Climate in North Carolina

Currently most of the east coast has been snowed in for the past few days because of a blizzard called Jonas. 85 million people were told to stay inside throughout Washington D.C., Boston and New York and at least 10 people have already died because of the storm. My university, Elon University is located in a small town in North Carolina and class has been canceled for the past couple of days due to the snow. In the south, when it snows the city usually shuts down.

Click to see Photos of Snow Storm Jonas

This past week we talked about climate with 5B and 6A. North Carolina is categorized as a humid subtropical climate. This means it has hot, humid summer and mild to cool winters, so it is a big deal when it snows. San Diego, CA where my father lives has a mediterranean climate much like Southern Spain. 

Wildlife in North Carolina includes deer, squirrels, alligators, bears, foxes and snakes. There are a variety of trees including red maple, red spruce, sugar spruce, cherry tree and oak.  

Climate Change has caused problems with air pollution, floods, droughts, tornados, cyclones, and extreme heat. Here are two videos we showed in class to discuss what we can do about it. 

Climate Change (according to a kid)

Climate Change for Kids

For the full presentation you can see pictures of my university here:

Climate in North Carolina

The Empire State Building

Today with 5C we talked about a famous building located in New York City. Last week they learned about the Taj Mahal in India.

Click on the link to see the presentation: 

The Empire State Building Presentation 

The Empire State Building has 102 stories or floors.

It is located in Manhattan, New York City on 5th avenue. 

It is 381 m tall, 443 m tall to the last tip. 

™Construction started March 17, 1930 and I opened May 1, 1931.

™It was the tallest building until the One World Trade Center which recently opened in 2014. 

™It was built by the architect William F. Lamb.

Here are some links to where it is located on google maps and the website where you can explore the amazing views from the top floor, take a virtual tour, view the films that the Empire State Building has appeared in and see what celebrities have visited there. In the presentation you can also see a clip from the famous film in King Kong where he climbs the building. 

™https://www.google.es/maps/place/Empire+State+Building/@40.7484405,-73.9856644,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xd134e199a405a163™http://www.esbnyc.com/™http://www.esbnyc.com/explore™http://www.esbnyc.com/explore/top-deck-102nd-floor™http://www.esbnyc.com/pr-pop-culture/celebrity-visitors?title=Taylor

Getting Around Town

In 4th grade the past week we have been talking about places and public transportation. Vocabulary includes: hospital, train station, café, police station, museum, supermarket, newagents, bus stop, cinema and shops.

Transportation vocabulary includes: car, double-decker buses, water boats, gondalas, bicycle, underground/tube, tram, road, canal, village, town, city, and taxi.

Here are some pictures I shared with the class as we talked about transportation in London, Venice and Amsterdam. Where would you like to travel and how?

A traditional tramway in Lisbon, Portugal

In Amsterdam there are more bicycles than people.

Did you know in London they also call the Underground the Tube. In the U.S. we call it the Subway.

A double-decker bus in London

Did you know there are no roads or cars in Venice: Looks like a gondala or water boat is your only option.

At the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Did I fool you? 

The tramway in Istanbul, Turkey 

While I have never been to Venice (yet), I have been to The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Inside it looks like it is day during the day with the ceiling painted like the sky, and at night it changes to dark blue with stars and a plaza much like the St. Marcos Square in Venice. Can you see the Gondola in my picture?

Examples of an activity in class was:

I would like to travel to ____________ by __________. If you would like to travel to Las Vegas by plane here is more about the Venetian Hotel: http://www.venetian.com/