Why isn't it being done?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What are some of the things you'd like to study in 7th grade Cultural Geography?
You will be taught how to view history and current events from multiple perspectives, and you will practice making conclusions (argumentative literacy) after carefully analyzing and weighing the familiar (what you already know) with your new found knowledge. We will learn how to characterize actors (people in history) into one (or more) of the following categories: Victim, Persecutor, Bystander and Hero. You'll begin to understand this categorization system by making connections to actual and hypothetical events in our school.
You will be taught how to view history and current events from multiple perspectives, and you will practice making conclusions (argumentative literacy) after carefully analyzing and weighing the familiar (what you already know) with your new found knowledge. We will learn how to characterize actors (people in history) into one (or more) of the following categories: Victim, Persecutor, Bystander and Hero. You'll begin to understand this categorization system by making connections to actual and hypothetical events in our school.
- Geography (5 themes of geography)--1) Location (relative and absolute); 2) Place; 3) Human environment interaction; 4) Movement, and 5) Regions. The 5 themes of geography will be embedded into most geography-based units.
- Hometown Interview--Students will go straight to the source and ask the person. They will select adults to interview, formulate questions, and conduct interviews. The purpose is to learn about the Morrisville's history; what has changed and what has stayed the same. Students will share their findings with the class.
- Current Events--students will engage in argumentative literacy exercises while recognizing connections between themselves, today's events and history.
- American geography and culture--student-created "states and capitals" game, components of culture study, American geography, etc.
- Child Labor--students will study the issue of child labor on the Continent of Asia. Students will debate issues and pose solutions to the global issue.
- Personal scrapbook assignment--this provides students with the opportunity to identify and reflect about who they are as 7th graders, and where they want to be in the future (hopes, dreams, etc.)
- Study of China--similarities between American and Chinese culture; democracy v. communism, women's rights, etc.
- US Culture as an Export--The United States has been the hegemonic superpower in the world. Many know that our nation is well-off and powerful, but do we know how our culture affects cultures in other parts of the world?
- From 9/11 to the Iraq War--Where is Iraq? What triggered the war? What now?
- African Geography and Culture--Why does Africa have so many things in common with Europe (Colonialism [cities, languages, religion, etc.]); apartheid(students will read Athol Fugard's "Master Harold and The Boys").
- Living Biography--students will select a (researchable) person from any point in world history, and write a two-page biography. Later, after getting to know their historical figure, they'll present their person as their person. Students will practice writing succinctly, structuring MLA bibliographies, and public speaking.
- Personal Learning Plan--Students will independently explore an area of cultural geography that we've either studied or an area students wish they'd studied.
“Formative Assessment: Any assessment used by educators to evaluate students’ knowledge and understanding of particular content and then to adjust and plan further instructional practices accordingly to improve student achievement in that area” (Ravitch 98).
--Examples are sought through personal conversation, games, rating one's own understanding, exit cards, some journal entries, etc.
“Summative Assessment: An assessment used to document students’ achievement at the end of a unit or course or an evaluation of the end product of a student’s learning activity” (Ravitch 207).
--Examples of summative assessment are projects, essays, reports, presentations, quizzes, some journal entries, etc.
Ravitch, Diane. Ed Speak: a Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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