The Mysterious Mobius Strip

The mysterious Mobius Strip is named after German mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius. (You might sometimes see it spelled Moebius Strip.) It is curious because it is a surface with only one side and one boundary.

After further exploration in class and checking out these helpful videos, please leave a post about something you learned or know about the mysterous Mobius Strip. You can ask a question or state a confusion that you have as well!

If an ant were to crawl along the length of this strip, it would return to its starting point having travelled every part of the strip, on both sides of the original paper, without ever crossing an edge. How weird is that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMVNrxDQ5ZA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BVz_9IK_aM

http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/math/mobius.html

Provincial Election 2011

Here is the link to the site that we found so helpful on Wednesday afternoon. There is lots of information on the upcoming election and direct links to Party websites.

http://www.electionalmanac.com/canada/ontario/

ELECTION 2011

Provincial Election is Serious Business for 8 year old Penelope Plessas

Meet Penelope as she campaigns her way around the province speaking passionately about clean drinking water, renewable energy and Greenbelt protection.

The tag line for her campaign is: "You can't really vote for a kid, but you can vote for her future."

Take time to follow the links. Jot down the important things that you learned and then leave a comment. You could organize your comment by listing:

• 4 facts about Penelope's campaign worth sharing
• 3 things you know about the upcoming election
• 2 things that you found surprising or confusing
• 1 important question that you have

http://news.ca.msn.com/ontario/guelph/young-environmentalist-makes-campaign-stop-in-guelph-area

http://www.penelope4ontario.ca/the-latest?page=2

http://www.thespec.com/print/article/598155

Another Fiendishly Fierce Fermi!

WARNING: This Fiendishly Fierce Fermi Question Should Only be Attempted by the Bravest of the Brave !

Ignoring oceans, mountains and impossible conditions,

how long would it take to walk entirely around the world?

Let's Take a Crack at a Fermi Style Question

How long would it take you drive to the moon (if you could)?

Start asking questions:

Links to Learning

Use this link to take you to math related games. Please use the activities under the heading Place Values and Number Sense.

This link will take you to a wide variety of learning games. Please check some out. Kindly leave a comment recommending which games led you to the best learning dicoveries. You can also list the stinkers that are nothing more than soda pop for the brain!

This site promises, a huge assortment of science games and puzzles. Please check it out and let me know what you think of it as a learning tool.

This site contains online activities that teach biology. What did you find most interesting on it?

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Published in 1968, I love this book with each new read!

I can hardly wait to continue reading this extraordinary book aloud in our classroom.

It is easy to tell that Hughes is considered one of the greatest English poets of his generation. The Iron Man is indeed a beautiful story of compassion and tolerance.

His great iron ears fell off and his eyes fell out.

His great iron head fell off.

All the separate pieces tumbled, scattered, crashing, bumping,

clanging, down on to the rocky beach far below.

A few rocks tumbled with him.

Then silence.

Leave your impressions as we continue to read!

Parts of the Brain

Why "The Impossible Takes Longer" as the Title for the Blog?

The title of this blog comes from the book, The Impossible Takes Longer -

The 1 000 Wisest Things Ever Said by Nobel Prize Laureates compiled by David Pratt.

The complete quote is:

"The difficult is what takes a little time;

the impossible is what takes a little longer."

-Fidtjof Nansen

I admit I had never heard of Fidtjof Nansen, but after reading a brief biography of this Norwegian explorer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, I am most interested in his wide range of interests and impressive accomplishments.

Write your feelings on the quote or share some further information that you discovered on Fidtjof Nansen.

Read Any Good Books Lately?

This summer I read several interesting books. Among my favourites is Allan Wolf's New Found Land which presents the exciting adventure of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Two hundred years ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark launched their boats up the Missouri River in search of the illusive Northwest Passage. Using poetic verse, Wolf tells the story of this voyage through the eyes of the participants. This self-named Corps of Discovery consists of a one-eyed French First Nations fiddler, Clark's African American slave, a Shoshone woman who gives birth en route, Lewis' Newfoundland dog named Oolum and many more. The experiences of this diverse crew are explored and their sacrifices and accomplishments are quite extraordinary.

New Found Land is highly recommended for readers with an appreciation for history, adventure and a nontraditional approach to the narrative form.

* Please share some of your favourite books and authors!