I teach fifth grade and our school has recently integrated a great deal of technology into our school system. This allows my students to use our fully functionally Dell computer lab a few times a week, our rolling IPAD card each Friday and our rolling MacBook lab each Thursday. So to keep my students using these wonderful tools, I’ve created a research and report lesson for them. After they do the research they will be creating an essay on the research question.
Research Question: How does climate change affect Kodiak Island and what can I do to educate our community on climate change?
Teacher will begin the research lesson with a quick video on what climate change is:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/way-forward-climate.html
and then students will visit this website to “play” around.
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
Teacher Provided Questions to begin inquiry:
What is permafrost?
What is climate change?
What is an ice age?
How does wind affect our island?
How did the elders predict weather and climate change in the past years?
Teacher Provided Websites:
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3949#b3
http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ean08.sci.ess.earthsys.inpassage/
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ean08.sci.ess.watcyc.bakedalaska/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html
After students have filled in the teacher created research form, they can begin to create the framework for their essay.
Essay Guidelines:
Now that you understand what climate change is, you are going to create an essay on how to inform the community of Kodiak about changes we can make locally. You must be persuasive in your essay and convince someone (mayor, local agencies, school board, etc.) what can be done to aid in this global concern.
Teachers can use the following rubric to score the completed essays:
www.readwritethink.org/files/.../PersuasiveWritingScoringGuide.pdf
Extended Activities:
http://www.teachablemoment.org/elementary/earthday.html
http://online.nwf.org/site/PageNavigator/ClimateClassroom/cc_about_climateclassroom
http://www.climatechangeeducation.org/k-12_schools/curriculum/elementary_school.html
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Module 9
Each module informs me of the changes that have been occurring for quite some time now. In fact for nearly all of my life we have been experiencing some sort of climate change. I have been listening to news reports about the concern of the permafrost topic, but without much interest on my part. After reading through the information and viewing the videos and sites, I have to say I have learned a great deal. I didn’t know that the melting permafrost could do so much devastation to our earth; for instance the “melting” coastlines and the sinking tundra. I had no idea! I have now made many connections to what we have read and been exposed to in the past modules and the importance being aware of the repercussions that humans have done to our environments. We have changed as a society immensely since I was born in the 70’s. From wood stoves to the dependent use of fuel back to the use of wood stoves. I also can see how the possession of an automobile would be a “privilege” and now each family has 1 or 2 or more! We—humans--- are reeking havoc on our world and I can now see it through this course more than ever!
I would love to create an age appropriate lesson on the climate change for my students. I absolutely love Teachers Domain and the great short clips that I can share with my students that are scientific based. I am feeling a final project coming on……..
Ice age, melting glacial ice, melting permafrost, sea levels rising; these are just a few of the things that I have learned about more in depth with this module. I didn’t realize that our state, our people are being tested to traumatically. This module was a great culmination to previous modules.
I would love to create an age appropriate lesson on the climate change for my students. I absolutely love Teachers Domain and the great short clips that I can share with my students that are scientific based. I am feeling a final project coming on……..
Ice age, melting glacial ice, melting permafrost, sea levels rising; these are just a few of the things that I have learned about more in depth with this module. I didn’t realize that our state, our people are being tested to traumatically. This module was a great culmination to previous modules.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Module 8
This module has similar resources as the last one. We are beginning to see the documented climate changes that are close to home—The Arctic. I am beginning to make the connections between how the melting of our arctic ice is really a warming process. I am also feeling more confident in teaching my fifth graders about the climate change in which we are.
I will do the science experiment with the ice cubes and the water in a glass to show my students about the rising sea levels. Living on an island, we need to understand the repercussions of the glacial meltdowns. I can also make connections between the people of Shishmaraf and the coastline that is deteriorating. As I think I may have referred to before, in the old village of Afognak, their graveyard was initially placed on a point of land that has deteriorated within the past hundred years or so. The old wooden coffins are falling into the ocean. My question is—did the elders or native peoples of Afognak see the coastlines being eaten up as we do today?
I am currently on the Native Education Curriculum Committee in our school district. Some of the duties of this committee is to integrate local place based learning with lessons that are relevant to issue we are seeing today. Of great concern is global warming and I feel I can now give to this committee more with the knowledge that I’ve gained.
I will do the science experiment with the ice cubes and the water in a glass to show my students about the rising sea levels. Living on an island, we need to understand the repercussions of the glacial meltdowns. I can also make connections between the people of Shishmaraf and the coastline that is deteriorating. As I think I may have referred to before, in the old village of Afognak, their graveyard was initially placed on a point of land that has deteriorated within the past hundred years or so. The old wooden coffins are falling into the ocean. My question is—did the elders or native peoples of Afognak see the coastlines being eaten up as we do today?
I am currently on the Native Education Curriculum Committee in our school district. Some of the duties of this committee is to integrate local place based learning with lessons that are relevant to issue we are seeing today. Of great concern is global warming and I feel I can now give to this committee more with the knowledge that I’ve gained.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Module 7
Alaskan Natives and also other inhabitants around the arctic poles are noticing many affects of the climate change. Beginning with the Inuit in northern Canada on the island, I was impressed with the organization of climate changes they were doing within the community. It becomes an eye-opening experience when seen in this form. Some things that stuck out to me were the ones; more flies; different insects; quicker meltdown; and shorter hunting seasons.
La’ona’s video was very interesting. Her interest in mapping the contaminated sites throughout the rivers in the Interior seems very logical. The tools that she has available to her, GPS, computers, etc. enable her to track the contaminated sites from human pollution. All of the information that she and her coworkers have collected are placed into a GIS database so that the communities in which they have worked with can access this information for their use as well as for La’ona’s. It is also important for tracking this global climate change.
I enjoyed watching the students tracking the changes in the tundra. I feel it is important for them to train the local children because they are the ones who are seeing the change on a daily basis. I would love to involve our local students with the climate changes within my community.
As for involving students in authentic scientific research, we do. Our district is in its 13th year of Rural Science Fairs. The students follow the scientific method and come up with a unique traditional scientific subject and ask a question…. do the research and through a science fair they will prove whether their hypothesis was true or not. I have been involved with the science camps that have occurred throughout the summer where the elders are invited to spark the interest and questions that would evolve into the projects. Nothing more exciting than watching an elder sitting on the beach doing experiments with students!!!
I have enjoyed all the videos in this portion of Module 7. We were able to see how children have taken ownership n their communities to document the climate changes….as well as the community as a whole….as well as a doctoral student… many with the same goal.
I am learning so much with all the videos and presentations and readings that this course has offered to me. I can’t even imagine what the earliest earth looked like, even with the vivid descriptions. No oxygen? Bacteria that lived without the presence of oxygen? Wow? And when oxygen was finally introduced with the ancient creatures these non-oxygen organisms looked for places to hide and live where oxygen wasn’t present. It almost sounds sci-fi to me!!! These creatures made oxygen just like or present day plants/ greenery do—photosynthesis. With the introduction of oxygen into our atmosphere, animals and eventually humans were able to live.
Microbes in the arctic usually hibernate and the creation of CO2 doesn’t occur. However, with the change in the climate and the weather, our permafrost isn’t happening at the depths it once was making it possible for these microbes to keep producing this gas right on through the winter. With the increase of CO2 we are looking at more greenhouse affects on our earth.
A positive feedback loop is something that scientists would like to research more about and understand better. One that is happening within our state is the topic I previously mentioned. Here we have microbes making more nutrients in which the plants flourish. As these microbes stay awake throughout the winter because of their extra cushioning—snow---they give more nutrients to the land in which makes the trees and shrubs grow more. Now we are looking at a much different types of ecosystem where there once was nothing.
One thing about viewing these topics each week is my own fear factor. I am not a scientist, nor a person who tracks this type of change. Therefore when I read or view something that shows such drastic changes, I worry….
We have millions of stars within our galaxy that I just learned were made from the elements overcrowding and then blowing up from the heaviness of the iron. That was a mouthful! We also have millions of galaxies within our universe. All of this information takes me back to the statement I made earlier—I worry!
So I am going to reiterate what I just read and watched and see if it makes more sense to me—the earth was created millions of years ago by the explosions of star/stars. The radioactive or microwaves in the atmosphere reassembled into what we call earth. At first, non-oxygen organisms inhabited earth and eventually when oxygen was introduced, these bacteria fled to deep dark hot places. I think I got it!
As for sharing all of this information with students, I’m not sure mine are old enough or that our community would appreciate their teachers teaching the Big Bang Theory… instead of the traditional religious theory. On another note, I would love to see videos shared with older students.
When discussing the creation of our planet, there are many tales or stories that some cultures hold in regards to the creation of parts of the earth. Locally, we know of Raven and the sun stories. We also know of locally the puffins and the salmon and I’m sure that the Eskimos have some sort of stories about the creation of something.
La’ona’s video was very interesting. Her interest in mapping the contaminated sites throughout the rivers in the Interior seems very logical. The tools that she has available to her, GPS, computers, etc. enable her to track the contaminated sites from human pollution. All of the information that she and her coworkers have collected are placed into a GIS database so that the communities in which they have worked with can access this information for their use as well as for La’ona’s. It is also important for tracking this global climate change.
I enjoyed watching the students tracking the changes in the tundra. I feel it is important for them to train the local children because they are the ones who are seeing the change on a daily basis. I would love to involve our local students with the climate changes within my community.
As for involving students in authentic scientific research, we do. Our district is in its 13th year of Rural Science Fairs. The students follow the scientific method and come up with a unique traditional scientific subject and ask a question…. do the research and through a science fair they will prove whether their hypothesis was true or not. I have been involved with the science camps that have occurred throughout the summer where the elders are invited to spark the interest and questions that would evolve into the projects. Nothing more exciting than watching an elder sitting on the beach doing experiments with students!!!
I have enjoyed all the videos in this portion of Module 7. We were able to see how children have taken ownership n their communities to document the climate changes….as well as the community as a whole….as well as a doctoral student… many with the same goal.
I am learning so much with all the videos and presentations and readings that this course has offered to me. I can’t even imagine what the earliest earth looked like, even with the vivid descriptions. No oxygen? Bacteria that lived without the presence of oxygen? Wow? And when oxygen was finally introduced with the ancient creatures these non-oxygen organisms looked for places to hide and live where oxygen wasn’t present. It almost sounds sci-fi to me!!! These creatures made oxygen just like or present day plants/ greenery do—photosynthesis. With the introduction of oxygen into our atmosphere, animals and eventually humans were able to live.
Microbes in the arctic usually hibernate and the creation of CO2 doesn’t occur. However, with the change in the climate and the weather, our permafrost isn’t happening at the depths it once was making it possible for these microbes to keep producing this gas right on through the winter. With the increase of CO2 we are looking at more greenhouse affects on our earth.
A positive feedback loop is something that scientists would like to research more about and understand better. One that is happening within our state is the topic I previously mentioned. Here we have microbes making more nutrients in which the plants flourish. As these microbes stay awake throughout the winter because of their extra cushioning—snow---they give more nutrients to the land in which makes the trees and shrubs grow more. Now we are looking at a much different types of ecosystem where there once was nothing.
One thing about viewing these topics each week is my own fear factor. I am not a scientist, nor a person who tracks this type of change. Therefore when I read or view something that shows such drastic changes, I worry….
We have millions of stars within our galaxy that I just learned were made from the elements overcrowding and then blowing up from the heaviness of the iron. That was a mouthful! We also have millions of galaxies within our universe. All of this information takes me back to the statement I made earlier—I worry!
So I am going to reiterate what I just read and watched and see if it makes more sense to me—the earth was created millions of years ago by the explosions of star/stars. The radioactive or microwaves in the atmosphere reassembled into what we call earth. At first, non-oxygen organisms inhabited earth and eventually when oxygen was introduced, these bacteria fled to deep dark hot places. I think I got it!
As for sharing all of this information with students, I’m not sure mine are old enough or that our community would appreciate their teachers teaching the Big Bang Theory… instead of the traditional religious theory. On another note, I would love to see videos shared with older students.
When discussing the creation of our planet, there are many tales or stories that some cultures hold in regards to the creation of parts of the earth. Locally, we know of Raven and the sun stories. We also know of locally the puffins and the salmon and I’m sure that the Eskimos have some sort of stories about the creation of something.
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