Screenshot by Mr. Martin
UN Day, Our Research Project, & More…
23 Sep
We have had a busy week! Here are some photos from today’s United Nations Day celebrations. Here are some videos from Mr. Hoover from students around the world sharing their views on peace.
Grade 6 social studies invited Mr. Jet to our classroom this week for a talk on how we find information for our project. What is information? Where do we find it? How do we know it’s good information? He shared some tips on how we can evaluate whether a source is good or not (i.e. Is the person who write that book an expert?) and also shared the World Book Online website, which we will use as one of our resources when doing our research project. Students also finished their first footstep for Out of Eden Learn. You have introduced yourself to our walking party and you are commenting and asking questions to learn more about the other students around the world who are in our walking party. Finally, what is a compelling question? That was also reviewed this week. Have a great weekend!
Mesopotamia vs. Egypt
23 Sep
This is a great video that features a comparison between Mesopotamia and Egypt.
G.R.A.P.E.S.
20 Sep
I know some of you want to add this song to your playlist! :>) This song is a review of the historical themes we have been learning about in class.
Geography
Religion
Achievements (Science, Technology, Mathematics, Inventions)
Politics (Government)
Economy
Social Structures (including Culture)
Watch Paul’s Interview!
17 Sep
Thank you to the students who wrote questions and watched the LIVE interview with Paul Salopek from Uzbekistan. If you missed the interview, you can watch it here! I feel fortunate that I was invited to be among a small group (five!) that was able to be on screen and to ask questions on behalf of you. There were many good questions for Paul, but I was able to ask two (at the beginning and near the end). Several of the questions that you asked and posted on our ‘wondering wall’ were among the questions asked by other students around the world.
I learned many new things about Paul, his guide (Aziz), and his journey: the power of storytelling, borders, why he walks, his role in helping others, schools he visits in other countries, what keeps him going, his family, plans for writing a book, the funniest moments on the trail, countries and regions he looks forward to visiting, crossing large bodies of water, and whether or not he listens to music while walking. There were several other topics he discussed. Watch the video and comment on something you learned or thought was interesting.
Some personal takeaways that I made connections to:
Some comments by Paul in his interview: The walk is his work. His workplace is the road, the trail, the mountain pass he must cross. Many strangers he meets have been kind. People are compassionate. Compassion erodes (or defeats) fear. It is important to be curious about the world. It is important to engage in the world and to learn it. Walking gives him a sense of confidence and he has become calmer and more peaceful. He will most remember the people he meets on his journey.
Mr. Martin
LIVE interview tonight with Paul Salopek (Out of Eden Walk)
16 Sep
Image source: Out of Eden Walk Instagram page
Photo taken by John Stanmeyer (@johnstanmeyer) – Out of Eden Walk Instagram
The interview with Paul Salopek is tonight. I have sent you a link where you can watch it live. The local time for the interview will be 8:30pm and it will end at 9:30pm. I hope he will answer one of our questions!
Photo by Rob Martin
Paul Responds to Class Tweet!
12 SepIn our classes today and last Friday, we created a mind map to review the Who, What, Where, When, and Why about Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk. We heard many great questions that we will soon share on our ‘wondering wall.’ During H Block, I tweeted two questions to Paul that came from our class and he responded. Here are two screenshots of his responses:
Screenshot by Rob Martin @DigitalNomadRob
Screenshot by Rob Martin @DigitalNomadRob
A Busy Week!
11 Sep
Students –
We learned about Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk last week. Next, you will join our walking party for Out of Eden Learn and start your first footstep. Here are the towns or cities who will be in our walking party:
OUR TWO WALKING PARTIES (B/D BLOCKS AND F/H BLOCKS):
Location: from the U.S.A. Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Danville, California; Marblehead, Massachusetts; Oak Hill, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Oxnard, California; Hockessin, Deleware. From other countries: Accra, Ghana
Here are two photos of students learning about Paul Salopek and his journey.
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Finally, students shared their Egypt and Mesopotamia mind maps in a gallery walk and we worked on developing skills in giving feedback and learning what is helpful (good) vs. Not so helpful or detailed feedback (Mmmmm….not so good). We will continue to work on this throughout the year because one thing you will be doing a lot of on Out of Eden Learn is giving feedback and asking questions to other students in our walking party.
Helpful, detailed feedback on the right vs. Not so-detailed feedback. We will continue to work on this skill. (Photo by Rob Martin)
Gallery Walk for our Mind Maps
Gallery Walk
August and September Birthdays!
1 Sep
Happy birthday to the following students who either celebrated a birthday last month or are celebrating this month. Make sure you add your birthday to the Google Document I shared with you last week, so I can add your name this year. Have a great day, and post a comment to wish your classmates a happy birthday.
August: Hyeonsu (5), Shiv (7), YeongJun (24) and Owen(28)
September: Dhivya (9), Ava (12), Suman (17), Moeno (19), Gyubo (22).
Mind Mapping – Thinking about our Thinking
1 Sep
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
A few photos from the past two days where we are learning about the power of mind (concept) mapping, why we do it, how we can organize our ideas, and how we can collaborate to share our thinking. Students will now do a mind map for the civilization they are studying (Egypt or Mesopotamia). We look forward to seeing these next class.
The Long Dry Spell (role play)
24 Aug
Image source: http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/127991-how-vulnerable-mindanao-el-nino
“The brutal heat makes it difficult to work. Yet every day you must walk to the river with animal-skin bags to get water for the plants. You repeat the trip hour after hour, until your legs feel like they won’t support you any longer. Your back aches from carrying water and bending over your crops. The plants need every drop of moisture they can get. But the heat of the sun seems to evaporate the water as soon as it hits the ground.” – The Long Dry Spell” (pages 80 – 81).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJee8NwD5AG/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
Geography and Scarcity in Mesopotamia and Egypt
22 Aug
This video playlist features short videos on the geography of Mesopotamia and Egypt. In class you will be conducting research to answer the question: How did geography and scarcity influence the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt? After watching a video, share something you learned.
First Two Weeks
19 Aug
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
A few photo from our first two weeks of school – using our new magnetic whiteboards to jigsaw ideas and share learning. “What is a great social studies class?” and learning how to distinguish hunters-gatherers and early famers.
From Hunters-Gatherers to Early Farmers
17 Aug
This video playlist features videos that support things you have been reading in Chapter 2, lesson 2, including human migration, hunters-gatherers, communication, and the development of early farming practices.
Ice Man Murder Mystery (PBS NOVA)
16 Aug
Several students asked me to share the documentary made by PBS Nova (Ice Man Murder Mystery). How did Otzi, the Ice Man die? What did scientists and doctors learn about his life from studying his body? What can we learn about the lives of hunter-gatherers from the artifacts they found with his body? Here is a LINK to the museum where Otzi ‘lives’ in Italy. Here is a link the the PBS/Nova website where you can find a transcript to the documentary. Watch this playlist and documentary to see what happened (optional). If you do watch it, post a comment and share something interesting you learned.
Sentence stems:
Something interesting I learned from the documentary is…
I used to think Otzi was…..Now I think….
One question/wondering I still have is…
What makes my life easier?
15 Aug
Image source: Morguefile
What inventions do you benefit from today? Think about one you carry with you and one at home that makes your life easier. Add your answers to the comment section.
Our First Week
10 Aug
You will soon learn how to access this blog, make a comment and use our Moodle page. I hope these two sites will help support your learning this year. During our first days together, we talked about what you thought social studies is and what a great (social studies) class looks like. Here are the two anchor charts I created after we collected all of the results.
Welcome back (2016 – 2017)
5 Aug
Ms. Lucy (Learning Support), Mr. Martin (Social Studies), and Mr. Ranson (EAL Support)
The Grade 6 Team – ‘Orange’ you glad to be in 6th grade?
Dear Students –
Welcome to 6th grade Social Studies. Along with our Moodle page, our class blog will host videos, student work, helpful links and much more! Please use it as a resource in Social Studies. You can ‘follow’ this page by adding your email address to the widget on the top right side of the blog (see image below).If you follow the blog, you will receive an email message anytime I post something new on the blog.
There are many things you can do to keep updated on Middle School events. You should read the Middle School Daily Bulletin blog each day for information about clubs, sports, M.S. parties, etc. Here are some general reminders for students from all of your 6th grade teachers:
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Store backpacks and belongings in your locker and carry only the necessary items to class with you.
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Use the bathroom during break times. Teachers may permit short bathroom/brain breaks during the block as per discretion.
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Students should remain outside the classroom until the teacher is in the room, and/or until five minutes before the start of class.
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Belongings are not to be stored in the classroom between classes.
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Devices should remain switched off until directed by teacher.
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Cell phones in class are for class purposes only (pictures, recording, etc.).
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Eating is permitted only outside the classroom.
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Student use of the common area is with teacher permission and supervision.
Have a great year, and please see your advisory teacher or your classroom teacher if you ever have any questions. E-mail me, if you have questions about Social Studies.
Mr. Martin (mrobert@aischennai.org)
New York, My Home
25 Julhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BIH0T19j_IZ/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH151K6DW60/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH5RKICjCUb/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
Greetings! I hope you all have had a nice summer vacation. I just returned to Chennai last night after spending a month in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. When people think of New York, they often do not think of the images above. They think of New York City. I am from a small town in central New York between Rochester and Syracuse, two medium-size cities. I enjoyed my summer riding my mountain bike, picking fresh berries, visiting nearby state parks and enjoying the beauty of the region I call home. How was your vacation and where did you go?
Himachal Pradesh, India
16 Junhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BGlXszjNpD6/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGtvDVUNpEu/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGtA-vCtpKd/?taken-by=digitalnomadrob
Hi students –
Here are a few photos from my past week in Himachal Pradesh, a beautiful state in the north of India, known for the Himalayan mountains and Tibetan Buddhism (among many other things). These are some videos and photos from my Instagram site. If you are on Instagram, you can follow me and I would love to see your photos as well. I hope you are enjoying your summer. I leave for New York tomorrow morning early.
Mr. Martin
Hanna’s Out of Eden Learn Project
16 Jun
Screenshot by Rob Martin (Out of Eden Learn Instagram page)
Dancinginthemoonlight’s (Hanna’s) project was featured on Out of Eden Learn’s Instagram page today. Congratulations, Hanna! You can read see it by clicking HERE.
Language Arts: Book Trailers
1 Jun
Mrs. Hall and Ms. Jaya asked me to share your book trailers on our blog. I look forward to watching them. Good work, everyone!
LAST Day! Are you ready to KAHOOT?
1 Jun
B block class – I will miss you all.
Lekhana storms into the lead and wins at the end. Good job, everyone!
Ted moves into the lead, but eventually fades to 4th place!
D Block students – we’ll miss you!
Hmmm….what’s the answer?
“I can’t believe I got that wrong!” said Gregor.
Best of luck next year, H Block!
Goodbye G Block! We’ll miss you.
Goodbye from the Humanities team (L.A. and S.S.)
Have a great summer! Stay in touch!
Best of luck to our sixth graders!
Out of Eden Walk
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