The posts below are my assignments and experiences while I Explore Alaska!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Module #3 - 3 Questions

EXPLAIN:
This weeks module was all about the value of place. The videos I watched showed an importance of sharing the local resources between the people, animals and the land.
Every unique place in Alaska seems to offer its own unique culture of subsistence living. The people base their living off what the land offers and how they can sustainably harvest it though out the year.
I see that having people who are connected to their land participating in learning about it and protecting its resources as a vital aspect for successful communities. Students and children need to see leaders modeling this in order for them to want to follow in their footsteps.
I liked the final statement from Richard Glenn, a Inupiaq geologist and Whale hunter. “In western science you need tools to study and understand our world and in traditional Inupiaq you need life expreinces and trial and error”. He says that they are not seperate but “Two flashlights shining down the same path.”
I believe the connection to a place plays an important role in the cultures that are present. Alaska can be a place of feast or famine when it comes to resources and the ability for people to make a connection to the land. Many of Alaska’s places are remote and raw. The people who come to call these places home are the ones who find value it. Living close to the land connects the people to it in more ways when its a smaller community. Learning to “take what you can get” and appreciating the power and spirit of the planet are lessons that are not easily taught to larger or more urban communities. Alaska offers it’s people an amazing place to learn and live from.


EXTEND:
This module had some really cool animations on Plate Techtonics and the Rock cycle which I would like to use in my classroom.
I also think I would like to teach a lesson on Google Earth and the settlement of native peoples in Alaska and around the world, this would give me an opportunity to relate what students have already learned in Social Studies (Geography) I like Google Earth because it allows its user more access and interaction to places locally and internationally that would otherwise be impossible.

EVALUATE:
This module provided me with useful knowledge on plate tectonics and a brief background of Alaska geology. There were engaging animations that I would like to use in the classroom with my students. I thought that the Google Earth activity could be used as a way to cross connect Social Studies and Science for my students. Overall this module gave me a lot of insight into the importance of connecting the concepts that I teach to the place that I teach.

1 comment:

  1. "appreciating the power and spirit of the planet are lessons that are not easily taught to larger or more urban communities." Well said.

    ReplyDelete