Comparing Homo Sapiens to Australopitecus and Chimpanzees

Click on the pictures below to examine them in more detail. 

Compare the skeletons of humans (Homo sapiens) to Australopithecus afarensis and chimpanzees.

What similarities and differences can you find?

Looking for the posts about Otzi?

Click on the link to visit those posts http://mrgoldstein.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html

How Does B.C. and A.D. Work on a Timeline?

Can you understand the dates on this timeline? How come the dates on the timeline get smaller as you read left to right, but then switch and begin to grow larger?

That is very strange. Watch the video clip below to make sense of the dates.


 


What does B.C. stand for? What about A.D.?

Can you put these dates in chronological order from oldest to newest?

600 A.D.
200 B.C.
2015 A.D.
1000 B.C.
50 B.C.

Mapping and Music

How many places or ideas from the map in today's atlas activity can you count?

What we learned about Ardipithecus ramidus... a lot!

In Team Time, my young scholars went deeper into the past to unearth the secrets of one of the oldest known hominids, Ardipithecus ramidus. This is what they found out....

September 17 is Constitution Day!

"On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created." -National Archives

That document was the Constitution of the United States. 

What is a "Constitution?"

"The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. Empowered with the sovereign authority of the people by the framers and the consent of the legislatures of the states, it is the source of all government powers, and also provides important limitations on the government that protect the fundamental rights of United States citizens." -Whitehouse.gov

In other words, the Constitution is the document that defines the government of the United States. It's the rule book for our nation. It states what powers the government has and what rights are left in the hands of the people. 

More information on the Constitution can be found here.

So how did Constitution Day become a special day to celebrate?

According to ConstitutionFacts.com...

[An] important figure in the creation of Constitution Day is Louise Leigh. Leigh, after taking a course in Constitutional History with the National Center for Constitutional Studies, was inspired to spread her newfound love of the Constitution throughout the country. In 1997, she founded a nonprofit organization called Constitution Day, Inc. to help encourage recognition of the importance of this national holiday.

Through her efforts, Constitution Day became an official holiday alongside Citizenship Day in 2004 when, with the help of support from Senator Robert Byrd, the "Constitution Day" amendment to the Omnibus Spending Bill passed. In May 2005, the United States Department of Education backed the law when it announced that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind.

The two allowances of the law were that the head of every federal agency provide each employee with educational materials concerning the Constitution on 17th of September and that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students every Constitution Day.

Constitution Day, along with Independence Day and Presidents' Day, is an important part of the cultural heritage of the United States of America, because it recognizes the value of the American experiment, and the success of a nation of free people whose rights and liberties are protected by a written Constitution.

Why does the Constitution deserve to be celebrated?

To answer the question, watch this video and think about the ideas you read about above. 

On a "Post It" note or index card, write a high quality 1-2 sentence response to answer the question "why does the Constitution deserve to be celebrated?" Bring it with you to class!

Primary & Secondary Sources

When it comes to researching about a topic today, there are plenty of sources available to students. The internet, which is probably a 6th graders first stop, contains vast amounts of information available in a fraction of a second. Students also commonly use books or magazine articles from the local library. No matter where you go for information, there are two main types of sources: Primary & Secondary. The video below explains each type of source and gives examples.


   


 Most of the research currently done by students is with secondary sources, like Encyclopedias or websites. However it is important to learn to use primary sources too! This year in school, students will practice analyzing primary sources and interpreting their meaning. While more challenging, this process will allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the past. 

For class tomorrow, bring the definition of each type of source and examples of each type of source to class. 

 - Mr. Goldstein

Want more help with Primary Sources? Click this link!

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln

Cuneiform Writing from Mesopotamia