Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Main

11 Things We Learned This Week

This week, we learned …

… why Westeros is still poor. Read of the week!

The Game of Thrones Tapestry is a 66-meter (217-foot) hand-woven tapestry on view at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This panel commemorates season 7, episode 4.
Photograph by Kal242382, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-4.0

What sort of resources and development contribute to a civilization?

 

… who has the most powerful kicks and punches in the animal world.

Yes, men really did box kangaroos.
Illustration by Adolph Friedländer, courtesy Wikimedia. Public domain

What animals would win gold in the “animal Olympics”?

 

… six strategies for mapping teen learning, and why we should set goals around tasks, not outcomes.

Teens like this Australian have a high sense of motivation for organizing things.
Photograph by Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic

Should teens be allowed to vote?

 

… Italian highlanders may have Scottish roots.

Four hundred years ago, Scottish soldiers were defeated at the Battle of Pavia, near Milan. The story goes that while trying to make their way home the Scots stopped in Gurro, where they got snowed in for the winter. Many locals believe they never left.
Photograph by kheinz, courtesy Pixabay. Public domain

How do scientists study ancient human migration routes?

 

… schools are phasing out home economics.

Boys participate in a domestic science class at the Broadview Boys’ Institute in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1911.
Photograph by Alexander W. Galbraith, courtesy the Toronto Public Library. Public domain

Personal finance is one of the best home ec skills you can have!

 

… anthropomorphized animals don’t teach kids altruism.


Debbie Reynolds, Charlotte, died this year. Sigh.
Does Mel the fish help you empathize with ocean life?

 

… thousands of Atlantic salmon have escaped to the Pacific.

This beautiful little salmon has an uphill battle against climate change and habitat degradation.
Photograph by Bianca Lavies, National Geographic

Where is the source of the world’s most sustainable salmon?

 

… in the 19th century, STEM fields were considered much more appropriate for women than rough-and-tumble disciplines … like classics.

Behold the very first scientist and scienceteller! The word “scientist” was invented in 1834 to describe the work of this Scottish woman, Mary Fairfax Somerville. She was a writer who focused on math and astronomy.
Photograph by Thomas Phillips, courtesy Scottish National Gallery. Public domain

Are STEM jobs segregated these days?

 

… climate change may shrink the world’s fish.

These are both adult Atlantic salmon. The one on top is big due to genetic engineering, not climate change.
Photograph by Greg Girard, National Geographic

How has climate change impacted sea life in the past?

 

… a peppermint patty powered the first ascent of Everest.

This is our favorite photo of explorers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, just back from successfully scaling Mount Everest. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Photograph courtesy Jamling Tanzing Norgay, courtesy Wikimedia. Public domain

If a peppermint patty fueled the ascent of Everest, did a chocolate bar fuel the “Race to the Pole”?

 

… the Dead Sea can help you make a dress out of salt.


You can make a dress of salt, and you can also make a dress out of maps.

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