VIRTUAL WRITING HOMEWORK AUGUST 29, 2013

Watch the Voki on the side of the blog to hear the instructions for your homework. A sample of a finished assignment is below. Have a great night!

Welcome to Team Explorer!

Ms. Dulaney and Miss Burns would like to welcome all fifth graders to the 2013-2014 school year. We are excited about the new faces in fifth grade and we are looking forward to a wonderful year. Please check this blog often for news and updates about Team Explorer.

JAMESTOWN ADVENTURE

Jamestown Online Adventure

Congratulations! You have been selected to travel to the New World to establish a colony. The colonists that settled in Jamestown had a difficult time sustaining the colony. Almost half the settlers died due to poor choices in settlement location, management of resources, and quarrels with the Powhatan Indians.

The year is 1607. Your group is in charge of establishing a colony in the New World. You must make decisions about where the location of the colony is, how you get food, protect yourself from attackers and sustain the colony. The colonists of Jamestown made many poor choices that almost caused the colony not to survive. Will you do better than the real colonists?

You will have the opportunity to ask your fellow colonists for advice as well as Native Americans. Be careful, though, because some advice is better than others.

GOOD LUCK!

Directions:

1. log onto www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/

2. Click on Start the Adventure! A new window will pop up and click Start the Adventure again.

3. Answer the following questions together AS A GROUP. You may get advice from the Native Americans or fellow colonists.

4. Once you have answered all the questions, click “Print Report”. Print 2 copies of the report – your group will keep a copy and I will need a copy.

5. You will use the report for the next part of the activity! Look at the results and compare your choices to what the real Jamestown colonists did.

ISLAND OF THE BLUES DOLPHINS

Island of the Blue Dolphins
Internet Fact Hunt

Directions: The colored and underlined words are links to web sites that provide the answers to the questions. Click on them to go to the web site. Find the answer. The website will open in a new window. Record your answers on your worksheet.

1.Karana harvests abalone for food and tools. What is an abalone? Have you ever eaten one?

She prefers red abalone. How large is a red abalone?

Which is larger - your hand or a red abalone?

2. People hunted the sea otters. How are sea otters unique among animals?

Why were sea otters nearly extinct?

3. Kelp grows in the sea around the island. How fast does kelp grow?

4. List two facts about cormorants.

5. One plant found on the island is the toyon bush.

What is it more commonly known as?

6. Karana tells you many distances in leagues. How far is that in miles?

If it is 3 leagues from you home to school, how far is that in miles?

7. O'Dell describes the sea elephant. Look at these photos.

Is this what you imagined from his description? Why?

8. Karana decides to hunt a male sea elephant (Northern Elephant Seal) for its teeth.

How much can one weigh?

9. Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on a true story. Scott O'Dell's account of the story of Karana is very similar to what actually occurred in history.

-What is the real name of the island that Karana was from?

-List two differences between the fictional account of Karana's story and what actually happened in history.

-What happened to the real 'Karana', one year after she was rescued?

-What was the name given to Karana when she was baptized?

If you finish early, take some time to explore the Island of the Blue Dolphins.