1. I chose the exhibit, "The Way We Worked" from the National Archives. I chose this website because it is important for students to see and understand the different types of jobs that Americans did prior to the 21st century. Also, one of the California standards is that students understand community and become valuable members in their community. I believe, that in order for this to occur, students must understand and value what came before them. On this website I saw many pictures taken of the places that American worked in the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries, what they wore, how they worked, the conflicts that occurred at work and also the dangerous and unhealthy work and workplaces. Using primary sources in the classroom is much more effective than teaching out of a textbook. Students all learn in different ways but the best way to capture all types of learners is through hard evidence. Showing a student a picture versus reading to them about a picture, will more than likely help them to retain the information. Furthermore, there are so many different ways to incorporate using primary sources into fun classroom activities that will engage every student in the classroom.
2.My three areas:
-Ensure that your school has a mission statement that commits to cultural competence as an integral component of all its activities. The cultural competence committee should be involved in developing this statement.
-Network with other schools that are developing and implementing culturally competent systems. Adapt the processes and information that are consistent with your school's needs and interests.
-Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups.
I think it is very important that the students, parents and community are aware of the intentions of the schools. With a proper mission statement, everyone would know what to expect from the school, and if the cultural competence were not achieved, then they would also be aware of this and speak up. Since the school is supposed to reflect the community, I think it is very important to network with other schools and have all the schools in the community implementing similar culturally competent systems. This also ties to the third area that would fit my teaching style. It is important to not just involve other schools in the community but the community itself. I can see myself being the liaison between the school the community and bringing in minority groups in order to help understand and create lesson plans that fit.
3. I chose the labor movement topic under the history sub-topic. This website is a virtual exhibit of American sweatshops during the Industrial revolution. You can explore the real exhibit by clicking on any part of the floor plan. There is an introduction, a history, an interactove fashion food chain and much more. You can even play a global industries game! I thought this was a fun way to explore a history topic and it reaches kids of reading levels 3-6! It's great!
4. It was hard to pick just one! Under the featured content menu was a link to Learning Adventures. In this menu was 11 different topics that you find in social studies and science. When you click on the topic of your choice you are brought to an interactive page where you can learn about your topic. Each adventure is done in a way that is fun and engaging to students. I would definitely use these in my classroom and explore them WITH my students. For example, the adventure on the Galapagos Islands finds a fun way to explain Taxonomy to students. There is a quiz that you must answer before you are eaten by the vampire finch eats you! I really loved the rhyme about the Galapagos, and it comes with audio background. Songs are a great tool in teaching students because they are catchy and students remember them! I just absolutely loved all these adventures and can't wait to use them!
5. The Multiple Intelligences website is a module created for teachers to learn about the multiple intelligences in order to better understand and teach their students. There are 8 types of intelligences and one that is still being explored, the existential intelligence. I enjoyed learning about 'Listening to Teach' where teachers are taught to engage in four kinds of listening in order to engage all students:
-Listening to know particular students
-Listening to the rhythm and balance of the classroom
-Listening to social, cultural, and community contexts of students' lives
-Listening for silence and acts of silencing
6. The lesson I chose was "I Am Special". This lesson uses two stories;
Fish Is FIsh
, by Leo Lionni and
Chameleon's Colors
, by Chisato Tashiro. By asking a question after each story, the students learn the message that you should be yourself. I would use this lesson the first week of class to introduce the idea that in our classroom and everywhere in our community, we should be ourselves because people will like who we really are. I would probably tie this to writing assignment where students draw a picture of themselves and write three sentences to tell the class about themselves and then we would hang everyones pictures and descriptions all around the classroom.
7. Question #4: In a 2007 study, UNICEF rated the treatment of children in the 23 wealthiest countries in the world based on 40 indicators of child well-being. Which two countries received the lowest ratings?
Answer: The United States and the U.K.
This answer surprised me although I did guess it was going to be the answer. It is so surprising to learn that the United States and the U.K., two countries that pride themselves on the best civil liberties and treatment, had the lowest rating! We are supposed to be one of the most powerful countries, yet we treat our children the worst? Children are the future, they will grow up to run businesses, be teachers, invent and run the country, how can we let this happen?!
Question #10: Powder cocaine (largely used by wealthy people) and crack cocaine (largely used by economically disadvantaged people) contain roughly the same amount of the drug per gram. Under federal law, how much of these substances must an individual be convicted of possessing to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison?
Answer: 500 grams of powder or 5 grams of crack cocaine.
This answer shows how biased our country is. It is no secret that the powder form of cocaine is used by those with money, and those that are in the poorer socioeconomic class use crack cocaine. If they both contain the same potency then why would the amount differ between the two? It shows that the people with power just want those that are beneath them to be in jail because they feel their worth is less. Everyone has the same worth, no matter how much money you have. I just wish this was true in our country.
8.I got a 90% on the Netiquette Quiz. Netiquette is important and should be taught to students because in this day and age the internet is the new social community. We should know how to properly interact with people on the internet, just as if we were interacting with them in real life, aka, the Golden Rule of netiquette, remember the human! =^D Students will be using the internet and blogging and should be able to communicate in a proper manner, or else they may find themselves hurt. It sounds silly, but it is true. The internet is a crazy place and if we don't teach our students the correct skills to use it, they may find themselves in the Crazy-Net House.