The Making of a Cricket Cage
Purpose:
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To measure length in inches to the nearest 1/4 inch.
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To make a cage for our crickets.
Materials:
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12-4" wood dowels per student, lots of telephone wire,
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ruler, pencil, cardboard, wood glue
Procedure:
This lesson would be presented only after a measurement lesson has been taught.
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1. All the materials listed above will be given to each student.
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2. The telephone wire must be measured and cut into 48-7 inch pieces. (they can do it!)
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3. Six wires should be partially wrapped and evenly spaced around one dowel. (do this around 4 dowels)
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4. Wrap the loose end of the wire around another dowel parallel to the other dowel. (do this to each dowel with wire)
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5. Glue the four dowels with wire down to a piece of heavy cardboard that measures 5 inches square.
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6. Use excess wire to connect the tops of the cage.
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7. Wrap some wire around the remaining four dowels and connect them at the corners with glue and extra wire.
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8. Weave the wire horizontally through the vertical wiring to give the cage effect. (do this at all four corners)
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9. Glue another Cardboard, 5 inches square, to the top of the cage, securing all dowels.
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10 Wrap excess wire, about 8 inches, around each corner at the top of the cage.
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11 Join all four wires together at the center and twist them tight right to the end and make a hook.
Actual crickets can now be found and placed in the cage or an insect of your choice.
A fake insect may be used for decorative purposes.
Conclusion:
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1. Does the project look like a cage?
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2. Is it symmetrical?
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3. Is it durable, will it hold a cricket?
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4. Were the correct measurements used to the nearest 1/4 inch
Mexico- Fiesta
I would begin building background by accessing prior knowledge and build vocabulary concepts. Students will be told that the second event is called Fiesta. It is about special holidays that are celebrated by Mexican/Latin American families. Latin America includes all the Spanish speaking countries in Central America. I would then explain that Fiesta is similar to the American term "Party."
An important part of the Fiesta is the foods eaten. I would tell the students that the Health Department of the United States has developed a food pyramid to help people make wise decisions when it comes to what we put into our bodies as well as how much of each food items. It was once believed that we needed large portions of protein at each meal: now recent studies have shown that whole grains and cereals provide the nutrition most needed for a healthy existence. This is not to say that all or any of the other food groups can be eliminated from the diet, but that smaller portions of them should be eaten each day.
Draw a large pyramid on the board. (Be sure you have a picture or poster of the food pyramid on hand) Section it off like the one on the picture but do not fill it in. I would have the students brainstorm the major food groups aloud. I will record the correct responses on the pyramid in its proper place. If they have difficulty coming up with the groups I would assist them.
Fats/oils /\
/__\
meats/proteins /__|__\ dairy
fruits /___|___\ vegetables
/ \
breads, grains /__________\ cereals, pasta
I would ask them why is the bottom section so large and the top section so little. Hopefully they will figure out that larger portions of the bottom category should be consumed daily while much smaller portions of the top group should be consumed. Their intake of the middle groups should be regulated accordingly, more than the top group but less than the bottom group.
Have the students work in small groups to list the types of foods eaten by their families when they celebrate in their homes such as:
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1. pizza
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2. hot dogs/hamburgers
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3. cake and ice cream
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4.
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5.
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6.
Can they place them in their proper location on the food pyramid? Let them try.
As a vocabulary strategy, I would write each word on the board, use it in a sentence and ask if anyone could pronounce it and discover its meaning given the way is was used in the sentence.
The Key Words to define are:
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1. community
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2. Fiesta
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3. tortilla
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4. ventriloquists
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5. marionettes
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6. vendor
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7. food pyramid
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8. souvenir
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9. fireworks
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10. siesta
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11. grotesque
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12. booths
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13. repertoire
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14. nutrition
To check for understanding I write, in advance, on a large sheet of paper each word with three words beside it. One word would have a similar meaning to the vocabulary word. That word would have to be circled, for example:
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1. vendor- a. an inventor b. a seller c. a climber answer: seller
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2. tortilla- a. an instrument b. clothing c. a food answer: a food
A health lesson will follow the reading. The students will apply their knowledge of the food pyramid to the making of a Tortilla. They will determine if this is a well balanced meal or not.
DRP (Use this after the students do the reading)
The focus of this lesson was the food pyramid. The triangle shape makes it easy to identify which foods we are to eat the most and least. At the base are the breads, grains, cereals and pasta. We are to eat _1_ portions of foods from this group. At the top of the pyramid is the _2_. We are to eat very small amounts of the foods in this group.
A tortilla contains food from _3_ of the food groups. It is a well balanced meal.
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1. a. large b. small c. round (a. large)
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2. a. vegetables b. fats, junk food c. point. (b. fats, junk food)
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3. a. some b. one c. most (c. most)
This is the Guided Student Reading Sheet. It should be photocopied and given to each student.
Mexico - Fiesta
Who has not heard the word Fiesta? Not to be mistaken with Siesta which is a long nap like rest, Fiesta is a big community holiday made popular in Mexico but celebrated throughout Latin America. I believe it is the Mexican word for the American word "Party." They are held in honor of a national holiday, a religious holiday, or a saint. Old and young alike participate in the festivities.@$:
The start at first light and can continue on more than a day. Little booths are set up in the center of town waving brightly hued streamers. What kind of fiesta would it be without candy, toys, cakes and drinks and special souvenirs for the occasion? These are placed in the booths. The loud clanging of church bells and the hiss and pops of firing rockets are heard.
Buy a mask from a mask vendor and become anything you like from a grotesque animal to a pretty princess.
Such big affairs draw bands and the voices of strolling musicians. Popular rides like the merry-go-round and the Ferris Wheel are present. Trumpets and drums are used to lure people into tents where popular attractions like, dancing, singing, and acting are performed on miniature stages.
Marionettes, little clay figures on wires, have a wide repertoire and ventriloquists speak their lines. This is a great souvenir for the children.
Fireworks are the crowning act of a fiesta. Their construction is a combination of the imagination of the Indian to the craft learned from the Spaniards, wonderful animals filled with roman candles, which burst.
Tortillas filled with meat or beans and topped with veggies and cheese satisfy the appetite. Corn is a staple food in Mexico and is used in many dishes. Drinks of all kinds made with and without alcohol quench the meanest thirst. Slices of fruit, oranges, lemon, lime, strawberries and pineapple delightfully decorate drinking containers.
After a day or so of this level of fun, a siesta would be in order.