Module 7

“The traditional characteristics affect what you eat, your soul as people”

Explain:

 I enjoyed this quote from the Inuit video and thought it was both insightful and meaningful. There is such an interconnectedness here that can not even be described. 

This module was filled with tons of new information for me.  I was able to think about how much things have changed in the past years and how they continue to change due to the Earth’s climate and changes that take place.  I liked how it talked about the climate in Alaska having implications for climate worldwide.  I think it is important to talk about changes openly and with the community to see if there is anything locally that could be done.

I liked in the Inuit observations video where it talked about the big changes that have been made.  It makes me think about changes that we probably never even consider. The Inuit people have such a strong connection to that land where they live and the changes impact them greatly. I wonder with things changing to much how people will survive down the road.

Extend:

I think the video about Le’ona DeWilde would be great to show students. I think it will teach them that they can be successful as scientists no matter where they are from. In the video it talked about having children interview natives. Currently in my school we are using native stories to create a digital story, using traditional stories. I think it would be interesting to tie stories in with the science we teach children.  I was thinking we could interview elders about how they remember the land years ago and then we could talk about the changes they see today and how things are different. You could use this idea when thinking about a particular topic in science like climate or the other module topics.

The video also suggested having children record what they are seeing with the water and the temperature of the water. Since I teach math, this would be a great concept and something to think about in my classroom.

The information about the stars and the Big Bang Theory I am not sure I will use as much because it is not relevant to my teaching this year. It was insightful though as a learner myself.

Evaluate:

This resources were informational and help validate different things I notice as I am here in Alaska. I think it is important as a new teacher to explore as much as I can. I feel like being here is helping to validate and explain things I learned about in high school and college that I never quite understood until now when I see the bigger picture.

After reading the module I tried to find information on Yupik stories that dealt with climate and Alaska. While searching I found an article on CNN about another  village Newtok. Newtok is nearby and faced issues due to climate change. I thought this was especially interesting since Newtok is another village in my district and not too far away.  

I also found another article (Alaskan village stands on leading edge of climate change) on the same topic which was also interesting and with good pictures. It makes this modules mean more when you can connect it to familiar places around you.

A picture of Newtok

Colleagues:

I read Kathy’s blog. She has some great pictures and really connects to the climate change that is happening around us. It was interesting to see how she will use this week’s module in her own classroom. 

Next I read Kevin’s blog. He had a lot of connections to his own life with stories. He also went very detailed talking about microbes which I thought was interesting. It is interesting to read people’s ideas about things I don’t necessarily pick up on.

 Amy’s blog

We both really liked the video on the scientist and saw how it would be interesting to share with children. I also liked her ideas of how she could use the resources in her classroom.

The Atmosphere

"Everything is Beautiful"

Explain: 

I selected this quote from the module because I feel it sums up my experience thus far. Everything is beautiful and everyone native or not has something to offer. Whether it is a story, advice, or simply a smile these things help explain the land, culture, and environment where I am currently living.

After reading this week’s module, I have a better understanding of atmosphere and how it impacts the place I am living. When I first started the blog I used Google to look up information on atmosphere, just so I had a better idea before I dove right in. This website, helped to explain some things to me. I feel like a lot of this information is like a foreign language to me, so I wanted to give myself some background knowledge. I think this is also important to do with students.

I find it so interesting the pollution that is impacting the land and water in Alaska. When I think of a big city I see obvious signs of pollution, but I was wondering how it would affect the land here. We have no big factories, few cars, and not many other things I saw that could be causing pollution. After reading the module I am walking away with a better understanding of where this pollution is coming from and how it affects where we live. 

The pollution impacts our animals which are essential for subsistence living. It is interesting to see how the pollution is a change reaction. It impacts our animals, which impacts our environment, us, and generations to come. I am also able to tie this module into the first one when we talked about western civilization and how this impacts our villages and the land.

I really am leaving this module with a better understanding of weather and how much it influences things around here. Back home I didn’t think of how weather impacts our lives. Only being here three months though, I see how airplanes are extremely affected by the weather and the atmosphere.  Just this year I have had to wait for hours for the weather to clear so I could leave the village or come back home. Food supply and other variables are also impacted by the weather almost daily. 

Arctic haze was also a new term to me. I never realized how the particles can be visible in the air but a orangish tint.

This is at the Bering Sea

Extend:

I am not sure how much I will use these resources in my own classroom. I do they will are helpful in my understanding of the land and resources out there. One of my colleagues found a weather website which I plan to incorporate in my daily calendar. We currently do a weather activity, so I think looking at images would enhance the experience for my students. 

Evaluate:

This resrouces were helpful in my understanding of the connectedness of everything around us. After reading I tried to look for my own examples. I found the video on The Mystery in Alaska, which was extremely interesting. It talked about the animals that are disappearing and what might be happening. I think this would be an excellent thing to think about with children.

This week I also saw how the standards are on teacher’s domain. That is very helpful when planning a unit and thinking of the importance of showing videos to students. 

Colleagues:

Janet’s blog  

She explored with Google Earth and used the webcam feature which I thought was interesting. I also liked how she thought of many ways to use the resources in the module.

  

Tyler’s blog

Tyler links the weather and atmosphere to where we live nicely. I was able to connect with understand the different aspects of his module.

Kevin’s blog 

This blog had some good pictures that helped make things a bit clearer for me personally. A lot of times I find that pictures make the modules more clear to me. 

Module 5

Explain: 

This week I was able to learn more about Alaska and how everything is interconnected.

I liked in the module how it said, “For millennia, cultures have relied on the oceans for transportation, food and other vital resources. It's no wonder more than 50% of all people on Earth live within 50 miles of a coast.” I can see is apparent where I live. We rely on bodies of water for food as well as transportation. Even in the winter we wait until the rivers freeze so we can get across.

Along with this, the Ocean Facts website said that fish supply the greatest percentage of the world’s protein consumed by humans. Right there is a great example of how culture and oceans go hand in hand. Never eating fish myself until this year, it is interesting to see how these two things rely on one another.

A lot of the more scientific things go right over my head and has never been something I have gotten into. Living in rural Alaska I have a better understanding of how these things work together.

Extend: 

I could see how the math in this module could be used for math in my class. My students do not quite understand temperature yet so I might use this in a different capacity. We live right by the Bering Sea so I think it would be interesting to chart the temperature of the water.

With such a great resource as this (Bering Sea) less then a mile away, I think it will be essential to incorporate both math and science

The science aspect doesn’t relate to me as much as a math teacher, but if another teacher was to do the science aspect I could help children with the math and to figure out the differences. I am interested in collaborating with other teachers’ in my school to see how we could all utilize the information from this module.

Evaluate:

The resources will be useful and insightful to use once I figure out exactly how I want to incorporate them. It is a lot of information, so I am still in the processing phase. It is important to think about how the climate and oceans will impact the culture. It is also interesting to look at how temperature varies from village to village which are relatively close to each other. Weather and climate are such a big part of being in Alaska; I think it is interesting to see how this module will relate to that perspective.

Colleagues: 

Amy’s blog. Her blog is very imformation and allowed me to better understand some of the context from this week’s module.

Tyler’s blog was interesting because he talked about a study that his father was a part of which is interesting to read about.

Martha’s blog.  I liked her opening line about how everything is connected. She also added a beautiful picture on her blog.