Tuesday, March 8, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• March 16 (PM only) & 17 (all day) - Spring parent/student/teacher conferences. Conference sign-ups available in the River Classroom.
• March 16, 17 & 18 - Wed., 3/16 will be an early dismissal day (No Homework Club), and on Thurs., 3/17 and Fri., 3/18, there will be no school for students.
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Wed., March 16 - Ukulele Club registration forms due. Download Ukulele Club documents here.
• Fri., March 25 - First Ukulele Club Meeting
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 1/24, including project deadlines through the end of February and downloadable documents. Page will be updated as I get new information.

Math:

Grade 7
• Due Wed., 3/9: Complete #5, 6, and 8 on pp. 66-67.
Grade 8
• Due Wed., 3/9: Complete #2 on p. 53 and #4 on p. 54-55.

Language Arts:

• Due Wed. 3/9: Revisit the graphic organizer to make certain there are significant, specific examples/details to support the main idea of each of the three “body” paragraphs. Write introductory paragraph of the essay making certain you have the thesis/position statement and a “map for the reader” of the three main ideas to be developed in the rest of the essay.
• Group 1 Due Tues., 3/8: Bring in photos and/or an object to share with your partner at Overlook. Have it to present in math class.

Social Studies:

• Due Thurs., 3/10: Illustrated timeline of Jerusalem. Use colored pencils.

Science:

• Nada:

Spanish:

Moment of Zen:

DIY Mapping: How It's Done and Why It's Important

Traditionally, mapping has been the province of the über-wealthy and powerful—those who could afford to send boats around the world or satellites into space. While those in charge of the maps couldn't change the land they were mapping (at least not always), they could control what people knew about them and how people saw them.

However, the state of digital imaging and communication technology is making this sort of big picture something that anyone handy can make or contribute to. Pictured above is a barebones mapping kit which can be assembled for under $100, put together by Jeff Warren, one of the pioneers of what he calls Grassroots Mapping.

The utility of making mapmaking something anyone can do came into light with last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The FAA was banning flights under 4000 feet above the affected area as part of a media blackout, a group of citizens calling themselves The Louisiana Bucket Brigade went out with cameras on kites and weather balloons and released some of the first images to really show the extent of the damage.

(See also Brooklyn Space Program)