Vacation Pictures

It was an exciting lesson in Social Studies on Wednesday (or maybe Ms. Leom was crazy excited, and we were just curious about the next adventure and where she was taking us next).

We were reading about tectonic plates, erosion (glaciers, wind, and water cause erosion), how lakes are forms (glaciers scope out basins and when they melt, fill in the space to form lakes), and how rivers flow.

The lesson included her summer vacation pictures ... (Seriously. She went to the Grand Canyon and saw layers of rock and examples of erosion ...)

(Ms. Leom takes her teaching seriously! Even on vacation, she is planning her next lesson!!)

Then we learned about rivers. She pulled out her water bottle and a chair.

Rivers ALWAYS flow downhill (from a high area to a low area). She kept flipping the chair around, showing us that rivers can flow in ANY direction - north, south, east, west, or a combination. Water always flows from a high area to a low area. (Picture water hitting the chair, splashing into the crowd, Ms. Leom declaring it was raining ... She really gets excited, and we can't help but be pulled into the learning!)

While Ms. Sherri, our para, quietly wiped up the chair, Ms. Leom was hopping over student legs and pulling down her Minnesota map. We live only an hour and a half away from Lake Superior - the largest fresh water lake IN THE WORLD (created by glaciers). She was also excited about Lake Itasca and the Mississippi River - second largest river in North America and only a half hour away from us.

We decided the textbook itself appears dull, and with the right reader, visuals, and excitement, a half hour just isn't enough time to contain our enthusiasm or our interest in learning. (Watch out Mr. Greninger's class, your day reading about Chapter 1 Lesson 2 is dawning as we speak!)

Check out the links to the right: erosion experiment, erosion, and tectonic plates. These short videos were used in class to add to our understanding.