Hello,
We have accomplished alot in the last couple of weeks, so much in fact that I have had little time to post information on the blog. But, not to fear, we have big plans in the future, and to pull them off, proper planning is key! So far, in the last two weeks, we backtracked a bit in basic geography, to make sure all students have a basic grasp on terms, concepts, and geographical models. I think it went fairly well, and we took a test on chapter 1 last week, and we'll take a test this week on chapter 3. All tests are of course open binder, so if you're a student and reading this - make sure you have your stuff up to date, and bring a pen!
Here's what's in store for the following weeks:
This week, since it has been shortened by one day (
Martin Luther King, Jr.), we'll dive right into some notes and class discussion on Tuesday when we come back. Wednesday we'll take the test, and Thursday and Friday we end our basic intro unit with a look at the movie
"Guns, Germs, and Steel". We will see the first part only, but it should have a deep impact on the students nonetheless. Jared Diamond shares his concept of why some people have stuff in the world, and others simply do not.
Next week we split up. 6th grade will begin their studies of North America, to include United States and Canada, and then down to Mexico and Latin America. They will study the physical makeup, its people, and general culture and beliefs in the region.
7th grade will venture into Southern Europe and study the landscapes of Italy, Greece, then France, Germany, the Benelux Countries, and finally up to Northern Europe and Scandinavia. They will end their studies with an individual research project on one of the countries in Europe, including the full profile on the country. We'll use
CIA's World Factbook for our base.
In the 8th grade, we will begin our travels in the Middle East, starting with Israel and the occupied territories, then on to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and then further east to China and Mongolia. Depending on the speed at which they can handle the information, we will cover more or less materials. They too, will end their studies in a culminating research project that will include a presentation, and possible public display of their research.
For all of the above, I will try to keep everyone posted on their progress.
Also, I have moved the web provider for the website, so please update your bookmarks. There are now two addresses that will work:
www.eajohansson.net and
www.eajohansson.orgEnjoy the rest of the extended weekend!
Mr. Johansson
Students used both our pull-down map, as well as the SMART Board to maneuver the map to where they needed it. They shared and took turns moving countries and continents around in order to create their own maps for later reference use.
Coloring is a must if your map is to be worth any... Students used a minimum of four colors in order to never overlap when shading or coloring in the states of the United States. In addition, they labeled the states, the capitals, major rivers, etc.
Group work works very well with my students, and they often do a good of self-regulating work tasks, or controlling discipline issues. Of course, they are always eager to get on camera, and don't mind taking a quick break from learning...
