How far will Earth's plates move in a year?

If Earth's plates move as fast as our fingernails grow, that explains why we can't sense their movement. Can you feel your nails growing? No, it happens too slow!
If we wanted to get an estimate of how far the plates will move in a week, we could try this experiment.

1. Cut your fingernails tonight.
2. Leave them to grow for a week.
3. Cut again and measure the length of the cuttings after a week's growth.

How could you use that data to estimate how far plates move in a year?
Post your results and calculations in a comment. Don't forget to proofread what you write to be sure your ideas can be clearly understood by your readers!

Operation Time Zone: Simon wants your feedback!

Well done Simon for being the second to post!
What works well in this project? What could make it even better?
Please leave him a constructive comment!

Operation Time Zone: Sophie wants your feedback!

Here's Sophie's draft Time Zone project. Please leave her a comment about what you think works well and any questions or suggestions you have to help her and her pen pals make it even better!
Well done, Sophie, for being the first to post and getting our project off to a great start!

Operation Time Zone

Our class are collaborating with Ms Arman's 5th graders in Fairhill Elementary School, Fairfax, Virginia, to come up with a way to represent the differences between our time zones in real time. Did you know that when our class are being dismissed, Ms Arman's class are just arriving at school to start the day?
Every student has a penpal and we are writing back and forth to exchange information and plan our projects. Now you can share your project ideas with everyone by posting them as a sticky note on our Wallwisher. Ms Arman's class have access to this Wallwisher and can post too!
What kind of project will you and your pal come up with? Projects can be a joint story, a poem, a song, a PowerPoint, photos and captions, or any other idea you can imagine!

Meet the Explorers

Happy Halloween!

Here we are doing the Monster Mash!

Land Ho!

Watch the video and add a comment as if you were one of the characters in the film. Perhaps you are even one of the natives watching, invisible in the jungle? Get into character and tell us your wishes, dreams and fears at this moment. Don't forget to sign your name. Ex: Christopher Columbus (aka Mrs Kynigou)

Have your say!

In class we were discussing the different layers of society in New Spain created under Spanish colonial rule.

Do you think this society was fair? Who benefited the most? Who got the worse deal? How come this was allowed?

Write a  good comment to tell us your opinion. (See the blog entry for tips on writing good comments.)