St. Patricks day!

Facts about St. Patrick's day! 

St Patrick’s day is on March 17^th. 

It is both an Irish religious and national holiday. 

Immigrants from Ireland brought this tradition to the United States.  

St Patrick is a very famous and important person in Ireland.

St Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. He was born in Wales around 389 AD. 

When he was 16, he was kidnapped by bandits and taken to Ireland as a slave. He worked as a shepherd. 

He spent many long hours alone taking care of sheep out in the fields. 

He felt lonely and afraid. During that time he began to think about God.

He repented from his sins and unbelief and he turned to God with all his heart. 

He had a dream in which God told him to leave Ireland by going to the coast.  

He escaped to Gaul (France) after six long years of slavery. 

He studied in a monastery for twelve years near Auxerre, in France. He had a vision telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. 

At sixty, he came back to Ireland to convert the pagans of Ireland to Christianity.

He used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). St Patrick’s mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. 

He died on March 17 in 461 AD. 

Now March 17th is a day where we celebrate ST. Patrick and Irish heritage as a whole! 

Watch this video on the history of Saint Patrick's day!

St. Patricks day symbols 

How is St. Patrick's day celebrated today? 

Wearing green! 

St. Patrick's day parades! 

Irish Culture! 

Read this St. Patrick's day letter and answer the questions below!

Hello to you all, my name is Maura, and I’m Irish, from Dublin, 

so the Republic of Ireland or Eire. And today is one of my 

favorite days because it is 17^th March and it is ………Saint 

Patrick’s Day, of course. It is our national day when we celebrate

Saint Patrick our Patron Saint who brought Christianity to Ireland

So we are going to celebrate! Can you imagine? I’m going to go to the big parade in the streets of Dublin, where I live, with all my family wearing green costumes, green hats, shamrocks in our

buttonholes, Mum has even dyed her hair green!

Then, we will all have a big party at home, we have prepared 

bunches of shamrocks from our garden  ( remember, the national emblem of Ireland).

We have decorated our house green, a must on an island which is called the 

Emerald Island. And of course, we’re eating green food! All the food for the party is green, apples, lettuce, cucumber, olives, spinach, pistachio cake, the bread for the sandwiches is green too! And to drink: green mint with lemonade.

Dad prefers green beer, poor Dad! Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day!

My cousins in New York and Chicago in the USA are celebrating it too. Guess what! In Chicago, they even color the river green. So yes, it is going to be a great day for us all.

Love XoXo Maura!

Say if the statements are right or wrong and correct those that are wrong

1. The person speaking is a boy named Ian-----------------------------------------
2. She lives in Northern Ireland.---------------------------------------------------
3. Today is the seventeenth of March.-------------------------------------------
4. People celebrate their revolution. ----------------------------------------------
5. Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint  of Ireland.-----------------------------------
6. The main color associated is blue.----------------------------------------------
7. They do nothing special on that day.---------------------------------------------
8. She‘s going to a big parade in the capital.--------------------------------------
9. The capital of Eire is Belfast.----------------------------------------------------
10. The main emblem is the three-leaf shamrock.----------------------------------
11. Another name for shamrock is clover.-------------------------------------------
12. After the parade, Maura will go back home and that’s it.-----------------------
13. They have decorated their house green.-----------------------------------------
14. They are going to wear orange costumes like the other color of the Irish flag.-----------
15. They are going to eat green food.-----------------------------------------------
16. Ireland is nicknamed Sapphire Ireland -----------------------------------------
17. Saint Patrick’s day is celebrated in Ireland only.--------------------------------

Ecosystems

The Ecosystem is composed of three things: plants, animals, and the environment they live in.

The Biosphere is all the ecosystems on our planet, every living and non-living thing in the hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere. 

What is the difference between a hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere? 

The atmosphere is all the air on our planet! Where clouds and birds are, but also much further above. 

The lithosphere is the land on earth. Where rocks, soil, and sand is. Also where many living creatures roam. 

The hydrosphere includes all the water on earth, in its evaporated form as well. The hydrosphere includes oceans, rivers, lakes, and even puddles. 

Biotic vs Abiotic factors 

The living components of an ecosystem are the biotic factors. Some examples of biotic factors are fish, birds, and grass. Biotic factors can also be microscopic living organisms such as bacteria. The non-living components of an ecosystem are the abiotic factors. These include wind, minerals, water, and dirt. 

Look at this picture below and identify the biotic and abiotic factors. 

Biomes 

Biomes are regions of the world with similar climates, animals, and plants.

There are forest biomes, grassland biomes, aquatic biomes, desert biomes, and tundra biomes. 

Watch this video to learn more about biomes!

look at the pictures below and identify which biome they are from the options listed above. 

Looking after our planet

Because everything is connected in an ecosystem, if something disappears, everything else is affected. Because these effects can be very detrimental, we have to be conscious of preventing them. How can we look after our planet and make sure the biodiversity stays diverse? 

To know how we can protect our planet, we must first know what is hurting it. Here are some things that humans are doing that hurts our planet, its ecosystems, and its biodiversity. 

Overpopulation

The number of people on this planet already puts stress on the environment and it is growing.

Overconsumption

The amount of resources such as food, water, and electricity that people use. 

Pollution

Energy production, agriculture, and modern transportation methods all create air pollution. Humans create so much trash from their overconsumption that invades our natural environments. This has harmed many ecosystems and lead to global warming. 

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

The scale to which food is produced for humans not only causes extensive amounts of waste but also has dire effects on the environment where it is produced. Ecosystems are completely whipped out to create space for a farm. 

What are three ways you can help protect our environment? 

Watch this video to learn how in California the wildlife services are trying to undo humans' effect on forests.

Electricity and atoms

 Electricity 

What is Electricity?

Try to explain in your own words what electricity is, or how you experience it. Where do we see electricity? Can we ever hear electricity, what about feel it? 

We experience and interact with electricity every day, through static when we brush our hair, the heat from our homes, or lightening in the sky. Although the ways we see and understand electricity are all quite different, the basis of electricity is the same! 

Electricity studies the presence of stationary or moving charged particles. Charged particles such as protons and neutrons.  

Watch this video to learn about electricity!

What is an atom? 

Atoms are the building blocks of life. All matter is made up of atoms. Atoms have a nucleus and subatomic parts.

The nucleus of an atom is made of protons and neutrons. 

Protons have a positive electrical charge. 

Neutrons have no electrical charge. 

Electrons revolve around the nucleous. 

They have a negative electrical charge.

Electrical charge is a basic property of matter that relates to the balance between the electrons and protons in an object.  

When there is an equal amount of electrons and protons in an object that object is electrically neutral. 

When there is an uneven amount of electrons and protons in an object that object is electrically charged.

When there are more protons than electrons in an object that object is positively charged. 

When there are more electrons than protons in an object that object is negatively charged.  

Watch this video to understand more about atoms!

An electric current is the movement or flow of electrons between atoms. 

Some matter allows for electrons to flow easily from one atom to another, these are electric conductors. Some matter doesn't allow for easy flow of electrons from atom to atom, these are called electric insulators. 

Fill in the blanks below to test your knowledge of what we just learned!  

When there is an equal amount of electrons and protons in an object that object is electrically _________. 

When there is an uneven amount of electrons and protons in an object that object is electrically ________.

When there are more __________ than __________ in an object that object is positively charged. 

When there are more __________ than __________ in an object that object is negatively charged.