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Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have played in Buffalo, New York since they were founded in
1959. The Bills are the only team to play in the state of New York as both
other New York teams, the Jets and Giants, play in New Jersey. The team
plays in the American Football Conference (AFC) East Division.

The name Bills was chosen as a result of a fan contest. The team was
previously known as the Bisons but other teams in the area were also called
the Bisons. Although Nickels, Blue Devils and Bullets were considered, a local
boy won the contest with the Bills. The word Bill refers to Buffalo Bill Cody
and his gang and is meant to symbolize the wild frontier. Fittingly, there
sponsor at the time was Frontier Oil.

The Buffalo Bills hold several records: They are the only NFL team to win four
back-to-back conference championships, which they accomplished between
1990 and 1993. Unfortunately, they lost in the Super Bowl each year,
becoming the only team to lose more than two consecutive Super Bowls, and
the second team to lose four Super Bowls without winning one (The
Minnesota Vikings have also lost four). Before the advent of the Super Bowl,
however, The Buffalo Bills won league titles in 1964 and 1965.

The Buffalo Bills have had many Hall-of-Fame caliber players. O.J. Simpson
spent most of his career with the Bills and was once the leagues all time
leading rusher. Thurman Thomas was the teams star running back during its
Super Bowl years and Jim Kelly was its quarterback. Bruce Smith, considered
one of the best defensive tackles in the history of the NFL, played most of his
career with the Bills as well. Smith holds the career record for most sacks in
by an NFL player (200) and was enshrined in the Hall-of-Fame in 2009.

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Chicago Bears
The history of the Chicago Bears is long. They were originally known as the
Staleys because the owner was the A. E. Staley Food Company. They were
renamed the Bears when George Halas bought them in 1921. Halas
purchased rights to the team for $100.00. Halas would control the team until
1983 and served as head coach on and off for over 40 years. The Chicago
Bears dominated the league in its early years. In the leagues first six years,
the Bears posted 34 shutouts and won the 1921 Championship Title. They
would also win championships in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1940, 1941,1943, and
1946. During this time, the Bears also formed rivalries with the Chicago
Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers. In 1940, the Bears made history by
crushing the Washington Redskins 73-0 in the Championship Game. The 73-0
score remains the most lopsided score in NFL history. Their victory in the
1963 NFL Championship Game over the New York Giants (14-10) would be
their eighth championship (but last until 1986).

In 1986, the Bears, led by quarterback Jim McMahon, legendary running back
Walter Payton, and head coach Mike Ditka, won their first Super Bowl, 46-10,
over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Many people believe the
1985 Bears (who won the Super Bowl in 1986) had the most fearsome
defense in football history. During the 1985 season, the Bears achieved a
record of 15 wins and one loss. In 1995, the Bears made it to Super Bowl XLI,
but were defeated by Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 29-17.

On November 18, 2010, the Bears secured the record for the most wins by
any NFL franchise with their 700th.

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U.S. Constitution
It was soon becoming apparent that the Articles of Confederation were
insufficient as a means of governing the nation. Important legislators
such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison quickly realized the
importance of establishing national laws to prevent the states from
becoming independent countries on their own. The new United States
was on the verge of collapse due to a lack of monetary funds, and a
series of rebellions. Shays's Rebellion, in Massachusetts, was an
uprising of debtor farmers led by Daniel Shays that resulted in a failed
attempt
to
seize
a
federal
arsenal
in
Springfield.
The Constitutional (Philadelphia) Convention was called in 1786, and
held at Independence Hall in 1787. 55 men from throughout the colonies
convened for the purpose of strengthening the Articles of
Confederation. George Washington was chosen to preside over the
convention. From the start of the convention, controversy arose
concerning voting on legislation. Larger states such as Pennsylvania
wanted their votes to count more than smaller states because they
represented larger populations. Smaller states such as Rhode Island
and New Jersey feared that their interests would be ignored.
On May 29, 1787, Virginia governor Edmund Randolph presented the
Virginia Plan, a compilation of proposals drafted by future president
James Madison. Madison proposed a three-tiered government with a
legislative branch consisting of two houses (Senate and House of
Representatives) that would make laws, an executive branch to carry out
the laws, and a judicial branch to enforce the laws. Madison's proposal
also called for proportional representation in both houses of the
legislative branch. This meant that states would be represented based

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on their populations or the amount of tax payments paid. Furthermore,

the House of Representatives would be elected by the people, and the
Senate would be elected by the representatives. To quell the rising tide
of state sovereignty (independence), The Virginia Plan would authorize
the national government to have direct authority over American citizens,
as well as to negate any state laws that were not deemed in the best
interest
of
the
United
States.
While the larger states seemed to support the Virginia Plan, the smaller
states began to voice their opposition. William Paterson, from New
Jersey, warned that his state would never go along with the plan, and
Roger Sherman, from Connecticut opposed the popular election (by the
people) of representatives. Others, such as Alexander Hamilton, claimed
that the Virginia Plan was too democratic, and failed to protect the
government against the passage of popular, but ultimately, harmful laws.
Nevertheless, the Virginia Plan was voted (7 states to 3) as the
convention's basis for deliberations. Thus, the Articles of Confederation
would
be
effectively
replaced
rather
than
amended.
The issue of equal versus proportional representation, however, was the
most contentious issue and threatened to destroy the deliberations, and
perhaps, the new nation. The smaller states would not agree to any plan
in which the larger ones had more votes. On July 5, 1787, a special
committee was formed to try to come to a compromise regarding the
issue of representation. The Great Compromise, as it came to be known,
formed an alternative plan in which the House of Representatives would
include one state delegate for every 40,000 citizens of a particular state,
and the Senate would have the same number of delegates, regardless of
population, for each state. On July 16, five states voted for the plan, and
four (the larger states) voted against it. It was a victory for the smaller

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states.

Emancipation Proclamation
On September 17, 1862, 75,000 Union troops under the command of George
McClellan clashed with about 40,000 Confederate troops under the command
of Robert E. Lee at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The horrible battle, which was the
bloodiest day in American history, became known as the Battle of Antietam
because of the creek (Antietam Creek) that ran through the battle site. The
landmark battle was not a military victory for either side, but rather a moral
and tactical victory for the north. Lee's exhausted army of Northern Virginia
was forced to retreat to the Virginia side of the Potomac River. General
McClellan, however, failed to order pursuit to the fleeing Confederates, which
ultimately allowed them to regroup.
Despite the inconclusive nature of the battle, President Abraham Lincoln
declared the battle a significant victory of the Union. Lincoln's victorious
assertion was important for northern morale because of significant defeats in
Virginia, and increasing criticism from "Copperheads", Democrats who favored
peaceful negotiations with the South. Furthermore, the Battle of Antietam
provided an opportunity for President Lincoln to free all slaves still subjugated
in the South. Five days after the battle, on September 22, 1862, Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all slaves in "enemy
territory" as of January 1, 1863. The announcement was hailed by abolitionists
(people who opposed slavery). However, it is important to note that the new
law did not free slaves being held in the border states of Delaware, Maryland,
Kentucky, and Missouri. Lincoln was concerned that the issuance of a
universal emancipation of all slaves would persuade those states to secede
from the Union and join the Confederacy.

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Florida Manatee
The unmistakable Florida Manatee is mostly grayish or brown, often
times with algae growing on its thick, wrinkled skin. It is perfectly
adapted for life in tropical waters. The body of the Florida Manatee is
similar to that of a seal, and its face resembles the face of a walrus
without the tusks. Manatees have specialized forelimb flippers that
enable them to move through the water with great agility. The Manatee's
flippers also enable it to grasp food and bring it to the mouth. Manatees
have nostrils located at the tops of their heads for easy breathing.
Nostrils also have tight-fitting flaps that keep water out when they're
underwater. Manatees have incredible lung capacity and can stay under
water for as long as 15 minutes. Their presence is often revealed by
powerful gusts of air (breaths) at the surface of the water. Their
powerful, flat tails help propel their massive bodies through the water.
Florida Manatees are typically ten feet in length and weigh over 1,000
pounds.
The Florida Manatee is actually a sub-species of the more widespread
West Indian Manatee. The Florida Manatee summers through much of
the east and gulf coasts. Individuals may wander as far north as Virginia
and as far west as Louisiana in both fresh and salt water. In winter,
Manatees migrate to warm waters off the coasts of Florida and Georgia.
Hundreds of Manatees may congregate in winter near large cities such
as Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Manatees rarely survive in water
that dips below 68 F.

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Manatees are known as "gentle giants" and are purely herbivorous.

Manatees eat vast amounts of aquatic plants. A manatee may eat as
much as 15 percent of its body weight per day.
Manatees are slow moving animals. They are even slower to reproduce.

Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga was a small, dilapidated British fort maintained by the British at the
southern tip of Lake Champlain in upstate New York. It was a strategically important fort
in the French and Indian War, and was known then known as Fort Carillon.

Although it was manned by only 48 British soldiers, American forces recognized its
geographic importance and its cache of cannon, guns, and other weapons. Fort
Ticonderoga was located in a strategically important route between the colonies and
Englands Northern provinces (today Canada). The Massachusetts Committee of Safety
authorized a secret mission that would be led by Colonel Benedict Arnold to seize the
fort. Arnold helped in the effort to recruit 400 soldiers.
As Arnolds mission traveled north, he learned that Connecticut had also planned a
mission to seize the fort that was led by Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys from
Vermont. When Arnold finally reached Allen, the two worked out an agreement to share
command of the mission. On May 10th, 1775, Allen, Arnold and 83 soldiers raided Fort
Ticonderoga. The British soldiers, sleeping inside the fort, offered no resistance. No one
was killed in the raid. After the surrender, as many as four hundred additional American
soldiers arrived at the fort, promptly destroying it in search of liquor. Arnold was
infuriated by the lack of discipline and regard by the Green Mountain Boys. Several of
them became so sick of Arnold that they apparently drew their swords. Ethan Allen
would take credit for the entire operation.
On May 11, Arnold led the seizure of nearby Fort Crown Point, which yielded more
weapons and cannons. The first of Arnolds many perceived snubs occurred when he
was relieved of command of the fort by Benjamin Hinman, who had come with 1,000

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troops to help rebuild it.
Despite Arnolds disappointment, the weapons obtained from the seizures of Forts
Ticonderoga and Crown Point would prove extremely useful to the American cause.
Commander-in-Chief of Continental forces, George Washington, put Colonel Henry
Knox in charge of transporting the weapons for the defense of Boston. Knox and his
men dragged 59 cannons on ox-drawn sleds over 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga,
through Albany, N.Y. and the mountains of Massachusetts, to Boston. The trip took 56
days. The entire load weighed more than 60 tons. When the cannons arrived in Boston,
Washington ordered them positioned atop Dorchester Heights, overlooking the British
fleet in the harbor below. On the night of March 4, 1776, Dorchester Heights would be
fortified by 1,200 soldiers and the cannons were moved into place all of which went
unnoticed by the British.

Maya Lin
Maya Lin was born in Athens, Ohio, on October 5, 1959. In 1949, her parents
fled Communism in China and came to the United States. In 1958 they
moved to Athens, home of Ohio University, where they were professors. Her
mother wrote poetry and taught literature; her father was a ceramic artist
and became Dean of the College of Fine Arts.

As a child, Maya Lin liked to hike, read, watch birds, work in her father's
ceramics studio, and build miniature towns. She loved to think and solve
problems. In high school, she was an excellent math student who took
college level courses and worked at McDonalds. She thought she was kind of
nerdy because she never dated or wore make-up.

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Maya went to Yale University to study architecture. While she was 21 and still
a student, she entered a blind contest to submit a design for the new
Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. According to contest rules, the
memorial had to fit in with the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument,
include the names of all the dead and missing from the war, and refrain from
making political statements. Mayas simple but elegant design featured a
pair of two hundred foot long, polished black granite walls. The monument
was V-shaped, with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other
to the Washington Monument. The wall had the carved names of 58,195 men
and women who were killed or missing in the war listed according to the
dates they were reported killed or missing, instead of in alphabetical order.
Her design was chosen over 1,441 others. Maya believed her design would
not have been chosen if the judges had known she was Chinese-American.
Some people harassed her after her family background and age became
known.

Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle was born on October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. When he
was four, his family moved to Commerce, Oklahoma, where he spent the rest of
his childhood. His dad taught him how to play baseball and how to be switch
hitter (bat right handed and left handed). Mickey was an outstanding athlete from
an early age. He played baseball, basketball and football in high school. A highschool football injury to his leg resulted in an infection that nearly necessitated
its amputation. Although the infection eventually subsided, he would suffer from
its effects for the rest of this life.
Mickey was drafted by the New York Yankees at age 18. He was so talented that
he almost immediately was called up from the minor leagues to the Yankees.
Yankees management believed he would be the next great Yankees star and gave
him the number "6" (Babe Ruth was 3, Lou Gehrig was 4, and Joe Dimaggio was
5). The pressure on the 20 year-old kid from Oklahoma was intense. Mickey
played poorly in his first stint in the major leagues and was sent back to the

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minors. It was a devastating setback to Mantle. He even thought of quitting.
Nevertheless, he was soon called back up to the majors. This time, he wore the
number "7". The rest, they say is history.
Mickey Mantle went on to enjoy an incredible baseball career as the Yankees
starting center fielder for 18 years. He was one of the most popular athletes in
sports history. Kids and adults alike, throughout the nation, idolized "The Mick".
He played for the New York Yankees from 1951-1968. During that time, he hit 536
home runs, several of which are said to be among the longest in history. He was a
16 time All-Star and won three American League MVP (Most Valuable Player)
awards. He played on seven World Championships Yankee teams, and still holds
the Major League record for World Series Home Runs (18), RBIs (40) and runs
scored (42). In 1956, Mickey Mantle became the last person to win the Major
League Triple Crown, hitting 52 home runs, batting .353, and knocking in 130 runs
(RBI's). Injuries to Mickey's legs eventually caught up with him. He retired on
March 1, 1969. He was inducted in the Major League Baseball Hall-of-Fame in
1974. His number "7" was retired by the Yankees.

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Colour Symbolism

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1
Why is pink often thought to be a colour for girls and blue a colour for boys? The
answer depends mainly on personal experiences and cultural background
because colour means different things to different people around the world.
2
The meaning of a certain colour may change depending on your culture. Green is
one of these colours. It is an important colour for Muslims and represents
paradise. To the Egyptians, green is a holy colour and represents the hope and
joy of spring. Meanwhile in Japan, green means long life. It is said that green
relaxes the mind and body, relieves pain and has a great healing power. In fact,
people who work in green environments have been found to have fewer health
problems. The colour green also helps depression. When a bridge in London was
painted green, the number of people jumping of the bridge and killing
themselves, dropped by 34 percent!
3
For many people red is a favourite colour. It is a colour of love, energy, fire, blood,
and war. In many cultures red is connected with money and good luck. In Hindu,
Islamic and Chinese cultures red is a traditional colour that brides wear. In China
it is also the colour of the Chinese New Year, when houses are decorated in red
and children are given money in red envelopes. In addition, many restaurant
decorators believe that red makes people feel hungry and customers eat more if
red is included in the restaurant dcor. Red also catches a persons eye quickly
and is often used in commercial websites to encourage people to make a
purchase.
4
Like red and green, blue is another universal colour of water and the sky. In
Greece, people believe that wearing blue gives you protection against evil. People
who believe this wear a blue necklace or bracelet. Blue like green is another
calming colour and it has been found that people sleep better in blue rooms.
However, some people suggest that unlike red, blue makes people eat less. So, if
you are thinking of losing weight blue plates can help you to do this as we seem
to eat less when eating from them.

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Reacting to Color
Section I
No one knows when we started using color, but we think that ancient cultures may have
used colors to symbolize specific things. For instance, we believe that the Cherokee
Indians used blue to symbolize sadness something that we might recognize today
from the expression feeling blue. But research shows us that each culture had a
different system for color use. In other words, the people chose what the colors
represented blue in one culture could mean the opposite in another.
Section II
People often choose colors that are new to them. Studies in history suggest that new
colors quickly became popular, probably because they were different. To take a more
recent example, the first mass-produced cars were all black. When different colored
paint was developed, people chose those colors because they were new. The same
thing happened when color was introduced to other materials, such as plastic. The first
color televisions didnt have very realistic colors, but almost everyone preferred them to
black and white.
Section III
Colors also affect us on a deeper level. Experiments have shown that colors can have a
physical effect on us. For example, red is said to make our breathing and heartbeat
faster, and yellow makes our metabolism faster. On the other hand, blue can make our
bodies release chemicals that calm us down, and green can have a similar relaxing
effect.
Section IV
Perhaps there is an important reason for our reaction to color, however. Research
suggests that over the years, we have learned to recognize various colors as a warning.
If a primitive man cut his hand and saw his blood, the red color truly represented danger
it told him to do something about it or he could die. Similarly, he would not eat meat if
it was blue or green something tells us that green or blue meat is bad. This is an
experiment you can try for yourself with food coloring. Try serving a meal to your friends
with the potatoes or rice colored blue.

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Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are members of the East Division of the National
Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They have
played at FedEx Stadium in Landover, MD since 1997. The team colors are
burgundy, gold, and white.

George Preston Marshall was the original owner the team. In 1932 he
purchased a Duluth, Minnesota franchise and moved it to Boston, where it
was renamed the Boston Braves. In 1933 the club moved to Fenway Park,
home of the Boston Red Sox, and the name was changed to the Boston
Redskins. This name change may have been related to their new coach, a
Native American named Lone Star Dietz. Dietz had once played with the
legendary Jim Thorpe at a school for Native Americans in Kansas. When Dietz
joined the Redskins, he brought along six dozen native-American players. For
their 1933 season opener, the entire team posed in war paint and
headdresses. In 1937 the Redskins moved from Boston to Washington D.C.
because of poor attendance. They won their first league championship that
year.

Since 1969, Indian activists have pressured teams to drop native names and
mascots. The Redskins have been in and out of court over their name since
1992.

Marshall was talented but controversial. He was the first to see the potential
of television and radio broadcasts of games, and he started the era of
halftime entertainment. In the 1960s, Marshall refused to integrate the team.
Integrating the team would mean allowing African-American athletes. The
Kennedy administration threatened civil rights legal action. Unless the team

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was integrated, the team could not play at D.C. Stadium because it was
federal government property. In 1962, the Redskins became the final pro
football team to integrate.

Thomas Paine & Common Sense

Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737. He was the son of uneducated English farmers. In
his early years, he served as an apprentice in his father's corset making business, but
eventually served as a merchant seaman before starting his own corset business. In 1759,
Paine married Mary Lambert, who would soon die during childbirth.
After the death of his wife, Paine moved around England and took several different jobs such as
a servant, tax collector, and teacher. In 1771, Paine married Elizabeth Ollive, his landlord's
daughter. It was during this time, while living in Lewes, East Sussex, that he became involved in
local politics. In 1772, he published his first political work, known as The Case of the Officers of
Excise, which championed better pay and working conditions for tax collectors. That same year,
Paine met Benjamin Franklin, who encouraged him to move to America and wrote him a
recommendation to do so. Paine arrived in Philadelphia on November 30, 1774, just days after
obtaining a legal separation from his second wife. Upon his arrival in America, he was near
death from Typhoid, which had claimed the lives of five other passengers on the ship.
Although it took six weeks for Paine to recover from the trip to America, he quickly made his
mark on American politics and sentiments. On January 10, 1776, he anonymously published
Common Sense, a pro-independence pamphlet that would galvanize the colonists against the
British and that would greatly influence the expediency of the Declaration of Independence.
Paine's pamphlet quickly spread through the colony's literate population and became the
international voice of the pro-independence colonies. Common Sense would quickly become
the top selling publication of the 18th century. That same year, he penned The Crisis, which
greatly helped to inspire the Continental Army. Below is a famous quote from The Crisis:
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in
this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love
and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this
consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
During and after the Revolution, Paine worked in France on French-American foreign affairs. It

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was during this time that he began to advocate the French Revolution. On January 29, 1791, he
published The Rights of Man, a pamphlet encouraging the French Revolution and criticizing
European monarchies. At first, he was seen as a great asset to the revolutionaries of France
and was appointed to the French Convention and was named an honorary French citizen.
However, as powers shifted in revolutionary France, Paine quickly became unpopular, was
arrested, and scheduled to be executed (though he escaped execution by chance).

Valley Forge Reading

During the 1700s and 1800s, major fighting during wars generally ceased for the winters
and armies took up winter encampments. As winter descended upon Pennsylvania in
1777, General George Washington chose Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, some eighteen
miles west of Philadelphia as site of the winter encampment of the Continental Army.
The area was far enough away from the British in Philadelphia to discourage surprise
attacks and its location between high hills and the Schuylkill River made it easily
defensible.
The Continental Army, however, was in bad shape. Of the 12,000 soldiers, many lacked
the supplies or clothing to survive the winter and many others were starving at this
point. At Valley Forge, defense lines were built along with over 1,000 huts to provide
some relief from the brutal elements. Moisture from rain and melting snow made it
impossible for many soldiers to stay dry and allowed for the spread of disease. The only
reliable food that the soldiers received was a mixture of flour and water known as
firecake. Occasionally, soldiers received meat and bread. Furthermore, many soldiers
had inadequate supplies of clothing and were forced to endure the winter in tatters and
without blankets. Many lacked shoes. Wounded soldiers often died from exposure to the
elements. Unsanitary and crowded conditions led to the proliferation of diseases and
sicknesses such as typhoid and pneumonia. Over 2,000 people died from such
sicknesses.
On February 23, 1778, former German General Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley
Forge to train the Patriots how to march in formation, fire guns quickly, use bayonets
and become soldiers. Though von Steuben spoke little English, he developed a training
manual in French that would be translated on the grounds into English. Unlike many
American generals, von Steuben worked directly with the soldiers, endearing him to the
thousands suffering at Valley Forge. Von Steubens presence did much to improve the

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morale of the army during the bitter winter and also helped them develop into a more
tactical, effective military machine, capable of fighting the British.
On June 19, 1778, the Continental Army left Valley Forge in pursuit of the British who
were moving north to New York.

Battle of Trenton
For the most part, and with the exception of the publication of the Declaration of Independence,
1776 had been a brutal year for Patriot morale. The Continental Army, under the command of
George Washington, had been more or less routed in and around New York City, suffering
tremendous casualties. Morale was low and the ragtag Continental army was forced to retreat
through New Jersey to the west side of the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. On the other side
of the river, in Trenton, N.J. were three regiments of Hessian soldiers (German soldiers)
numbering about 1,400.
General Washington planned an attack on the Hessians from three directions to be executed on
December 26, 1776, the day after Christmas. As the Continental Army prepared to cross the
Delaware River on their way to Trenton, sleet and snow had begun to fall, delaying the crossing.
With great effort and difficulty, the army eventually crossed the river in Durham boats, and the
horses and artillery were ferried across. Two men fell overboard during the crossing, but both
survived. Two other generals who were to assist Washington were delayed by the adverse
weather. By 4:00 in the morning, however, the crossing was completed and the Continental
Army began the nine mile march toward Trenton. During the march, Washington continually
encouraged his troops, many of whom lacked shoes and were bleeding from their feet.
The first gunfire of the battle happened about a mile north of Trenton at a Hessian outpost,
where the Hessians stationed there began a desperate retreat. Once in Trenton, Washington
instructed the escape route to Princeton cut off. Washingtons army was soon joined by armies
under the command of Generals Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan. Cannons and artillery
were set up at the heads of King and Queen Streets, the two main streets running through the
city, which did tremendous damage to the Hessian ranks. Hessian soldiers advancing up the
streets were quickly repulsed. Elsewhere in the city, Hessian forces were being overrun.
Eventually, the majority of Hessian forces would become surrounded by American forces in an
orchard. They were forced to surrender. Others surrendered when their escape routes had been
cut off.

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In the battle, only two American soldiers were killed and five were injured, though many more
died from hypothermia and disease. The Hessians suffered 83 casualties, 22 of which were
fatalities. 896 Hessians were captured, though several hundred did manage to escape. All four
Hessian colonels, however, were killed. Although the battle was not important tactically, it
inspired the American war effort and raised the morale of the army, which seemed to be
threatened with dissolution.

Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was born February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He was nicknamed
"Al" at an early age. At age 11, Edison moved to Michigan where he spent the
remainder of his childhood.
Thomas Edison struggled at school, but learned to love reading and conducting
experiments from his mother who taught him at home. At age 15, Edison became
a "tramp telegrapher", sending and receiving messages via morse code, an
electronically-conveyed alphabet using different clicks for each letter. Eventually,
he worked for the Union Army as a telegrapher. Edison often entertained himself
by taking things apart to see how they worked. Soon, he decided to become an
inventor.

In 1870, Edison moved to New York City and improved the stock ticker. He soon
formed his own company that manufactured the new stock tickers. He also began
working on the telegraph, and invented a version that could send four messages
at once. Meanwhile, Edison married Mary Stillwell, had three children and moved
his family to Menlo Park, New Jersey where he started his famous laboratory.
In 1877, Edison, with help from "muckers", individuals from around the world
looking to make fortunes in America, invented the phonograph. The phonograph
was a machine that recorded and played back sounds. He perfected the
phonograph by recording "Mary had a Little Lamb" on a piece of tin foil! In 1878,

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Edison invented the light bulb as well as the power grid system, which could
generate electricity and deliver it to homes through a network of wires. He
subsequently started the Edison Electric Light Company in October of 1878.
In 1884, after he attained great fame and fortune, Mary Stillwell died. Edison
remarried 20 year-old Mina Miller in 1886. He had three more children and moved
to West Orange, New Jersey. At West Orange, Edison built one of the largest
laboratories in the world. He worked extremely hard and registered 1,093 patents.
Edison continued to invent or improve products and make significant
contributions to x-ray technology, storage batteries and motion pictures (movies).
He also invented the world's first talking doll. His inventions changed the world
forever. They still influence the way we live today. Edison worked until his death
on October 18, 1931.

Tim Berners-Lee (Creator of the World Wide Web)

Tim Berners-Lee was born in London on June 8, 1955. His parents were
mathematicians who worked on the Mark I computer. They encouraged Tim's
interest in math and electronics. He majored in physics at Queens College,
Oxford. While he was there, he built his own computer out of spare parts. He
was also caught hacking and banned from using the university's computer.

In 1969, the Pentagon Arpanet Project began to develop a way to share

information between computers. In 1975 the idea was first tested. At this
time, it was only used by colleges and the military. The word internet is short
for internetworking. It was first used in writing in 1974.

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In 1984 Berners-Lee was inspired to combine his hypertext idea with the
sharing idea developed by Arpanet. His vision was a world-wide information
space where computers would be linked together so researchers could
instantly share information. Berners-Lee developed other important ideas for
the internet. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the language that
computers use to communicate on the Internet. Uniform Resource Locators
(URLs) are the addresses people use to find information. Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) is a language used to design web pages. By 1990 BernersLee created the first browser so users could find and read documents. He
called his browser the WorldWideWeb.

Because Berners-Lee wants the web to be universally accessible and free, he

set up the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994. The Consortium sets
standards so web designers can build pages that work for all users, on all
operating systems, and browsers.

Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley was born in Gambia (in Africa) on May 8, 1753 and died in
Boston on December 5, 1784.

When she was 7 or 8, she was sold as a slave to John and Susanna Wheatley
of Boston. She was named after the ship that brought her to America, The
Phillis.

The Poetry Foundation describes her sale:

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In August 1761, in want of a domestic, Susanna Wheatley, purchased a

slender, frail female child for a trifle The captain of the slave ship
believed that the waif was terminally ill, and he wanted at least a small
profit before she died. The family surmised the girlwho was of slender
frame and evidently suffering from a change of climate, nearly naked, with
no other covering than a quantity of dirty carpet about herto be about
seven years old from the circumstances of shedding her front teeth.
(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/phillis-wheatley)

Phillis was very intelligent. The Wheatley family taught her to read and write,
and encouraged her to write poetry. Her first poem On Messrs. Hussey and
Coffin was published when she was only twelve. In 1770, "An Elegiac Poem,
on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ,
the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield" made her famous. It was
published in Boston, Newport, and Philadelphia.

When she was eighteen, Phillis and Mrs. Wheatley tried to sell a collection
containing twenty-eight of her poems. Colonists did not want to buy poetry
written by an African.

U.S. Government (Congress)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The U.S. House of Representatives is one of the two houses of
Congress. Unlike the Senate, a states number of representatives is
based on its population. States with large populations have more

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representatives than states with small populations. The state of

California, America s most populous state, currently has 55
representatives. There are 435 total representatives and each serves a
two-year term. Like the Senate, the House of Representatives performs
much of its legislative work in committees. The House of
Representatives has 20 standing committees. Much like the Senate
committees, these committees meet to review, amend, edit, and consider
bills specific to a certain jurisdictions such as agriculture, revenue, or
foreign relations.
The top officer of the House of Representatives is referred to as the
Speaker of the House. He or she is elected by other members of the
House and has substantial powers including choosing the order in
which other representatives speak, choosing members of conference
committees, and choosing which committees reviews specific bills.
Representatives must be 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and
a resident of the state they wish to represent.
Much like the Senate, the House of Representatives has exclusive
powers including the right to impeach (an impeachment is a legal
statement of charges against an official. The Senate only has the power
to try impeachment), to initiate revenue bills (those involving money),
and to elect the president in the case of an electoral tie.

Civil War MAIN IDEA

The Civil War was one of the
1861 to 1865, America was
differences in beliefs between
and pro-slavery individuals in

most difficult times in American history. From

at war with itself. The war stemmed from
anti-slavery individuals in the northern states,
the south. Slavery was very important to the

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southern economy, and many southerners were afraid that Abraham Lincoln
would try to to abolish slavery when he became president. Such individuals
did not think the government had the right to tell the states what to do.
People in the north thought that slavery was immoral, and were afraid that if
slavery was allowed in America's new territories, it would never be defeated.

In 1860 and 1861, eleven southern states decided to secede (break away)
from the United States and form their own government. It was called the
Confederate States of America. Richmond, Virginia was made their capital.
Congress declared war on April 14, 1861 for the purposes of preserving the
Union. The first shots of the Civil War were fired two days earlier at Fort
Sumter, South Carolina.
The war that ensued was long and deadly. Over 500,000 soldiers were killed,
by far, more than any other war in American history. Both the north and the
south won many major victories. Many battles proved inconclusive. The
northern side, however, had more people and supplies. The turning point in
the war occurred between July 1-3 of 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. It was
the only time the south waged a major battle on northern soil (not including
battles fought in Border States). The Union (Northern) army was victorious
and drove the Confederates back to Virginia.

Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (Bill) was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle,
Washington. Bill was the second of three children in an upper-middle class

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family. He enjoyed playing games with the family and was very competitive.
He also loved to read. Bill became bored in public school so his family sent
him to Lakeside School, a private school, where he excelled in math and
science and did well in drama and English.

Gates became interested in computer programming when he was 13, during

the era of giant mainframe computers. His school held a fund-raiser to
purchase a teletype terminal so students could use computer time that was
donated by General Electric. Using this time, Gates wrote a tic-tac-toe
program using BASIC, one of the first computer languages. Later he created
a computer version of Risk, a board game he liked in which the goal is world
domination. At Lakeside, Bill met Paul Allen, who shared his interest in
computers. Gates and Allen and two other students hacked into a computer
belonging to Computer Center Corporation (CCC) to get free computer time
but were caught. After a period of probation, they were allowed back in the
computer lab when they offered to fix glitches in CCCs software. At age 17,
Gates and Allen were paid $20,000 for a program called Traf-O-Data that was
used to count traffic.
In early 1973, Bill Gates served as a congressional page in the U.S. House of
Representatives. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and was accepted
by Harvard University. Steve Ballmer, who became CEO of Microsoft after Bill
retired, was also a Harvard student. Meanwhile, Paul Allen dropped out of
Washington College to work on computers at Honeywell Corporation and
convinced Gates to drop out of Harvard and join him in starting a new
software company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They called it Micro-Soft.
This was soon changed to Microsoft, and they moved their company to
Bellevue, Washington.

The Human Heart

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The human heart is an amazing organ of the human body. The heart is an organ
which pumps life-giving blood throughout the body. It works together with blood and
blood vessels to supply all of the needs of the cells.
The circulatory system of the body makes up the heart, blood and blood
vessels. Blood vessels are tubes which carry the blood. Blood carries oxygen and
food to the cells of the body. The blood then returns to the heart.
The heart is located in the middle of the chest and slightly to the left. It is divided
into two halves and has two hollow spaces or chambers. The blood enters
the atria, which is the upper chamber and is then pumped to the ventricles, two lower
chambers. Blood from the ventricles goes to the lungs and to every cell in the body.
A valve in each ventricle stops the blood from flowing backwards.
An artery is a blood vessel which carries blood away from the heart. A main artery
may be as thick as a thumb.
Blood is made up of red cells, white cells and platelets floating in a fluid called
plasma. Plasma is a liquid and can easily pass through small blood vessels into cells and
makes up over one-half of the blood. The plasma carries nutrients (food) from the
stomach to be used as fuel for energy. Plasma also helps keep the body warm.
The blood then returns to the heart through blood vessels called veins. The veins on
the skin, may look blue, especially on the hands and arms. The walls of a vein are much
thinner than those of an artery. Two large veins bring the blood back to the heart. One
comes from the brain and the chest. The other comes from the stomach and lower
body.
Blood doesn't flow at the same speed through all of the body. As it gets farther away
from the heart, it slows down. It goes slowly when the red blood cells carrying the food
and oxygen squeeze through into the cells.

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The heart beats or pumps every second of the day or night. It beats or pumps
100,000 times a day, every day of a person's life.

Lizards
Lizards are members of the reptile family. Other members are snakes, turtles,
crocodiles and alligators. Lizards have several things in common with other reptiles. All
reptiles are cold-blooded. They cannot control their own body temperature. It is
controlled by their surroundings. Lizards must work to maintain their temperature.
Another characteristic which lizards have in common with all reptiles is that their skin is
made of scales.
Lizards shed their skin frequently because the skin doesn't grow with them. They
have lungs and breathe like humans. They breathe through nostrils above their mouths.
They have a special organ on the roof of their mouth. It is a Jacobson's organ.
Lizards smell with this. They pick up the smells with their tongues. The smells travel to
the Jacobson's organ. Lizards can sense prey this way. Their eyes and ears are located
on either side of their heads.
Lizards have a simple body shape. They have a head, a pair of legs, a long body,
another pair of legs and a tail. Their tails can help them balance, swim, or grab tree
branches. Some lizards use their tails as a weapon. They can also wiggle away from a
predator which grabs their tail. Certain muscles will cause it to fall off, but the tail still
moves. The predator watches the tail, and the lizards can escape. Then lizards can grow
a new tail. Lizards range in size from one and one-half inches long to seven and onehalf feet. The Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard. The Komodo dragons live in
Indonesia. The smallest lizards live in the British Virgin Islands.
Lizards can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Many live in tropical rain
forests. Food is plentiful for them there. The hot damp climate allows them to maintain
their body temperatures. They can be found also in deserts and other hot, dry areas.
Many of the desert lizards are nocturnal. They come out in the cooler evening. Very hot
weather is not good for them. Lizards that live in cold climates hibernate through the

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winter. Their bodies can't tolerate the cold temperatures. Also, food is not as readily
available in the winter.

Hormones
Hormones are substances that are secreted (or released) by cells that
act to regulate the activity of other cells in the body. As a result, many
activities in the human body are regulated by hormones. For example,
reacting to fear, developing male or female characteristics, and growing
taller are all regulated by hormones. Hormones are important to keep your
body functioning.
There are four major functions identified with hormones. Hormones
regulate growth, development, behavior, and reproduction. Hormones
coordinate the production, use and storage of energy. Hormones are
involved in maintaining nutrition, metabolism, excretion, and water and salt
balance. And finally, hormones react to stimuli from outside the body.
Hormones act as chemical messengers that carry instructions to other
cells to change their activity. The heart beats faster as hormones carry
instructions to the cells of the heart telling it to increase the heartbeat. It
was once believed that hormones had to travel through the bloodstream, but
scientists know today that that is not true. Some hormones act directly on
adjacent cells without traveling through the blood.
The message that a hormone carries is determined by both the hormone
itself and the cell it is carrying the message to. A hormone can instruct a cell
to produce an enzyme or a specific protein. Simply put, hormones can
instruct a muscle cell to relax and a nerve cell to fire.

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Each hormone is specific to the cell it is traveling to. Each hormone acts
like a key that opens a lock on or inside the cell. A hormone can only act on
cells with the right lock.
Endocrine glands are important organs in the human body that
hormones are secreted from. All of the endocrine glands together make up
the endocrine system. The endocrine system coordinates the body's entire
source of hormones.

Magnetism
Magnets are easy to use, safe, and fun. Two magnets snap together and can
stick like glue. Certain objects push or pull on things because they are
magnetic. Magnetism is another property of some kinds of matter.
A magnet has a north and South Pole. The north pole of a magnet will attract the
south pole of a magnet. The north pole of a magnet will repel the north pole of a
magnet, and the South Pole will also repel the south pole. In short, like poles repel,
and unlike poles attract.
Two different kinds of permanent magnets are called bar magnets and horse
show magnets.
The area surrounding a magnet is called its magnetic field. The magnetic field
of a magnet is an invisible field which is created by its magnetism. To ancient
people, magnetism probably seemed like magic. The force for magnets to attract or
repel each other or to attract other objects is caused by moving electrons.
The Earth also contains magnetic materials and behaves like a gigantic magnet.
The north pole of a magnet will point approximately to the Earth's North Pole and
South Pole of a magnet to the Earth's South Pole. A compass has a magnetic tip on
the needle which points towards the North Pole. Compasses are used to help people

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prevent getting lost such as hikers or captains on a ship, especially many years ago
when there was no GPS or maps to help guide them.
A magnet may also be used to convert an unmagnatized piece of magnetic
material, such as an iron nail, into a magnet. This is done by rubbing it with the
magnet.

This

is

called

magnetization.

Magnets

made

this

way

are

called temporary magnets because they eventually lose their magnetism.

Another method in creating a temporary magnet is by using electricity. This can
be done by wrapping an iron nail with a coil of wire. By passing electricity through
the coil of wire the iron nail will become a temporary magnet or an electromagnet.

Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Matter is basically a substance that takes up space. All matter is a solid, liquid,
or gas, and they are called the states of matter.
Everywhere a person looks, there are examples of solids: desks, chairs,
windows, rocks, tissues, and much more. Examples of liquids: water, milk, juice,
chocolate syrup, soda, and others. Examples of gases are harder to see, because
they are invisible: the oxygen in the air, propane gas used for a grill, helium inside
a balloon, and more.
Everything, all matter, can be identified as a solid, liquid, or gas.
Besides what they look like, there are many differences between solids, liquids,
and gases. These differences are called characteristics. The characteristics of each
state of matter are different. These characteristics determine if a substance is a
solid, liquid, or gas.
A solid has a definite shape. It can be hard or soft, smooth or rough. Solids can
come in all sizes. A solid can be large like the Statue of Liberty, or small like a

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marble. It can be very tiny like a bread crumb, or as big as a mountain, and
everything in between. If small enough, solids can be held in a person's hand, and
they are difficult to compress or push, or change shape.
The molecules of a solid are compact and close together, and nearly impossible
to move through.
A liquid takes the shape of the container it is held in, and will fill the bottom of a
container. Liquids usually have a smooth surface, but do not have a specific size. A
person may be able to hold a small amount of liquid in their hand, but a liquid
cannot be held like a solid. Liquids are less difficult to compress or push. It is much
easier to move through a liquid than a solid.
The molecules of a liquid are spread out more than a solid, but less than a gas.
Finally, a gas has no shape, but can fill a container or any size or shape. It will
fill an entire container as the molecules move.

Reptiles and Mammals

There are several types of animals that can be found all over the world. Two of
the largest kinds of animals are reptiles and mammals. Both types of animals live
together in different habitats even though there are several differences between
them.
Reptiles include turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and alligators. Snakes are
also reptiles even though a few of them do not lay eggs. Some of the dinosaurs
were also reptiles like the T-Rex or Tyrannosaurus Rex. Reptiles can usually be
found on land, but some of them spend a lot of time in the water, too.
People are mammals. Other mammals include dogs, bears, apes, rabbits,
dolphins, whales, and about 4,000 other species. Rodents, which includes beavers,
mice, and other small animals, are the largest group of mammals. The bat is the

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only mammal that can fly. Some mammals only eat meat or plants, others eat
both.
There are some characteristics reptiles and mammals share. First, they both
have lived on the Earth for millions of years. Next, both reptiles and mammals
breathe in oxygen to survive. Third, both types of animals are vertebrates.
Vertebrates are animals with a skeleton inside their bodies, including a backbone.
Fish are another example of a type of animal classified as a vertebrate.
Fourth, all reptiles and mammals have the same organs which include the brain,
heart, stomach, lungs, and a few others. The final characteristic the animals share
is having four limbs, either all legs or two arms and two legs.
Though there are several characteristics reptiles and mammals share, there are
many more differences. Most reptiles lay eggs in order to produce their young.
Mammals, on the other hand, give birth to living offspring. When the newborn of a
reptile is born, it can live on its own. However, when a newborn of a mammal is
born it must be cared for by the parent. In addition, newborn reptiles look like the
parent, but newborn mammals do not resemble the parent.

Credit Cards - History of Credit Cards

Do you or someone you know use a credit card? A credit card is a small
rectangle of plastic that has information digitally stored on it. It can be used
to purchase things, and then the person can pay for the items later. Today,
we typically scan our credit cards with a machine at the store. The machine
reads the digital information and lets the credit company know how much we
spent so that we can pay later. The credit card company pays the store, and
then we pay the credit company.

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People have been buying things on "credit" for several centuries. Historically,
storekeepers would allow people to buy on "credit" if they knew the person
well. The store kept track of the bill by hand, and the customers would pay
on their accounts at the store periodically.
The first bankcard, named "Charg-It," was introduced in 1946 by John
Biggins, a banker in Brooklyn. When a customer used it for a purchase, the
bill was forwarded to Biggins' bank. So, instead of the store allowing a
customer to buy something on "credit," the customer used the card and the
bank paid the store. John Biggins did not issue the Charg-It cards to just
anyone. The person had to bank at Biggins' Bank and purchase locally.
Other types of credit cards soon followed. The Diners Club Card was
invented in 1949, for the purpose of using credit to dine out. In 1950,
American Express took off. This helped with those traveling abroad or
working with traveler's checks. The idea was that the American Express card
could be used as credit anywhere in the world. In 1966, Mastercard and Visa
took off as well.
Over time, the idea of the credit card has evolved, and now people are able
to pay for goods and services without having a card in hand! Paypal is an
internet payment method, and in some stores, you can even pay using an
app on your cell phone!

Calculator - History of Calculator

Do you use a calculator when you work math problems? Do you like to push
the buttons and add different numbers? Types of calculators have been
around for a long time, but the earliest "calculators" were very different from
the ones we use today.

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The calculator evolved from the abacus, which had been the method of
computing math equations since 2000 BC. The abacus was made of a set of
different colored beads or balls that could slide back and forth as the person
calculated a sum.
In the early 1600's, the slide rule was developed, and this replaced the
abacus because it was convenient to use. A slide rule looks like a ruler, but it
is marked with numbers and logarithms so that calculation can be done
quickly. School-children were taught to use the slide-rule up to the mid1980s.
The first mechanical calculator was invented by Blaize Pascal in 1642. His
machine could add and subtract two numbers and also multiply and divide,
but it was definitely a very simple machine. In 1840, Thomas de Colmar
developed the Arithmometer, and this was popular until 1915.
In 1887 Dorr E Felt's key-driven adding machine was the first push-button
calculator. The Curta calculator, developed in 1948 was one of the most
compact calculators made before the advent of electronics. It could fit into a
shirt pocket and it could add, subtract, multiply and divide.
Since the mid-20th century, the calculator has become smaller in size and
more powerful in its functions. This happened as technology advanced. The
newest calculators are built into most phones.