Free Rice

In this post, I am going to tell you how you can feed hungry people and supply people with a daily meal, all while learning and improving your grades. All you have to do is go to freerice.com. Once, there you can choose from 8 different school subjects and it will start asking multiple choice questions for that subject. For every question you answer correctly, 10 grains of rice will be donated to people in need. For an example, I answered questions for about 45 seconds and won 120 grains of rice. That rice will go to whoever needs food. Currently, Free Rice is aiming to feed 2.5 million people in Syria each month. It doesn't get simpler than this, do you want to help feed the needy of not? Don't make any excuses for yourself, help the hungry today.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Mockingbird sketch

In our school we've finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I'm supposed to research and write a report about mockingbirds. Since I also needed to do a blog post, I decided that I might as well post my report on my blog. Enjoy!!

In the 1820's which bird did people capture and sell for up to $50 because of its songs?

Need a hint? 

This bird was almost wiped out of the east coast in the nineteenth century because many people kept them as pets

      If you guessed the mockingbird you are correct.

      To learn more about this avian singer keep reading.

                                                     Mockingbird Report
Name / Song
The Northern mockingbird was given its name because of its ability to mimic other bird’s songs as well as insects, and amphibians. In fact, their Latin name Mimus polyglottus, means many-tongued mimic.

·   A male mockingbird can mimic up to two hundred different birds in his life.

· Males that have not found a female yet sing more than any other mockingbirds.

Habitat /Diet

Mocking birds live throughout the continental United States and in some parts of Mexico. Although they prefer farm land, brush, and undergrowth they have been known to adapt to suburbs.

The Northern Mockingbird dines on seeds, bugs, berries, and sometimes garbage.

·      Mockingbirds sometimes fly up and hover to eat hanging fruit.

·    They sometimes eat small lizards,

·    It is not uncommon to see Mockingbirds drinking sap from cuts on recently pruned trees.

Nesting/Reproduction

Breeding usually occurs during spring. “*The male probably chooses the nest site and begins building several nests before the female chooses one to finish and lay eggs in. Females may start laying in a second nest while the male is still caring for fledglings from the previous one.”*  

·         A mocking birds egg are greenish blue with red or brown spots on it.

·         They lay around two to six eggs at a time.

·         The Northern mockingbird rarely reuses their nests.

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For those of you who haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird Ms. Lee wrote the following in her book:

Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Sites I used. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/mockingbird.htm and http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_mockingbird/id

*Taken from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_mockingbird/lifehistory#at_nesting

Mockingbird sketch taken from http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/?p=13838
atticus and kids fromhttp://cruz0.blogspot.com/

Iroquois Indians

Today I've learning about the Iroquois Indians. So far I've learned the following information about them:

1.   Iroquois man dancing.

                          - Name

The first thing I'm going to share is the Iroquois name. Iroquois is pronounced, “eer-uh-kwoy”.

They call themselves "Haudenosaunee" which means: "people of the longhouse." Their enemies nicknamed them Iroquois, which means "snake". They were nicknamed snake because they were known for their warring and fighting skills. 

2. An Iroquois Indian home.

               

             

                   - Housing 

The Iroquois lived in the woodlands of the  Northeastern United States. The Iroquois built houses called "longhouses". Theses house were made from tree bark. They could take parts off the roof to let the smoke out. Longhouses were one hundred feet long and could house sixty people.  They would later fence in their towns and clear land around the village to see approaching Indians and farms.  

3. A example of Iroquois clothing. 

                            - Clothing 

 Most of the Iroquois clothes were made from deerskin that they obtained from hunting. Although, some clothing were made from corn husks or plant fibers. Iroquois men wore leather shirts and leggings and a few wore tattoos. The women wore leather dresses with legging underneath. Sometimes the women wore special beaded tiaras. Iroquois women never cut their hair unless they were mourning. The children dressed like their parents. They all wore leather shoes called moccasins. A Iroquois baby's diaper was made from the fat end of a cattail. The men also wore feathers on their head these were called "gus toweh". The gus toweh showed other Native Americans what kind of tribe they belong to. 

                   - Food

4. Food of the Iroquois.

The Iroquois women were farmers.They planted crops that they called the three sisters, which are beans, corn, and squash. Besides these they ate melons, berries, mushrooms, roots (like potatoes), and nuts. While the women tended to grow fruits and vegetables, the men hunted and fished. The meat they valued the most was venison. They used almost every part of the deer. They used bones for tools and weapons, and sinew(which is made from the animal’s tendons)was used for thread.

     

5.  Iroquois weapon.

          -Weapons

The Iroquois tribe used bows and arrows,spears, tomahawks, clubs and shields for hunting and fighting. To fish they used bows, arrows and spears. The weapons mentioned  above would be made from stone, wood, animals, and bones. Before the Iroquois tribe declared war, the members of The Iroquois Great Council would unanimously all choose for or against war or trading.

         - Handmade items 

6.  Water drum.

The most common crafts of the Iroquois are bead-work, and porcupine quill-work. Other skilled workers would steam wood and bend into wood tools. Some lacrosse sticks are still made this way today. They were also known for their masks; their masks were so sacred that they didn't let outsiders see them. Iroquois also made flutes and drums. The drums were  filled with water so they would make a different sound. At night men would play the flute at a women's door to let her know that he was thinking about her.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments, questions, & suggestions on this post.

----------------------------Helpful websites I used below----------------------------------
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/if_you_lived_with_the_iroquois.php
Lap-book above.
http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm

http://www.dynamic2moms.com/iroquoisconfederacy.htm

//www.prontolessons.com/iroquois_native_americans1.html




           ---------------------------Photo Credits------------------------------------

picture 1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/95753/Traditionally-dressed-Iroquois-man-chanting-and-dancing-outside-a-reconstructed

Picture 2. and 4 http://www.dynamic2moms.com/iroquoisconfederacy.htm

picture 3 and 6.http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm

picture 5 .http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7GGLR_enUS261&biw=1024&bih=611&tbm=isch&tbnid=FQ2BOUe6alW42M:&imgrefurl=http://canada-natives.blogspot.com/p/iroquois.html&imgurl=http://www.westirondequoit.org/technology/k-6/Iroquois_Nation/images/bowarrowquiver.gif&w=763&h=480&ei=3X9CUMKKJYOd2QWF_IDQDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=203&vpy=313&dur=199&hovh=178&hovw=283&tx=115&ty=196&sig=103665139066187244955&page=1&tbnh=99&tbnw=157&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:109