In recent months the federal government has made moves to significantly increase funding opportunities for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) research and development. What does this have to do with teachers? One, the federal government intends to maintain the economic viability of the US through continued innovations in the use and application of technology - this is a clear work-force development agenda. Educators will be expected to be a part of this agenda by modeling and integrating technology into classroom instruction.
To this end, we have explored Smartboards, Google Earth, calculators, hand-held computers, Vernier probes . . . in both math and science methods.
For your blog posting by GRADE LEVEL for this week:
1) Make arrangements to exchange emails of your google earth tour with another group or individual. Download Google Earth 4.2 on to your personal computer, view the emailed google earth tour and post your review of the tour to this blog.
2) Complete viewing of the placenames google earth tours (Salish and Flathead Reservation) using the student journal to guide your viewing and post one new understanding gained.
2) Think about the applications of Google Earth as it was demonstrated in the PlaceNames Curriculum? Would you use it? How? What other ways can you think of for applying the use of Google Earth in the classroom.
3) Find a calculator/computer lesson plan appropriate for YOUR field placement class. Discuss how you may modify this or teach it including challenges you may face.
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1.Cassie and I exchanged Google Earth Tours and I Toured Glaciers in Montana. There were beautiful pictures of glacers and lakes around the area. To show students this tour would be aweseome because some of the students may not see them close up and this is a great way to expose them to it.
2.Sadly enough, In the Google Earth Tour, I learned where the reservations were located in the Flathead area. I knew what reservations were up there but to actually see it mapped out was very helplful to me! Also the other pictures included were beautiful and helpful as well with the information given as subcations.
3.I found a lesson plan that incorperated computers. My grade is 5th grade and the lesson that I found talks about the Rain Forest and what animals are deep in the forest. I feel this would be a cool lesson because it would expose the students to different animals and with the computer technology to help research and view pictures would be nice to have. One challenge that I may face is students wanting to research the same animal as their neighbor. I would need to give out a list or assign an animal because for 5th graders to choose their animal to research may take an entire class period in itself. I may also have a class period to reserarch the animals on the list to see which animal may interest them the most.
1. Jaime and I exchanged our Google Earth Tours. Jaime's tour was of National Parks. She included beautiful photographs of Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and The Petrified Forest. She added pictures of lakes, animals, and other related photographs.
2. While viewing the Google Earth Place Names Tour I learned about the Allotment Act from the Salish part of the tour. The Allotment Act, also called the Dawes Severalty Act, was for Indian people perhaps the single most devastating piece of legislation in US history. It was declared that the rest of the land was "surplus." Those lands were then made available to white homesteaders. A series of amendments to the Flathead Allotment Act took away even more tribal land for townsites, power installations, electric generation and reservoir sites, and a National Bison Range.
2. I would use the applications of the Google Earth as it was demonstrated in the PLaceNames Curriculum. I would use the same format to incorporate technology into curriculum in many subject areas. This format would be great for both History and Geography. Google Earth would be a great tool to incorporate technology into the classroom. I would use it to have students locate places being studied to give them an understanding of where places are in relation to where the students are.
3. I found an Electronic Literacy lesson plan from the website http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/elit/el/electricity/electricity.htm. I would modify the unit using the online circuit activities we observed in class and or probes on electricity. Some of the challenges might include inappropriate internet use by the students. Lack of financial support for materials required including computers and programs.
1. Tara and I shared our Google Earth tours with each other. I got to see the places where Tara has been in her life and learned something new about her. (She was born in Africa!) Sharing our tours with each other was easy!
2. An interesting fact that I learned as a result of viewing the Place Names Google Earth Tour was that: Iroquois people were sent to the Misson Valley to recruit the Salish people into the fur trade and they ended up marrying into the Salish tribe and joining their way of life.
3. I found a lesson the uses calculators. In the lesson, students use nonstandard units of volume and calculators to estimate the number of peas it would take
to cover their desks and to fill a room. A challenge that I might face were I to teach this lesson would be gathering all of the materials that students would need to explore volume. The lesson from Texas Instruments Activity Exchange suggests these materials: Rulers, string or measuring tapes, containers, cubes, dice, marbles, counters, and balances. I could ask students ahead of time to start bringing in empty containers (cool whip tubs, yogurt cups) to help collect enough materials for all of the students to explore.
1. Destinie and I exchanged tours. Her tour took me to various places that she went hiking this summer, Bull Lake (near her home town of Troy, MT),and to New Zealand (her dream vacation spot.) The pictures she added were beautiful.
2. I found the Place Names curriculum to be very informative. The Montana Indian Reservation Tour was helpful. It is nice to know that each tribe has its' own website, I was not aware of that before using the Place Names Curriculum.
2. Use of the Place Names curriculum would be very useful in a classroom in Montana. Students could use the resources on Google earth, with links provided in the tours to do research projects. They could put together a presentation for their classmates. I would also incorporate Google Earth in geography lessons. It is very helpful to actually see "the lay of the land" when studying it.
3. I found a lesson on the Texas Instrument Website that uses the TI-10 Calculator (the K-3rd grade calculator.) In this activity, students learn to count in tens up to 100. They also learn to build 2-digit numbers, using the calculators to help with addition. My first grade students would be ready for this, they have prior experience with skip counting by fives, and I am confidant that they would catch on quickly. I don't know though, if they have ever worked with calculators. It may be challenging to introduce them to calculators and teach a lesson on the same day. I may spend a whole day introducing the calculators, then move on the this lesson the next day.
1. Helena and I exchanged our google earth tours. One of the things that I liked about her tour was how she started with a whole earth view looking down on the USA and progressed to Missoula, her house in Missoula, and ended with a placemark in Costa Rica, where she will be visiting this January. Transitioning from a whole view to a more localized view created a frame of reference for the tour and a global perspective on her place on earth. I loved the photos Helena chose for her tour as well. Pictures of the Costa Rican beach and wildlife gave me something to remember Costa Rica by (since I don't know much about Costa Rica!) and made it more like a real vacation!
2.I spent a lot of time with the Flathead Reservation tour. I've lived in Missoula my whole life, but had no idea about how much land belonged to the Flathead Reservation or important sites for cultural reasons on the reservation. One of the things I learned was that the Kerr Dam is actually being rented by Montana's power company for $14 million dollars as it is actually on tribal land! I didn't realize that organizations could lease or rent land or property that was part of the reservation.
3. I have never used google earth before, but absolutely cannot wait to use it int the classroom now that I have experience. Google Earth would be a great tool in any subject and a great resource for subject integration. For example, I might be doing a unit on China. My google earth tour could take students to different places in China such as the Great Wall (history/social studies aspect), Beijing (math-tie in a population, people per square mile, or cost of living activity), the Gobi desert (science) and so on. Photos of these places and website links would help kids find the information needed to complete a journal I would provide and give them a chance to visit a place that I couldn't take them on an actual field trip. Students would also have a great time creating their own tours for group projects and sharing them with their classmates.
4.The lesson plan I found utilized computers for a webquest on "volcanoes and the ring of fire". This lesson plan and additional science topic webquests can be found at glencoe.com, a company that publishes textbooks. I liked the activity because it took students through each website they were to look at and the specific information they were searching for. This allowed students to explore the topic, without getting off-task or overwhelmed for the information available via the web. The websites used for this webquests were all government and other highly regarded organizations such as NASA, the US Geological Survey and PBS. Another aspect of this webquest I liked, was that students progressed in a logically fashion from "what causes a volcano" (plate tectonics) to the physical structure of a volcano to where they are on earth and why. I have seen teachers simply release their students to research volcanoes with no guidance, and I liked this web activity because it did the opposite. Students were asked to look for specific details, make connections on how volcanoes form andwhere they are on the earth, and were given credible resources to research with. I would definitely use this webquest in my classroom.
1. Therese and I exchanged our Google Earth tours. Therese's tour consisted of her house in Missoula which she recently bought, her lake house on Flathead Lake where she loves to relax, along with my house in Missoula. The pictures of Flathead Lake were beautiful.
2. The place names Google Earth tours on the Salish and Flathead Reservations is a very helpful tour. One interesting fact I found was the importance of food found in the Missoula valley such as the bitterroot, fish, and big game. I also find it very helpful that each tribe has their own website for everyone to learn about.
3. I would defiantly incorporate Place Names curriculum and Google Earth into my curriculum. I think students would really enjoy playing around and making their own tours with this technology. Google Earth also allows students to look at maps in a three dimensional view, this is an easier way to understand the features of land instead of using a topography map. When studying different places around the world, students could find them on Google Earth and have a better understanding on where exactly these places are.
4. The lesson I found at www.eduref.org/ involved using calculators in a first grade classroom. In this lesson, students are exploring patterns and relationships with numbers using a TI-108 calculator. The lesson also gets students familiar with counting by using a calculator (4, 8, 12, 16, what comes next or having students fill missing number in a sequence of numbers.) The challenge of this lesson would be introducing the students to the calculators. I have never seen the first graders use calculators, nor have I seen any calculators in the classroom. I think they would need a lesson first on using a calculator and then incorporate this lesson later on.
1) Jessica Blotsky’s tour was fun. I love that she has lived in so many places (England, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming etc.) She posted a picture of a rodeo for Cheyenne, WY, and it was so colorful and exciting (now I want to go to a rodeo!)
2) I viewed a couple of the videos on the PlaceNames Curriculum. The first-account interviews are a powerful tool for the classroom. As we have all learned, when students can link information learned to a story, they are much more likely to internalize the information.
3) Jessica and I just finished a lesson in our third-grade class on the reservations in Montana. We used the Smart Board and an interactive map for students to locate the reservations. Projecting Google Earth on the Smart Board could have been done for that lesson as well. Jessica and I are experimenting with Google Earth for our thematic unit. Our theme is the southwestern states, and we might be studying a little about the Hopi and Ute tribes. We also might be having the students plan a trip to these states, on a budget, for our math lesson. It would be fun for the students to take a tour of some of the landmarks they might want to visit on their trip!
4) Since we already tried to have the students use calculators for our first math lesson, we might want to revisit this. Before the first math lesson, we were unaware that the students were really uncomfortable with the calculators. The students were fumbling around with the calculators and getting incorrect answers. We could go through some instruction on using them with the whole class, and then challenge the students to try again with the integrated math lesson. As part of trying to plan a trip on a budget (our possible integrated math lesson), we could have them keep track of their expenses using calculators (just like with our last lesson). I think most students would appreciate the revisit, since they were eager to use the calculators the first time.
Ok, so I am unable to post my blog to my grade level! I tried everything! But since the prompt is not in the grade 5-6 section, I can't post. So I will post here and hope for the best.
1) I toured De'Anna's tour of her daily trip from home, through the Bitterroot and to school. I also saw a little bit of Damian's life in Australia and Bryn's tour, which for some reason only saved Hellgate High School!
2) I viewed the Google earth tour on the Flathead Reservation and found it very interesting. One thing I had no idea about was the Kerr Dam construction issues and the controversy. The site/ water was sacred (and free) for the tribe until the dam was constructed. This irrigation project opened up land for white farmers who could pay for the water. Also, the government made promises to provide the reservation with free water, but didn't (surprise, surprise) keep its promise. Now, however, the tribes receive royalties from the dam proceeds. I didn't have much time to read it, so I think that is how the story went... if someone has a different take on it, please let me know.
3) Google Earth could also be used to track historical trips such as the Lewis and Clark expedition, if today's place names were used. I would definitely use Google Earth for my classroom when teaching about places, since it provides such an important visual. You could even use Google Earth as a non-candy, positive learning reward! In other words, "if you behave, you can stay in and do Google Earth!"
Google Earth would be great if kids are doing reports on countries, for example. If someone was researching France, they could give the class a tour that included Paris, etc.
4) I would use one of the activities we did on the calculator in class, in which we were able to convert any fraction into a decimal. In the fifth grade class in which I am placed, we did our lesson on fraction-decimal conversions. The feature on the TI calculator allowed children to see what the decimal version of any fraction was. This feature could be sued to check a student's work (quiz yourself in your head first) or to try many fractions, write them down, and write down their decimal counterparts. A class discussion on what patterns are seen can be had. This would be great to do with kids when they are first starting to convert fractions to decimals. Improper fractions or mixed numbers can be used to have the kids notice to what side of the decimal point which numbers appear. That way, the kids can figure out what the 'rules' are.
I just read Jamie Scott's blog entry and got a great idea for a way to use Google Earth. Kids could view glaciers in Montana or worldwide and have the photos that pop up be photos of the glaciers a long time ago (big glaciers) and the current glaciers (smaller, due to global warming). It could be a visual, environmental-type lesson. Also, this can be done with other environmental issues. The Amazon rainforest could be on the tour, for example, and the photo that pops us could be of a clear-cut. I think I'm going to make this tour right now!
I am in a 5th grade classroom with Patti at Target Range.
I. Patti and I exchanged our Google Earth tours via email and I toured where she was born, where she met her husband, and where they spent their first New Year's together. Even though this is a more personal version of a Google tour, tours can enhance any subject area in the classroom. By adding pictures and websites to the placemarks, I was able to get a good idea of Patti's experiences in Brooklyn, N.Y., the University of Florida, and her home in Hamilton.
II. By using a tour of the reservations in Montana, I obtained a new perspective of the area and size of the reservations in comparison to the size of Montana and to the size of neighboring reservations.
III. I thought the PlaceNames tour would be awesome to use in the classroom when studying Native American tribes in Montana and the locations of reservations. Students would be able to visually construct an understanding of the locations of reservations and the area in comparison to other reservations and the whole state of Montana. Using tours like these incorporates technology in the classroom and also can be connected to many areas of a curriculum. When students locate places of individuals or communities they have been studying, they see the geographic relationship between what is being studied and where they are located. The links provided during the tour of the reservations would also be useful for students to further explore the tribes from accredited websites. Students could also incorporate Google Earth into various projects and presentations throughout the school year. Students would be taken on tours around the world that they might never be able to physically visit themselves but experiencing a tour through such a powerful program, like Google Earth, would be both inspiring and influential. I would also apply Google Earth in my classroom as an activity in the beginning of the year to introduce students to each other and to help foster an open and accepting community of learners. Much like I did in my tour, students could share with their classmates where they were born, a favorite vacation, where their grandparents live, or even a place they want to visit in the future. Students would not only learn a lot about their peers but also possibly some similar interests or hobbies. This might spark an “ice-breaker” conversation for the first few days of a new school year.
IV. For a little guidance as to where I would find a good website for lessons that used calculators or computers, I checked out George Cobb’s delicious webpage. From there, I found an excellent lesson off the Texas Instruments website: http://education.ti.com/educationportal/activityexchange/Activity.do?cid=US&aId=5700. This lesson, “Patterns in Counting with Decimals,” uses the TI-15 calculator to represent decimals so students are able to recognize patterns in number symbols. Students in our 5th grade class have been working on the tenths and hundredths place and being able to write these in fraction, decimal, and word form but they have spent little time on seeing patterns and making connections between representations. They haven’t spent any time working with calculators and this lesson would not only emphasize the mathematical concepts they have been learning, but also incorporate technology, which they all seem to enjoy so much.
1)Tiffany and I viewed Tara’s google earth tour. Her tour included where she was born, the towns her and her family moved to while growing up, her summer home, and where she currently lives.
2)I viewed the Salish place names tour. It was very educational and interesting. One interesting aspect I whitnessed through a picture was how if your look at a mountain side in Dancing Boy, the snow in the mountains makes picture of what looks to be a “dancing boy.” I also learned that the Flathead tribe is currently 1.317 million acres, but the original Aboriginal territory exceeded for more than 20 million acres.
3)I would definitely use google earth in my classroom. I think it is a really cool way for students to visualize distance, get a sense of “place,” and experiment with technology. Other than placenames, google earth could be used in a geographical sense and while studying people, plants, animals, history, or anything from a specific region. Google earth could be used to help give students a visual of where places are in the world. Wherever the place your students are learning about, you could provide pictures, videos, and links about the region they are studying.
4.) I found a numbers and operations lesson plan from the Texas instruments web site named “Names for 100.” In this lesson, students use their calculators to finds as many possible ways to write different mathematical expressions representing 100 using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, integers, and fractions. Through this lesson, students would see that the same number may be represented many ways. I would modify this lesson, by having different students, according to their ability level, find as many ways they could write 100 with a specific function, such as addition and subtraction. For other students, I might have them see how many ways they could write 100 using fractions for example. After students have had time to find ways to write 100 using whatever way assigned, I would have them write their expressions on the board to show all the ways 100 could be written.
1. I just viewed Kim's Google Earth tour, and I can't help but laugh. I love that she wants to live in center field of Safeco Field in Seattle....now that is a true fan. She also left interesting commentary at each stop of her tour which I really enjoyed. I think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom, maybe as a "get to know your classmates" activity. Each student could create a tour of their life, or places important to them, and then students could exchange them via email. You could even post them on a class website. I love it.
2. I loved that you can reach individual tribe's websites through Google Earch. What a great resource! I'm not from Montana, so unfortunately I do not know much about the Native American tribes here. I was fascinated by their sites, and all the useful information there. I had no idea that the state of Montana was actually renting Kerr Dam since it's on tribal land.
3. Nichole and I are teaching a lesson regarding the Ojibwe tribe. On their website, I found a timeline of their migration from the East Coast to the Great Lakes Region with many important stops along the way. I would love to create a Google Earth tour that shows the Ojibwe migration with placemarks at each of the timeline stops found on their website.
4. I found a lesson on the TI website that uses the TI-10 calculator for measurement. The focus on this activity is the comparison of different units for measurement. It has students create ratios between different units such as inches and centimeters. It asks students if measuring their height in centimeters would make them taller. I think this activity would be great in our class especially since our cooperating teacher puts a lot of emphasis on the metric system and how to convert back and forth. It would also be great to incorporate the use of calculators into our lessons since our students do not get to work with them too often.
I am posting for the K-2 grade band:
1. I exchanged my Google Earth Tour with Bryn for this activity. Through her tour I learned that she went to high school at Hellgate in Missoula, Montana. I also viewed where her grandparents own homes in Glasco and Hamilton. Brynn's tour was very clear, concise, and easy to navigate.
2. It was interesting to see the location and size of the different reservations in Montana. Previous to this lesson, I had a vague idea of the reservations near where I grew up. After viewing the Google Earth Tour, it I was able to conceptualize where the reservations are located in Montana, their specific names, and the size and shape of the reservation lands. I really enjoyed the photographs which supplemented the tour.
3. I would definitely use the Google Earth PlaceNames curriculum in my classroom. I think it is an effective and straightforward program that would be simple for children to navigate through. Google Earth is a great way to incorporate technology into the elementary classroom. I think Google Earth would also be a good way to introduce the local community to younger students in Missoula. It is helpful for students to see a photographic pictorial of the city of Missoula. This would allow them to pinpoint specific landmarks, important buildings, and geographic features of the surrounding community. The Tour may also help the students gain an understanding of direction as well as the location of our community in relation to Montana, the United States, and the world.
4. I found a calculator lesson plan from the website http://yn.la.ca.us/cec/cecmath/cecmath.06.txt The lesson is called “Calculator Pattern Puzzles,” and is appropriate for a K-2 classroom. In the lesson, the teacher presents pattern puzzles in which the students are asked to solve missing numbers in the pattern. For example, the teacher writes the following pattern on the board: 1,3,6,9,12,__,__,__. Then the students are asked to use their calculators to figure out the pattern. The lesson also involves getting the students to explain the strategies they used when solving the pattern puzzles, as well as allowing students to make up their own patterns with the help of calculators.
1. Leslie and I exchanged tours. Her tour was took me around places in Utah of importance to her, including where she was born and the first house she lived in. She included some nice pictures as well. It’s wonderful how you can make something so personal and special for yourself using technology like Google Earth!
2. I really enjoyed the Place Names curriculum. From the first-person account videos to the tour of reservation land, I was very impressed! It’s a great tool to get easy access to facts and geography of a place.
3. Leslie and I just taught a lesson on MT reservations where they got to research their assigned tribe in the computer lab using a website we selected. We also used Smart Board to display a very plain and one dimensional map of the reservations. I’m very disappointed that we didn’t know about this application of Google Earth before we taught it. I will certainly use this application in the future and hopefully we will get a change to use it in our upcoming thematic unit on the southwestern states.
4. I found a lesson called “What Did It Cost in 1903?” This lesson has students compare prices of goods across the century and consider the concept of inflation. They create a graph showing their observations. For our third grade class, it would be fun to use this idea and bring in some copies of primary source grocery ads and current day ads to compare and graph using the computer.
1. Meg and I exchanged Google Earth Tours. We have a few glitches but we'll figure out the problems and eventually it will work. This is a wonderful teaching tool to show students the world through pictures and to view the earth from space.
2. The Flathead Reservation and Salish tours were very interesting and informative. I finally figured out the "Dancing Boy" on the mountain outside of Arlee. I also liked the interviews with Tony Incashola and the historic information he was able to share. The tour pictures were beautiful and helped in the understanding of the area.
3. I will use the Google Earth PlaceNames program in my class. Montana is large and most towns are small and far from big cities. Using these tours can take our students all over the world from the classroom or their homes. Meg and I will use it in our thematic unit to show our first grade students the diversity of landscapes and wildlife in Montana. Each area supports different species of animals and they will be able to view them.
4. The lesson plan I found uses calculators in the first grade classroom. It is "Calculator Pattern Puzzles." The students will recognize and explore patterns based on their current concept of numbers. This lesson introduces younger students to the many uses of calculators. The lesson is from the website
http://www.eduref.ore/Virtual/Lessons/Mathematics/Patterns?PAT0199.html
1. Jessica and I swapped our Google Earth tours. Hers took me to South Pasadena, CA; Edmonds, WA; Bellingham, WA; Missoula, MT. Her parents place in Edmonds, WA is fabulously close to water. Although it is too cold to swim there, the shoreline was beautiful and any dog would be happy to romp on this shoreline.
2. I read about the Allotment Act on the Salish reservation tour. Under this misnomer, Native Americans lost land. Congress felt Native Americans had more land than they needed, so they set up a three-tiered approach to taking away Native American land rights. This was done through the Allotment Act. The result was that the land snatched away from Native Americans was opened up to wealthy white homesettlers.
3. I would certainly use Google Earth in the classroom. It's fun. It's educational. It brings technology into the classroom. It gives students more experience with computers and programs that they will use in the future. Kids learn, discover, create, and share through this program. It also offers a great way for students to share what they learn about a place with family and friends. They can email their discoveries and favorite tours to people, which helps others appreciate what students are doing in school.
4. The lesson I found is on this site:
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonsList.aspx?grade=1&standard=all&aa=1
This lesson gets students on the Illuninations website. They construct sets of up to five items, write the numeral 5, identify sets of five, and record "5" on a chart. They also play a game that requires recognizing the numerals to 5.
I exchanged my tour with Nichole. I got to see different places where Nichole had lived. The pictures she wanted were not cooperating when it came to uploading. We were both having technical difficulty with the email part so we just looked at each other's via the computer.
I enjoy the firsthand accounts from the Place Names tours. I really believe firsthand accounts and primary documents really help solidify truth and meaning. This allows students to either visually see or hear about what life was like, etc. I also love the individual websites for all the different Native tribes, so much information~what a great resource!
I found a calculator lesson plan via the Texas Instruments webpage about place value. After modeling how to use the calculator correctly and showing them the appropriate directions, I really think I could use this lesson in my class. With this lesson, they have the oppurtunity to use their calculators to find place value, but they are also learning where to place the decimal, rounding/estimation as well as applying what they already know about addition and subtraction.
1. I got to experience Janna's wonderful tour. I only have one question for her. Janna, can I come to Italy with you? I have heard her tell stories about growing up in California and living in Idaho, but it was nice to get a geographic idea of where the places are.
2. Before viewing the placenames tour of the Flathead and Salish reservation, I really didn't know anything about it, aside from where it was. I thought it was really neat to be able to see the mission at St. Ignatius because for a Native American Studies class I took a few semesters ago I read a book by D'Arcy McNickle about the relationships between the Salish and the missionaries there. It helped me make more connections, even this far beyond reading the book!
3. I would definitely use Google Earth in my classroom! Yesterday B.J. was talking about using it in his kindergarten classroom and it sounded so amazing! I think Janna had a great idea in using the program for class introductions. Another way that might be fun to use Google Earth would be to have each student select a landmark or location that they are interested in, have them gather information for the information on the placemark and then compile all the students work into a world tour for the entire class.
4. The calculator activity I found is located on the TI website, and it is called "No more peas, please". The activity is written with the intentions of calculating the number (volume) of peas it would take to fill the classroom. The concept of volume may be a little complex for 2nd graders, but the activity suggests differentiating the lesson by asking them to figure out how many peas to cover the surface area of their desk. We have already talked about surface area somewhat with our second graders, so I think it would be possible to do with them, even though they don't know their multiplication facts yet. Using the calculator can help them past that bump in the road, and there are multiple ways that the problem can be solved.
1. I exchanged Tours with Aaron. I found his very interesting and funny as he included Japan as well as the other places that he has lived. He also included very valid pictures with each of his placemarks.
2. Along with Jamie using the PLACEnames tour showed me exactly where reservations in Montana were. Something I should have been aware of since I've lived in all parts of the state. I found the tour actually quite captivating with the information and the maps I was able to see.
3. I would definitley use Google Earth in my classroom, and actually already have. My class went to Benson's Farm on thursday and I decided to show them the aerial view of the farm first using google earth. The students were absolutley engaged in the activity and I showed the numerous other places. The most impressive request I got from my Kindergartners was one student wanted to see "Vesuvius, which is in Pompei" because he was reading about it at home!!!
4. Using Therese's idea I went to Texas Instruments website and found a lesson plan that would work well as an extension of what my students are doing in class. I found a lesson for counting by fives to 100 using a hundreds chart. I think this would be a great activity to get students to notice patterns, recognize number and also as a good introduction to the use of a calculator.
1. Kaela and I exchanged Google Earth Tours and I have also played with it from home, revisiting Poland and Auschwitz I and II. So it is a fun program to think about using within the integrated units as well. Kudos Kaela for showing me your tour, and how far away your nearest neighbor is!
2. Helena and I looked at the Kerr dam project, and the story there. We saw how government manipulated Native Americans out of their water by creating a water district so that surrounding farmers could then 'pay' for water, and actually take it away from Native Americans that relied on it for their gardens etc. I did not know that had happened in that way.
3. I also searched and found a lesson plan geared for 6-8 graders that uses the TI-73 explorer, and the TI Navigator to teach a lesson on Comparing and Ordering using a number line. This lesson takes about 20 minutes and their are downloads available. Just go to the Texas Instruments site. In this lesson, students will: Students will:
Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers,relationships among numbers, and number systems
Compare and order fractions, decimals, and percents efficiently and find their approximate
locations on a number line. Pretty cool. You would have to choose your topic of course, d/l any available resources that go with these instruments and set enough time aside in the lesson to allow students to explore the technology. The challenge would be to have everyone knowledgeable about the TI-73 Explorer, and the TI Navigator. It may take a day just to explore all it can do; however, it does cover number sense, prealgerbra and operations. It is guided by the teacher according to the .pdf file.
1. Damian and I exchanged Google Earth Tours, and I was lucky enough to see Damian's home in Mona Vale, Australia. After seeing where Damian is from I thought to myself, "why didn't we do this earlier?" Now whenever I meet someone from someplace I've never been, and am interested in going I will be sure to use Google Earth.
2.After taking the Google Earth Tour I have a better understanding of where the reservations are located. I also learned that the Grizzly bear in the oval sits on a very special spot for the Salish and Pend d'Oreille people.
2. An idea that I thought of to use Google Earth would be to follow a migration pattern of a specific bird. Students could research where the bird spends the winter, summer, spring and fall, and the migration course. Google Earth would be perfect for this because it really gives the the feeling you are flying.
3. An activity I would use calculators with is, have students look through grocery store advertisements and pretend as if they are preparing a meal for so many family members, with x amount of dollars. Students will make a list of prices and find the best deals, calculators will aid in adding decimals. This could even be taken a step further and students could figure out what the sales tax rate is and how much they would be taxed on the items they are purchasing.
1.Adrienne and I exchanged our stimulating Google tours. Google earth is now a hobby of mine and I love exploring around the world. Adrienne’s tour included snapshot views of her home in Colorado, her summer job in McCall Idaho and her future teaching location in Hastings New Zealand. I loved the fly-ins and snapshot views (excellent job Adrienne).
2a.After viewing the Salish place names tour I now have more of an appreciation for the Salish culture. I discovered facts such as the "clme" was the site of the negotiations for the signing of the Hellgate treaty and in the winter near Stevensville the Salish people had abundant wood and it was a good place to fish.
2b.Google earth brings the world into your classroom. Instead of just using atlases and books students now have the opportunity to experience the world in a 3-dimensional view. The PlaceNames is an example of how your students can explore their communities. I would use a similar format to the PlaceNames but explore parts of the world that were interesting to my students or appropriate to the curriculum. Students could also use Google earth for presenting projects where they are discovering cultures other to their own instead of the usual written reports.
3.My field placement class is currently working on place values for tenths, hundredths and thousandths. To help with this understanding I came up with a lesson plan where I would use the random calculator key to select random numbers such as 0.3445, 0.333 etc. Students would then have to write the value (tenths, hundredths and thousandths) according to what number the calculator selected. For example, if the calculator selected 0.339 students would write three hundred thirty-nine thousandths. Some challenges I may face is if the numbers chosen have too many place values such as 0.333322223. I would have the students’ only work up to the thousandths place.
On Lacey's tour, I was able to see the various places where she visited and where her nanny families lived. It was interesting to see the pictures associated with her places. She has great pictures attached. I loved the picture of the butterfly on the child's forehead.
I was able to see the different reservations and relate my previous knowledge to the tour. I now have a better sense of where the reservations are and traveling from each gave the sense of distance traveled rather than just looking at a map. I liked the links to the individual tribes. As a teacher not knowing very much about this topic, this is a very easy way to find information that is accurate and up-to-date.
Lacey and I watched a lesson in our second grade classroom where the teacher used calculators. The teacher allowed the students to play with the technology. Since every student is at different levels, they were able to look at different functions. Then she had the students create number sentences to exchange with their fellow classmates. The students were able to decide who they were going to switch with. I thought that this might be a challenge because the pair might not be on the same level for understanding math concepts. I think that I would have the students look for patterns using the calculators. Or have one student create a sentence to challenge their classmates and change students for the next day.
1. Brent and I exchanged Google Earth Tours. I was able to see his home in Big Fork around beautiful Flathead Lake. Also, I was able to see some of the spots he visited in his recent vacation to Mexico.
2. After reviewing the Montana Indian Reservation tour, I learned that the Rocky Boy Reservation was highly disjointed and made up of numerous bits of small pieces of land that are not connected. This I did not know before, and after learning about the history of the Rocky Boy Reservation in 405, it is very interesting to visually see the effects history has had upon this particular reservation.
3. After using google earth, I just thought it was the coolest thing. I definitely plan on using it in my classroom for basically any assignment that deals with place or some geographical location. Specifically, besides using this technology for teaching basic geography, I think it would be fun to have students use google earth when doing autobiographies or family history projects.
4. I found a lesson plan for K-4 that incorporates the use of calculators to help students build symbolic representation of a pictoral pyramid. The calculator also assists students in constructing knowledge about the patterns found within pyramids within this lesson. I found this lesson on the TI calculator website and is something that I would use with my first graders. Not only does it focus on building number and pattern sense, but it also teaches conceptual addition. This lesson plan is also based on a children's book so you could teach a math/literacy lesson all in one, which is another perk to this particular lesson. Just think about it, math, technology, and literature all in one...pretty cool, heh?
1. Brent and I exchanged Google Earth Tours. I was able to see his home in Big Fork around beautiful Flathead Lake. Also, I was able to see some of the spots he visited in his recent vacation to Mexico, so now when he talks about his trip I can better visualize these places that are foreign to me. Sweet ob, Brent!
2. After reviewing the Montana Indian Reservation tour, I learned that the Rocky Boy Reservation was highly disjointed and made up of numerous bits of small pieces of land that are not connected. This I did not know before, and after learning about the history of the Rocky Boy Reservation in 405, it is very interesting to visually see the effects history has had upon this particular reservation.
3. After using google earth, I just thought it was the coolest thing. I definitely plan on using it in my classroom for basically any assignment that deals with place or some geographical location. Specifically, besides using this technology for teaching basic geography, I think it would be fun to have students use google earth when doing autobiographies or family history projects.
4. I found a lesson plan for K-4 that incorporates the use of calculators to help students build symbolic representation of a pictoral pyramid. The calculator also assists students in constructing knowledge about the patterns found within pyramids within this lesson. I found this lesson on the TI calculator website and is something that I would use with my first graders. Not only does it focus on building number and pattern sense, but it also teaches conceptual addition. This lesson plan is also based on a children's book so you could teach a math/literacy lesson all in one, which is another perk to this particular lesson. Just think about it, math, technology, and literature all in one...pretty cool, heh?
1. I watched Lauren's tour and was thoroughly impressed by the view of Hawaii she included. The bay where she snorkeled was beautiful!
2. I think the Place Names tour was wonderful. I think the combination of aerial views, photos and historical information is a great way to teach kids about Native Americans - and so many other subjects. The information about bison was fascinating. In the late 1870's, when the number of bison was dangerously low, Little Falcon Robe moved six young calves to the Flathead Reservation. His herd grew over time. Years later, some bison from his herd were sold to Yellowstone National Park. The history of the bison range was also interesting, though not a positive story.
3. I am excited about using Google Earth in the classroom! I think students would love it. In Social Studies we talked about having pen pals in other cities or countries. It would be great if students could actually see the school where there pen pal is, or the local park, other points of interest, etc. Last year my son's third grade class did a unit on volcanoes. Seeing the sites on google earth would have been great!
4. Our 5th grade placement class has been working on decimals. Last week I worked with three advanced students who had already grasped the concept. Their assignment was to put a list of numbers in order from largest to smallest - but they weren't simple numbers. For example, one row was: square root of 19, 4.2 squared, 6 times the square root of 9, 5 5/3, 101/5.64. The students were allowed to use calculators to determine each number as a decimal, then compare and order them. One girl was so excited about the assignment she was asking for more!
I forgot to respond to one question. I am not sure if I would use this in my current classroom setting, but students could benefit from this program. I thought it was interesting to be able to view the solar system in the sky mode. I could see how fourth graders could use this technology to follow Lewis and Clark on their journey to find the Northwest passage. The students could create their own tour using interesting points on the journey to indicate the important events.
For seconde graders, I think a teacher could have the students explore the technology using their community as a starting point. The could create a tour of their journey to school or where they have lived throughout their lifetime. Many interesting possiblilities for our students. The only thing to watch out for is the possible outside links that might not be appropriate for a particular age group.
There is no place to post a response to this blog under the 5/6 greade band, so I hope here is o.k.
1. I exchanged google earth tours with Tricia and Jenny, who created an integrated tour with pictures and information about each of them. The think that I thought was most interesting and useful was that Jenny had a picture and placemark of her homr here in Missoula, MT as well as a placemark of the school in Thailand where she will be student teaching. Wow! To be able to see the distance and the difference in places through the pictures is pretty spectacular. The only thing I found to be difficult, and I expereicesd this with my own tour that I created, was that to look at Jenny and Tricia's pictures I had to pause the tour, open the link, and then restart the tour otherwise it would just keep going. When I opened the Place Names tours, that was not the case. Just a technical difficulty that I wasn't sure how to adress.
2. After viewing boh Place Names Tours, I am pretty impressed with each in terms of the information provided and its both culturally and historically importantance. I spent hte most time with the Flathead Resservation tour just because I have driven through it plenty of times, but I don't know much about it.The thing that struck me the most was that I learned that after the completion of the Flathead Irrigation Project
the natural water flow through the reservation was altered so much that the fisheries that the natives relied upon were destroyed. This point is especially interesting to me because our theme for our thematic unit is endangered species of Montana. NOw I am trying to think of ways to incorporate the use of Google Earth or possibly the Place Names tours into our unit as well.
3. When I was initially thinking about how to use google earth in the classrrom, my first thought was to use it during a unit where students wrote to pen pals in classrooms in other states or countries. Each class or student could set up a tour of important places, i.e. schools, playgrounds, historical sites near them, etc. Exchanging these tours would help students see the similarities and differences between students in other palces and themselves. After completing the Place Names Tour though I am trying to think of ways to use google earth with my groups thematic unit because our theme is endangered species of Montana. My ideas are tracing paths of animal migration, exploring optimal environments for re-establishment of species, etc. Still a work in progress!
4. I was able to find a lesson on the University of Chicago's school of Mathematics Project site. This lesson explores factors using calculators. Before the activity, a button is designated as "broken" meaning the students can't use that button, but then have to display a number without using that button. For example if the 8 button is "broken" and students have to display the number 18 they have to use 6*3 or 9*2, etc. I would use this lesson in my placement because I am working with fifth graders that really struggle in math. They know how to find factors and multiply but this would provide an opportnity for practice that is fun. The only think that I would change is that I would not have the activity be a race to find the answer/s. I would ask students to work in groups and make a list of all possible answers and then we would compare students lists once everybosy has had an opportunity to contribute.
1. I recieved an email from Maralee with a Google Earth Tour. She had a few places around Missoula marked including the pre-school on campus.
2. From the Salish tour I was quite surprised to see how much their culture in incorporated in the history of Missoula. I had no idea the grizzly bear on campus was representative of the Salish tribe. When I think of the Salish tribe I don't think of Missoula since we are not a reservation. This opened my views of the cultural diversity around me.
3. If I were to use Google Earth in my first grade classroom I would use it as a way to introduce the continents. This would take place of the use of a globe and it allows the teacher to show them many different aspects of every continent.
4. I found a lesson on Smithsonian Education( a cool site) called "Eye From the Sky". It allows students to use a computer and look at a Satelite view(Google Earth) of their school. For first grade I would have Google Earth on the screen in the front of the room so that they can view what I am doing. The students then draw the area around their school on a piece of paper. A difficulty of this lesson would be having first graders use Google Earth. Even if they can't grasp the program they get to explore and get a concrete example of different views of the earth.
1.) Felicia and I exchanged our google tours and found a few gliches in the process. It was a good exercise in that I learned how to use this program (minimally) and the experience makes me want to do more exploring. I am currently working on a tour of Montana eco-systems of wildlife for our integrated unit.
2.) In the placenames google earth tour of the Flathead reservation I found the calendar to be very interesting. I grew up on the Flathead reservation and find it strange that I have never seen one of them before. The idea that the calendar is based on the gathering of foods is appropriate and what I would expect. It was fun to look at the map and have personal memories of the places and some of the people shown on the tour.
3.) I plan on using the google earth tours in my classroom because they can be a great way to show students so many places and happenings going on out in the world. Montana is a relatively isolated place and this type of technology can open up the whole world in the classroom. Introducing these things can get students thinking critically about other cultures and places.
4.)I located a lesson plan that uses several number games to get students comfortable with using a calculator. Students are paired up each having a calculator with the number 21 punched in. They take turns and can choose to subtract 1, 2, or 3 each turn. The first to reach zero or a negative number is the loser. A variation to this is to start with zero and the first to reach 21 by adding 1, 2, or 3 wins. Following is the web page where I found the idea: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MathAdditionSubtractionCalculators28.htm
I exchanged tours with Tiffany. Her tour was based in Montana. The placenames tour was very interesting. Since I did not attend school in Montana until college, I have only a small understanding of the tribes in the Missoula valley. I was interested in the differences in the calendars and how one is based on the moon and the Salish is based on harvesting plants and animals.
I have decided to use Google Earth as part of my introduction to my students next semester. I also want to use Google Earth as much in my classroom as I can. Our 5th graders are studying past cultures, the conquistadors, and trade routes. This would be a good way for them to see the movement of the traders. It would be an excellent way for students to track current events around the world as well.
I found a lesson on the Texas Instrument web page, Buy A Word, that focuses on fractions and decimals. I would eliminate the class store portion of this lesson. As it is written, students accumulate ‘money’ from the activity and can then buy items from the class store. I do not mind class stores, however, I do not believe that a class activity should be used to accumulate money for the store.
http://education.ti.com/educationportal/activityexchange/Activity.do?cid=US&aId=1240
1. Scott and I exchanged our Google Earth tours. Scott's tour included stops at his place in Missoula, his grandmother's house in Great Falls, his parents house in Missoula, and his band practice location north of town. He had a great picture for each spot, especially the band practice one.
2. After viewing the PlaceNames tour, I now know more about the different tribes represented on the Flathead Reservation. I've driven through the reservation countless times, but was never really aware of the different tribal nations. I had never heard the term Pend d'Oreille before.
3. I would absolutely use Google Earth, as it was used with PlaceNames, in classroom activities. I think Google Earth tours can be used in a variety of ways to teach across subject areas. Teachers can design tours specific to a content area (ex. state capitals). Students get to learn in a fun and interactive manner, versus traditional textbooks. The pictures and videos linked to each location work very well in connecting ideas. I think it would be cool to have students (4th grade and up) design their own tours as part of a report on a research topic.
4. I looked at a lesson from the Texas Instruments Activity Exchange site entitled "How do you measure up?". The main idea behind the lesson is to teach proportion by having students measure and compare characteristics such as height and weight. I would have students pair up and measure one another's height and weight. Then calculators would be used in finding out different fun facts involving proportion. Students could discover how many times taller the Empire State building is than them, etc. Students might find it hard to understand ratio, so instruction will be given with the calculator being used as a tool.
1. Jenny B and I created a Google earth tour together and exchanged it with Maralee. Her tour was easy to follow and gave us a quick glimpse into her life. She included things around campus that were special to her. I think she did a great job.
2. I enjoyed the PlaceNames tours and learned a lot from them. I thought it was interesting to hear how the grounds around the University used to be used but how now they are covered with concrete. I think it is interesting to see how the land has changed and how these changes have had an effect on the Salish and Flathead people. I would use the PlaceNames curriculum in my classroom in order to introduce kids to the concepts of reservations and relationships with some of Montana’s tribes. I think the kids would benefit from being able to use the Google tours to help them realize where the reservations are and to hear firsthand the videos from members of the tribes.
3. I found a lesson plan from the Texas Instruments website entitled Putting Things In Place for grades K-4. In this activity kids are read a story about earning enough money to go on a trip. Then they are do activities that help them review place value as well as being taught how to write numbers in decimal form for money and how to add and subtract in decimal form. I think this would be great for my third grade classroom because they have began to study money and because we have noticed that they don’t really seem to understand the concept of place value. With this lesson I would be focusing on both aspects at once and hopefully they would be successful with both. I think my biggest challenge would be for them to grasp the place values because from previous experience they are understanding money but struggling with place values. The link to this lesson plan is: http://education.ti.com/educationportal/activityexchange/Activity.do?cid=US&aId=4929.
1. I exchanged tours with Bob and Joan, who did a joint tour of their homes in Montana. I enjoyed how even though Bob and Joan come from different parts of the state, they were able to make the googleEarth tour seemless between both of them.
2. Like Cassie, I also learned about the Allotment Act. The idea that there was "surplus land" and that ownership of this surplus land could then be issued to white settlers adds yet another dimension to the already heartbreaking history of Native Americans.
3. I incorporated GoogleEarth into our 5th grade science/social studies lesson plan. I set the scene telling the students we would be traveling to Mexico. The tour started at their school and took us south to Tikal Mexico. When we arrived in Tikal, we were able to view several pictures of the area that were already posted on GoogleEarth, and I added a podcast link to a Nova video on the Mayan people. So yes, I think GoogleEarth can easily be incorporated into many lessons.
4. Well, this math lesson may seem easy, but it definitely fits the level of the students I'm helping during their math block. Hellgate is levelized and I'm helping with the lower level math students. I found this lesson on http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/educators/calculatorskipcount.shtml and it is called skip count with calculators. While helping students with large number addition and subtraction, I noticed that they were having trouble with simple subraction problems such as 12 - 6. I think this skip counting with calculators would help them see number patterns that they currently aren't seeing. I would have a whole day of doing skip counting with calculators, a second day depending on the number of students who seem to be catching on, then incorporate this as a mini lesson throughout the rest of the semester.
1. I recieved Google Earth Tours from both Erin and Tootsie. Each tour showed both of their houses in Missoula and Bozeman and Tootsie's also showed Red Lodge. Her husband and son are currently living in Red Lodge where her husband is teaching. I am confused on the tours because it keeps moving to the next spot and the only way to view the tags photo is by stopping the tour.
2. I enjoyed the tour of the Flathead reservation and the part about the "Dancing Boy" on the mountain. I have seen this many times in my travels. It was pointed out to me by my old boss from work about ten years ago. Since then I have pointed out the "Dancing Boy" to anyone riding in a car with me. Great tour and very informative. I also like the Kerr Dam information and the fact it is leased.
2. I would definately use Google Earth in the classroom. What a great resource to show children different places in the world. I have used this site to show my children places around the world already. We have visited the great pyramids, volcanoes in Hawaii, the empire state building and numerous other sites. This could be used to enhance most lessons by actually taking students to locations around the world and it allows them to see what they are studying. Great way to lock it into their memories.
3. I found a calculator math lesson appropriate for first graders on the TI website using TI-10 calculators called, "Its the place that counts." This lesson also uses base ten blocks and the idea is to get the students to count by tens, as an example. Base ten blocks are used to represent the idea and the calculators reinforce the counting by tens in this case. Students explore other counting by ones, twos, fives or whatever you determine. Base ten blocks give a visual understanding and the calculator acts as the reinforcement of the concept. Seems like a fun activity but I would want to make sure my students were proficient at counting with base ten blocks before I introduced the calculators.
1. Maralee forwarded me Jenny and Tricia’s tour extravaganza, and an extravaganza it was. It took me quite a few places across Montana, as well as other cities in Nevada and Arizona. It even took me across the globe to where Jenny is student teaching in Khon Kaen, Thailand-how exciting! The tour was a great way to learn where they are from and a few places they have been.
2. After viewing the placenames google earth tours, I had a better understanding of the Salish and Flathead Reservation. One thing that I learned is that the grizzly bear on the oval is there to symbolize the Salish tribe. I also found it useful to be able to link to each tribe’s websites.
3. I think that using google earth is a great technology source to incorporate into the curriculum, especially when teaching about Native American Tribes. Like others said, it would be easy to integrate history and geography into google earth. In 306, our class talked about “internet meetings” where students have face-to-face conversations with other students in other countries. Creating personal google earth tours to send and receive from students in classrooms in other countries would be a great way to learn about other cultures.
4. I found a lesson about endangered species for 5th grade using computers (http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceEndangeredSpeciesExtinction45.htm). Each student is asked to research an endangered species using only pre-approved websites, and then create a poster containing interesting facts about that species. One big challenge in the classroom that I am in, is there are only three computers. To work around this problem, the students could work in pairs and the computer lesson could be one of three stations that the students rotate around. That way everyone could get a chance to use the computer, just not all at the same time.
1. I exchanged google earth tours with Ciara, I thought it was really cool that I could see where something was in the form of a map, but then see where she had been in a photo that might give me a better idea what the place would be like to visit. I think there are many options for using google earth tours in the classroom.
2. The place names tour shows how many great options there are for linking many types of technology, and information to a google earth tour. I liked being able to watch an informational video clip right in the tour.
3. It's tough to talk about just one technology lesson to talk about because there are so many out there, I do think that my favorite, I found linked from the pbs website, using tangrams, I liked it because a classroom may not have funding for manipulatives, however, most maniputatives can be found online. If a class has time in the computer lab then this can be a handy tool.
I viewed Mike's google earth tour that placemarked different lakes in Glacier Park. I really enjoyed it becuase I have been to some of the lakes, so it was fun to see the terrain from the google earth perspective. Each placemark was accompanied by a beautiful picture of the lake.
I watched the Salish names tour, but it wasn't working that well. I did get to see the video though of an interview with a young native american girl as she discussed the concept of "home." I am from Missoula, so it was interesting to hear her talk about Missoula as her home, which was obviously much different than my history of Missoula.
The probe that I used was the sonar probe. It was interesting, but it seemed a little complicated for those who didn't really know what it all meant. I'm sure with some work though, one could get familiar with all of the features.
A site that I found for science is at amphi.com/~technology is all about bats and has students visit a site that has all sorts of information and links to pages with information about bats. The students then study bats. This could be done with other animals or with animals from a certain habitat.
Another site that I found had students read a story that gave them numerical clues that they had to then later use to solve a puzzle at the end of the reading. The story and puzzle are on the internet which students would use. This lesson though seems to use technology just because. The technology doesn't really enhance the lesson. So I didn't find it too great. The site was www.amphi.com/technology/standards/lessons/edtech/0304/hayes2.doc
One site that does look to enhance the learning of the students while dealing with mathematics is calculator.com. This site has all sorts of different calculators. For example, if the visitor goes to the sports category, then to the running category, there are calculators to calculate calories burned,marathon pacing, along with other choices. There are all sorts of other calculator choices as well. This isn't accompanied by a lesson plan, but one could easily be built around it.
1. BJ’s tour was an interesting one. I appreciate the level of work he has obviously put into providing photographs that enhance the journey from one location to another. They definitely give you a better feeling of the location.
2. I found it useful to compare the land size given to each reservation. The differences between the awarded lands are fairly significant. Also, the information regarding the Kerr Dam and the inconsiderate manner in which it was implemented surprised me. I guess I thought Montana had a bit more respectful stance on tribal situations, considering our recent Indian Education for All issues.
3. I think if I was going to attempt to integrate an unfamiliar technology into my 1st grade class I would utilize the PDAs. I think that the germ activity, once I had clearly shown each student how to utilize their PDA, would really hit home for the kids how disease can spread. I think that the largest difficulty in using this technology wouldn’t actually be operating it (I think the 1st graders would learn really quickly), but rather in making sure there was enough respect for the tools that the kids wouldn’t damage the PDAs.
1. I watched Kim's and Chaud's tours and they were both very nice. Unfortunately Chaud saw mine just before I erased it without saving it. Oh, well. I will definately be using Google Earth to create more tours for myself and for my students. Google Earth can be used for so many reasons but I have been thinking about incorporating it into a lesson on volcanoes. I think that it would be interesting for my students to see how volcanoes form different land masses. For example a string of volcanoes vs. one lone volcano.
2. The reservation tours were very interesting and I was suprised to learn that the Mission Mts. were one of the first protected Wilderness areas by a Native American Government. I drive by this mountain range about once/ week and have never given thought to the history behind them.
3. I found a lesson on the TI web site that could be useful with some changes made. It suggested that students find a combination of $1 and $20 bills to create $130 million dollars. I hope that I read this incorrectly, but if I taught this lesson I would have my students find the combinations of $1 and $20 to create $100. The students would use their calculators to create graphs and find the percent of each bill used. This can then be incorporated into a lesson that converts percentages and decimals.
1. Tricia and I exchanged Google Earth tours with Maralee. She had a great tour that showed places around the University that were important to her and places ahe visited alot in ther everday life. It was fun to get to see what others living in the same community find to be a special place to them.
2. I really like the Goole Earth and Place Names curriculum. I thought it was really interesting to learn more about the relocation of tribes and which tribes ended up on each reservation. Being from Montana, I have been through and on the various reservations many times, but never have really knoew alot about the history of them. I think that the Place Names curriculum is a great way to integrate Indian Education for All, while referencing and looking firsthand at the lands right out your backyard.
3. I definatly will use Google Earth in my classroom. Mike and I are creating our thematic unit about explorers. We are planning on creating a tour to show the various routes of the explorers. This will be a great visual of just how far they traveled and how their routes varied by ship. We also are going to use the star gazing application to look at how the explorers used the North Star and constellations to navigate. I have also expanded on the Google Earth tour I started in class to take with me to my student teaching school in Thailand. I have made a tour of Missoula and special places throughout Montana to give my students a view into my life at home. I included the University, my house, my work, Caras Park, Bis Sky Resort and others.
4. I found a lesson plan online using photos/primary sources to investigate history. (http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/images/educators/lesson_plan/every_picture/every_picture.pdf) This lesson was discussing how you can integrate science and social studies with inquiry based activities. The activity asks students to ask questions and examine historical photos to see how technology influenced history and how scienctific inventions hae shaped history. I thought this was a great lesson and could easily be adapted to use im my classroom. I would have my students use digital comeras to take pictures of their homes and places special to them. They could them examine how science is working and aiding their lives in each photo, Students then could compare and contrast their photo with on of the past to see how technological advancements have changed our lives.
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