Honey Bee Mystery and Mexican-American War Current Events

Delan Chen

7/8 Blue

12/9/09

Honey Bee Mystery

      A lot of honey bees are leaving their hives and dying the the United States. Without the honey bees, we wouldn't get the delicious honey from them, but also since honey bees are pollinators, they allow plants to grow fruits and nuts that many of us have eaten. There are around 40,000 honey bees in each colony. In California, their almond crops rely on around half of the honey bees in the United States which is about 1.5 million colonies! Unfortunately since many honey bees are dying, the almond and other crops may be in danger. The crops wouldn't grow an abundant amount of fruits and nuts since there wouldn't be enough honey bees left to pollinate. Around how long does the honey bees pollinate in the almond groves in California before setting out to pollinate other crops?

   A. 4 weeks

   B. 5 weeks

   C. 6 weeks

Mexican-American War

 The Mexican-American war started in 1846 and ended in 1848. The conflict was over the possession of Texas between the United States and Mexico. The war was fought in several different places such as Texas, Mexican City, New Mexico and many others. The result of the war was that the United States had defeated Mexico and gained possession of Texas. One of the famous battle of this war would be the Battle of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. The casualties for the American soldiers were 13, 780 dead and a lot more wounded. The casualties for the Mexican was a lot higher than the American and some estimate around 25, 000 soldiers dead. Around how many soldiers did the American army had to fight against the Mexicans?


   A. 78,700 soldiers
   B. 40, 000 soldiers
   C. 25, 580 soldiers


Source for the honey bees: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Honey-bee-mystery
Sources for the Mexican-American War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican–American_War
http://www.historyguy.com/Mexican-American_War.html


Click on the comments to find out the answers :-)! Picture is non-copyrighted from wikipedia.

Dinosaur in the News and Trail of Tears Current Events

Delan Chen

7/8 Blue

12/2/09

Dinosaur in the News

           Several scientists found three skulls in the northern part of the United States. In 1931, the first skull was found and it was round and large. In 1983, scientists found the second skull was narrower and smaller than the first skull. There were spikes on the back of the second skull. In 2006, the third skull was discovered and it was the smallest skull of the three. There were horns on the skull's snout. Each skull was given a scientific name and the meaning of each name. Which skull had the meaning "dragon king from Hogwarts"?

A.The large and round skull
B. The skull with spikes on the back
C. The skull with horns on the snout

The Trail of Tears

           In 1830, President Andrew Jackson issued the Indian Removal Act which was to relocate the Indians from the east to the west because the settlers wanted more land. There were 5 Indian tribes in the land which the settlers want. They were the Cherokees, Choctaws, Muscogee-Creeks, Seminoles, and the Chickasaws Indians usually known as the "Five Civilized Tribes." The Cherokees Indians were the last to be removed and they were removed in 1838. All the Indian tribes were relocated in the present-day Oklahoma. On the journey from the southern-eastern United States to Oklahoma, four thousand Cherokees had died from starvation, exposure, and diseases. How many Cherokees were there in total during the journey?

A. 12,000

B. 15,000

C. 14,000

Source for Dinosaur in the News: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/49684/title/FOR_KIDS_The_paleontologist_and_the_three_dinosaurs

Source for The Trail of Tears: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears

Find out answers in the comments section!

Group Project Description about 5 Places 7/8 Blue

Rocky Mountains were one of the dangerous trips Lewis and Clark traveled in 1803. They had to go over the mountains in order to go to the Pacific Ocean. The Rocky Mountains is in Colorado. The Rocky Mountains stretches for 2,980 miles long. The highest point is 4,401 miles. (Delan)

St. Louis was where Lewis and Clark started their expedition. They took forty men for the expedition. Only several of them had military experience. They built three river boats and trained with rifles. They stored around 100 barrels of food, ammunitions for the guns, medicines, and some goods to trade with the Indians. They got ready on December of 1803. (Delan)

The Shoshone Indians occupied the west and east of the Rocky Mountains. Before Lewis and Clark continued their expedition across the Rocky Mountains, they stopped at the Shoshone tribe. The Shoshone leader, Cameahwait (Sacagawea’s brother), described the rivers ahead to Lewis and Clark. The Shoshone tribe traded their horses with the goods to Lewis and Clark’s team to help them when they go to the Rocky Mountains. (Delan)

The Hidatsa Indians lived near the Knife River now is in the center of North Dakota. They formed the trading and are often involved in trading. They grew squash, corn, beans and tobacco to trade with things like meat. The Hidatsa Indians benefited the expedition by showing critical information about the route ahead. They also presented the French person, Toussaint Charbonneau, and his wife, Sacagawea, to Lewis and Clark. Those two people later were very useful to the expedition. (Delan)

In November, the explorers set up a winter camp near the villages of the Mandan's a Hidatsas. Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman, who at the time was kidnapped by the Hidatsa. She then joins the Lewis and Clark expedition. (Brianna)

These five places are marked on the map.

Group Project Map By: Kevin and Patrick 7/8 blue

Compass


The Whole Map

The Key


St. Louis, Missouri


The Rocky Mountains and the Shoshone Tribe area

Knife River

Kevin's Coin Poster

Brianna's Poster 7/8 Blue

Lewis and Clark Journal 3 Animals By: Patrick McCue 7/8 Blue

American Bison

The American bison is the largest mammal found on the continent of North America. The American Bison has a huge mane that extends from its head to midsection and that hangs down to the knees over its front legs. The rest of the body is mostly bare. The bison’s habitat is the Northern Great Plains of the United States.

Wolverine

The wolverine is one of the largest creatures in the weasel family. Males can weigh up to 36 pounds while females can weigh up to 25 pounds. It has long, brown or black fur that keeps it well protected from the elements, such as snow and the cold weather. It is found Northwest corner of the United States primarily Idaho, Washington and Alaska. Wolverine’s can be found in mountains, open plains, brush lands, and boreal forests.

Prairie dog

As a member of the rodent family, the Prairie Dog is a one of the largest members. They are entirely light brown with short legs and a black-tipped tail. Prairie dogs can grow between 12 to 17 inches. They can be found living in the plains sections of North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico.