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Mirror for America

Page history last edited by kay hones 15 years ago

As I reflected on the 2007 Fulbright Hays Summer Program to Canada and Mexico, many images came to mind.  I thought about the “borders”, physical, economic, political and cultural  of the three countries that make up North America.  I remembered several comments about “neighbors”.  Finally I thought about the ancient history we experienced in museums of anthropology, battlefields and pyramids and how the past reflects to us both our present and our future.  So I am calling this project “A Mirror for America” -  all of North America.  I hope some of these facts, ideas, images and understandings that students experience will lead to a future North America where all three countries are neighbors, supporting economic and cultural equity, social justice and healthy environment for all!!

 

Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others. Ellen DeGeneres

Overview

Provide accurate resources reflecting a variety of cultural and environmental topics in North America.

 

Objectives

Explore the construction of national cultural identity and the environment in contemporary multicultural children’s literature from Canada, Mexico and United States

Examine identity through various geographic lenses - hemispheric (North American), national, regional, and local

  • Provide access, equity, and democratic education with acquisition and distribution of accurate resources reflecting myriad points of view
  • Analyze a variety of primary resources and realia
  • Facilitate student interviews with cultural and environmental experts from the community (and worldwide!!)
  • Examine research and writing tools, including graphic organizers
  • Develop evidence of learning with student created rubrics.

 

Presentation Objective

This session will provide resources and models for content area and library media teachers,using many formats of fiction, non fiction and primary sources.

Participants will explore curriculum, strategies and instructional resources for research and writing.

Activities will include standards based lessons K-12, research tools, graphic organizers and information literacy strategies.

This wiki includes sources for kid friendly print, non-print, electronic,community and primary resources and samples of student rubrics.

 

Workshop Format

- group discussion with primary resources and realia

- presentation of print, electronic & community resources

-models for collaborative teaching

-Q and A - reflective writing

 

SUMMARY OF PROJECT  

Students will be able to:

1. Explore national cultural identity and the environment in contemporary multicultural children’s literature from Canada, Mexico and United States

2. Provide access, equity, and democratic education with acquisition and distribution of accurate resources reflecting myriad points of view

3. Analyze a variety of primary resources and realia

4. Facilitate student interviews with cultural and environmental experts from the community (and worldwide!!)

5. Examine research and writing tools, including graphic organizers

6. Develop evidence of learning with student created rubrics.

 

Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.   Thich Nhat Hanh

 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

This project will provide resources and models for content area and library media teachers, using many formats of fiction, non fiction, internet and primary sources.

Teacher resources include curriculum, strategies and instructional resources for research and writing.

Student activities includes standards based lessons K-12, research tools, graphic organizers and information literacy strategies.

The appendix includes sources for kid friendly print, non-print, electronic, community

and primary resources; and samples of student rubrics.

 

Among the individuals, as well as among nations, respecting the other people's rights leads to peace. (Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la Paz.) Benito Juarez Garcia, Former (late 1800's) President of Mexico.

 

ACTIVITES AND RESOURCES

1.  Explore national cultural identity and the environment in contemporary multicultural children’s literature from Canada, Mexico and United States

BRIEF ANNOTATED BOOKLIST

Many titles may already be in school library collections.  I will be reviewing and compiling a more complete list during this school year.  I selected these for K-5 introduction to students, as well as models for projects.  For instance students could compile an ABC for a time period, event, holiday,  artist or author from Canada or Mexico.  Primary students could also pose questions about Canada or Mexico and an upper grade buddy class could write a book responding and illustrating the answers.

 

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. Dr. Laura Schlessinger

 

2.   Provide access, equity, and democratic education with acquisition and distribution of accurate resources reflecting myriad points of view

SAMPLE LESSONS   Timeline of North American History and Rain

 

3.  American Memory at the Library of Congress has lessons, definitions and templates for primary sources. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has analysis worksheets for

 

4.  For interviews, contact Native American Studies Department, Berkeley http://ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu/nas/  They may be able to facilitate e-mal or phone questions from students.  Have students develop a query form. Sample: Greeting, hello, first name, grade, school.  We are studying Native American  TOPIC.  My question in: ??

What is your name, field of study, occupation?  Thank you.

When “experts” do help students, I always send a thank you note with a copy or photo of the final project.

 

5. Examine research and writing tools, including graphic organizers

Use questions, quotes, news articles about Canada, Mexico and North America as writing prompts

Big 6 Information Literacy http://www.big6.com/kids/

http://www.janetsinfo.com/big6info.htm

Big 6 provides a simple research model for students K-12. Using Big 6 steps students define task, locate and gather information, use and synthesize information and then evaluate their work.

Eduplace Graphic Organizers http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

EdHelper. com Graphic Organizers http://edhelper.com/teachers/graphic_organizers.htm

 

6. Develop evidence of learning with student created rubrics.

Rubistar for rubrics in all curriculum areas http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric&module=Rubistar

For a simple and effective assessment tool, as students begin research they can fill in KWL: what do they already know and what do they want to learn.  After completion of the activity they fill in what they learned. 

As the class learns about a new research project, they can construct a project rubric.  If students are doing group or class presentations they can hand out a simple evaluation 3-2-1 form to the audience: 3 things I learned, 2 things I will use, I question or idea.

 

This link has a wealth of information on Totems.  The final activity is very effective tying the student learning to personal experience.

Stories Totems Tell http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ks/pdf/tot_en.pdf

“You have a family or a group with which you are proud to associate. It might be

your immediate or extended family. It might be your organized youth group, a group you have joined at your  place of worship or even just your good ol’ bunch of friends!

Design a "celebration pole" that shows the world who you are. In response to some of the questions above,

draw, carve or mould symbolic images on your pole. Share your celebration pole with your family, your  group, your classmates and all the others who you’ll find are interested in your project! 

Now just imagine if your celebration pole could still tell its story, one hundred years from now....

What makes you special?

What is your history and what are your stories?

What images remind you of your family or group?

What are your special symbols?

What are your accomplishments?

What makes you proud?””

It's amazing how quickly nature consumes human places after we turn our backs on them. Life is a hungry thing. Scott Westerfeld

 

APPENDIX

NETTREKKER Database

Additional useful websites

Vendor for Children’s Books

 

A FEW FINAL QUOTES ABOUT CANADA AND MEXICO!

 

Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States. J. Bartlett Brebner

Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain. Pierre Trudeau (1919 - 2000)

Canada is the essence of not being. Not English, not American, it is the mathematic of not being. And a subtle flavour - we're more like celery as a flavour.  Mike Myers

Canada: A few acres of snow.  Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

My driving abilities from Mexico have helped me get through Hollywood. Salma Hayek

 

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