Out of Eden Learn (Instagram) featured Amy’s diagram from our recent footstep project (Making Connections Between Out Lives and the Past). Great job, Amy! I will add some more examples soon.
Tag Archives: Out of Eden Learn
OUR TWO WALKING PARTIES (B/D BLOCKS AND F/H BLOCKS):
A Perspective on Chennai
21 Feb
Here is an excerpt from an interview that Riley (S.S.AllTheThings) did with Ms. Megha in 5th grade. This is a really interesting answer to her question – How has Chennai changed since you have been here?
If you feel you got an a really interesting answer to this questions for Out of Eden Footstep #4 (Learning Journey #1), let me know, and I will add it here. Good job, Riley.
Learning Journey 2 Begins!
17 FebStudents –
We have been working hard on our new project, a country comparison project. We will take a short break for next class and begin Out of Eden Learn – Learning Journey 2. Listen to Paul’s special message to students:
Here are the instructions for the first footstep. These have been shared with you too, as a Google Document.
You will have an opportunity to view many of the excellent photos on the Out of Eden Walk Instagram site and to choose one to do a See-Think-Wonder visible thinking routine. Here are two of his photos.
OOEL – Footstep #4 – Listening to Neighbor’s Stories
22 JanImage source: Clipartfest
This week we will be learning about the art of asking good questions during an interview. You will interview a local person who lives in Chennai and write a story or the highlights of the interview (Question and Answer format). We will brainstorm a list of possible subjects you can interview and what makes a good question. The directions and rubric are on Moodle in the Out of Eden section and folder for 2016 – 2017. There are also exemplars or good examples of interviews done last year. They can help give you an idea of what is expected.
Paul on the Silk Road
8 JanIn class we have been learning about the Silk Road. Here is a new article about Paul Salopek and his walk. You can also listen to the interview with him as well. Here is a script of the interview. In his article, he says this about the Silk Road and globalization, something we will discuss this week:
For the past year, Salopek has been following the ancient Silk Road trade routes that once connected China to Mediterranean. Merchants used to move precious cloths and spices. Now they move precious oil and gas. Globalization has made it possible to extract the region’s abundant natural resources, which has brought prosperity to a small but growing middle class in the region. However, that prosperity has also created resentment. Many locals are being left behind.
“That’s happening in North America too, of course,” he tells Chattopadhyay (the interviewer). “That’s what’s driving some of these movements against globalization.”
Happy New Year & Welcome Back!
8 Jan
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful vacation with family and friends and that you are ready for school tomorrow. Tomorrow is a 1A day. I had a nice vacation with family in New York State. Here are two photos I took in New York City, one of Rockefeller Center where they have a huge Christmas tree and ice skating rink and the other of the Empire State Building showing Christmas colors.
I received this message from Out of Eden Learn the other day. Jinwon received a personal message on her photos from Paul Salopek. You can see her photos if you click on the link and read his comment. I have pasted it below too:
This is a reply from Paul Salopek:
Your text and photos are great examples of keen observation. The physical details, the noting of time and place, the background (a bit of recent history), all these elements are what journalists like me use to build a good story. It requires close attention. Keep at it. Carry a small notepad around with you to jot such things down—you can use them in later stories.
Google Hangout with Paul Salopek – Tomorrow!
15 DecImage source: Screen from Google Maps
Students – We have an exciting opportunity tomorrow at 10:30am in the CIC. Paul Salopek and Out of Eden Learn will be hosting a LIVE Google Hangout Question and Answer (Q & A) session for students and teachers. He is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Please comment here or send me a question you would like to ask. He has been walking the the ancient routes of the Silk Roads, so this is also a great opportunity to ask him questions about this topic. Your A block teacher will release you to go to the CIC. Here is a great CNN story about the Silk Roads today with interactive maps and stories about the countries along the present day ancient networks for the Silk Roads. Click HERE to see the stories.
More Out of Eden Photos!
7 DecPhoto by Amelie
Reflection by Amelie
Photo by Yejin
Reflection by Yejin
Photo by Clara
Reflection by Clara
Photo by Arnav
Reflection by Arnav
Photo by Hayden
Photo by Florian
Photo by Ava
Photo bu Seojin
Photo by Natalie
Photo by Sanjeev
Photo by Amy
I am sharing some more photos and a few very thoughtfully written reflections by students in their e-portfolios. I am really impressed with your photos and I have enjoyed reading your reflections. The ones I shared here are among several that really impressed me and where students made strong connections between Paul’s walk and your work with Out of Eden Learn. Keep up the good work. We will start Out of Eden, Footstep #4 as soon as we return from winter break and we will aim to finish the remaining two footsteps by the end of January or early February. Keep up the good work!
Out of Eden Learn Footstep #3 Photos
20 NovHere are a few photos from Out of Eden Learn, Footstep #3 – Neighborhood Walk Photos. We are enjoying the photos and stories from this footstep project. Please remember to post your photos and story on Out of Eden Learn, reply to any questions your receive, and thank other students from our walking party who comment or praise your work. Continue to comment and share your questions in our walking party.
Photo by AllbyMyself
Photo by Don’tStealmyPotato
Photo by Donoughtman
Photo by Jeveboss
Photo by Keeptrekking
Photo by the DiscoDog
Taking Neighborhood Walks (OOEL – Footstep #3)
11 NovWe are launching Footstep #3 today and Monday (11/14). The footstep is posted on Out of Eden and you can see the directions there. They have also been added to the Moodle folder for Out of Eden Learn, along with a rubric. Here is a video of the directions, along with a a video I made of some photos made by students. You will see more examples of photos by looking at examples done by other students in our walking party. Out of Eden Walk has an Instagram page where you can see Paul’s photos. Click on the link to see some amazing photos!
Gallery Walk & Reflection (Out of Eden Learn)
11 Nov
Photos by Rob Martin
In class this week, students learned about SMART goals and created a one goal for a learning habits or area they wanted to improve in our new trimester. Students also reflected on Out of Eden Learn, Footstep #2 and responded to these two questions in their notebook:
What did you learn about your neighborhood or what did you notice about your neighborhood?
How does this activity connect with Paul’s journey and/or the Out of Eden Project?
Creating Neighborhood Maps
23 Oct 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
Photo by Rob Martin
Students have finished Out of Eden Learn, Footstep #2 – Creating a Neighborhood Map – and written a story using one of the five prompts provided by Out of Eden. Here are is a sample of some more of the maps that were created. After Week Without Walls, we will share the maps in a Gallery Walk with our classmates. Click on the images to see a slideshow.
Social Studies Updates
19 OctPeer editing with a focus on capitalization (Photo by Rob Martin)
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Photo by Rob Martin
Peer editing (Photo by Rob Martin)
We have had a busy two weeks leading up to our Week Without Walls trip on Monday. You are in the process of finishing your Egypt or Mesopotamia Inquiry Project (G.R.A.P.E.S. Historical Themes), and most of you have also finished your latest Out of Eden Learn activity, Footstep #2, Creating a Neighborhood Map. I have shared some photos here of some of our work, and will share some more here on the class blog and my Twitter handle (@DigitalNomadRob – #G6SSAISC). Out of Eden Learn has already seen some of your maps and has shared them as well. Great job!
You will be given class time tomorrow and Friday to work on your project. Please finish them over the weekend, if you do not finish tomorrow. When we return from Week Without Walls on Tuesday, November 1 (No school on Monday, Oct. 31), we will only have four days left in trimester 1. Our goals for the rest of the trimester are:
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To make sure everyone has finished their summative (final) project.
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To make sure you have finished Footstep #2 (Out of Eden Learn) and posted it on their site.
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Written comments on other posts from our OOEL walking party – Part 3 of Out of Eden Learn, Footstep #2.
When these things are done, you will need to write a reflection and add both #1 and #2 above to your e-portfolio (More on this later!). Keep up the good work!
Out of Eden Learn: Uncovering the Everyday – Share Your Photo!
16 Oct
This is a photo taken by a former student, Kennedy Porter (8th grade), when she did Out of Eden Learn. It is currently on display at Harvard University’s Monroe C. Gutman Library Gallery. Out of Eden Learn is inviting students to take photos of something interesting in their neighborhood. See the directions below. You can share your photo via Instagram or Twitter or email your photo and a brief description (example: what it is and where it was taken) to: learn@outofedenwalk.com
I have shared a few photos I have taken in my neighborhood, Kottivakkam.
Decorated dump trucks in Kottivakkam, Chennai, India (Photo by Rob Martin)
Decorated dump trucks in Kottivakkam, Chennai, India (Photo by Rob Martin)
Kottivakkam neighborhood (Photo by Rob Martin)
Kottivakkam, Chennai, India (Photo by Rob Martin)
October Birthdays + Next Week
8 Oct
Happy birthday to all of the grade 6 students celebrating birthdays this month: Leo (15), Lokesh & Seongwon(19), Junwoo (25), Yejin (26) and Hana (28). If I left anyone off this list or made an error, let me know. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and see you on Monday, which will be a 1A Day. I am enjoying my vacation in Vietnam and have added some photos to my Instagram account which is on my class blog. Here is one photo I took the other day.
We look forward to hearing about your vacation, whether you stayed in Chennai or traveled. Next week we will continue working on our research project and also introduce Out of Eden Learn Footstep #2 – Creating a Neighborhood Map. Students in our walking party have already begun posting their maps. You can see their maps and comment.
UN Day, Our Research Project, & More…
23 SepWe 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!
Watch Paul’s Interview!
17 SepThank 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 SepImage 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
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
Hanna’s Out of Eden Learn Project
16 JunScreenshot 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.
Exploring your Hi(STORY)
10 May Students are currently completing Footstep #3, Learning from other Generations. I have seen some wonderful examples of special objects from your family, and I have read some really wonderful stories as well. Here are five stories from 6th grade students (See – Think – Wonder + Connect). Click HERE to read it! We look forward to sharing other examples this week.
Learning From Other Generations
6 May Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
Image source: Out of Eden Learn
The next footstep for Out of Eden Learn, #3 is “Learning from other generations.” This is a very interesting footstep because it gives you the opportunity to study and make connections (See-Think-Wonder + Connect) an object. This object could be almost anything, as long as it’s about 20- 30 years old. Look at directions I have shared with you, watch Sheya’s video directions on Out of Eden Learn, and take a look at examples of other student work from our walking party to gather ideas. I think this is a great opportunity to learn more about an important possession of a family member. Note: You can interview anyone for this project. Please read the directions again!
I also want to congratulate Ella. Her neighborhood map was featured on Out of Eden Learn’s Instagram page. Great job!
Ella’s neighborhood map on Instagram
Questions for Paul?
24 Apr
Thanks for your interest in participating in the Google Hangout with Paul Salopek on Tuesday night. I had 17 students who expressed interest in coming to school at 8:30pm for this question and answer session with Paul. Unfortunately, our school was not among that three finalists when they randomly selected the schools. I still plan to watch the Google Hangout live and I would be happy to Tweet or email any questions to Paul on your behalf. If you have a question, please email me or post your question in the comment section below. I need the questions by Monday at 8:00pm. Thanks! – Mr. Martin
Paul Responds to Ted’s Post
24 AprPhoto by Yejune (Ted)
Photo by Yejune (Ted)
I received a message from Out of Eden Learn telling me that one of my students received a personal message from Paul Salopek on their project. This excerpt come from the Out of Eden blog post by Liz Dawes Duraisingh:
“…Paul is getting ready to set off across the bleak and remote steppes of Kazakhstan. According to Paul, this part of his journey has been one of the most demanding because of the logistical preparations necessary to walk across terrain that hasn’t been traversed on foot in decades. Nevertheless, he recently found time to browse through and respond to student work from Out of Eden Learn. In an email to us he commented, “I’m blown away—as usual—by the quality and thoughtfulness of the students’ work. Intellectually, it’s fascinating to see the cohesion of observations—and enthusiasm—among kids from all over the globe.” Twenty lucky students recently received a direct comment from Paul via our platform, including three who received a comment in Spanish (Paul is bilingual having spent much of his childhood in Mexico).”
Image source: Yejune’s ‘Documenting the Everything’ photos and post
Image source: Screenshot of Paul’s reply to Ted’s project
Congratulations to all of my students for their hard work on Out of Eden Learn. I think it’s fantastic that Paul is looking at student work while on his journey.
Out of Eden Walk
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