Fourth Grade Blog

_{from davipt’s photostream on flickr}

Think about how we use electricity. Think about all the things we have use electricity. Then do these activities:

• OLogy: Biodiversity

• OLogy: Water

• Global Climate Change: Research Explorer- The Exploratorium

What does it mean when we use electricity alot?

Immigrants today come from different places than they did in the past.

Immigration… The Changing Face of America
You will read about immigrants from the past. Pick one groups shown in pictures at the left to read about.

THE NEW AMERICANS . Meet the New Americans | PBS
Read about immigrants from today. Pick one of the groups listed there. If your family has immigrated to the U.S. you can think about that experience.

Interactive Map Showing Immigration Data Since 1880 - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com
Look at the map, you can move the slider at the top to change years. What do the color changes mean?

Please do the following reading/activities until the bell rings:

• DragonflyTV . Check it Out . Check It Out: Energy Club | PBS KIDS GO!

• DragonflyTV . Episodes . Body and Brain . Body Electricity | PBS KIDS GO!

• Physics4Kids.com: Electricity & Magnetism: Introduction

_{Photo source: America’s Story}

We will be looking at how America has changed as more people have come west. Today, we looked at how water is being moved to farms in what was once dessert. Think about this, as you read these accounts of the results of not farming wisely in the 1930s:

• Dust bowl

• The Dust Bowl of Oklahoma

We we meet the second time, please send a comment about how water is being used in our state, California, and what the risks are from this.

_{Photo: Indian tribes, Cultures & Languages Map Collections 1500-2004 Library of Congress}

All Americans who are not descended from Native Americans had ancestors that came from somewhere else in the world. Please share where some of your ancestors came from in a comment. After that, do this activities to learn more about Native Americans (who were already here), and African slaves who were forced to come here:

• Immigration… African: Introduction
• Immigration…Native American: Destroying Cultures

These will involve reading. Please pick one section (page) to read, and read it all the way through. I’ll be asking you about what you learned next time.