Create a Business!

Welcome to edMe’s competition with cash prizes!

We look around and think, “it would be better if a business would do THIS.” edMe is giving you the opportunity (and tools) to describe that business. If you submit a draft on or before April 4, we will give you feedback. All entries are due April 18 (this was updated to line up with our partners’ Spring Break schedule), and we will mail prize money to the address provided by your parent in the sign-up form.

To get started, we have a reading for grades K-6 and a series of readings for grades 7-12 about the planning document called a business canvas. These readings and the answer keys are in the lesson plans below.

Looking for more STEM literacy resources? See the edMe Science Amazon homepage.

Time Remaining:

Grades K-6

Explain Your Business

Dream up your own new business! Plan this business and explain what makes it special.

In 600 words or less, describe the business you would create and what the business would need to be successful.

Due: April 18 at 11:59 ET

As part of your submission, create an advertisement for your business in the form of a flyer. (Parental sign-up form required.)

Upload a Draft by March 20 for Feedback

Grades 7-12

Create The Best Business Plan

Entrepreneurs create new businesses. Plan the business you can imagine.

In 1,000 words or less, describe the business you would like to create. Include at least 2 criteria for your business to be successful, 2 resources you would need to start the business, and the customers you will serve.

Research, write, edit, cite, and submit by March 31. Have fun with it!

Due: April 18 at 11:59 ET

As part of your submission, complete a Business Model Canvas about your business plan. (Parental sign-up form required.)

Upload a Draft by March 20 for Feedback

Quick Practice to Keep Your Skills Fresh!

Writing Support

Keys for Writing Activities

Writing Feedback Symbols

Answer Key

Job I Love Most in My Community

Welcome to edMe’s competition with cash prizes! This website has the rubrics, readings and process descriptions to support your entry. You can use any of these resources or create your own entry without the support. If you submitted a draft on or before February 20, we gave you feedback. All entries are due February 28, and we will mail prize money to the address provided by your parent in the sign-up form.

Time Remaining:

Grades K-6

Write about your favorite career in your community

There are many jobs in your community. Write about one job that you love.

In 600 words or less, describe the benefits of having this job and explain how this job strengthens your community.

K-6 Rubric

Due: February 28 at 11:59 ET

As part of your submission, create an infographic (a picture that shows facts in a fun way) that has at least 2 facts about this job.

Upload Your Entry Here

Grades 7-12

Argue for your favorite career in your community

There are so many hard-working people in your community! Choose one career and argue why it is your favorite.

There are resources below to help you think about different careers, how to research them, and how to write your best argumentative essay.

Research, write, edit, cite, and submit by February 28. Have fun with it!

Rubric for Grades 7-12

Due: February 28 at 11:59 ET

As part of your submission, create an infographic (a picture that shows facts in a fun way) that has at least 3 facts about this job.

Upload Your Entry Here

Organizing an Argumentative Essay

Avoiding Mistakes In Argumentation

Why Cite?

Using MLA Format (Grades 7-12)

Sample
5-Paragraph Essay

Taking Notes to Write An Argument

Hard work builds our community!

Writing Support

Keys for All Writing Activities

Answer Key

Drafts can be uploaded up until March 20th for feedback. The final submissions must be uploaded by March 31 at 11:59pm ET. All questions can be sent to edme@myedme.com.

Child's Name *

Parent Email *

Additional Comments

Parental Consent for Child

• Yes, I provide consent.
• No, I do not provide consent.

File Upload – Please Include Sign-up Form, Essay, and Flyer

Click or drag a file to this area to upload.

Submit

Be sure to write your log-in name on the paper. You are currently signed in as:
You are not logged in! Please log in so we can accept your image.
Click "My Account!" above or use myedme.com/login/my-account).

Easiest for phones/tablets: You can upload a saved picture of the scratch work for these three questions or take one using the buttons below.

Easiest for laptops/chromebooks: Take your picture with the webcam here.
You are currently signed in as: You are not logged in! Please log in so we can accept your image.
Click "My Account!" above or use myedme.com/login/my-account).

Take photo

Save this photo

Thanks! Your file is uploaded! Click this button to move to the next question.

NOTE: This competition concluded in January 2025. Thanks to all who participated!

This website has the rubrics, readings and process descriptions. You can use any of these resources or create your own entry without the support. If you submit a draft before January 20, we will give you feedback. All entries are due January 31 and we will mail prize money to the address provided by your parent in the sign-up form.

K-6 Challenge

In 600 words or less, write an essay describing a problem that a safety suit can solve and the best design for the safety suit to solve those problems. To write the essay, you will need to design a safety suit that someone would use to stay safe while doing an important job. In your essay describe the risks that your suit addresses. Then, describe how your suit addresses those risks.

Include a cartoon with 2-8 pictures that show how your suit works.

Prize: $300 for first place

Entries will be scored using this rubric and must include this sign-up form.

Certificates awarded for high-achieving submissions.

Submissions Are Now Closed

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These readings help understand risks and how to make cartoons.

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7-12 Challenge

In 1,000 words or less, write an essay describing a problem that a safety suit can solve and the best design for the safety suit to solve those problems. To write the essay, you will need to design a safety suit that someone would use to stay safe while doing an important job. Managing risks also includes exploring opportunities. Describe how your suit addresses those risks and the opportunities your suit creates.

Include two scale drawings that show how your suit works.

Entries will be evaluated with this rubric and must include this sign-up form.

Prize: $500 for first place

Certificates awarded for high-achieving submissions.

Submissions Are Now Closed

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These readings help understand risks and how to make scale drawings.

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Engineering Design Processes

There are many ways to organize the engineering design process. Two of them are shown below with questions to help you understand them better. The video shows engineering design processes you may consider if the PDFs are too hard to understand.

If you have used another engineering design process before, feel free to use the one you have used before.

Answer Keys for Engineering Design Process Readings

Engineering Design Examples

These activities guide you through engineering designs from different books that edMe Learning has published. The first example has you reimagine your workspace, just like Thomas Jefferson did. The second example has you design a way to keep ice cubes cold. The third example shows how to write about Geiger counters. It’s not a safety suit, but this safety device writing sample shows how to develop your ideas.

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Writing Support

Keys for Writing Activities

STEM and Workforce Literacy Materials

Maritime Marvels has 90 readings discussing famous ships and the professionals building these ships today.

There are lesson plans below to help educators integrate this into daily routines. These standards-aligned materials ensure that your students explore STEM careers and successes while building reading and writing skills.

The book has informational texts about 50 famous ships and 40 careers that support building the next famous ships.

Students will:

• answer text-dependent questions
• write their resume
• take notes on main idea & supporting details
• write a persuasive argument
• compare and contrast two texts
• summarize career paths with a mock job fair
• explore authors purpose
• create a timeline of America’s most famous ships

10 Free Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Main Idea & Outlining

Read and explore a nonfiction text. Understanding the main idea is critical. Taking notes about the main idea and key supporting details can help students understand the text and write summary paragraphs more easily. (PDF download)

• Identify main idea of a nonfiction text.
• Support a nonfiction main idea using key details and text evidence.
  

Lesson 2: Comparing Readings with Venn Diagrams

Using two texts, read and explore two nonfiction texts about related topics.

Compare and contrast details in two texts using a Venn Diagram. Students could use two job-focused readings or two ship-focused readings. (PDF download)

• Read and explore two nonfiction texts about related topics.
• Compare and contrast details in two texts using a Venn Diagram.

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Lesson 3: Reading & Writing Cause and Effects

Many informational texts use cause-and-effect relationships. These texts discuss historical cause and effects that are diagnosed with a notetaking strategy and the graphic organizer shown below. (PDF download)

• Read a nonfiction text about a historical ship.
• Identify cause-effect relationships in nonfiction.
• Synthesize connections between details in a text.

Lesson 4: Persuasive Writing (Convince people to agree with you!)

Students will gain information from informational texts, then use these facts to support a claim. The graphic organizer helps students organize their information and create persuasive sentences. Then, students tie together the pieces into a persuasive writing. (PDF download)

• Read and explore a nonfiction text.
• Create a personal claim based on opinion.
• Structure a persuasive argument with supporting details.

Lesson 5: Writing to Explain Problem and Solution

Many informational texts explain problems and solutions. These ship narratives often use these structures. This lesson shows how to annotate problems and solutions

• Read and explore a nonfiction text.
• Identify problem and solution connections based on a nonfiction text.
• Connect a nonfiction text to real-world experiences.

Lesson 6: Summarize Texts by Creating a Classroom Job Fair

After reading about a few careers, students are ready to host their own classroom job fair. Students share information with each other to address: What is the job title? What do people do in this job? What skills or training help people in this job? (PDF download)

• Read and explore a nonfiction text.
• Summarize the key points of a nonfiction text.

Lesson 7: Building a Naval Timeline through Famous Ships

If you and your class LOVE ships, share your excitement with a timeline showing off key details of these famous ships. Our American naval history parallels many of the themes in our shared history: technology causing big leaps forward, trying to defend our shores, and supporting our allies across the world. (PDF download)

• Read and explore a collection of nonfiction texts.
• Make connections between multiple texts.
• Create a timeline to show change over time.

Lesson 8: Exploring Author’s Purpose

Understanding why an author writes a text is a critical skill today. Students explore why someone would write these texts and explore the different reasons for writing texts. This lesson includes excellent extensions asking students to rewrite Maritime Mania texts in an engaging way. (PDF download)

• Read and explore a nonfiction text.
• Identify the author’s purpose based on key details.

Lesson 9: Summarizing the Text by Creating a Yearbook Page

We remember each other with yearbooks, let’s remember these ships by documenting their successes using a yearbook page. This creative lesson plan allows students to truly explore their creative abilities as they document the informational texts in Maritime Mania. (PDF download)

• Read and explore a set of nonfiction texts.
• Summarize the key points of nonfiction texts.

Lesson 10: Create your Resume!

Students start by completing a graphic organizer to document a career described as an informational text. Then, students can extend this learning to complete a similar graphic organizer to get their details together for their own resume. (PDF download)

You can download all 10 free lesson plans in this PDF. These lessons build annotating strategies that help students take the most useful notes. The lessons focus on building knowledge from informational texts while practicing strategies that are useful for state assessments and future careers.

Maritime Marvels

$34.99

This book includes: 90 total nonfiction texts (50 on famous ships, 40 on careers) Almost 1,000 text-dependent questions 9 engaging writing activities 10 free lesson plans for educators available online You will read lots about the U.S. Navy. Different countries have different navies. A navy protects a country with ships. The United States Navy is […]

Maritime Marvels quantity

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Category: Uncategorized

If you’re looking to display a database, there are some out-of-the-box options. This is a Google sheet empowered with the Google Smartsheet app:

https://www.appsheet.com/start/47448989-9d1a-4d4f-84f3-a304f953671d

Here is the back-end of that app:

https://www.appsheet.com/Template/AppDef?appName=math-ccss-k-12-810616208&utm_source=share_app_link

If users will need to add information, there are some standard practices to make sure hackers don’t run amok. I’m also using some ways to upload voice memos and pictures in my dissertation:

• Voice: https://myedme.com/login/SRL01a/
• Picture: https://www.myedme.com/login/SRL01k

Let’s chat!

Episode: “The Dawn and Dusk of the Renaissance”

Host from Southern Europe (Italia): Welcome to “Renaissance in Europe,” the podcast where we explore the transformative period of the Renaissance from both the southern and northern perspectives. I’m Italia, your host from Southern Europe, home to the early Renaissance.

Host from Northern Europe (Germain): And I’m Germain, your host from Northern Europe, where the late Renaissance flourished. Today, we’ll discuss the economic and cultural foundations of the Italian Renaissance, sequence key events related to the rise of Italian city-states, explore Machiavelli’s political theories, highlight contributions from renowned artists and philosophers, and compare the Italian and Northern Renaissances. Let’s dive in!

Economic and Cultural Foundations of the Italian Renaissance

Italia: The Italian Renaissance began in the 14th century, driven by the economic prosperity of Italian city-states such as Florence, Venice, and Milan. These cities thrived due to their strategic positions in Mediterranean trade routes, leading to wealth accumulation. Wealthy merchant families, like the Medici in Florence, became patrons of the arts, funding artists, architects, and scholars. This patronage system allowed for the flourishing of culture and innovation.

Germain: In Northern Europe, the Renaissance came later, influenced by the spread of Italian ideas through trade, travel, and the printing press. The economic stability of regions like Flanders and the Rhineland, bolstered by commerce and banking, supported a similar cultural rebirth.

Rise of Italian City-States and Political Development

Italia: The rise of Italian city-states was marked by political fragmentation and rivalry. Each city-state developed its own governance structures, often ruled by powerful families or oligarchies. Florence, for instance, was initially a republic but later came under Medici control. The competitive nature of these city-states spurred advancements in art and thought.

Germain: Niccolò Machiavelli, a political philosopher from Florence, profoundly influenced political thought with his work “The Prince”. Machiavelli described the pragmatic and sometimes ruthless measures necessary for effective leadership. His theories emphasized the importance of political realism over idealism, a stark departure from medieval perspectives on governance.

Contributions of Artists and Philosophers

Italia: The Renaissance was a period of remarkable artistic and intellectual achievement. Leonardo da Vinci, a quintessential Renaissance man, excelled in painting, science, and engineering. His masterpieces, like “The Last Supper” and “Mona Lisa,” exemplify Renaissance ideals of humanism and naturalism. Michelangelo, another towering figure, created iconic works such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the statue of David, showcasing the human form with unprecedented realism and emotion.

Germain: Petrarch, often called the father of humanism, revived classical literature and emphasized the study of ancient texts. His poetry and philosophical writings bridged the medieval and Renaissance worlds, laying the groundwork for future humanists.

Comparing the Italian and Northern Renaissance

Italia: The Italian Renaissance was characterized by a revival of classical antiquity, focusing on humanism, proportion, and perspective in art. The early Renaissance saw innovations in techniques and a renewed interest in Greco-Roman culture.

Germain: The Northern Renaissance, while influenced by Italian ideas, developed its own distinct characteristics. Northern artists like Albrecht Dürer and Jan van Eyck focused on detailed realism and domestic themes. The use of oil paint allowed for richer colors and finer details. Humanism in the North also took on a more religious tone, with figures like Erasmus promoting educational and theological reform.

Italia: Writers from both regions made significant contributions. In Italy, Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” combined medieval and early Renaissance elements, while Boccaccio’s “Decameron” reflected humanist ideals. In the North, Thomas More’s “Utopia” and Erasmus’s “In Praise of Folly” critiqued society and proposed new ways of thinking about governance and morality.

Germain: The spread of the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century, was pivotal in disseminating Renaissance ideas across Europe. It enabled the mass production of books, making knowledge more accessible and promoting literacy.

Italia: The Renaissance was a period of profound change and creativity, bridging the medieval world with the modern age. Its legacy continues to influence art, thought, and culture today.

Germain: That wraps up our episode on the Renaissance. Join us next time on “Renaissance in Europe” as we explore more fascinating aspects of this transformative era.Italia: Thank you for tuning in. Until next time, may the spirit of the Renaissance inspire you!