Week 4 Readings Reflection

Seeing the librarian as the instructional partner with the teacher has really helped me to understand the role of the library specialist/teacher. As a classroom teacher, I have had many opportunities to do some research projects with my students and our school's library specialist which have all been postive experiences.

I also feel it would be very beneficial to be able to teach an interdisciplinary curriculum. Unfortunately, I am in a departmental situation with rigid time slots. Through the different readings, I have been able to "push" my thinking and am looking forward to using many of these ideas in the new school year.

Why do we have seasons?

Night and day are produced when the earth spins on its axis. The earth moves about the sun in an elliptical orbit that requires about 365 1/4 days to complete. The earth's spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbital plane and this is what causes the seasons. When the axis points away, winter can be expected. On the summer solstice, it points as close as it can to the sun.

So, the changes in the seasons are caused by Earth's movement around the sun. Earth makes one complete revolution about the sun each year. The tilt of the axis, called the obliquity of Earth's axis, determines the season.

Google search:
National Weather Service - NWS Flagstaff
http://www.wrh.noaa.gove/fgz/science/season.php

Thomson Gale search:
Seasons
Gale Encyclopedia of Scies, Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008.
http//find.galegroup.com/srcx/retrieve.do

Print Source search:
Farndon, John; How the Earth Works, p. 19. Readers Digest Association, 1996

Week 3 Reading Reflection

As a classroom teacher, the readings have really been eye opening to me in several areas. It has always been a debate in schools as to who is responsible for what. In my school, classroom teachers are responsible for giving a research grade on the report card in grades 1 to 8. This is always a hazy area and I noted in the reading that it is an "unresolved issue." Is it part of the curriculum taught by the teacher-librarian because the classroom teachers don't have the time? If so, how can I justify giving the grade for research when the grade they receive from the teacher/librarian is merely pass/fail and much of the time based on behavior and not skills. After reading these articles, I see others feel the same way.

How do leaves know when to change color?

In the fall, days start to get much shorter and the nights start to get longer. Plants no longer get the amount of sunlight and water necessary to produce energy so it won't need its leaves or chlorophyll any longer. The plant will then live off its stored energy. The dropping temperature also tells plants it is time as trees prepare for winter. The tree's location on earth also makes a difference because it is not the same everywhere. Warmer places have longer summers and the leaves will change colors later in the year if at all.

Source: Google
http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu
"When do leaves change their color?"

Leaves have 3 main pigments. The green in spring and summer is created by chlorophyll which helps plants create energy. When temperatures drop, the production of chlorophyll stops and the amount present in the leaves begins breaking down into simpler compounds. Then other colors, yellow, orange, red and purple, are unmasked. Trees are tuned in to changes in the length of days, light, and temperature. Environmental changes tell trees when to change colors.

Source: Ebsco
USA Today Magazine; Aug95, Vol. 124, Issue 2603, p14, 1/2p.
"Why do leaves change color?"


In autumn or during a dry season, leaves lose their chlorophyll. As the leaves' green color fades, red, yellow, or orange pigments become visible. Trees adjust to the growing seasons.

Source: Britannica Online School Edition
Elementary School. "Leaf."

Can you touch a cloud?

Clouds are made up of water vapor with the amount depending on temperature and pressure. Dropping temperatures mean not as much vapor. Water condenses on the dust floating in the air so the amount of droplets in a cloud depends on how much dust and water vapor there is in the air, as well as the temperature. People and objects can move through clouds. The water droplets are really too small to touch so it is similar to the feeling of being outside on a really humid day. Clothes might feel moist and the air feels thick and heavy.

Source: Google search: Ask a Scientist
www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education


Can you touch a cloud?

Clouds are the condensed form of atmospheric moisture consisting of small water droplets or tiny air crystals. The formation of clouds caused by the cooling of the air results in the condensation of invisible water vapor that produces cloud droplets or ice particles. The cloud particles are minute in size so they can be sustained in the air but not felt.

Source: Ebsco
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia Database


Can you touch a cloud?

Many clouds appear solid because they have such definite shapes. but they are nothing more than parcels of tiny water droplets and ice crystals floating in the air. The different shapes of clouds are a result of the way they form and the balance of water droplets and ice crystals within them. The water droplets are so small they cannot be touched.

Source: Farndon, John. How the Earth Works. Reader's Digest, Singapore.1992

Why do some months have 30 days and other months have 31 days?

The Julian calendar was the reformed version of the Roman calendar which was based on the number of days in the lunar cycle. The reformed Julian calendar tried to equalize the days. The Roman calendar is a lunar calendar. The number of days in a month was roughly based on on the moon and the time between two new moons which is about 29.5 days, so months were made to be 29 or 30 days long. 29 was considered to be unlucky while 30 was lucky. According to legend, the Julian calendar had alternating months 30,29,30,20,etc. Then Julius Caesar added 1 day to each month except for February to fill out the calendar. Then Augustus Caesar changed August to 31 days to match July.

Source: Google
http://www.astro.uu/nl


Why do some months have 30 days and other months have 31?

There were many different types of early calendars. Many of these calendars were based on lunar cycles. People of ancient times adjusted the calendars to meet their needs. The Christian calendar is based on the Julian and Gregorian calendars of 12 months and 365 days.

Source: Monkeyshines on Health and Science, September, 2002.

http://www.Ebscohost.com.proxy.nl.edu


Why do some months have 30 days and other months have 31?

In ancient calendars, the months were originally calculated as time between two full moons. The number of days required to circle earth is 29.5. In modern calendars, the number of days in a month was not based on the moon. The length of months in a year is 1/12 of a year (28.31 days) and is adjusted to fit the 12 months into a solar year.

Source: Funk & Wagnall's New World Encyclopedia, 2008.