Middle and High School … from a Montessori Point of View
Jenny Anderson has an interesting article on a New York school that changed from the typical 45 minute class periods to longer 130 minute “blocks” (thanks to Kara D. for pointing this one out). The whole idea of set class periods is one I’m having to get used to again as I move out of … Continue reading “Block Schedules”
Salt and sugar crystals have wonderfully distinctive crystal forms. They might well be good subjects for introducing minerals, crystals and some of the more complex geometric solids. The salt crystals are clearly cubic, even though some of the grains seem to be made up of overlapping cubes. Salt is an ionic compound, made of sodium … Continue reading “Salt and Sugar Under the Microscope”
Looking at the smear slides of Coon Creek Sediment Matrix got me thinking about just how important these little, microscopic shells have been for what we know about the Earth’s past climate. In fact, they provide the background knowledge that we have about the changes in climate that we’re seeing today. Back in the 1970’s … Continue reading “How Microscopic Shells can tell us the History of the Earth’s Climate”
My students will tell you that I’m never happier than when I have my cup of tea. On the night after our visit to Coon Creek, I put a tiny sample, about the size of a matchstick’s head, of sediment matrix on a microscope slide, and added a drop of water to disperse the grains. … Continue reading “Coon Creek Matrix Under the Microscope”
Just got back from our immersion trip to collect Cretaceous fossils at the Coon Creek Science Center, and hiking in Natchez Trace State Park. It was an excellent trip. Despite the cold, Pat Broadbent did her usual, excellent job explaining the geology of Coon Creek and showing us how to collect and preserve some wonderful … Continue reading “Coon Creek Immersion: Visiting the Cretaceous”
We could have been talking about the nuclear meltdowns in Japan, but I’m not sure. Our conversations tend to wander. I remember trying to explain where the carbon atoms, that are so essential for life, came from. It’s been a while since we saw this topic, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go it … Continue reading “We are Stardust: Supernovas and the Heavy Elements”
Women are the routers and amplifiers of the social web. And they are the rocket fuel of ecommerce. –Aileen Lee (2011): Why Women Rule The Internet on TechCrunch.com. Last month I observed that the girls in my class were blogging a lot more than the boys. It’s still true, and now there’s an informative, if … Continue reading “And Women Inherit the Internet”
xkcd has published an excellent graph showing where different dosages of radiation come from and how they affect health. It’s a complex figure, but it’s worth taking the time to look through. I find it easiest to interpret going backward from the bottom right corner that show the dosages that are clearly fatal. One red … Continue reading “Radiation dosages”