Africa is a continent with 54 different countries. The largest black continent in the world and homes to more than 1 billion people, hence one in seven of any human on earth is an Africa.
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Ready, Set, Wonderopolis
23 May
A colleague shared this really neat website today, Wonderopolis (LINK). According to their website, it’s “a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. Each day, we pose an intriguing question—the Wonder of the Day®—and explore it in a variety of ways.” Go to the website and see some the many, many wonders that are being explored. Vote on your favorite wonders too! I certainly plan to try this in my own class.
News You Can Use – CNN 10 and “What’s Going On In This Picture?”
22 May
CNN10 is a great website that offers 10-minute news updates. It is very student-friendly. According to their website, the “show’s priority is to identify stories of international significance and then clearly describe why they’re making news, who is affected, and how the events fit into a complex, international society. Viewers will learn from every story on CNN 10.” It replaces CNN Student News.
Image source: Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters – What’s going on in this picture?
“What’s Going On In This Picture?” is a great site on The New York Times Learning Network. It shares an intriguing or interesting photo with no caption. Viewers are invited to create a caption after doing a See, Think, and Wonder and responding to some questions. The photo is posted on Monday and students have three days to respond to the photos in a reply box, before the newspaper shares the caption on Thursday.
The History of Dogs / Why Do We Itch #Ted-EdTuesday
21 MayI have rediscovered how awesome Ted-Ed videos are and I have decided to share one or two each week on Tuesday (hence my hashtag). Check out the Ted-Ed website (LINK) to see more cool videos. Most videos average about 4 – 5 minutes in length, and you could watch them in the car on the way to school. Learn something new, hear some fun facts, and enjoy.
Since their emergence over 200,000 years ago, modern humans have established communities all over the planet. But they didn’t do it alone. Whatever corner of the globe you find humans in today, you’re likely to find another species as well: dogs. So how did one of our oldest rivals, the wolf, evolve into man’s best friend? Learn about humanity’s first domesticated animal.
The average person experiences dozens of individual itches each day. We’ve all experienced the annoyance of an inconvenient itch — but have you ever pondered why we itch in the first place? Is there actually an evolutionary purpose to the itch, or is it simply there to annoy us? Emma Bryce digs deep into the skin to find out.
Save the Homo Sapiens? Hmmm…Let me think about it.
13 May
Jimmy Kimmel Asks People If Homo Sapiens Should Be Saved, And The Answers Show The Level Of Stupidity. Click HERE to see read this article and some of the excerpts from these people. Funny…well, not so funny.
Planet of the Apes
Fire Burns Notre Dame Cathedral
16 Apr
I was very sad to read the news and watch the videos of the fire at Notre Dame. I feel very fortunate to have visited Notre Dame in January 2018. It is not just a French treasure. It is an international treasure. These short videos feature some interesting facts about its history.
An 800-year history of Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral (National Geographic)
Pictures of Notre-Dame Before the Fire: A Cathedral That Defined a City (New York Times)
Girl Rising (Poverty Unit)
26 Mar
Senna’s family struggles to survive in a bleak Peruvian mining town. Her father has dreams for her and insists she go to school. There, she discovers the transformative power of poetry. Her passion and talent seem to ensure she’ll have a better future, and be the success her father dreamed she’d be. Peruvian writer, Marie Arana, shares her experiences with Girl Rising and what it was like getting to know Senna and the community of La Rinconada.
In grade 10 Individuals and Societies (Social Studies/History), students are learning about poverty and the causes of it. The Girl Rising channel on Youtube features excellent videos from around the world. You can find them HERE.
What is Poverty?
21 Mar
Directions: Watch the video. Think about it and discuss:
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What is poverty?
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What causes poverty?
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How can we reduce poverty?
Teaching about Refugees
31 JanImage Source: Radio NZ
Image Source: UNHCR
With forced displacement reaching historic levels, schools all over the world are welcoming increasing numbers of refugee children. Teachers are facing new challenges in making sense of forced displacement and its complexities. With refugees and migrants regularly making headlines in the media and the internet bustling with information on the topic, explaining the situation of refugees and migrants to primary and secondary school children has become part of many educators’ daily work.
In this UNHCR Teachers’ Toolkit, you can find free-of-charge and adaptable UNHCR teaching materials on refugees, asylum, migration, and statelessness, and a section dedicated to professional development and guidance for primary and secondary school teachers on including refugee children in their classes.
Best Photos of 2018
26 NovOff the north coast of Canada’s Baffin Island, a June sun transforms snow and ice into limpid pools of turquoise. The Arctic’s perennial sea ice cover—the ice that survives the summer melt season—has shrunk dramatically. From “Here’s Where the Arctic’s Wildlife Will Make Its Last Stand,” January 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN SKERRY
SARAH LEEN HAS a job most people in the world would envy. She looks at photographs for a living. And not just any photographs — National Geographic photographs. As our Director of Photography, Leen estimates she has looked at as many images “as there are stars in the sky,” so it’s hard to narrow down her favorites. But she does that every year — here are her favorite 100 of the over two million submitted to us this year, in no particular order.
Last Week of School! Have a Great Summer! Goodbye AISC!
13 JunB block
D block
F Block
H Block
End of the year class photos from Social Studies!
Photos from our last week of school: Reflecting on our learning, sharing work from our final project and our last Out of Eden Learn footstep, and saying goodbye.
Doyeon’s Out of Eden product was featured on Out of Eden Learn’s social media channels this week. Congratulations!
It has been a memorable year! Stay in touch with me! Good luck next year in 7th grade! You can reach me at my new school address in Lusaka, Zambia: rmartin@aislusaka.org
Moving On! – Sharing our work!
29 May
Photos by Rob Martin
Here are a few photos from students presenting their Moving On! projects to classmates this past week. Congratulations! We were quite impressed with you final product, research, and creativity. We will share your product with the teacher.
– Mr. Martin and Mr. Nick
Return your Textbook!
20 May
Please return your textbook this week. The textbook should have your name on the inside cover and match the number that I wrote down. Please give me the book, and don’t just drop it off on my desk. Thanks!
Diverse Places – Moving on!
20 Apr
This week we began our final unit of 6th grade Social Studies, Diverse Places – Moving On! Students, in groups, selected two places to compare and contrast. They will be conducting research on the two places and focus on three areas: History, Geography, and Economy. They will also answer the questions that departing or new teachers have given them. At the conclusion of the group project, students will create a product (brochure or video) on the place that the teacher is moving to. Some sample screenshots appear above this paragraph. Mr. Nick and I loved the workstation that Joao, Ayaan, Eunseong, and Shinnosuke created for their collaboration.
Twin Day for Mr. Nick and Mr. Martin?
Globalization – What is it?
14 Mar
What is globalization? Is the Silk Road an example of globalization?
BriarHill24HrWorldTour – Photos!
12 MarPhoto by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
On Friday, March 9th, students connected via Skype with students in Texas for what they call the BriarHill24HrWorld Tour. This is the 3rd year that Social Studies students have participated in their project, a fascinating ‘tour’ that takes their students around the world to connect with experts and other classmates around the world. Here is their blog and their 2018 schedule. What a great example of using technology to connect with others around the world.
Image source: http://briarhill24hrworldtour.blogspot.in/2018/03/pictionary-with-india.html
Briarhill24hrWorldTour
7 Mar
Come to Mr. Martin’s room on Friday during recess from 10:30am – 10:45am to Skype with students in Texas who are doing a 24 hour Skype tour. They will attempt to make a call to seven people on seven different continents. They will have introductions, a short weather report, current event, and a quick conversation to learn about our school and Chennai. This is the 3rd year I have worked with this school. It’s a lot of fun! Bring your snack and come to 3126! H block students will join for the last 10 minutes of their conversation when their class begins.
Celebration of Learning + February Birthdays
2 Feb
Mr. Nick and I enjoyed meeting with your parents for the Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday night and Thursday. We also appreciate the students who volunteered to share work we have done for the Out of Eden Learn Project at the Celebration of Learning in the CIC. We heard many parents complement this online project and your work.
We begin our new unit, Meeting our Needs next class. This will focus on China, trade on the Silk Roads, and globalization in the world today. We will also be starting Learning Journey 2 with new schools. Your recent work on the interviews was excellent and we have enjoyed reading the stories.
Here are the February birthdays: Somin (1), Chihiro (10), DoYeon (17), Hyeongjun and Iven (24), Raymond (28). Let us know if we made any mistakes or forgot someone. Have a great day and weekend!
Great Quotes
15 Jan
Martin Luther King Day celebrates the life and achievements of the influential American civil rights leader. Known for their oratorical power and eloquence, King’s speeches emphasized the importance of compassion, unity, and empathy. In the U.S. today is a national holiday.
From Hunters-Gatherers to Early Farmers
29 Nov
This playlist features videos that show the gradual change from migration to our earliest villages and the development of agriculture. Our current question that we are focusing on is: Was the development of agriculture good for humans? Explain. I hope you find these videos helpful. If you find other helpful resources, please share them with me, and I will add them to our class site.
Our Greatest Innovations
27 NovWhat were the best inventions or innovations in history? I saw this article on History.com: 11 Innovations That Changed History. I also found this article from The Atlantic magazine, The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs since the Wheel. Finally, here is one other article from International Business Times: Top Ten Greatest Inventions That Changed The World. What do you think is the greatest innovation or invention in history?
Stories of Migration: Escape from Raqqa
15 Nov
The story of Ahmed and his family, who were caught up in the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria. We have learned about why people migrate or leave their home. This is a very powerful video from the BBC that a friend shared with me. Ahmed is just one of nearly 250,000 people who fled Raqqa during the military offensive to drive out the Islamic State group from the city.
Produced by Nader Ibrahim, BBC Arabic and Coda Studio; Animation by Alessandra Cugno; Illustrations by Sofiya Voznaya
India Week and Guest Speaker
29 OctPhoto by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
We celebrated India Week at AISC this week. Parents came to advisory to talk about Rangoli or Kolam designs and their importance. We also finished our research to answer our compelling question (Why do people migrate?). In class this next week, students will be creating a Google Presentation or poster to show their understanding of a group of a people in history and why they migrated. Mr. Phan gave a presentation to a few classes and told his story about his escape from Vietnam after the war. If you were not able to ask him a question, feel free to ask him one when you see him at school.
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Why People Move: The Rohingya Crisis
23 Oct
After a long break (Week Without Walls and our fall break) we are returning to our compelling question: Why do people migrate or move? During last week’s vacation, I watched the continuing coverage of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Here is a case of a group of people or ethnic group who are moving, in order to survive.
Who are the Rohingya? The Rohingya are often described as “the world’s most persecuted minority” according to this article on Al-Jazeera. They are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar (Burma). Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya who live in the Southeast Asian country. Due to ongoing violence and persecution, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to neighboring countries either by land or boat over the course of many decades. Look at this visual from Al-Jazeera and watch the videos to learn more about this group.
Other related or recent news stories:
There’s only one conclusion on the Rohingya in Myanmar: It’s genocide (CNN)
World Book Online -> Log-in -> Student -> Search: Rohingya (translate to your native-language, if necessary). We will make hard copies.
In class this week, we will finish our group work where we are collecting information on historical events or periods where people migrated or moved for various reasons (ancient humans, African-Americans during the Great Migration, Vietnamese after the war, and Syrians who have fled their country).
We will also have a guest speaker this week to talk about his story of migration and movement – Mr. Phan!
Research and Collaboration – Migration and Out of Eden Walk
6 OctThe “UN Group” – South Korea, Germany, Thailand, France, and Japan
Looks like an Apple Store with a better view of the palm trees!
A friendly visitor in class.
In class we are answering the compelling question: Why do people move or migrate? We are seeking connections to Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk as we build some background knowledge on his motivation for his 9-10 year walk that will follow the path of human migration. In class students are conducting research that focuses on migration during four different time periods: ancient history, the “Great Migration” (African-Americans in the U.S.A.), Vietnam and the boat people, and Syrian refugees. We want to learn about where they migrated to, why they migrated, and what challenges they faced.
Here are two current photos from Paul’s walk in Tajikistan. Here is a current story from Paul’s walk, The Ruby Sellers of Vrang. All students should be finished with posting footstep #1, Setting Off, for Out of Eden Learn. You should also be engaging in conversations with other students from other schools in our walking party. We will do Footstep #2 after the vacation.
Visitors since 9/27/13
Mr. Martin’s Badges
Singapore, October 10-12, 2013
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