Layers of Learning

Under Construction

2012-02-07T12:15:00.001-07:00

We're super excited to be completely revamping our site. You're going to love how easy it will be to navigate and find all our posts on every topic we've written about from Roman tessellations to the Rubix Cube review. We'll have pages for reviews, lesson plans, what we do when school is out, and a brand new catalog, plus more.

But . . . sadly, sadly we'll be down for a week or so while we're making the changes. So see ya round the curve.

Of course it's entirely possible we'll pop back up on Blogger in our old place with our old look . . . wish Karen luck in her HTML forays.

Happy Birthday Laura!

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday! She's one of our favorite authors.

If you're a fan, go join the facebook group, Remembering Laura.

Start reading one of her books out loud to your kids. Girls and boys both like all of her books, but boys will be especially drawn to Farmer Boy, also one of my favorites.

And eat corn bread and bean soup by candlelight tonight!

Mini Castle Craft

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

You can easily make these mini castles with your kids while studying the middle ages.

Printable Castle Craft

Just print the castles out onto card stock, color, cut along the dotted line over the castle and around the heavy line on the base, then fasten the base together in a circle behind. Your castle can stand up on its own.

Here are some books to read to go along with your castle studies:

Medieval Castle Sticker Picture Book by A.G. Smith
Knights and Castles by Seymour Simon
Castle by David MacAulay
Days of the Knights by Christopher Maynard

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Find some real castles online.
Compare Japanese medieval castles to European ones.
What do we use today for defense and how is this the same and different from the castles of the middle ages?
Castles are a marvel of engineering and design, but they were made obsolete by new technology in the form of gunpowder. Learn more about how gunpowder changed the world.
The world is constantly being changed by technology. What technologies are changing your world right now? How do you feel about it?

Simplify

2012-02-02T22:54:00.001-07:00

I've always admired those cute little wooden signs with clever sayings people put up in their homes, but I've never found quite the right fit until I was inspired by our Algebra text book, which repeatedly tells us to simplify . . . that's the message I was looking for!

I needed something that said, "Life is complicated, more complicated than you think and even when it's simplified, it's not really simple." It also says, "we can do complex mathematical equations", which is kind of nerdy, which I also like.

Here's to the the nerds who teach their kids stuff like who was the Chinese emperor that built the Great Wall, and make their kids memorize the prologue to the Canterbury Tales in Middle English, and teach them Algebra when they're still in elementary school--but all while wearing their PJ's. That's right, homeschool parent, we're toasting you!

Unit 1.4

2012-02-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

This fourth unit in the Layers of Learning Program includes:

History: Ancient Greece
Geography: Wonders of the World
Science: Satellites
The Arts: Greek Art

Would you like to re-enact the Battle of Marathon? What if you could decide what the wonders of the modern world were? How about if you could build your own comet? Or how about creating a fresco painting just like the Greeks? Unit 1.4 includes all of this, plus a printable historical map, and tons of ideas to keep your kids learning with hands-on fun.

In each unit you'll find a recommended library list, important background information about each topic, lots of activities to choose from for kids of all ages, and sidebars with a bunch more ideas including Additional Layers, Fabulous Facts, On The Web, Writer's Workshop, Famous Folks, and Teaching Tips. Printable maps and worksheets are included at the end of each unit and may be printed as often as needed for your family or class.

This unit can be used as a unit study, an idea book to supplement any curriculum, or as part of the Layers of Learning Program covering history, science, geography and art in a four year rotation.

If you wish to print a physical copy of this PDF unit we highly recommend that you take a digital copy to a copy shop to have it double sided printed professionally; the units are completely formatted and ready for perfect printing results. The unit can either be bound in a comb binding or three hole punched and placed in a binder.

In other news: Just sign up for our free newsletter and we'll send you a free e-copy of our first unit.

E-books will be sent out within 24 hours of purchase. Physical books will be shipped within 48 hours of purchase, excluding weekends and holidays.

Books to accompany Unit 1.4

Note: These books are merely recommended library resources, they are not necessary to using the course. They're some of our favorites though! Click on the pictures below to purchase them.

What's Special About February 2nd?

2012-02-01T22:06:00.001-07:00

We're all watching for that cute little groundhog to come out and tell us what kind of weather to expect, but why is Groundhog's Day on February 2nd anyway? Well, the 2nd of February is a cross-quarter day celestially speaking, a midway point between winter solstice and vernal equinox. It was celebrated by many cultures as the midpoint of winter long before the furry, little groundhog ever had any attachment to the day. It's also about the time groundhogs naturally come out of hibernation, so it just makes sense all around.

Groundhogs are pretty cute little animals. They are closely related to squirrels and are not only good at burrowing, but also great climbers and swimmers. They eat plants and grasses like crazy all spring and summer, and then begin hibernating in October. By the end of their hibernation in February they will have lost about half of their body weight.

Groundhogs often live alone, but have sometimes been seen living together in burrows. They use their burrows for protection from predators. Snakes, coyotes, wolves, foxes, bobcats, and hawks would all eat a groundhog, so they certainly need the protection. Their burrows are also useful for rearing their young in, who aren't yet ready to face all the dangers of the world. Their burrows usually have quite a few entrances so they can escape out another route if a predator is on the prowl.

Tradition says that if the groundhog sees its shadow today we'll have 6 more weeks of winter. Either way, start today and make a weather graph of what really happens. Was the groundhog right? Traditionally Phil has only been right about 39% of the time, so your graph could go either way.

More Activities:

You can also celebrate by using a desk lamp and having someone trace your own shadow on a piece of paper. Write your own weather prediction inside your shadow.
Make your own groundhog paper bag puppet.
Have fun with these groundhog's day printables.
Make a felt portrait of Phil.

Additional Layers:

A groundhog and a woodchuck are the same thing. You may want to brush up on your tongue twister mad skills today: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood??Then if you're REALLY smart you can tell your friends the answer to the tongue twister. It's about 700 pounds! A wildlife biologist examined the volume of the burrow of woodchuck and determined that if it were filled with wood instead of dirt, the woodchuck would've chucked about 700 pounds worth. In truth though, groundhogs aren't avid wood chewers like beavers.
So often we hear about endangered or extinct animals. Groundhogs are NOT endangered by any definition. They are not hunted for their coats (because, well, frankly, their grizzled coats are not all that attractive, though Native Americans sometimes did use them for the BOTTOMS of their moccasins.) There are approximately 5500 species of mammals that we know of, and of those about 16 species are endangered (though the lists are always changing!). Can you figure out that percentage?
Learn more about Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania, one of the traditional groundhog viewing cities where we all watch Phil come out and see his shadow...or not.
Imagine you are Phil and write about what it's like to come out of your winter burrow to be surrounded by people, lights, and cameras galore! What is it like? Do you see your shadow? What else do you see?

Cityscape Art

2012-01-31T08:11:00.002-07:00

As part of our art studies I like to teach the kids about the different kinds of pieces that artists make - still life, portraits, landscapes - you get the idea. One that seems to be often overlooked is the cityscape. We looked at several cityscape pictures and noticed that while more natural landscapes tend to have organic, irregular shapes, cityscapes tend to be with very simple, geometric ones.

We began with a horizon line, in this case, the street. All the structures must be tied into the horizon line in a cityscape (unless you want the buildings to look like they're floating in the air!) We cut out a street from black construction paper and glued it to our blue construction paper background. That created the horizon line.

Next, the kids used any colors they wanted to to cut out tall buildings using simple geometric shapes of different sizes. The one I pictured was done by my 4 year-old with very little help from me. That's the beauty of cityscapes - their straight lines make things very simple!

Finally, we added details. A black marker was used to add windows and doors to the buildings, yellow chalk made perfect dashes on the street, and white clouds were created with white chalk.

Older kids could add cut-outs of people, cars, fire hydrants, or anything else they'd like to.

Additional layers:

Discuss the idea of organic versus geometric shapes.
Imagine back to the time before your city (or a nearby city) was there. If it were all just the natural land and you were creating a landscape picture, what colors would you use? Now compare that with the colors you would use if you made a picture of the city as it looks today.
Make a replica of your cityscape art on another day or another time. Create the same scene, except in the wintertime or make a picture of what it looks like at night.

DNA Extractions

2012-01-30T01:04:00.003-07:00

Nathan extracted DNA from peas this past week.

The stringy, white, snot-like stuff is the DNA.

The DNA looks remarkably like . . . snot. That would be because both DNA and snot are made of similar proteins. It's a little weird though that the whole control center of your body's cells resembles the nasty stuff on your tissue.

We'll explain how to extract DNA from peas in Year 2, unit 6 where we learn about cells.

Additional Layers:

You know how when you have a cold, you think, "If I blow my nose really well than all this nastiness in my nose will go away" but then it doesn't, the snot just keeps coming and coming. How does your body do this? Find out how cells make the stuff they make.
DNA is both simple and complex. It's only made with four different protein compounds. The compounds are just arranged in different patterns and orders to make the whole code. Tim observed that this is kind of like the binary code with which computers are programmed, only in the body it's a quaternary code. Pretty cool stuff.
Each strand of DNA is a single molecule; it's one of the very few molecules you can see with the naked eye.
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid . . . you will probably never need to know this in your real life. But still, probably the only word you know that's longer is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and that's just nonsense.

2012-01-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

Layers of Learning is participating in the Google+ Blog Hop Hosted by Classified Mom and Mama Mia's Heart 2 Heart.

We're brand new on Google+ Circles so click down below to get in our circle.

A Trip To The Ocean

2012-01-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

This week we're heading out on a family camping trip to the Pacific Ocean. We've been doing all sorts of things to get ready. We've mapped out a plan of our trip and where we want to go, made lists of fun things to do, and learned about the area's geography, wildlife, weather, and even a little history. We've also planned games, menus, and gathered our equipment.

It would be a whole lot easier for Mom and Dad to just do the planning and bring the kiddos along, but then no real learning would happen. Instead, we've let our kids really take ownership of our trip. They each get to choose some of our excursions and be "the leader" those days. They are each in charge of planning out the food and cooking on certain days. They have also each made a list of goals for the trip. My son, who is just starting Cub Scouts, has decided that on this trip he wants to start a seashell collection to help him earn a badge. He is also really excited about learning photography and will be bringing his new camera to document our trip. My daughter wants to find a starfish in the tide pools. She also wants to try to find some of the places that she's seen in pictures in our family scrapbook. We traveled to this area before she was born, but she has only seen pictures of the space needle, ferry boats, and the Pacific Ocean. They both want to learn to cook in the dutch oven and over the campfire.

Here I am in front of the Space Needle.

The last time we traveled here none of our kids were born yet!

Because we are taking the time not only to learn about things we will see ahead of time, but also to let them take some ownership in our trip, they are bundles of enthusiasm. Studying the ocean, tide pools, sea life, Seattle and the Puget Sound, transportation, volcanoes, explorers, and rain forests has all been 100% joy because it feels so real to them. School feels like play when it's part of their own adventures.

Thumbprint Autobiography

2012-01-26T05:37:00.002-07:00

Pinterest is a new love of mine. Check out this cool art project I just pinned:

Source: google.com via Karen on Pinterest

It's a thumprint self-portraint! Brilliant, eh? If you like this project, come check out my homeschooling board on Pinterest. You can find me at http://pinterest.com/kloutz/ I have boards on all kinds of topics and am always scouring the internet for fun new ideas to pin. Come join the fun!

Enter Our Cook'n Recipe System Giveaway

2012-01-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Come over to our sister site, The Executive Mom, to enter to win recipe organizing software from Cook'n. It's absolutely perfect for busy parents.

The Story of Stilts

2012-01-25T05:06:00.001-07:00

A stilt walker fixing wires

Stilts were invented centuries ago, not for play, but for work and for transportation.

In Belgium they were a necessity for the citizens of Namur, a city situated by 2 rivers that frequently flooded. The people got around the marshy flood lands by using stilts. The people there even became exempt from taxes for a time because the archduke was so impressed with a stilt walker who came to see him from the town.

The real stilt capital of the world though, was Landes in France. The coastal area was so sandy that the ground was always shifting, making it difficult to walk. To solve the problem shepherds and farmers walked on stilts! They spent hours every day on stilts, watching their herds. They carried long poles to help keep their balance, and some even had little seats on top of the poles so they could rest right there on top of their stilts! A man from Landes actually stilt-walked all the way from Paris to Moscow! It took 58 days. Whew! Currently this area has been drained, and the need for stilts is, unfortunately in my sentimental opinion, a thing of the past.

Landes Farmers

Now stilts are typically toys rather than tools. Kids from many places around the world enjoy the challenge of trying to balance atop the high poles.

DangerouslyFun.com has a great tutorial for making your own set of stilts to try.

Additional Layers:

For little ones who want to walk tall, try making simple coffee can stilts:

Read "The King's Stilts" by Dr. Seuss
These days stilts are used as toys and by entertainers more than by workers. Compare the stilt walkers of the past with those of today (farmers versus clowns!).
Can you think of other toys that double as useful items?
Simple wood stilts have changed over time. Now they make velocity stilts and other modern versions made of lightweight metal that strap on to your legs.

Germany

2012-01-24T01:00:00.002-07:00

Color a map of Germany. Trace the rivers, label the cities, write in the seas, and don't forget the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps.

The Saar River of Germany

Also remember to find Germany on a world map or globe so kids know where in the world it is.

The Lion-Makers, a Story From the Panchatantra

2012-01-23T06:00:00.002-07:00

The Panchatantra is a collection of ancient stories from India that were written down more than two thousand years ago, though the stories themselves are much older than that. They are the first fables ever told in the world. They're mostly humerous stories that have a very pointed point. Here's one of my favorites . . .

The Lion-Makers

Four Brahmans lived near one another and were friends in a small town. Three of them had been scholars their whole lives and had learned much, but they had no common sense. The fourth couldn't be bothered to study from dusty dry books, but he had a great deal of common sense.

One day they got together to talk and decided that all their accomplishments and learning were pointless if they didn't go out in the world to meet people, see places, gain a little political power, and make a little money. So they decided to travel together.

They hadn't gone far when the eldest said, "One of us is not smart enough or educated enough, having nothing but common sense. He won't make it very far in the world without scholarship, so let's not share our money with him. He should go back home."

The second said, "That's true, friend, you should go home." But the third said, "No, this is no way to treat our friend who we have known since we were small children playing together. He will stay with us and have a share of the money we earn."

So they agreed and all four continued on together. Soon they came upon the bones of a dead lion in the forest. One of them said, "Here is a chance to show off how intelligent and learned we are. Let's bring him back to life through our superior knowledge."

The first said, "I can assemble the skeleton for I know how it should go." The second said, "I can add on the muscles, organs, and skin." The third said, "I can give it life."

But the fourth, who was the man of no scholarship said, "This is a lion. If you give it life it will kill every one of us."

"The scholars replied, "We will not make all our learning pointless. We must use it at every opportunity." So the fourth replied again, "Then wait a moment while I climb this tree."

So the man of sense climbed a tree while the toher three brought the lion to life. The lion rose up and killed the three scholars. But thye man of sense climbed down after the lion ahd left and went home.

Scholarship is less than sense;

Therefore seek intelligence:

Senseless scholars in their pride

Made a lion, then they died.

What do you think the moral of the story is?

Do you agree with it?

In the story the Brahmans are extremes, either all learning and no sense or all sense and no learning. Why does the storyteller use these extremes? What is the true ideal?

Additional Layers:

In the press and in education circles it is often lamented that westerners focus solely on western literature ignoring China, India, Africa, the Middle East and other places, but no one ever actually puts eastern thought into a curriculum. What do you think should we include eastern stuff too? Why?
Apply the literature you read to your real life, both personally, and to your community and nation. How would this story apply to your life?
Learn more about the anatomy and habits of a lion.

We're Featured as a Top 100 Blog

2012-01-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Teacher Certification Degrees listed Layers of Learning as a Top 100 Homeschool Blog.

A Grammar Sequence Checklist

2012-01-17T05:00:00.002-07:00

Karen gives her kids mini-grammar/language/literature lessons nearly every day as a routine part of school. She does this just out of the blue and out of her head as she notices problems with her kids writing or feels they're ready to kick it up a notch. For the rest of us a check list in sequential order is called for.

Since I made a grammar sequence checklist for me, I thought I'd share it with you. The list moves from the simplest grammar concepts for about 2nd grade and up to more complex topics culminating with five paragraph essays, roughly 8th grade level. You can intersperse this with lots of extra practice on each subject, dictation exercises, poetry memorization, story narrations, and reading good passages form literature out loud.

One of Karen's favorite methods of teaching grammar is to use D.O.L. (daily oral language). This list would work perfectly as a guide on writing bad sentences for the student to fix. If you're not Karen, you'll probably need a good grammar handbook to brush up on these subjects yourself. You can also just look up each topic online. Yes, that takes time and work, but you'll be learning all the stuff you forgot or were never taught in school.

The boxes on the left hand side of the list are for you to write in your child's initials as he/she masters the lessons. There is enough room to check off lessons for four kids. If this list is lacking it is sentence diagramming. But you really need a diagramming workbook for in-depth sentence diagramming. I'm sure there's other stuff I forgot as well and I know as grammar moves into greater complexity it doesn't make the list at all. Still, this is a very in depth basic grammar checklist.

Nesting Cans

2012-01-16T04:48:00.001-07:00

Teaching the concept of your city is in your state...is in your country...is in your continent...is in the world can be such a tough topic for youngsters. My kids still get mixed up on cities, states, and countries sometimes. Mandy Taylor teaches first grade and uses this cute idea:

Nesting cans with maps on each one! She starts by introducing the world, then pulls out the next one with North America on it, and so on and so on. Go visit her blog and you can read all about it. One of the comments on her blog even suggested doing this with the little colored nesting cup toys. Love it!

Edward III's Coat of Arms

2012-01-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

Edward III was monarch of England during the early years of the Hundred Years War. He changed his coat of arms from the three lions of King Richard I to the lions quartered with the fleurs-de-lis of France. He did this because he was declaring himself king of France as well as king of England.

The royal lines of Europe have often become tangled over the centuries due to conquest, intermarriage and alliances. In this case the kings of England believed they still held lands in France descended way back from William the Conqueror. There were certainly ties to France and it's possible they had a real legal claim, but obviously the English monarchs were not French and since the French had a king of their own with a much better and certainly legitimate claim, what it comes down to was greed and lust for power, and perhaps boredom and a desire for honor on the battlefield.

Edward and his son were very successful in battle and completely defeated the French in several great battles, but the war dragged on, with long periods of peace and recuperation in the midst of pitched battles. Eventually the English were completely driven from France, beginning withe the courage of a young French girl named Joan.

We colored the shield coat of arms of Edward III as we learned about the beginnings of the Hundred Years War.

The fleur-de-lis should be yellow on a blue background and the lions are yellow on a red background.

You can print out the shield to color here.

Additional Layers:

Back in the middle ages the king went to battle and fought side by side with his knights and directed the actions of the troops in person. He also was literally the defender of the realm. In most cases if there was an invasion or rebellion he personally took the field in defense. How would we choose our leaders differently if we still practiced that?
Edward III and his son, known as the Black Prince, were disdainful of the peasants of both England and France. As they traveled through the land their troops murdered and raped and pillaged and burned wherever they went. They are still known for the destruction of Limoges in 1370 during which more than three thousand peasants were slaughtered including women and children. The reasons were not all just pure cruelty however. They also recognized that the peasants provided all the work and without then and the food they produced France was crippled. How does this compare with modern warfare. How do we fight battles today and what are the practical results of our methods compared to theirs?
Take a look at the evolution of English heraldry over the years. What is the coat of arms of the monarch today and what does it mean?
The battles fought by Edward in France were the end of the great charge of knights into battle. The English longbow decided the fate of this form of battle. Beside this, new tactics such as a flanking movement were being tried out successfully for the first time, a movement which knights could not respond to adequately. the Scots were actually the first to defeat armored charging knights on horseback with foot soldiers. The Scots did it out of desperation, but the rest of Europe watched and learned.

Seusstastic

2012-01-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Muslim Mosaics or Cool Random Art Project...You Pick

2012-01-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

We originally did this art project to go along with a study of the way Muslims traditionally made mosaics. Unlike the Christian mosaics which included people and landscapes, Muslim artwork focused on geometry of shapes and patterns. People were not seen on their mosaic murals at all in fact.

We started by making basic salt dough and barely mixing in a few drops of food coloring. We wanted it to look like an old wall made of plaster instead of a perfectly mixed batch of dough. I was planning on yellow for an old world look, but I am outnumbered by my children who all voted for blue. We put the salt dough on bits of parchment paper for easy clean-up, and just kind of smashed them into squarish patties. Then it was time for beads.

We used pony beads as our mosaic pieces, squishing them into the dough to create repeating patterns and geometric designs.

Each kid had their own color scheme and patterns. I've got to say, this was one of my favorite art projects of the school year. It was really simple and easy enough for all my kids to do (even the 2 year-old!), but the kids were engrossed from start to finish. The truth is, so was I. I couldn't help but join in and make one too:

I can't even articulate why it was so fun; it just was! We often paint and draw, and we even sculpt. We cut and paste and we make collages. This was the first time I had ever pressed beads into clay before. Brought me right back to my play-doh, light brite, easy bake oven days. I joined right in and felt like a kid again. Learning about the mosaics of the Muslims was really fascinating, but even if you aren't planning on that particular lesson, get some clay and beads and just go to town on this random, fun art project!

Canterbury Tales for Kids

2012-01-09T06:00:00.004-07:00

The Canterbury Tales were written by Geoffrey Chaucer in England toward the end of the 1300's. Less than fifty years earlier the Black Death had swept through Europe, killing perhaps a third of the population, the peasants of England had revolted around a decade earlier, demanding rights, which they didn't get, and everyone spoke, what we call today, Middle English. This is after Richard the Lionhearted and Robin Hood, but before King Henry VIII, the guy who had all the wives and removed England from the Catholic church.

The story centers around a group of travelers who have banded together for protection from bandits in their pilgrimage toward Canterbury Cathedral, a holy site on the south coast of England. The road was long, the people were strangers to one another and so to pass the time on the road the innkeeper suggests that they tell one another tales. The bulk of the Canterbury Tales is the tales each of the travelers tells.

Many of the tales are downright bawdy and irreverent, which come to think of it, by modern standards is a little odd for people who are on a religious pilgrimage (you'll have to research the reasons people went on pilgrimage to find out the secret to this conundrum). But there is one tale in particular that appeals to children, while at the same time providing enough material for a doctoral thesis. It is the Nun's Priest's Tale, called Chanticleer and the Fox.

Explain the Canterbury Tales, when they happened and what the frame story is to the kids. Then read the re-telling of the story, Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney. It's a Caldicott medal winner so it's probably in your library. I hardly ever read a story straight through, at least not a meaningful tale like this one. I pause and explain vocabulary or concepts, I ask the kids what they think will happen next, I ask them if they can spot the mistake such and such a character has made, and so on. It probably annoys the children.

Garrett with the puppets he made.

Click here to print out the Puppet Templates

Next you can make puppets of the three main characters of the story: Chanticleer the rooster, Partlett the hen, and the fox. First color the pictures (I had the kids color while I read since it keeps them quieter), then cut the figures out in a rough outline, and glue them onto thin cardboard, like from food packaging. Tape a craft stick to the back side. Alternatively you can make them into flannel board figures by gluing a strip of sandpaper to the back.

Have the kids re-tell the story using their figures.

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Learn about Chaucer's life and the events going on in England and Europe during his lifetime.
Canterbury Cathedral was/is a religious site in England becasue a murder took place there. Find out more.
Other famous frame stories include the Thousand and One Arabian Nights, the Decameron, and the Panchatantra.

Dichotomous Key

2012-01-06T06:00:00.003-07:00

To help in identifying objects like rocks, plants, animals, sea shells or other stuff, knowledgeable people create dichotomous keys. When using these keys you answer questions about the object always beginning with number one and following the directions as you go along. Each question should create a situation where the object fits into exactly one of the categories. Using a dichotomous key in nature studies can help kids to understand concepts like the difference between a mammal and an insect or the more subtle differences between two types of insects. It also helps them to observe the subject closely, especially as they get into more complicated identifications.

We've created a very simple dichotomous key for you to use with young kids up to about 4th or 5th grade. The key includes photographs of a few living things and applies only to the specific set of images we provide with the key. You can't use it to identify anything out in your backyard for example.

Here's a visual image of how a dichotomous key works:

The printable key we created is especially useful when teaching young kids about the major categories of animals: mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, spiders, amphibians, and birds.

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Having kids create their own dichotomous key for a specific set of objects (like candy or toys or pets or family members) is a great way for them to really understand how this works. It's also an exercise in logic as they try to create categories that will allow each object to have exactly one answer. They will also understand that objects (or plants and animals) can be grouped in more than one way.
The dichotomous key also gives insight into how the animal classification system works. At each level of the classification system whole bunches of organisms are eliminated, narrowing the pool. For example, what happens when I ask whether the animal has a backbone? Well over half the animals are put into the non-backbone category and I can move on with a much narrowed field. Then I might ask if it has feathers. Everything without feathers would be shunted to the side and so on. For the most part people take into account the way animals look and the way they behave or function when putting them into categories, though in recent years the way their DNA stacks up against other animals is taken into account as well.

Worldview

2012-01-05T00:48:00.001-07:00

If you were an ancient Greek you thought the world looked like this:

This is a view of the world first drawn by Ptolemy in about 150 AD. Europeans were using this map of the world with few variations until 1492.

If you were Chinese in the middle ages the world looked like this:

This map was drawn in about 1389. It shows very little other than China.

If you were a Polynesian the world looked like this:

This is a Polynesian stick chart. Each individual navigator/mariner made his own chart from natural materials. The chart does not show land marks. It shows ocean currents and wave patterns. Only the maker of the chart could interpret it as each was unique.

Polynesians navigated by the stars, the currents, and the feel of the ocean waves.

The Arabs drew their maps like this:

Notice that north is at the bottom of the map. It has much more of Asia mapped than Ptolemy's map, but otherwise looks very similar.

Compare the different ways people viewed the world depending on their culture and location. Now every schoolchild in every country on earth learns from the same basic maps and globes. But five hundred years ago the world would have been mostly mystery.

From memory draw your own map of the world with your own town as the center. Begin at your town and expand your map outward showing only places you have actually traveled to. Include roads (trade routes), other towns, mountains and rivers, and major landmarks that are important to you. What is your worldview?

Additional Layers:

Our geographical surroundings aren't the only things that make up the way we see the world. Think about your religious beliefs, your cultural beliefs, the things you value most highly, and the manners you are expected to portray in your daily life. How do these differ form someone halfway across the globe? Does our differnt point of view make it hard for us to understand and accept one another?
The Polynesian navigation techniques and skills are unique in the world. Imagine lying down in the bottom of your canoe in the middle of avast ocean and telling by the feel of the motion of your little craft where the nearest land was located. There is evidence that Polynesians traveled far over the ocean, not just made little hops to the next island. For example puka shells from the Pacific have been found in archeological digs in Ohio.
People have always been curious to some extent about what lay beyond the bend in the road, but the British Geographical Society turned this curiosity and wanderlust into an absolute fanaticism for knowledge. They not only sponsored expeditions and created maps from information gathered, but actually trained and groomed explorers to find new lands, mapping and describing as they went. Many of their trained explorers, who traveled the world and understood customs and languages of far off and sometimes obscure places, were used as secret agents by the British government as well.
The map of the world changed drastically after 1492. What momentous geography challenging event happened that year?

Foundational Principles of Good Government

2012-01-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Foundational Principles of Good Government is a high school US government course, designed to be a discussion between the student and mentor. It covers:

What are the different types of government
Why do we have government
Where does government get its authority
What are the duties and responsibilities of government
What are the duties and responsibilities of citizens
How is the government divided to provide checks and balances
What is the government is prohibited from doing
How do economics play into government
Warnings from the founders

Each of the nine units have an explanation and explains the topic discussed. Thought provoking discussion questions are sprinkled throughout along with direct quotes from the founders to back up the ideas presented. References to passages in the founding documents and the Federalist Papers are given so the student can do further reading. In the appendix we list further reading for deeper understanding. With some of the recommended reading this course makes for a complete semester long government course for high school.

This course is also for sale at Rainbow Resource Center in physical copy only (but if you buy directly from us, we get 100% of the proceeds).

You can also read the review at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Recommended reading resources (most of these should be at your library or free online, check there first):