Module III--Landscapes

Explain:

“The joy of the journey is in the ride”

This is a quote that is on my keychain I carry with me everyday and one that I try to embrace here in Alaska. Being here and enjoying the landscape, learning new things, enjoying life is all part of the ride. This module really helped me to understand the importance of the land where I live. It helped me to understand once again the interconnectedness between our land and the people that live here.  Before I moved to Alaska, I don’t think I realized the interconnectedness between things like water, landscape, and the people who inhabit the land. Back in Ohio it was unclear to me how people rely on resources to live. Here in Alaska walking around the village you see fish and animals drying out and you realize that is what you do to survive. Things like sticks and animal hid mean so much more to me now then before village life. Before I moved here I never imagined I would be berry picking for my source of fruit and fishing for my dinner. I loved the quote from the Yukon River video that said that the word for fish is the same as the word for food. It showed the importance of resources here in Alaska.

Plate tectonics was not a new concept to me, but it was interesting to look up close at the different videos. It is so interesting to see how the movements affect our land, and that in turn affects the people who inhabit the land.

berry picking in the tundra

Extend:

I can use these resources to teach students about the difference between landscapes and living. For me it is interesting to learn about different cultures and different ways of life in Alaska. I also believe that my students would find it interesting to learn about living in Ohio and other parts of the world. While completing this module I found a video on Teacher’s Domain called  Living On The Coast. This video compares living in Alaska (Nanwalek) where they rely heavily on the water, to other part of the United States where they also rely on water. This video compares how to have to adapt no matter where you live.

I liked this quote from the module, “For economic reasons, landscapes are called upon to sustain the lives of the people living there. And for ecological reasons, every landscape is connected to its human economy, its culture” I think this is an essential thing to teach students about. I would be interesting to look at how the landscape and economy coincide. I also think it would be interesting to take a group out fishing or berry picking and talk about how it is different then in other parts of the world.

3. Evaluate—

These resources were very insightful. The science aspect and looking at plate tectonics is interesting to me. I remember learning about it in college, but being in Alaska and being close  to the mountains help make this more meaningful. I feel that until you experience the things you learn about they just become back knowledge. I was back at home looking at these videos on subsistence living they would have not meant as much to me. Being here and actually experiencing it is enlightening and I can understand how this resources are valuable. To some people a fish is just a fish but here they use it for so much more. A fish is a source of food and every part is used.

 “While rivers supply food, water, transportation and other resources, they also flood, erode and meander. Cultures living along rivers and relying on them must also understand their dynamics and how to respond. “ Adapting is such a big part of my life now. As the people here adapt to running out of fish and other changes with the resources we to must adapt to something that is different. They rely on one another and the landscape which I am realizing here living the village life. 

I end with a question I was pondering. When I was watching the plate tectonics video and it talked about the earth shifting, what impact could  that continue to have on the landscapes and living? How does the movement affect where we live today?


3 colleagues:

 Cultural Connections in Earth Science

The pictures on this blog were beautiful. I also liked how she mentioned teacher’s domain because I also feel it will be a valuable resource this year.

  Explore Palmer

I chose this blog because  I may visit Palmer and I was interested in her thoughts about it. I liked her views about landscaped and they proved to be interesting.

 Doug’s Explore Alaska blog

This blog made a reference to a book which I felt was powerful and interesting. I also liked how he talked about how to respond when a student asks how can I use this science?