See the World with Sparks

In Homeroom, we discussed the importance of Passing on the Gift. It is the motto of one of my favorite charitable organizations, Heifer International. The idea at Heifer is they provide a family in need with livestock and give them the training necessary to raise the livestock. The gift provides a family with food as well as a way to make a living. The family in turn promises to give the offspring of their gift to another family in need. Thus...passing on the gift. To learn more, go to http://www.heifer.org/ Each child in my Homeroom has been given $30 to choose a gift to pass on to a family in need. They may chose from llamas, ducks, chicks, a cow, rabbits or a variety of other livestock gifts to pass on. Students, I would love to hear from you....feel free to comment on this post and tell me what you chose and why.    I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas is for Children was a HUGE success despite the ice! Parents, thank you very much for volunteering your time, buying the presents and coordinating our angel's wishes.  This is a fabulous lesson for our kids about sharing our blessings!  Thank you for supporting our class and EIS in this wonderful community giving opportunity!

So many of you have asked for the link to the song and video we saw in class.  Here it is.... Playing for Change is a fabulous collection of music performed by children and adults around the world.  Enjoy!

Today we pause to honor those men and women who have served in the United States Military.  I am honored to be a part of one of the most fabulous Veteran's Day Assemblies that I have ever attended. Many thanks to our fabulous speakers, Captain Johnny Marshall (United States Navy) and our beloved substitute teacher, Mr. Jim White (United States Army). Jake and his mom proudly displaying the flag presented to Eubanks Intermediate School by Jakes's dad. 

Camp Thurman was awesome!!  We had a great day of team building activities as well as fun at Kidron Valley and the zipline. Want to see your your Camp Thurman experience as a series of charts and graphs?  Check out the link below from my GPS watch.  You can see a detailed map of where we walked, how long it took us, the elevations gains/losses and what my heart rate looked like on the zipline! Camp Thurman by ikat262 at Garmin Connect - Details

Today students participated in an experiential exercise as they assumed the role of a famous immigrant and participated in a series of interviews.   Bob Marley,  Audrey Hepburn, Levi Strauss, Albert Einstein and many others could be seen walking into class and sharing their stories of how migration affects people and places.

My sister is currently living at the South Pole.....yes, the South Pole.  She is assisting the scientists who are doing research.  There are approximately 60 people  who are "over-wintering" at the South Pole.  That means they arrived around February and will not be leaving until October or November depending on the weather.  Remember:  since it is in the southern hemisphere, the seasons at the South Pole are opposite ours. The picture above shows the marker at the geographic South Pole.   There is also a magnetic south pole and a ceremonial south pole.  The temperatures have been about 50 to 100 degrees below zero. After being in complete darkness for 6 months, the sun began to rise in early September.  The picture above is an igloo built just before sunrise.

This year we will be studying the people and places of the world.  We have identified the 5 fields of social studies and will now apply our knowledge of the 5 fields to our own family.  Each child received a letter in class explaining the project.  The letter and grading rubric are posted on my school website calendar for September 3 and 4.  You can see an example of an Animoto presentation on this blog by scrolling to a post I made on August 26, 2011.  The child who made the Animoto presentation followed up by elaborating on his topics and included global connections.  To help you understand the global connections, I have two examples below: History: "My family history shows that my ancestors embraced the American dream of freedom and opportunity.  As I researched my family's journey to America, I discovered that I have ancestors that came from Ireland, Nova Scotia, Germany, England and Scotland."  (student then showed the family crest from the 1700's) Economics

Welcome to my class!  We are going to have a fantastic year as we explore the world.  We'll begin our year by examining the culture region we are most familiar with:  The United States and Canada.  We'll brush up on some basic map skills, explore the 5 fields of Social Studies and focus on the concept of how we are affected by the world around us.  During the second six weeks we will take a look at Latin America with a focus on how places change over time as people move and shape their surroundings.  We will conclude our first semester with a look at Europe from the Ancient Greeks to WWII and we will evaluate how conflict impacts the world. I encourage you and your parents to take minute to comment on this post.  Please tell me a little about yourself such as where you have traveled, what your hobbies and interests are or what you are looking forward to about 6th grade. Please include your first name only.  Enjoy the last few days of summer and I will see you at Meet the Teac

Thanks to the Carroll Education Foundation , we have full access to Stratalogica.  Stratalogica is powered by Google Earth and includes maps, globes, atlases, and charts that come alive in an environment where the students and I can actively engage in a multi-layered world.  We can easily share content and collaborate in new ways.  And, they have just released a new app for the iPad!!  Each student has a user name and password that allows access to all of the features including the iPad app and the digital desk atlas.  The link is:   Stratalogica!  Happy exploring!!