PAT Tips: Day 12

Language Arts:

For the last entry, we talked about prefixes. This time we will be talking about suffixes.

A suffix is a part of word that is added to the end of a word which changes the meaning of the word. Here are some examples:

• ous (means full of) as in joyous meaning full of joy
• less (means lacking something) as in helpless meaning lacking help

Try this: http://www.bigbrownbear.co.uk/demo/suffix.htm

Math:

Mixed numbers and improper fractions. We spent a lot of time on this. Here is a refresher.

Mixed numbers combine a whole number with a fraction. For example, two and a third or 2 1/3. The hockey teams played 2 and 1/3 games or 2 full games and 1 period of 3 periods in a 3rd game.

Improper fractions are when the top number in a fraction (called the numerator or how many you have) is larger than the bottom number (called the denominator or what you are counting). For example, seven thirds or 7/3. I am counting my thirds and I have seven of them.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJRtb-tL5Jk

Try this: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/mathman_improper_fractions.htm

Science: 

In Canada, we have clear differences from one season to the next and yet every year the climate stays generally predictable (though that might be a debate for another day). We know that summers will usually be quite hot and dry and that winters will be quite cold.

The main reason for the seasons that we see in Alberta are: (1) the tilt of the Earth on its axis as it revolves in orbit around the sun and (2) our northern latitude on the Earth (our location on the planet).

In simple terms, we are closer to the sun in summer and farther from the sun in winter. The sun's rays are more direct in the summer and less direct in the winter.

Watch this and play with the settings: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007299181x/student_view0/chapter2/seasons_interactive.html

Social Studies:

Provincial government provides services:

• education, 
• health and wellness, 
• energy and resources (oil and gas), 
• child services,
• senior and community support, 
• tourism and provincial parks, 
• agriculture and food, 
• First Nations relations, 
• sustainable resources

Education and Health are the 2 biggest expenses by far.