Diamond Fever
Desire, determination and diamonds... a great combination for
adventure in the Northwest Territories, home of Canada's
first diamond mines!
Here, one boy's "Diamond Fever"
certainly did change his life, forever.
Written and Illustrated by
Ms. Meredith’s Grade 3 Students
Range Lake North School
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
December 2002
Product:
Children’s Book
- 24 pages
- Full colour illustrations
- Saddle stitched
- Reading Level –Grade 2/3
- Interest Level –Kindergarten to Grade 5
Purchase Information:
ISBN: 1-4120-5927-5 Price: $14.99 (Cdn)
Available at Various Locations:
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
- Yellowknife Book Cellar, Panda II Mall
- NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines, Scotia Building
- Gallery of the Midnight Sun
- Linco's Pottery Nook
- Northern Frontier Visitor's Centre
- Northern Images
- Yellowknife Airport
Edmonton, Alberta
- Indigo Book Store - Edmonton International Airport
Online
- Trafford Publishing, Victoria, BC: www.trafford.com/05-0828
- UpHere Trading Post, Yellowknife, NT
The Story:
Learn about northern diamonds and life in the Northwest Territories as you enjoy this brilliant adventure.
Created, written and beautifully illustrated by a class of third grade students, Diamond Fever captures the essence of how to make dreams come true. With desire, determination and a plan of action, anything is possible.
Dylan, a young boy from South Africa and his new friend, Katelyn, want to find diamonds more than anything in the world. With two mines already in the north, sparkling diamonds must be everywhere!
Fishing on Great Slave Lake, dog sledding across Yellowknife Bay, snowmobiling to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, and touring a local gold mine are just a few of the northern experiences found in this full color, 24 page Children's Book.
On his flight to Yellowknife, Dylan chants..."Diamonds sparkle, diamonds shine. All o' those diamonds are gonna be mine!" And, a number of times he's sure they are, until...
This delightful story is definitely a page-turner! With an ending that is literally 'out of this world', Diamond Fever tells the story of one motivated and determined young boy who never gave up!
Project History:
In the fall of 2002, following a unit of study on the ‘NWT and its Diamonds’, Gayla Meredith’s class of Range Lake North Grade 3 students wrote and illustrated Diamond Fever. This writing project was designed early in the year to introduce the writing process. Students worked together as a whole class and in small groups to create this unique adventure story and its illustrations.
Publication:
This book was published through Trafford Publishing out of Victoria, BC. The official Book Launch was held June 24th, 2005 at Range Lake North School.
Student authors were recognized for their amazing achievement in the presence of teachers, students, parents, family and friends, together with representatives from Yellowknife Education District No. 1, NWT Teachers’ Association, the Mining Industry and Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Education.
Funds were raised in the amount of $2,000 to support project costs: $1,000 from a (2001-2002) Prime Minster’s Teaching Excellence Award, and the balance from the Range Lake North School Parent Group and the YK#1 District Office.
Books are available in Yellowknife and through Trafford's online Bookstore. Royalties have been assigned to Range Lake North School to support future literacy programs such as Diamond Fever.
For more information on this project contact Northern Ink Limited:
Email: northern_ink@theedge.nt.ca
Math Fun with Carat
Math Problems for Grades 2 to 4
How the Earth Made Diamonds (A Geological History)
Reference: Page 9 Canada's Northern Diamonds ...from rocks to riches
Diamonds are thought to have formed between 2.5 and 3.3 billion years ago (bya) about 150 to 225 kilometers (km) below the Earth's surface.
In the north, kimberlite volcanoes carried some diamonds to the earth's surface between 600 million years ago (mya) and 47 mya.
QUESTIONS:
- How far is it between the location of the diamonds that formed closest to the Earth's surface and those that formed the farthest away? Show your work.
- How long did kimberlite volcanoes continue to carry some of the diamonds to the Earth's surface? Show your work.
- Challenge Question: How much time passed from when diamonds first formed until kimberlite volcanoes carried some of them to the surface? Hint: You'll have to use decimals and change mya numbers to represent bya. Show your work.
- If it takes temperatures of around 1000°C and very high pressure to turn carbon into diamonds, how much hotter is this than boiling water? Show your work.
ANSWERS:
- 225 km - distance farthest away
150 km - closest distance
225 km - 150 km = 75 km
- 3.3 bya - 2.5 bya = 0.8 bya
Did you know that 0.8 bya is also the same as 800,000,000 or eight hundred million?
- Remember, since the question said 'some of them to the
surface', there could be more than one correct answer because
you could choose any number between 600 mya and 47 mya!
Since the earliest formation date is 3.3 bya, it would be your minuend.
If you used the date when the volcanoes were believed to first begin erupting, 600 mya would have been your subrahend.
Your number sentence will help you find the difference because Minuend + Subrahend = Difference
First use a decimal to change 600 mya to bya (0.6 bya). This number sentence would be:
3.3 bya - 0.6 bya = 2.7 bya - Water boils at 100°C. Your number sentence would be:
1000°C - 100°C = 900°C
I hope you enjoyed learning about northern diamonds while you practiced your math skills.
If you want to have some more fun, see if you can use the information
on diamonds and make up your own questions.
Then, see if your friends can figure out the correct answers!
Good Luck!
