick.

In 1977 scientists observed 9 rings around URANUS. Later, in 1986, Voyager 2 observed two more.  The rings are thin, narrow, and very dark.

NEPTUNE has at least 4 rings, sighted by Voyager 2 in 1989.

11. What is a star?

A STAR is a burning ball of gases.  There are stars that are much larger, and others that are much smaller, than our star, which we call the SUN.

When a star has planets that revolve around it in a regular path or orbit, it is called a «solar system», Our solar system is made up of one star, the SUN, and 8 planets, plus various space bodies, such as moons (that revolve around the planets), comets, asteroids, meteors, etc.

12. What is a meteor?

A meteor (sometimes called a shooting star) is the flash of light seen when an object passes through Earth’s atmosphere, and burns as a result of heating by friction.

13. What is a meteorite?

A meteorite is a natural object of extraterrestrial origin (comes from outer space) that survives passing through the Earth’s atmosphere and hits the earth’s surface.

14. What is a meteoroid?

A meteoroidis a small object in outer space, usually less than 30 feet (10 meters) in diameter. 

A meteoroid becomes a meteor when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

If any portion of the meteoroid lands on Earth, it is a meteorite.

Some very large meteorites have been found on Earth.  The largest known meteorite, weighing 66 Tons, was found in Namibia in Africa).

(A Ton = 2000 pounds!)

There have been three huge meteorites found in Mexico, (29.8, 15.4, and 12.1 tons), one in the USA, (15.4 Tons) and two in Greenland (33 and 22 tons).

15. What is an asteroid?

An asteroid, also called «minor planets» are smaller than any of the eight major planets.  They are not satellites of any major planet; they orbit around the Sun. 

The word Asteroid means «star-like» because asteroids appear to be points of light when they are seen through a telescope. Most asteroids, but not all, are located between Mars and Jupiter. This area in space is called the «asteroid belt».

CERES was the first asteroid to be discovered on January 1, 1802 by Giuseppe Piazzi (1746 – 1826). It has a diameter of 582 miles (936 km).

The smallest identified asteroid has a diameter of 0.62 miles (1 km).

Scientists have identified over 18,000 asteroids in space.

16. What is a comet?

A comet (sometimes called a «dirty snowball’) is a large clump, mainly made of ice, with some dust mixed in. When a comet moves in its orbit closer to the Sun, the dust and ice heat up, producing a tail of material that trails behind the comet. The tail is pushed out by the solar wind and almost always points away from the Sun.

(TEACHER: Show a picture or drawing of a comet.)

Most comets have an elliptical orbit (path) that carry them around the Sun, then to outer space, never to return.

Other comets, such as Halley’s Comet, have an orbit that causes it to return to the Earth’s view regularly every 76 years. Halley’s Comet was first identified by Edmund Halley (1656 – 1742) a Royal Astronomer for England.

Others had observed the comet for centuries, but they thought it was a sign for bad things to happen. Halley proved that comets are natural objects,      subject to the laws of gravity. The last time Halley’s Comet appeared was in 1985-86.  The next time will be 2061-62.

17. What is a black hole?

A black hole, named by USA physicist, John Wheeler, in 1967, is a gigantic part of outer space           that was once a star that collapsed, (imploded). In its space is left a «black hole» , with such a strong, dense  gravity force that even light can not escape.

Physicist, Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955), first           predicted that when massive stars collapse, they will leave a huge space in their former location, and that this space will have the gravitational power to suck in anything nearby.

During his lifetime, Dr. Einstein was considered by           many as the greatest living scientist, as Stephen Hawkings is today. 

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, (that the speed of light is a constant, and not relative to the observer or light source), and his equation about the relationship between mass and energy, E=MC2 (Energy equals Mass times C/the speed of light squared), changed human understanding of the physical world.

When a star with a mass greater than about 4 times that of our Sun uses up its gases, and eventually collapses, (over millions of years) there is nothing to stop the contraction, and the star collapses forever. The material is so dense that nothing, not even light can escape.

If a black hole existed near another star, it would suck matter from the other star to itself because the gravity-pull is so strong inside a black hole, producing x-rays which can be observed.  That is the only way that the existence of a black hole can be observed, from the suns near it.

            (TEACHER:  Show a diagram of a black hole….)

18. Who is Stephen Hawking?  (born 1943)

Dr. Stephen Hawking is a British physicist and mathematician, considered to be the greatest physicist of the late 20^th and early 21^st Centuries.

Despite a profound handicap (he has ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which requires that he be in a wheel chair, Dr. Hawking has made major contributions to scientific knowledge through his research about black holes, and the origin of the universe. He is the author of several books, which he dictates on tape because of his severe physical problems.  One of his most famous books that is easy and interesting to read for people who are NOT scientists, is A Brief History of Time.

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END OF PART TWO

 

Part One   

by Elaine Gallagher   

This information is taken from Elaine Gallagher’s book, MY VERY FIRST ENGLISH ATLAS, published in 2009 by the Secretaria de Educación y Cultura de Coahuila, with copies donated to 300,000 primary school children in Coahuila, Mexico.

(You can teach this data to your students, so they’ll see how SMART you are!)

                                           Let’s look at the COSMOS

PART ONE

1. What does the word “cosmos” mean?

    COSMOS refers to the study of the origin of the world, of man, and of the universe.

2. What’s the universe?

   The universe is everything out there that occurs naturally….space, planets, galaxies, stars, black holes, moons, asteroids, comets, and space “dust”.

3. How old is the universe?

    The universe is believed to be somewhere between 15 billion and 20 billion years old. 

4. What was the “Big Bang”?

    The “Big Bang” is a theory accepted by most astronomers for the origin of the universe. It says that the universe began as a result of a huge explosion –the Big Bang — 15 billion to 20 billion years ago.

5. Where did we get the idea of the “Big Bang”?

    From several astronomers:

        (1) Edwin Hubble (1889 – 1953) demonstrated that the universe is expanding uniformly, with objects at a greater distance receding at a greater speed. 

        (2) The Earth has a glow of radiation, discovered by Arno Penzias (born 1933) and Robert Wilson (born 1936). This radiation has characteristics that look like, and might be the remains of an ancient, hot fireball.

        Most astronomers believe that matter created by the Big Bang joined together in huge clumps to form  the galaxies. Smaller clumps within the galaxies formed stars.

        Parts of at least one clump formed one star —our Sun—and also became a group of planets —our solar system.

       ( A clump is a huge bunch of anything that is stuck together…such as: A clump of hair had to be cut off because gum was stuck in it.)

6. What is a galaxy?

    A GALAXY is a huge system of stars separated from one another by largely empty space.  The Hubble Space Telescope has found there may be 125 billion galaxies in the universe.                             

7. What is the “Milky Way”?

    The Milky Way is a hazy band of light that can be seen in the night sky. This light comes from the             stars that make up the Milky way galaxy, which is the galaxy to which the Sun and the Earth belong. Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion stars and is about 100,000 light years in diameter.

    Galaxies have various forms. The Milky Way galaxy is shaped like a CD with a central bulge, or nucleus, and spiral arms coming out from the center. 

8. What is a light year?

     A “light year” has nothing to do with time.  A LIGHT YEAR measures distance. 

     A light year is the distance that light can travel in one year. 

     If a star is 100,000 light years from Earth, it means that when light left that star, it will take 100,000 earth-years for the light to reach Earth.

     The Speed of Light is 186,000 miles (300,000 Km) per second. In one year, light, at this speed, travels 5,870 billion miles (9,460 billion kilometers) 

9. What is a solar system?

     A solar system is a star (or stars) that has/have large bodies of solid or gaseous planets that revolve around the star(s) in a path.  Some solar systems, such as ours, has one star (the Sun), but there are some solar systems that have twin suns with revolving planets. 

10. What does our solar system contain?

       Our solar system has one star (the Sun) and eight planets that revolve around the sun in a regular path (orbit). It also includes various other natural objects such as moons, meteors, and asteroids.

11. How old is our solar system?

       It is currently believed to be 4.5 billion years old. The Earth and the rest of the solar systems formed from an enormous cloud of gas and dust, gradually forming the sun and planets. This process took about 25 million years.

12. What is the Sun made of?

The sun is a gigantic ball of gases. It is 330,000 times larger than the Earth.

(TEACHER: Show a relative size…the sun (HUGE) with a pinpoint to represent the Earth.) 

The Sun’s two main gases, totaling 98.31 % of the sun’s mass are:

                                   HYDROGEN      (73.46 % of the sun’s gases)

                                   HELIUM            (24.85 % of the sun’s gases)

(TEACHER: show a pie graph to illustrate this, OR HAVE STUDENTS MAKE A PIE GRAPH IN TEAMS.)

                                    There are also small traces of:

                                               Oxygen                     (0.77 %)

                                               Carbon                     (0.29 %)

                                               Iron                            (0.16 %)

                                               Neon                         (0.12 %)

                                               Nitrogen                   (0.09 %)

                                               Silicon                       (0.07 %)

                                               Magnesium                         (0.05 %)

                                               Sulfur                        (0.04 %)

                                               Other                        (0.10% )

13. How hot is the Sun? 

The sun’s center is about 27,000,000 degrees Farenheit (15,000,000 degrees Celsius).

The sun’s surface (photosphere) is about 10,000 degrees F (5,500 degrees C).

The sun’s outer layer of atmosphere is about 1,800,000 degrees F (1,000,000 degrees C). 

TEACHERS: By the way, the word “PHOTO” means “LIGHT.” 

14. What are sunspots?

Sunspots appear on the sun’s surface in 11 year cycles.  Scientists are still learning about how they affect the world’s  weather.  The sunspots are cooler than the rest of the sun’s surface, about 6,700 degrees F (4,000 degrees C). 

15. When will the sun die?

The sun is approximately 4.5 billion years old.  In about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will burn all its hydrogen fuel into helium.  When this occurs, the sun will change from the yellow dwarf (as we know             it) to what is called “a red giant” star.  Its diameter will extend beyond the orbit of Venus, and maybe even beyond the Earth’s orbit.  In either case, the Earth will be burned to a cinder.              

Whenever that may happen, if humans are still on Earth, they would have discovered other safe places to live, other planets, other galaxies, or even space stations, so life can continue.

16. How long does it take light from the Sun to reach the Earth?

Sunlight takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach the Earth, traveling at 186,282 miles per second. (299,792 Km per second).

__________________

END OF PART ONE

By Elaine Gallagher       

PLAY TITLE: The Happy Snake        

SPECIFIC VOCABULARY: color, eyes, mouth, big, small, ears, head, shoulders, knees, toes, body, circle,four, five, brown, black, green, is, are.

SETTING: a park or garden

CHARACTERS:

• Sammy, the snake
• a girl
• a CHORUS: as many students as the teacher wants
• Several other snakes, Sammy’s friends

                                                                      THE PLAY

 SAMMY………….. What a nice, sunny day!

CHORUS………….  What a nice, sunny day!

SEVERAL OTHER SNAKES……. Let’s play, Sammy. Let’s have a race!

SAMMY………….. OK….Let’s see who is the fastest. Ready?

CHORUS………….  Ready? Are we ready?

SAMMY………….. I’ll count to five. Then we can run.  One…two…three….four…..five.

CHORUS…………. One…two…three….four…five.

SAMMY………….. GO!

CHORUS…………. GO! GO! GO!

(All the snakes begin to run as if they are in a race . Then they suddenly stop because they see a girl playing in the park. When they stop, they are in a circle.)

THE GIRL……….. Oh, wow! Look at the cute, little snakes.          They are in a circle. They are pretty with colors of green and black. They are small.

CHORUS………….   They are small! They are small.

THE GIRL………..   Hello baby snakes. Do you have names?

SAMMY…………..   My name is Sammy. I am small. You are very big. What are you doing?

CHORUS………….  What are you doing? What are you doing?

THE GIRL………..  I am playing and singing. I am singing a song. Do you want to sing about the body with me?

SAMMY and OTHER SNAKES……. Yes, yes. We want to sing.

THE GIRL………… How can you hear me if you do not have ears?

SNAKES………… We can FEEL your song.

THE GIRL……….. OK…We will sing.

(She begins to sing, using motions …)

                               Head and shoulders, knees, and toes,

                               Knees and toes,

                               Head and shoulders, knees, and toes…..

                               Knees and toes……

                              Eyes, and ears, and mouth, and nose..

                              Head and shoulders, knees and toes…

                              knees and toes.»

SAMMY, ALL THE SNAKES, AND THE CHORUS….

                            They sing the same song that the girl. sang.

                            «Head and shoulders, knees, and toes,

                            Knees and toes,

                            Head and shoulders, knees, and toes…..»  etc.

 

THE GIRL…….. This is fun! Maybe we can play again tomorrow.

SNAKES………. Yes! Yes! Yes!

CHORUS……… Yes! Yes! Yes!

SAMMY………   I am a happy snake…I am happy!

EVERYONE…….Yes, we are happy!

                             THE END

By Elaine Gallagher       

 

For Teachers, Directors, Parents, Students: This topic is open for discussion and comments. Feel free to give your opinion.

Let’s look at competitions within schools and between schools. I am referring to academic competitions, not athletic or sporting events.

I believe that what we all do as part of in-house school games can be different from what serves well for competition. 

Having work or games based solely on content from our UNO books is O.K. for a while, but I’m concerned about the many kids and teachers out there who need a real mental challenge, who want THINK and use their brains, beyond the book.

We, in education, often under-estimate what kids are capable of and what they can do, and we over-estimate how teachers are actually «preparing» for their classes.

Planning classes for the lowest common denominator does not lead to interesting, stimulating, or challenging classes. I believe in aiming high for the best long-term results.

In various workshops, we tell teachers to go «BEYOND THE BOOKS». We tell them that the UNO book and the i-pad are simply «tools». Therefore, we need to do that with games or competitions, as well. We need to model and promote high-level thinking. 

Challenging, team-based word games, bilingual spelling bees, with oral or written responses, Simulated United Nations (SUN), research-based debates, are the roads we need to be taking for both in-house and interscholastic/international competitions.

EXAMPLE:

What 4-letter word can be placed in front of all 4 of these words to form a new word?

            ________ strong                    _________ way    

            ________ ache                       _________  line

This kind of word game, solved in teams, is a real challenge. The answer has to come from the students’ brains, NOT from low-level multiple-choice options.

Using activities of this type in team-based competitions, is my vision of UNO progressing to real quality work with high expectations….NOT the same old / same-old.

Your comments? opinions?

ALL ARE WELCOME.

Please SEND THEM TO:

elaine.gallagher@uno-internacional.com

 

by Elaine Gallagher           

                In a recent story printed in this column, «Louie, the Lonely Polar Bear», there was a very obvious error… not a simple, typographical error, put there to see if anyone would notice.

But…..So far, no one has written to correct the error.

            Have you noticed it? If so, let us know, and supply the correction. Teachers need to think critically, too, not just encourage our students to use their brains.

            The first person who submits the correction to elaine.gallagher@uno-internsacional.com will win a book written by Elaine Gallagher, «My Very First English/English Primary Dictionary», suitable for 3rd grade students and above, with over 1,000 words, simple definitions, sample sentences using every word in context, colored drawings, and some charts and graphs of numerals and words. OR (YOU CHOOSE), «My English/English Dictionary for Secondary/Middle School Students», also with 1,000 words, colored pictures, charts/ graphs, and sample sentences for every word.

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More brain teasers:

1. Who originated the phrase, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.”
2. What was Mozart’s middle name?
3. What is the name of the star cluster closest to Earth?
4. How many square meters equals a hectárea?
5. What is a human’s normal body temperature, using Fahrenheit degrees?

ANSWERS

1. Albert Einstein
2. Amadeus
3. Alpha Centuri
4. 10,000 M2
5. 98.6 degrees F.

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