Trash or Treasure; Taking Notes on What We Read
Watch the power point above to review some strategies for note-taking. Then choose one of the articles below and take notes on the article using the research questions listed below the article link. Use the note taking tool that has been provided.
What have Scientists learned about SPACE?
How has the telephone and how we communicate messages changed?
Article One
When scientists looked at the stars long ago, they saw patterns. They did not understand everything about what they saw. So they kept looking to learn more. That is what scientists do. They ask questions and look for information to answer their questions. They are like explorers. They do not travel far the way explorers do. But they do make a kind of journey. They want to learn more. They go from what they know to what they discover. Scientists have learned about our planet. It is very big. It is very diverse. There are places that are hot. There are places that are freezing. There are mountains and plains. There are hills and valleys. There are deep oceans. There are great rivers and waterfalls. There are rainforests. There are deserts. Those are all parts of our planet. There is much more to learn about what is here on Earth.
A scientist dedicates much time to learning. The scientist works hard. The scientist helps us all find out more about our world. Our planet is in a galaxy called the Milky Way. The sun is a big star in our part of this giant galaxy. Our galaxy holds millions of other stars. The sun is very important to our planet. The sun gives us light during the day. It gives us heat, too. Two other planets are closer to the sun than Earth: Mercury and Venus. Scientists figured out how the Earth changes. Earth orbits the sun once each year. It travels once around the sun every 365 days. The other eight planets in our solar system also orbit around the sun. All travel in a pattern called an ellipse, which is a kind of oval. So at times Earth is farther from the sun. Scientists figured out that made it cooler on Earth then. But they also figured out that it is the tilt of the Earth’s axis, however, that has the greatest effect on temperatures. Scientists are still learning about our galaxy. There is much to discover. Today astronauts travel into space. They are explorers. It is dangerous to travel in space, but they are dauntless. They bravely travel thousands of miles to learn.
Article Two
Today’s telephone has a long history. It started when there were no telephones. The only way to get a message to someone else was to write it and send it. Long ago there were messengers. They were people who would run from place to place. They would bring messages to other people. They would run miles. After the invention of a new communications tool, people could send messages quickly. That tool was the telegraph. It used a line that went from one place to another. It took years to put all the lines across America. With those telegraph lines people could use a machine to send messages. But it did not let people talk to each other. It used a code to get the messages across the wires. On one end of the telegraph, an operator clicked the message. On the other end, a machine would make the same clicks. At first, a person had to listen and note what the clicks said. But then they figured out how to make the machine record them. Still, there was no telephone. Then a man named Bell invented it. He tried many ways to get a machine that would work. He failed many times. But then he got it to work. Once he had done that, the world all wanted telephones.
The next changes for the telephone were the same as the telegraph. People had to put in all those lines. If you see a picture of Chicago in 1900 you will see lots of wires downtown. The first telephone lines went from one person’s phone to another. Those were called land-lines. Then they added what were called switching stations. So one line could reach more than one place. Still, it would take years to get the phone system to work more efficiently. Today there are cell phones. They do not need wires. They use signals that travel through the air. Some people now do not have a land line any more. They just use their cell phone. It can connect people. It can download music from the Internet. Some people even use their computers to talk to other people. Those are the latest changes. So the telephone is still changing.
The next changes for the telephone were the same as the telegraph. People had to put in all those lines. If you see a picture of Chicago in 1900 you will see lots of wires downtown. The first telephone lines went from one person’s phone to another. Those were called land-lines. Then they added what were called switching stations. So one line could reach more than one place. Still, it would take years to get the phone system to work more efficiently. Today there are cell phones. They do not need wires. They use signals that travel through the air. Some people now do not have a land line any more. They just use their cell phone. It can connect people. It can download music from the Internet. Some people even use their computers to talk to other people. Those are the latest changes. So the telephone is still changing.