Create a Country Fair:
When: June ##
There are five requirements for the fair. #1 and #2 will be completed in class. #3-5 are your homework for the next two weeks:
1. Create a Country Atlas (done in class)
2. Presentation about Created Country (done in class)
Homework projects:
3. A tasty treat & recipe from REAL COUNTRY
**Find a recipe from your REAL COUNTRY that you would like to make. (a link to World Recipes on Recipe Atlas)
**Make enough for 35 people.
**Remember to bring “extras” if needed - if you need a serving spoon or spatula
4. A costume representing either your real country or created country.
**You should be ready to explain WHY this costume relates to your created country.
**The costume can be a complete outfit or just part of an outfit.
**The costume should be worn during your presentation.
**Remember, costumes should reflect school dress code and weapons are not allowed.
5. Another visual that will be helpful during your presentation.
**The sky is the limit on this part.
**Ideas: poster, mural, model, diagram, artifact....
**Plan your time wisely, though, so that you visual is completed on time.
Plan for CAC Projects:
1. Food: what am I making?
2. Costume Ideas:
3. Sketch and label your idea for a visual. What is your schedule for getting it done?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Geography Practice & Skills
Practice Geography Skills and Make a Difference in the World:
Free Poverty - find places on the map
Free Rice - Identify places on the map
Identify countries in North Africa and the Middle East
Maps from National Geographic
Mapping:
Latitude and Longitude, List of sites about Latitude and Longitude...
History Review:
History Games,
Free Poverty - find places on the map
Free Rice - Identify places on the map
Identify countries in North Africa and the Middle East
Maps from National Geographic
Mapping:
Latitude and Longitude, List of sites about Latitude and Longitude...
History Review:
History Games,
Current Events &/or Info Connection
Each week an article will be assigned to help students learn to code/annotate expository (informational) text. Articles may be handed out or students may be asked to find them.
Great places to find articles: Time's Current Events Update and Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic , CNN for kids (easier reads), and Social Studies for Kids
(Also: The Internet Resource Web aims to make news stories accessible for students who may find a newspaper too daunting. Sorties are timely and interesting (there is an archive file). )
The purpose of coding/annotating text is for students to share their thinking as they read with their teacher.
To help student remember what is expected, each reading strategy is associated with "The Hand." The codes and associated digit are as follows:
"P" - for predictions (thumb) - Predictions show what the student thinks will happen next or happened in the past. Predictions are focused on the plot or action. Remember, predictions can be confirmed or rejected.
It could look like this: P-Australia's water supply will only get worse!
"?" - for questions (pointer finger) - Questions can be informational (answers would be found in a reference book - dictionary, encyclopedia, internet), curiosity (answers will be found later in the text), and/or challenging (answers may never be found - more theoretical in nature - EX: Why is there hatred in the world?) Note: Students are encouraged to follow a question up with a prediction!!
It could look like this: ?-why would they do that? P - They're scared or ?What does Responsible mean? P - doing the right thing (Note: good readers Predict the answer to their questions.)
"C" - for connections (middle finger)- Students should make Text-to-Self, Text-to-Text, and Text-to-World (movies, class, news, etc) connections. Connections help the reader get the most meaning from the text.
It could look like this: C - like bully proofing class! or C-my brothers or C- to our textbook
"I" - for inferences (ring finger) - Inferences are like predictions only they focus on PEOPLE. Students should infer about the thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc. of the people in the article. We talk about getting into the heads of the people we read about. OR We infer about the author's purpose (or bias) for writing the article.
It could look like this: I - she's jealous! or I - the author wants us to send money
"!" - for important/interesting information (pinky finger)- This information should be underlined or highlighted. It is important to remember that not all information in an article should be highlighted or underlined!! As students reread the underlined or highlighted information, it should sound like a summary of the text. Most of what is underlined or highlighted should have another code/comment webbed off of it.
WEBBING: When using reading comprehension strategies, one strategy often leads to another.
For example: P- students learn more when they do this, which leads to an I-they feel better about the information in the article, which leads to a ? - do they do better on tests?, which leads to a P - yes!
For Assessments, go to WorkshopWebquest
Great places to find articles: Time's Current Events Update and Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic , CNN for kids (easier reads), and Social Studies for Kids
(Also: The Internet Resource Web aims to make news stories accessible for students who may find a newspaper too daunting. Sorties are timely and interesting (there is an archive file). )
The purpose of coding/annotating text is for students to share their thinking as they read with their teacher.
To help student remember what is expected, each reading strategy is associated with "The Hand." The codes and associated digit are as follows:
"P" - for predictions (thumb) - Predictions show what the student thinks will happen next or happened in the past. Predictions are focused on the plot or action. Remember, predictions can be confirmed or rejected.
It could look like this: P-Australia's water supply will only get worse!
"?" - for questions (pointer finger) - Questions can be informational (answers would be found in a reference book - dictionary, encyclopedia, internet), curiosity (answers will be found later in the text), and/or challenging (answers may never be found - more theoretical in nature - EX: Why is there hatred in the world?) Note: Students are encouraged to follow a question up with a prediction!!
It could look like this: ?-why would they do that? P - They're scared or ?What does Responsible mean? P - doing the right thing (Note: good readers Predict the answer to their questions.)
"C" - for connections (middle finger)- Students should make Text-to-Self, Text-to-Text, and Text-to-World (movies, class, news, etc) connections. Connections help the reader get the most meaning from the text.
It could look like this: C - like bully proofing class! or C-my brothers or C- to our textbook
"I" - for inferences (ring finger) - Inferences are like predictions only they focus on PEOPLE. Students should infer about the thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc. of the people in the article. We talk about getting into the heads of the people we read about. OR We infer about the author's purpose (or bias) for writing the article.
It could look like this: I - she's jealous! or I - the author wants us to send money
"!" - for important/interesting information (pinky finger)- This information should be underlined or highlighted. It is important to remember that not all information in an article should be highlighted or underlined!! As students reread the underlined or highlighted information, it should sound like a summary of the text. Most of what is underlined or highlighted should have another code/comment webbed off of it.
WEBBING: When using reading comprehension strategies, one strategy often leads to another.
For example: P- students learn more when they do this, which leads to an I-they feel better about the information in the article, which leads to a ? - do they do better on tests?, which leads to a P - yes!
For Assessments, go to WorkshopWebquest
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Create a Country - Part 4 - Political Map
Political Map: shows where your cities, capitals, seaports, airports, and provinces OR state boundaries exist. Also, include your major roads, railways, rivers, lakes, swamps, and land forms.
1. Research your country and use that to make decisions about your created country. Go to Webquest, and following the instructions for Part 4. This will give you the information you need to create your map.
2. Political Map Expectations:
3. Write a caption about your states. See Caption Madlibs for help.
4. Think about the difference between a Political Map and a Physical Map.
Consider the poem "Geographer" by Brian Andreas:
I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers know the secret.
Pay no attention to boundaries.
How have boundaries defined your country?
Consider what John McPhee wrote in Rising from the Plains:
"Wyoming, at first glance, would appear to be an arbitrary segment of the country. Wyoming and Colorado are the only states whose borders consist of four straight lines. That could be looked upon as an affront to nature, an utterly political conception, an ignoring of the outlines of physiographic worlds, in disregard of rivers and divides. Rivers and divides, however, are in some ways unworthy as boundaries, which are meant to imply a durability that is belied by the function of rivers and divides. They move, they change, and they go away. Rivers, almost by definition, are young. The oldest river in the United States is called the New River. It has existed (in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) for a little more than one and a half per cent of the history of the world. In epochs and eras before there ever was a Colorado River, the formations of the Grand Canyon were crossed and crisscrossed, scoured and dissolved, deposited and moved by innumerable rivers. The Colorado River, which has only recently appeared on earth, has excavated the Grand Canyon in very little time. From its beginning, human beings could have watched the Grand Canyon being made. The Green River has cut down through the Uinta Mountains in the last few million years, the Wind River through the Owl Creek Mountains, the Laramie River through the Laramie Range. The mountains themselves came up and moved. Several thousand feet of basin fill has recently disappeared. As the rock around Rawlins amply shows, the face of the country has frequently changed. Wyoming suggests with emphasis the page-one principle of reading in rock the record of the earth: Surface appearances are only that; topography grows, shrinks, compresses, spreads, disintegrates, and disappears; every scene is temporary, and is composed of fragments from other scenes. Four straight lines - like a plug cut in the side of a watermelon - should do as well as any to frame Wyoming and its former worlds (p 28)."
1. Research your country and use that to make decisions about your created country. Go to Webquest, and following the instructions for Part 4. This will give you the information you need to create your map.
2. Political Map Expectations:
*Has a title of the map behind name of country (EX: Angeland: Political Map).
*Is neat & easy to read.
*Indicates clearly the borders between states (natural or man-made).
Check out this article about Rivers as Boundaries
*Has coloring to show at least 3 states. Coloring is NEAT. It allows names to be read.
*Labels (now you name them) each state (1 point each)
*Shows and labels each state's capital city and other big cities. The location of the cities makes sense with geography.
*Shows (using a symbol) industry points for each city (if applicable)
*Includes a key to explain colors and symbols
3. Write a caption about your states. See Caption Madlibs for help.
4. Think about the difference between a Political Map and a Physical Map.
Consider the poem "Geographer" by Brian Andreas:
I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers know the secret.
Pay no attention to boundaries.
How have boundaries defined your country?
Consider what John McPhee wrote in Rising from the Plains:
"Wyoming, at first glance, would appear to be an arbitrary segment of the country. Wyoming and Colorado are the only states whose borders consist of four straight lines. That could be looked upon as an affront to nature, an utterly political conception, an ignoring of the outlines of physiographic worlds, in disregard of rivers and divides. Rivers and divides, however, are in some ways unworthy as boundaries, which are meant to imply a durability that is belied by the function of rivers and divides. They move, they change, and they go away. Rivers, almost by definition, are young. The oldest river in the United States is called the New River. It has existed (in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) for a little more than one and a half per cent of the history of the world. In epochs and eras before there ever was a Colorado River, the formations of the Grand Canyon were crossed and crisscrossed, scoured and dissolved, deposited and moved by innumerable rivers. The Colorado River, which has only recently appeared on earth, has excavated the Grand Canyon in very little time. From its beginning, human beings could have watched the Grand Canyon being made. The Green River has cut down through the Uinta Mountains in the last few million years, the Wind River through the Owl Creek Mountains, the Laramie River through the Laramie Range. The mountains themselves came up and moved. Several thousand feet of basin fill has recently disappeared. As the rock around Rawlins amply shows, the face of the country has frequently changed. Wyoming suggests with emphasis the page-one principle of reading in rock the record of the earth: Surface appearances are only that; topography grows, shrinks, compresses, spreads, disintegrates, and disappears; every scene is temporary, and is composed of fragments from other scenes. Four straight lines - like a plug cut in the side of a watermelon - should do as well as any to frame Wyoming and its former worlds (p 28)."
Create a Country - Part 7 - Government of Country
When clearly defined procedures have been established regarding who decides, how they decide, and how decisions are carried out, it is possible to classify the specific form of government a culture uses.
First, we should try to understand more about why we need government. (Class Activity)
Over the centuries many forms of government have been used. Among the more common are the following:
- Participatory democracy: All important decisions are made by a majority vote of all persons affected by the decision.
- Representative democracy: All people who wish to, vote for persons to represent them when decisions are to be made. When a majority of the representatives vote the same way, their opinion prevails.
- Constitutional monarchy: A king or queen and a group of representatives elected by the people share the responsibility for ruling together.
- Monarchy: A king or queen makes the decisions alone.
- Dictatorship: A person NOT elected by the people is responsible for all decisions of importance. It is usual for a dictator to come from the military.
- Check out this site for help understanding these and different types of governments or this one for a more extensive (and fun) list.
Before determining the type of Government that will run your Created Country, consider:
- What form of government can make decisions rapidly and be assured the decision will be followed? Why would this be good? bad?
- What form of government is most interested in direct involvement of the people? What is its advantage? disadvantage?
- What form of government is used in America?
Task #2: One of a government's chief concerns is the "happiness" of its citizens. Consider the following:
- Read this article about Bhutan's ( a real country!) Happiness Index goals!
- Create your own Happiness Index: Include 10 years of your country’s Happiness Index.
*What leads to Happiness? (good crops, weather, surplus, economy, etc...)
*Roll: The number you roll indicates the % of people that are happy in your country (8 = 80%). If you roll an 11 or 12, you have had a natural disaster (you choose based on researching your real country). The next 3 years, you can only roll one dice because it takes a while to recover from natural disasters! Create a line graph using these numbers.
Happiness Index Graph:
*Has a title with name of country & student & which region
*Is neat & easy to read- accurate labels.
*Includes 10 years
*Creates a line or a bar graph
*Used color to differentiate the lines/bars
*X axis is correctly labeled
3-5 Sentence Caption:Describes the causes for the different levels of happiness. Describes the effects of the different levels. Makes predictions for the future.COPS! Completed on time.
Task #3: Consider making a timeline of your country's history....
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
World Religions
Overview of all religions:
*For Graphic Organizers and note sheets for movies, go to Webquest
*A great website to help with filling in the matrix/note sheet: Religion facts
*A great website that shows many comparisons between religions: Religion Facts & comparisons
Other interesting Websites: Religion Facts, comparisons, and more, A great list of Websites for Teens, World Religions Website, Higher Level reading, Social Studied for Kids/Relgions, and A site with a lot more sites!
World Religions Historical Map - amazing animation that shows the rise and fall of all religions.
Individual Religions
Hinduism:
Reading Pages: NB ~ 203-4, OB ~ 138-147
Reading Pages: NB ~ 203-4, OB ~ 138-147
Textbook Videos: Hinduism & Buddhism
Buddhism:
Reading Pages: NB ~ 208-.., OB ~ 150-155
Reading Pages: NB ~ 208-.., OB ~ 150-155
Textbook Videos: Hinduism & Buddhism
Check out this website: Mind and Life. org
Judaism:
Reading Pages: NB ~ 81-102, OB ~ 120-125
Reading Pages: NB ~ 81-102, OB ~ 120-125
Textbook Videos: Judaism
Christianity:
Reading Pages: NB ~ 344..., OB ~ 246-252
Reading Pages: NB ~ 344..., OB ~ 246-252
Textbook Videos: Christianity
Textbook Videos: Islam
Other Religions:
Original Religions - China's religious beliefs about the afterlife
More Religion in China - quick and easy reading
Caption Madlibs!
Copy and Paste the madlibs into a word document. Make sure you add your own creativity!
OR download the madlib by Going to the Webquest
1. Physical Map Caption "Madlib" if you need some help:
The latitudinal range for __________ (name of country) is ____-_____. The longitudinal range is ____-_____. This means my country is in the __________and__________ hemispheres. In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the elevation is __________. This means__________. In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the elevation is __________. This means__________. In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the elevation is __________. This means________________________________.There are __________(number word: many, few)people are found here because __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) plants and animals found here because __________. This country is __________! (great conclusion!)
2. Climate Map Caption madlibs (remember: Option+K = the ˚ sign):
__________ (name of country) is located in the (low, mid, high) latitude range. In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the climate is __________. This means the temperature is __________.The amount of rainfall is __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) people found here because __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) plants and animals found here because __________.
In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the climate is __________. This means the temperature is __________.The amount of rainfall is __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) people found here because __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) plants and animals found here because __________.
In the __________ (direction words: N, S, W, E, center)region of __________ (name of country) the climate is __________. This means the temperature is __________.The amount of rainfall is __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) people found here because __________. There are __________ (number word: many, few) plants and animals found here because __________. __________(name of country) is __________! (great conclusion!)
3. Climate GRAPH:
The average yearly rainfall for _____(real country) is _____ inches. In ______ (CAC) the rainfall is _____(comparison word - similar, different..). _____ (CAC)'s average yearly rainfall is _____ inches. This impacts the people because _____ (reason, be creative). This also impacts the animals and plants because _____ (reason, be creative.) This climate is _____! (concluding line)
4. Political Map:
Political Caption:
__________ (name of country) has __________ (number) states. (Finish this introductory paragraph with at least 2 more sentences.)
The first state is called __________ (name of state), and its capital is named __________ (name of capital). It is located in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its borders are __________ (natural or manmade or both). Its neighbors are __________ (name (s)of states or countries OR description). This means __________ (actions or feelings of people). The people of __________ (name of state) can be described as __________ (demographics: age, race, gender, and overall personality). Most are __________ (type of occupation) due to the __________ (resources of country). Many describe this state as __________ (wealthy, middle class, poor, etc). __________ (name of state) is __________ (conclusion).
The second state is called __________ (name of state), and its capital is named __________ (name of capital). It is located in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its borders are __________ (natural or manmade or both). Its neighbors are __________ (name (s)of states or countries OR description). This means __________ (actions or feelings of people). The people of __________ (name of state) can be described as __________ (demographics: age, race, gender, and overall personality). Most are __________ (type of occupation) due to the __________ (resources of country). Many describe this state as __________ (wealthy, middle class, poor, etc). __________ (name of state) is __________ (conclusion).
The third state is called __________ (name of state), and its capital is named __________ (name of capital). It is located in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its borders are __________ (natural or manmade or both). Its neighbors are __________ (name (s)of states or countries OR description). This means __________ (actions or feelings of people). The people of __________ (name of state) can be described as __________ (demographics: age, race, gender, and overall personality). Most are __________ (type of occupation) due to the __________ (resources of country). Many describe this state as __________ (wealthy, middle class, poor, etc). __________ (name of state) is __________ (conclusion).
4. Religion MadLib:
Religion Caption:
__________ (name of country) has __________ (number) religions. (Finish this introductory paragraph with at least 2 more sentences.)
The first religion is called __________ (name of religion), and it’s found in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its main beliefs are ________________. This religion originated in __________ (original country) and came to ____________ (your country) by way of __________ (how did it come to your country? Through a neighboring country or because of a major world trade route, missionaries, etc). _________________ (% of the population of your country) belong to this religion. This means __________ (is it the majority religion, minor religions, important…). It is __________ ( is it spreading, decreasing in numbers, increasing in numbers and why? ).
The followers of __________ (name of religion) can be described as __________ (demographics: race, gender, personality). Most of the followers of this religion __________ (accept or do not accept) the other religions in __________ (name of country). There is __________ (harmony, misunderstanding, distrust, war, peace ) between this religion and ____________________(name of another religion(s)). __________ ( 1 sentence conclusion).
The second religion is called __________ (name of religion), and it’s found in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its main beliefs are ________________. This religion originated in __________ (original country) and came to ____________ (your country) by way of __________ (how did it come to your country? Through a neighboring country or because of a major world trade route, missionaries, etc). _________________ (% of the population of your country) belong to this religion. This means __________ (is it the majority religion, minor religions, important…). It is __________ ( is it spreading, decreasing in numbers, increasing in numbers and why? ).
The followers of __________ (name of religion) can be described as __________ (demographics: race, gender, personality). Most of the followers of this religion __________ (accept or do not accept) the other religions in __________ (name of country). There is __________ (harmony, misunderstanding, distrust, war, peace ) between this religion and ____________________(name of another religion(s)). __________ ( 1 sentence conclusion).
The third religion is called __________ (name of religion), and it’s found in the __________ (direction words) of __________ (name of country). Its main beliefs are ________________. This religion originated in __________ (original country) and came to ____________ (your country) by way of __________ (how did it come to your country? Through a neighboring country or because of a major world trade route, missionaries, etc). _________________ (% of the population of your country) belong to this religion. This means __________ (is it the majority religion, minor religions, important…). It is __________ ( is it spreading, decreasing in numbers, increasing in numbers and why? ).
The followers of __________ (name of religion) can be described as __________ (demographics: race, gender, personality). Most of the followers of this religion __________ (accept or do not accept) the other religions in __________ (name of country). There is __________ (harmony, misunderstanding, distrust, war, peace ) between this religion and ____________________(name of another religion(s)). __________ ( 1 sentence conclusion).
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