Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Geography, Day 3 - Class Recap

This is a globe that was in a house that George Washington stayed at for a few weeks in Barbados. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to another week of Global Studies! Today, we learned about the Five Themes of Geography and did some more map work with the atlases in class. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Maps" by Maroon 5. Get it? Because we are learning about Geography and maps? Ha, ha. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/19/17:
News Brief – Linh
Maps
Themes of Geography
Map Work

Homework: Read the blog. Bring a photo for the wall if you have not already. Study for South America map quiz next class (need completed and colored map of South America done in order to use). Next news brief: Naomi.

As a reward for reading the blog (and doing your homework), one of the questions on the quiz is: This country shares its longest border with Argentina.

News Brief: Linh had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to bring in: TheGuardian.com - Earthquake in Turkey and Greece leaves at least two dead in Kos. We found the Turkey in our world map packet and noted we did a news brief story there. We also talked for a bit about this story and what happened (although it appears that this was from July, so not all that recent). Thanks, Linh!

Naomi was assigned the next news brief.

We took the time to check in about the weekend and what people were up to, as well.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Maps: With this next section in class, we continued working with maps and geography. You will be using your world map packet every day for the rest of the year - specifically during the News Brief section, but also during this unit, where we will be filling out the map packet and taking geography quizzes on the different continents to get to know where everything is located.

I showed this video of many different time lapses on the ground, in various different countries. This one makes me smile, because I have been to a few of these places! :-)


I showed this in class to hopefully help inspire you to learn about where these places are and maybe one day to travel there! We are going to keep looking at geography throughout the year.

Themes of Geography: Basically, this was a PowerPoint presentation in combination with a work packet online for notes on each of the themes and an activity using Google to find relevant maps. We began this section by watching the Five Themes of Geography rap:



The Five Themes of Geography are:

Movement
Regions
Human Environment interactions
Location
Place

Or: MR. HELP!

For those that were not in class or wanted to see the presentation again for additional review, here it is:


(this is linked to on Google Classroom as your personal copy to fill out)

This is one way in which you will be able to demonstrate proficiency with LT 10 in class. Thanks for your focus and participation in taking notes! I appreciate it!

Map Work: To finish class, I passed out a huge map packet (not regular sized paper) for students to fill out. Specifically, work on identifying the countries in South America on the first page, to begin. You need to have the country name written in and the country colored (so not two touching countries are the same color) in order to be able to use them on the map quiz (it is virtually impossible to pass the map quiz without your completed map). Just in case you want to see the files again (printing them on smaller paper is not advised), here it is:


Map Packet Expectations:
1 = Maps lack detail, color, and/or labels. Maps are sloppy or messy.
2 = Maps are labeled and colored but there may be inaccuracies. Maps could be neater.
3 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly.
4 = Maps are labeled and colored completely, accurately, and neatly, and include at least one piece of  other information, such as capitals, land forms, water features, flags, or resources.

That was it for today! Bring your maps for next class, because we will continue working on them. They are not homework for now! We will use them during the news brief, too.

Again, a heads up that you need your completed South American map, with the countries labeled and colored to use next class on the quiz. Please use a website like Google Maps, or ask questions if you need help!

Sound good? See you next class!
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Friday, September 15, 2017

Geography, Day 2 - Class Recap


Ayers Rock/Uluru in the Australian outback. Photo taken in January 2014.

Dear class,

I loved getting to really talk more about geography in depth today, and explore a little bit about countries around the world! I am a huge fan of geography and knowing about different countries, so hopefully that excitement translated well.

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Knowledge LT 7: I can demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of locations and regions.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.

Soundtrack: "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service. Selected for today because we started looking at the world from above, in terms of maps (and also the space station video that I played in class). Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/15/17:
News Brief - McKenzie
Photos/Over The Summer
Geography
Maps

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Bring a photo if you have not already! The next news brief is assigned to: Linh.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by McKenzie who selected an article about this story: USGS.gov - M 3.2 - 70km WNW of Skagway, Alaska. We found Canada on Google Maps and talked about this story for a bit before moving on. Thanks, McKenzie! We also checked in about the upcoming weekend and what people were up to.

Linh was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Photos/Over The Summer: After the news, I gave the class another chance to showcase a photo from around the world or their family, if they had not done their homework last class.

We then went back and I asked about any major events we could think of that happened over the summer. This was another way of just gauging what the class knew about news around the world. Thanks for participating!

Geography: Next up, I showed this clip of Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, trying to answer a question about why many Americans cannot locate the United States on a world map:


I didn't mean to further embarrass Miss Teen South Carolina. I just wanted to show why it is important that we know our geography! So, I passed out a blank piece of paper that asked everyone to try and draw a world map from memory, labeling as much as possible. Some of these were pretty good! Others, not so much. That's okay! We definitely can improve on our geography skills, and I am excited to teach the class about it.

I also talked about how important it is to be able to assess your own work as a student. Do you know what a "4" looks like? How about 3, 2, and 1 on the proficiency scale? I had the class assess their work on the "Draw Your Own Map" activity we did last class, now that we could look at the atlas in class. Here's the activity again if you missed it either day:


As I said in class, I expect that most students would be in the 1 or 2 grade range for the proficiency scores. That's totally fine! I haven't taught you anything about it, yet! You should be at that level, unless you have lots of prior knowledge!

Maps: After the fun of trying to draw the world we played the Sporcle online map game. You all were good for the first time! A score of 123 out of 197 in 15:00 minutes is decent for a first time playing. Again, we will get better about learning about the world! Here's the game to play if you are a huge nerd like me (yes, I have named all of them in 15 minutes before):


Next, I showed a few links that have to do with creatively thinking about geography. It's so much more than just blank maps and countries! These are real places with real people and amazing scenery! The first link was: TwistedSifter.com - 40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World. I didn't show all of the maps in class, but I did particularly enjoy a few, like the map of every country in the world that the United Kingdom has invaded at one point or another.

After that, I showed this video that is a time lapse of some shots from the International Space Station, orbiting around the Earth at night. Incredible! See if you can identify the countries and places by their lights at night.


That was it for today, due to time (as it was a short class on Wednesday with early release). We will get back to it on Tuesday!

Thanks for your focus and participation here! See you next week!
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Geography, Day 1 - Class Recap


The ball of yarn that we used in class today for the Class Unity Activity! Thanks for participating in this!

Dear class,

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better today! We had a productive time with the yarn activity and learning more about what is going on in the world at the end of the class. I also loved seeing your photos and having them put up on the walls!

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton. Because today, we talked about where we are from and how we got to be at Westview, via our family background. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/13/17:
News Brief - Bailey
Photos/Finish Fear
Class Unity Activity
The Summer

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Bring a photo if you have not already! The next news brief is assigned to: McKenzie.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Bailey, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Mexico earthquake: Rescue efforts continue as death toll rises. We talked about what is going on with the impacts of the earthquake in Mexico and looked at the geography of the region a bit. I also asked about if anyone was up to anything particularly fun or interesting outside of class. I like checking in and giving the opportunity to see what students are up to!

McKenzie was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

Photos: After the news, we heard from students who remembered to do their homework and bring in a photo from a place they have been, a place they want to go, or a picture of their family. I really enjoyed this, and it was so cool to see everyone's photos and hear stories! If you did not bring in a picture, please do so next class.

Class Unity Activity: I always love this, for many reasons. One, because I love hearing about how everyone came to be in our classroom. Two, because of how the yarn connects us all. Three, because it helps the class (and me) learn names and a little about each other! Thank you for participating in this. It can get lengthy, I know, but I value it so much more than just lecturing for that time. It was nice to enjoy the sun outside for a bit, too!

Finish Fear: At the end of the class, we shared a bit about the "fear" stories I had the class write last time, because I talked about how the U.S. felt a lot of fear after September 11th. It was interesting (and sometimes pretty funny) to hear the stories that were shared out!

We finished with that. We will work a bit more on what happened over the summer next class. Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!
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