Mr. Mundorf's Class

Thank you Mr. Carper for coming in to share your knowledge about The Underground Railroad.

Click on the music for a printable/viewable version of Follow the Drinking Gourd.

Click here to listen to Richie Havens sing Follow the Drinking Gourd.

NASA and the National Park Service collaborated to create a fascinating video about the Underground Railroad.

Slaves traveling the Underground Railroad, usually on foot, depended on celestial navigation to find their way northward. They continually looked to the Big Dipper and the North Star for direction. The purpose of this video is to increase student awareness of the Underground Railroad and the role celestial navigation played in the Railroad’s success. The video also highlights the importance of modern Global Information System technology in reconstructing historical topographies and finding the exact route of the Railroad. By combining amazing historical facts-such as the use of handmade quilts for communication with mathematics, remote-sensing technology, earth system science, and astronomy, the video presents an educational experience that is dynamic, moving and broadly cross curricular.

Check out these video clips from the NASA/NPS Underground Railroad: Connections to Freedom and Science DVD

• Follow the Drinking Gourd: Using the Science of Astronomy in History
• The Importance of Waterways in the Success of the Underground Railroad
• Slaves and the Use of Horticulture Along the Underground Railroad
• The Science Behind the Maps of the Underground Railroad
• Navigating to Freedom With the North Star
• Exploring and Preserving the Underground Railroad With Modern Technology
• Archeological Research and the Underground Railroad Today

*Internet Public Library Kidspace: Stately Knowledge

*Explore the States

*ClassBrain’s State Reports

*Fun State Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau

*50States.com

*State and Local Government Links

*Phil’s Place — Tourism Page

Assignment – Travel Agent Project

www.antiochne.edu/acsr/challengebank/files/geography.doc

(thanks for the great idea)

Day 2

A Nation at War

The Human Face of War

Reconstruction

The Challenge of Freedom

Underground Railroad – http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/fl/books/bke/imaps/index.html

Secession – http://wps.ablongman.com/long_divine_appap_7/23/5933/1518969.cw/index.html

The Traveler IQ Challenge

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

To Play
1. Go to http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

2. Scroll down a bit.

3. Choose the desired challenge: World, North America, USA, etc.

4. Click start.
- At the top of the map, you will see your prompt / location.

5. Click the map.
- You have 10 seconds to click where you think the location is on the map.

6. View your score.
- Your score will be calculated based on the amount of time it took you and how close you got.

**Thanks to Tammy Worcester’s Tech Tip of the Week for this awesome website!

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_divine_appap_7/23/5933/1518969.cw/index.html

Classroom notes: Chapter 12 Outline – Causes of the Civil War

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/civilwar.htm

http://www.pocanticohills.org/civilwar/cwar.htm

http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/264/27/

WOW! What a great weekend of NCAA Tournament games! Who do you think will win the 2009 NCAA Men’s Tournament? Any predictions on the Women’s Tournament?

Tell us about the game you watched. Share your observations and insights.

Extra Credit – Complete the following activities over Spring Break.

The Road to the Final Four and 2009 NCAA Tournament

 NCAA Final Four Logo – www.ncaa.com

My new friend Ben invited me to go to Busch Gardens with him and his family during Spring Break. My parents say I can’t go because they’ve never met his parents. I really want to go! What should I do?

Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament – http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball/women/

Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament – http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball/men/ 

The Sweet 16 activity

More information on the women’s and men’s tournament.

 http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/viewable_men

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/viewable_women

NCAA Basketball^®Kids Club Web Sites, Games, and Activities

Our teacher gives us a spelling test each week. I notice that my friend often copies my answers. She never says anything about needing help on the test, but every week I see her looking at my paper. I think it’s unfair that she cheats when I study the night before, however, she’s my good friend and I don’t want her to get in trouble. How should I handle the situation?

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/fl/books/bke/imaps/index.html

My friend Justin is not talking to me anymore. Another kid told Justin that I made fun of him behind his back. I didn’t, but he won’t believe me. Rumors are being spread all over the fifth grade and there are some kids who have started making fun of me based on the rumors they are hearing. I feel like the whole situation is getting out of control.  What should I do?

Sacagawea Video Guide (PDF) 

“One of our country’s greatest Americans was a Native American! Discover Sacagawea, the young woman who joined America’s legendary explorers — Lewis & Clark — on a world-famous expedition through the American West. Serving as a translator and sometimes even as a guide, Sacagawea’s skills in finding food often saved the group from starvation. Kids will discover that throughout this famed expedition, the tremendous courage and bravery that she demonstrated was second to none, and that without her help, one of the greatest adventures in American history might have ended in failure.” – Libraryvideo.com

http://www.pocanticohills.org/womenenc/sacagawea.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Activities&Kids/CorpsProfiles/sacagawea.htm

http://education.boisestate.edu/compass/Kidscompass/Sacajawea.htm

http://www.lizzarddesign.com/sacagawea/index.html

My brother is a great soccer player. He wins almost every time we play a game. During our soccer game today, I became angry because he stole the ball from me and scored a goal. I shoved him and kicked the ball across the street. Now my brother doesn’t want to play soccer with me anymore. What should I do?

http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/black-history-timeline.jsp

“Journey through Black History. Explore the events, meet the people, view the iconic images, and test your knowledge.”

John saw the answer key for tomorrow’s social studies test on Mr. Mundorf’s desk, and he made a copy of it! He is charging our classmates $1 for the answers. I didn’t do well on my last social studies test, and John asked whether I wanted the answers for the exam. What should I do?

 School Poster Contest Guidelines

Paul Revere (biography)

Paul Revere Flash Presentation

Paul Revere’s Ride (Poem)

Paul Revere’s Ride (Audio)

The Paul Revere House

Paul Revere – Social Studies for Kids

                                                                                   Mr. Leahy’s Class American Revolution Page

*Click on the images to complete the surveys.

*Share your opinion and help plan the school menus for next year.

Abraham Lincoln Slide Show

Abraham Lincoln Slide Show Lyrics

 I found the song, slideshow, and lyrics at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site.

http://www.nps.gov/abli/upload/LincolnLessonPlansFinal.swf

February 12 marks the 200^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

This week, TFK explores this President’s life and legacy.

Fast Facts from Time for Kids:

·         The February 12 Lincoln Bicentennial will be observed with a series of events in Washington, D.C. President Obama has been invited to host an early morning wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial.

·         The U.S. Mint plans to release four new Lincoln pennies in 2009. Images on the tails sides of the coins will mark different periods in Lincoln’s life, from childhood through the presidency. Lincoln has appeared on more than 50 U.S. postage stamps.

·         On February 9, the U.S. Postal Service will add four more. The set shows Lincoln as rail-splitter, lawyer, politician and President.

·         The Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission encourages Americans to take part in a nationwide bell-ringing ceremony February 12 at noon CST.

 –

Facts from http://lincolnbicentennial.gov/

The basic facts about Abraham Lincoln are familiar.

• He was born in Kentucky in a log cabin so small it is hard to imagine how his entire family slept in it.
• The family moved to Indiana where he was raised.
• Off to Illinois, the lanky Lincoln became a frontier lawyer, served as a state legislator and won election to the Presidency at a time when the nation’s very survival was at risk.
• Inaugurated in 1861, he served throughout the Civil War, working to break the grip of slavery and to put the country back together until an assassin brought him down.

A common man forged in uncommon times, Lincoln is the model American leader.

Read a short biography, view an extensive timeline, meet his family, take a virtual tour of the places important in Lincoln’s life, re-discover his words and speeches, including his famous Gettysburg Address translated into 29 different languages, and ask yourself “Did You Know?”

During this Bicentennial period, read a good biography of President Lincoln suggested on the Reading Lists, and then test your knowledge of Abraham Lincoln with the Honest Abe Quiz.

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C-SPAN has a fact-filled page on their website dedicated to President Lincoln. I really enjoyed the video (A biographical look at our 16th president, from Abraham Lincoln’s Kentucky birth to his wartime presidency).

I want to give everyone in my class valentines for Valentine’s Day. My friend Amy thinks it would be funny to send one to Kayla telling her she wears weird clothes. She wants me to do the same thing. I don’t think that is a good idea. What should I do?

In honor of Black History Month, BrainPOP’s Spotlight: Black History explores topics from the Underground Railroad, Brown v. Board of Education, and Harlem Renaissance to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou, and more. Learn about these famous people and events in American History and earn up to 22 extra credit points.

1.  Go to the website by clicking on: http://www.brainpop.com/spotlight/blackhistorymonth/

2. Choose one of the movies to watch.

3. After the movie is over, click the icon Take a Pop Quiz, and select Graded Quiz.

4.  Take the quiz.

5. Once you have viewed the movie and taken the quiz, post a comment about the movie on this blog post explaining what you learned along with any comments you may have about the topic.

6. Email your quiz results to Mr. Mundorf (jmundorf@yahoo.com)