English/Language Arts
Explore vocabulary - specialized content area
This Minute has a number of content-specific vocabulary words that may impede comprehension if student do not take the time to identify them and look them up. Have students do a first read with a pen in hand to make a list of words they do not fully understand. Now group students together to form definition teams and send them looking for a definition of things like abdominal, stridulatory, entomologist and hymenopteran.
Explore suffixes and parts of speech
This is a good Minute to introduce or reinforce the power of a suffix to transform a word’s usage ( ie. from a verb to an adjective, an adjective to a noun), or meaning. The vocabulary words above are a good place to start. Note how abdomen (n) becomes abdominal (adj) and entomology (the study of insects), can become entomologist (the person who studies insects). See if students can create charts of suffixes that reflect how they affect the stem of a word (look here for an example).
Social Studies
Explore cultural traditions - coming of age
Use this Minute to learn about rituals and traditions practiced by cultures globally to either formally or informally adopt children into the world of adulthood. Have your students share what it means in their families. When can they expect to become adults? How will they know? Then explore some religious and tribal rituals from around the planet, including that of the tribe related by Author Albee in this Minute. Older students might enjoy this NatGeo video explaining the ritual further - but be sure to watch it yourself first! If you wondered how to weave live ants into gloves, you will find your answer here!
Explore geography
Where is Brazil? The Amazon? Find these places on the world map or globe and measure the distance from your hometown. Follow the Amazon river from its beginning to end and take a look at the indigenous groups that depend upon the river to support their way of life.
STEM
Explore biomes - the rainforest
Use this Minute to explore the unique characteristics of the rainforest biome. What makes it uniques? What can we learn from this biome? What makes its home there? What can science learn from studying the rainforest? What products do we use that have their origins in this biome?
Explore measurement - the use of scales in science
When Author Albee talks about a scale (pain scale reference) in this Minute, students might first picture something like the scale in our home bathrooms where we weigh ourselves, or the grocery store scale hanging in the produce section or sitting on the deli counter. But science is served by all kinds of scales to measure all kinds of things so that we may compare them and study them and collect data. Use this Minute to explore things that are measured by scales and the people who came up with those scales. Can you students come up with alternative ways to measure things?
Research Skills
Explore finding definitions
Introduce your students to Google’s Define feature. Type define before anything you want defined and you will get a definition at the top of your Google results page. Show them a dictionary site like Merriam Webster, with its Word of the Day feature and explore the advantages of understanding a word's origin.
Explore vocabulary - specialized content area
This Minute has a number of content-specific vocabulary words that may impede comprehension if student do not take the time to identify them and look them up. Have students do a first read with a pen in hand to make a list of words they do not fully understand. Now group students together to form definition teams and send them looking for a definition of things like abdominal, stridulatory, entomologist and hymenopteran.
Explore suffixes and parts of speech
This is a good Minute to introduce or reinforce the power of a suffix to transform a word’s usage ( ie. from a verb to an adjective, an adjective to a noun), or meaning. The vocabulary words above are a good place to start. Note how abdomen (n) becomes abdominal (adj) and entomology (the study of insects), can become entomologist (the person who studies insects). See if students can create charts of suffixes that reflect how they affect the stem of a word (look here for an example).
Social Studies
Explore cultural traditions - coming of age
Use this Minute to learn about rituals and traditions practiced by cultures globally to either formally or informally adopt children into the world of adulthood. Have your students share what it means in their families. When can they expect to become adults? How will they know? Then explore some religious and tribal rituals from around the planet, including that of the tribe related by Author Albee in this Minute. Older students might enjoy this NatGeo video explaining the ritual further - but be sure to watch it yourself first! If you wondered how to weave live ants into gloves, you will find your answer here!
Explore geography
Where is Brazil? The Amazon? Find these places on the world map or globe and measure the distance from your hometown. Follow the Amazon river from its beginning to end and take a look at the indigenous groups that depend upon the river to support their way of life.
STEM
Explore biomes - the rainforest
Use this Minute to explore the unique characteristics of the rainforest biome. What makes it uniques? What can we learn from this biome? What makes its home there? What can science learn from studying the rainforest? What products do we use that have their origins in this biome?
Explore measurement - the use of scales in science
When Author Albee talks about a scale (pain scale reference) in this Minute, students might first picture something like the scale in our home bathrooms where we weigh ourselves, or the grocery store scale hanging in the produce section or sitting on the deli counter. But science is served by all kinds of scales to measure all kinds of things so that we may compare them and study them and collect data. Use this Minute to explore things that are measured by scales and the people who came up with those scales. Can you students come up with alternative ways to measure things?
Research Skills
Explore finding definitions
Introduce your students to Google’s Define feature. Type define before anything you want defined and you will get a definition at the top of your Google results page. Show them a dictionary site like Merriam Webster, with its Word of the Day feature and explore the advantages of understanding a word's origin.
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission