Have Them at Hello!

I like this link:

http://news.yahoo.com/them-hello-205325816.html

and want to write a blog entry about it and its relation to starting a lesson/class instruction......

A Journey Through Time & the Chesapeake with John Smith

Below, I have copied & pasted my entry from the "Roots of a Nation" blog:

I really enjoyed the two-day activity of "Mapping the Course for a New Nation". The activity started at the Project Sultana offices in Chestertown, where we explored the maps and had a "crash course" on what the symbols on the map meant. We discussed the ecology of the region at the time and what the settlers' experiences were like. Chris shared with us the furs and skins of animals from the time. We also got to see hands-on wild rice, wampum, and turtle shells. We discussed how they were used in the time. On the second day of the trip, we paddled out of Turner's Creek landing into the Sassafras River. While paddling, we discussed the possible site of the mysterious Tockwagh Village and identified two areas that would have been optimal locations. We used seine nets to try to catch fish, and explored a tidal freshwater pond (teeming with life, which offered a great food source to the Native Americans). Chris & Mark pulled up the tubers from the tuckahoe/arrow grum. Our 2nd day concluded with a session led by two women from the National Geographic Alliance, who showed us various ways we could use these activities and topics instructionally.

I have learned so much in this two day course! I learned about John Smith's voyages-- which took place in the summer of 1608. I learned that he was a gifted cartographer (although the origin of these skills isn't known). I learned the various different names he used to mark places (ex: Bolus Flue for the Patapsco River). I learned that the Maltese crosses marked the extents of his explorations (sadly none of these have been found). John Smith's maps are oriented to the west, as they would appear to future European explorers. Surely, had Smith and his crew capsized off Tangier Island, the exploration and settlement of our region would have been sorely affected. On the second day my paddling skills were certainly tested-- which I highly enjoyed! I valued the opportunity to explore areas John Smith's crew explored as well. What an amazing opportunity.

There are a myriad of ways in which I could use these activities instructionally. Chris provided us with an amazing binder of activities-- all of which strengthen students' informational reading skills, analytical skills, and skills of interpreting primary documents. One way I plan to use this immediately in the classroom is to have the students use this map as they conceptualize (geographically) our place in the world-- as residents of Talbot County, Maryland, the Chesapeake, and North America. We will then use current maps to compare how accurate Smith's map was and how the land changed over time. We will use his journals to explore the wildlife and physical characteristics of the region, then identify reasons why these characteristics have changed. These activities will help the students to identify consequences of modifying the environment in a way that is local, tangible & meaningful to them.

Other things I plan to use from this session:
*Analyze maps using "Big Green Kissing TOADS" (border, grid, key, title, orientation, author, date, scale)
*Compare the names from Smith's map with current names (to further scaffold student's awareness of place names in their home state)
*Use quotes from his journals as a primary source analysis piece
*Using journals to identify geographic characteristics (human and physical) and discuss why they are important to put on a map, and how thematic maps have evolved over time (and settlement) to show those characteristics in a more focused way
*Various Earth Day or environmental lessons the women from NGA shared: River report cards, river puzzle, population map, and Who Polluted the Potomac?


This was a highly enjoyable session!

John Smith's Voyages Pt. 1

Today I went into Chestertown for a workshop at Project Sultana. The topic of the workshop is John Smith's 1608 Voyages up the Chesapeake Bay. There were 8 other teachers there and the workshop was led by Chris Cerino.

I really enjoyed the topic! Considering my slight obsession with Roanoke and the Lost Colony, it was exciting to see another part of the pre-colonial puzzle of early America. We discussed Smith's voyages (two in the summer of 1608), what he saw and the location of the mysterious Tockwagh village. No one is 100% certain where this village was located. But beyond this mystery, his map (especially of the western side) is surprising accurate, given the lack of technology available in his time!

Things that amazed me from today's discussions:

*the 1000 year old bald cypress trees he encountered and very large other trees: walnuts, chestnuts, oaks

*the 12 ft. sturgeons

*the Menhaden they tried to catch with frying pans

*the fact that in those days it would take only 3 days for the oysters to fully filter the bay

*the trees in those days protected the landscape and prevented erosion, keeping the salinity in the bay "up", which created a more widespread habitat for oysters (runoff of rain today affects the bay and makes some areas inhospitable to oysters-- too much freshwater)

Tomorrow we will paddle the Sassafras River! I am so excited!!!!

***Here is a good link I found:

http://johnsmith.psu.edu/home.aspx

Curriculum

Today and yesterday I worked with Chrissy Mohan to revise the 7th grade curriculum. It was super fun!

Summer Reading List

My mother (an English teacher) and I are sitting down together, brainstorming some reading list ideas for rising eighth graders over the summer. Here are a few we are thinking of:

Pre-Revolutionary War America
Moon of Two Dark Horses - shows the friendship between a white settler and a Native American


Revolutionary War
Johnny Tremain - great background on the Revolutionary War, specifically Lexington & Concord and the Sons of Liberty.
My Brother Sam is Dead
The Secret of Sarah Revere

Industrial Revolution
Lyddie - Catherine Patterson - about a girl who works in a cloth factory in 1840's New England

Civil War
March Toward Thunder - about a Native American boy who joins the Union army in New York
Amelia's War -




Rising 7th grade book list
-A Girl Named Disaster -
-Bloomability -
-Esperanza Rising -
-Ash Road (Australia)
-The Breadwinner - by Deboarah Ellis (Afghanistan)
-A Single Shard (set in Korea)
-When my name was Keoko (set in Korea during Japanese occupation)
-Chasing Vermeer (? plot looks interesting but need to look into)
-

2003 article on performance-based pay in a computer company

Just came across this Harvard study on performance-based pay in the business world. I do believe that this tenet of RTT was based on its perceived "success" in the business world.

I don't want to go into long analysis of this because quite frankly the concept of merit pay really concerns me. So here are some interesting points:

*For the first six months, everyone loved the new system.Then the complaints began.

*The teams were frustrated that factors out of their control, such as the delivery of parts, affected their work.

*Financial rewards in a fast-changing business environment could undermine a company's ability to build trust and commitment unless management and employees have an honest discussion about their mutual expectations, they added. This is "very difficult to do."

*Going forward, Beer suggested that managers recognize pay-for-performance programs not just in instrumental terms--as a carrot, perhaps--but as a larger exercise in fairness and justice within the organization. "Do not proceed until both sides understand what they are getting into."

As always let me point out that I will respect the choices of our Dept. of Ed and my school district as we transition to Race to the top. But, like this article suggests, I feel it's crucial that I as a stakeholder stay informed about the caveats of merit-based pay. So much of what I love about teaching is rooted in collaboration with my colleagues, trust between my students and me, and the sense of community our building shares and develops throughout the year. But when our individual bottomline within our classroom will determine what we take home, I wonder how much of those qualities will remain.

Backchanneling video