Room 755

Day 42 - Location & Features

2008-10-07T05:30:00.000-04:00

According to our standards, students must know seven countries of East and South Asia:

China
India
Vietnam
Indonesia
North Korea
South Korea
Japan

Further, they need to identify the following features in the same area:

Taklimakan Desert
Gobi Desert
Himalayan Mountains
Korean Peninsula
Yellow River
Yangtze River
Mekong River
Ganges River
Indus River
Sea of Japan
Yellow Sea
South China Sea
Bay of Bengal
Indian Ocean

The purpose of knowing these places is to understand where people live, what they do, and how their standard of living compares to that of people around the world, primarily to the United States. Each of these features contributes to the standard of living the people are able to enjoy (or must endure in some cases).

Today we will begin the daily quizzes & games to remember the location of each item and as the lessons progress, we will analyze how each affects the lives of the people living near them.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 41 - Climate & Population Distribution

2008-10-06T20:05:00.002-04:00

After showing a projection of a Climate Map of Asia, and making sure everyone is able to identify the location of the climates (mostly humid subtropical, tropical wet & dry, humid continental) then show a Population Distribution map of the same area, the students were finally able to answer the Essential Question - How does climate affect where people live and what they do?

It was great!

For India, I showed the following video from YouTube (who says there's no educational benefit on YouTube...only those who choose not to continue learning...that's who. I have to download the video, convert it, show it, and then (if I'm in a follow copyright law mood) erase the video.

And Then This One...

Then for the kicker. After showing the last 15 seconds of the 2nd video a few times, stating that although the monsoons and the rains they bring are devastating, the rain irrigates 60% of the land that produces agricultural products, which is important to the economy of the region, the students were able to answer another question - Why don't the people just move from these areas where flooding happens every year?

Too cool. So we will continue to use video, and Socratic questioning techniques with the group I have this year.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 40 - Election Friday

2008-10-03T05:30:00.001-04:00

Beginning today, each Friday (and October 15 & 16) our class will focus on the 2008 Presidential Election in the United States.

Today we are going to start with a video from the brilliant explanatory minds of Lee & Sachi LeFever - Electing a U.S President in Plain English.

I am still amazed at how they discuss the Electoral College without using the words one time. Best explanation...EVER.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 39 - Climate & Population

2008-10-02T05:30:00.001-04:00

Today we will conclude the Climate and Population Density maps of Asia. Yesterday we went to the library to use the computers for work will do next week (it was the only day we could get the lab).

Climate determines many things: like what foods can grow in an area, the transportation methods, animal and wildlife, and even industry and human living conditions.

Remember, our focus is how things affect humans and ultimately their standard of living. Climate (long-term weather patterns) really does impact the standard of living of families and nations. The question is HOW?

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 38 - Major Religions of Eastern & Southern Asia

2008-10-01T05:30:00.003-04:00

Today we will be in the Media Center to conduct some research on the major religions of Eastern & Southern Asia. You will have a chart to complete, so we can discover similarities and differences between the religions.

URI Kids is a very handy website for uncovering the basics of the religions we will learn about.

If you complete your chart before class is over, click here, and choose Level 1 - Beginner under the Countries column.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 37 - Climate & Population Density

2008-09-30T05:30:00.001-04:00

Is there a relationship between climate and where people live?

That is what we want to discover today. We will complete two thematic maps: Climate Map and Population Density Map. These maps will be of Eastern & Southern Asia. After completion we will determine if the climate of a place has any determination on whether people live there.

Motivating Questions:

What is the influence of climate on each of the following: population distribution, agriculture, and industrial development?
How has the geography of Southern & Eastern Asia affected population in terms of where people live, the type of work they do, and their systems of transportation?
What efforts have been made to address major environmental concerns such as overpopulation, industrial pollution, and flooding in Southern & Eastern Asia?

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 36 - Pre-Test on Asia Geography

2008-09-29T19:18:00.003-04:00

Today we had a pre-test on the geography of Asia, although my students got to "cheat" a little due to my absence last week. I was out due to my mother's funeral in Illinois.

The substitutes did a great job making sure my students didn't get too far behind our schedule. But I was hoping to give the pre-test without any discussions about the country locations. In order to keep students on pace, I gave the substitutes instructions to have students complete a political map, and give daily quizzes on 10 of the 20 countries.

We will be discussing how the geographic features of Asia (especially China, India, Vietnam, North & South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia) affect the lives of the people who live there.

What do we have to know?
Locate and Identify:

COUNTRIES
China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan

LAND FORMS
Korean Peninsula, Gobi Desert, Taklimakan Desert, Himalayan Mountains

RIVERS
Huang He (Yellow) River, Yangtze (Chiang Jiang) River, Mekong River, Indus River, Ganges River

OTHER WATER FORMS
Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean

Why do we have to know these items?
Each item connects with one of the 8 Concepts (Conflict, Culture, Economics, Governance, Human Environment Interaction, Location, Movement, Continuity through Change) and how these concepts affect the standard of living of the people who reside there.

Tomorrow we will make connections between climates and population density.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Geography Games for Asia

2008-09-28T15:56:00.001-04:00

Geography Games
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Asian_Geography.htm

Blogged with the Flock Browser

GeoBeats - Asia

2008-09-27T19:29:00.002-04:00

I have viewed all of the videos from which you can select. There are a few that discuss the night life, which is aimed at a more adult travel audience. However, I did not observe anything that I thought was inappropriate for my classes. If you find something offensive, please contact me (my email address is on the right) to discuss the content.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 35 - Good To Be Back - (Why I was gone)

2008-09-27T10:35:00.004-04:00

I apologize for the gap of daily posting over the past week. My mother passed away on the morning of September 21, and I received a call around lunchtime on the Friday before that I needed to get home quickly. It is a 6-hour drive to Mom's house, so I posted nothing from last Friday until today.

My substitutes did a great job. When I returned to my classes on Friday, I noticed my students' notebooks were up-to-date with their new map of Easter & Southern Asia. The students were "upset" that they had a quiz every day I was gone. I told them to get used to it, because it would now be happening at least 3 times a week. Nothing too difficult, just knowing the material we cover from day-to-day so I know they are getting the CRCT material. [NOTE: All the other things we do in class are free. :^)]

We began this week learning some geography of Asia. They have labeled political maps, and we will begin learning the locations and features of land and water forms next week.

As I told my students, one of the things I like about the direction our Standards are taking, is that we are not learning the geography just to be a good contestant on Jeopardy, but each of the features relates to at least one of the 8 Concepts we have learned, or to the Standard of Living of the people of these areas.

In our training session a few weeks ago, Dr. Cranshaw hammered home the idea of standard of living, although he never said this was a major point, when you continually come back to this focus, it must be. When he discussed how we should approach Literacy Rates of certain countries, it was not to a memorization of arbitrary percentages, but rather an understanding of the relationship of literacy to a nation's standard of living.

So, as we discuss the rivers, deserts, and mountains of Asia, our focus is not just to know the location, but also how these features affect trade, lifestyle, education, and ultimately standard of living.

I like the approach. I'll do what I can to help students make these connections and apply the principles to their own lives.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 29 - Wrap It Up & Move On

2008-09-18T05:30:00.000-04:00

Today we will finish filling in our Concepts Chart. This chart is the basis of all our studies this year. It has the Enduring Understandings and Motivating (Essential) Questions.

We have had a good start. Our challenge now is to see if we can apply these concepts to other situations...outside of our world of reference and understanding.

We will be moving into Eastern and Southern Asia next. We will start with the Geography of the land, then move into modern issues of the region; concentrating on the countries of China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, India, and Vietnam.

Be sure to check here this weekend (The Week in Review) for information on the Arnold Island projects.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 28 - Constitution Day

2008-09-17T05:30:00.000-04:00

Today is a bunch of stuff rolled up into one day.

Early Release day (dismissal at 1:00; classes are 30 minutes long)
Visit and assembly with sci-fi author William Sleator
National Constitution Day

In my class, we will watch a video from Discovery's United Streaming entitled The Almost Painless Guide to the U.S. Constitution. It is 20 minutes long, with a comprehension quiz. With 30 minutes, the video should fit the bill.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Videos Of Island Project Work

2008-09-16T05:30:00.002-04:00

I have uploaded a few student interviews on the beginnings of their Island creation. They are all on my YouTube channel. That means we cannot view them at school, but take a look at home.

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6
Video 7
Video 8
Video 9
Video 10
Video 11

Or click here for a Playlist.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Days 26 & 27 - Message from Arnold - Creating An Island

2008-09-15T05:30:00.001-04:00

Today our Engineers will be working to create the model island for Arnold. He has a short message.

[Click here for the download]

Be sure to review the required features for the island. Don't forget to include information on communication, transportation, economy (businesses), and naming features after Arnold's movies, characters, or appropriate quotes.

Since we had such a good discussion Friday, you will have today and tomorrow in class to complete the construction of your island.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Week in Review

2008-09-13T16:16:00.004-04:00

A very good week in class.

We have been learning the 8 Concepts to help us categorize our understandings throughout the year. We have discussed Economics, Governance, Conflict & Change, and Culture. We have also been learning to locate the countries of the Middle East (Southwest Asia).

On Wednesday, I had a meeting to analyze the new standards by being informed of the intent of the standards and going through "Teacher Notes" on each of the standards.

What made it such a valuable week was the viewing and follow-up discussion on the events of 9/11/01.

We watched a video from Discovery Education on Flight 93 - The Flight that Fought Back. We did not view the entire video, but nearly completed the 53 minutes of the documentary. It was Friday's discussion that made the week so valuable.

I put a Starter on the board for the students to think about before I led a closing series of thoughts on the events of 9/11 and how it relates to everything we had done so far this year.

The questions were these:

The terrorists objectives were the Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and the Capitol Building. What do these buildings symbolize in our country?
Why would these buildings be the targets?

Briefly, here was our synopsis:

The Trade Center Towers were located in not only the nations primary economic center (Wall Street - and the NYSE), but also the world. The Towers represented the economic power of the United States. These buildings were targeted in the early 1990s by a terrorist attack.

The Pentagon is the headquarters for our military and defense leaders. It is here that strategies are developed for national defense and military action.

The Capitol Building represents our government and is the location of our legislative branch of government.

These buildings house and represent three necessary entities for a strong nation; one capable of independence, freedom, and sovereignty...governance, economic stability, and military defense.

According to the plan, the terrorists tried to attack and disable all three of these entities within a span of 20-30 minutes. Flight 93 was late to take-off by around 45 minutes, and therefore did not reach it's target before the passengers uncovered the purpose of the hijack.

The terrorists, with cultural heritage from Southwest Asia and from an minority faction of Islam (radical as some would classify; following Sharia) planned to strike against the United States partly for their interaction in the affairs of Arab nations throughout Southwest Asia...Gulf War, humanitarian assistance in Northeastern Africa, and even in assisting Arab fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s against the USSR.

My students (in two different classes) wondered if the terrorist pilots ejected from the planes before impact, since they knew they would die when they crashed. So we were able to discuss the aspects of beliefs and religion (very briefly and in a simplified manner) which fall under the concept of Culture we discussed a few weeks ago.

This single event in the history of our country is an indicator of more than half of we have to learn in 7th grade social studies. It has served as a great springboard. Yes, we simplified, but we have something from which to work.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 25 - Sit Right Back, and We'll Hear a Tale

2008-09-12T05:30:00.003-04:00

Today our engineers will put pencils to poster board and begin drawing Arnold's Island.

Remember what Arnold demanded:

Mountains
Isthmus
Strait
Peninsula
Gulf or Bay
Government (with Arnold as the President)
Communication networks
Transportation alternatives
Moderate Climate
Economic market that can sustain the island
Everything named after his movies, characters, or quotes (school acceptable only)

I looked at all the proposals, and there are several very creative concepts. When the project is completed, the products will be posted in this blog.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 24 - A Necessary, Appropriate Break in the Action

2008-09-11T05:30:00.001-04:00

Today is another day that should "live in infamy." I was teaching a class of 8th graders in my first period Computer Applications class, when an announcement from our principal came on. He said something like,

Pardon this interruption teachers and students, but the news is reporting a terrible accident (he did say accident at this point) in New York City. One of the Trade Center towers has been hit by a plane. We do not want to alarm anyone, but this is something about which we need to be sensitive.

His reason for this announcement was twofold - 1) Several of our Social Studies teachers used TV newscasts as current event starters in their classes and 2) one of the teachers with whom we worked had a brother who worked on the 93rd floor of one of the buildings. The time of the announcement was about 9:00 -- after the first plane hit, but before the second plane arrived.

I turned on the television and my class watched the coverage. We watched live as a second plane crashed into the second tower. My 2nd period class watched as the first towers collapsed.

Then another announcement

Teachers, if you are still watching the television, please turn off your sets. One of our teachers has just left the building because she cannot get in touch with her brother, who reported to work early today. He worked in the tower that has collapsed. We will now conduct a moment of silence, perhaps much more than a moment. We do not know anything for sure at this point. But for some of you prayer may be what you are led to do at this time. For the rest of you, respecting the families, and our DMS family, is not only appreciated, it is the right thing to do.

Our teacher's brother was in the building that day. No identifying remains have ever been found. I do not mention her name at this time, because I have not asked her permission to do so.

Move ahead seven years...

I asked my students this week if they knew the significance of 9/11 and the response was, "That's who you call when you are in trouble." I said that is correct, but I mean the date - September 11.

Only a handful of the 132 students present that day knew about what occurred. They were only 6 or 7 years old, and considered too young to handle the issues of the day. I'll reserve my opinion of that line of thinking for now.

So today, we will be watching a video from Discovery Education (unitedstreaming.com download) called The Flight That Fought Back - Flight 93. It is done very well. It is a documentary with interviews from family members, emergency operators, airline personnel, and others.

I hope my students will understand the significance of this day. My dad's life changed because of the original "day that lived in infamy." He dropped out of school, joined the Navy and served his country. My mom spoke to me about the day JFK was assassinated, as she was a switchboard operator who heard about the news through a phone call to the local newspaper. I was in a classroom with kids in the 8th grade (my younger son's class and friends).

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 23 - Island Proposal & Me Gone

2008-09-10T05:30:00.002-04:00

Arnold has spoken. He has told my students what he wants in his Island. Today, the work to be done is for your production teams to submit your proposal.

The Pre-Production Engineer is in charge of getting today's work done. This does not mean this person does all the work, but that you will lead this portion of the project.

The Products Engineer must make arrangements for all materials to be available in the classroom by Friday. You will need at least the following items:

poster board
coloring pencils
markers
pencils
rulers
any other items your team might need to create your poster to present to Arnold.

Mr. Murry will be at a conference for Social Studies teachers today. I am not looking forward to missing class, but I am required to go, and we will have a better understanding of what the state of Georgia is expecting students to know as a result of the new curriculum.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 22 - Introduction to the Island Project

2008-09-09T05:30:00.005-04:00

Today we will look at Google Earth to identify some actual landforms you defined yesterday.

We will also discuss how latitude and climate are related.

HINT

Low Latitudes = higher temperatures
High Latitudes = lower temperatures
Middle Latitudes = moderate temperatures.

Next we will listen to my interview with Arnold. He is currently a governor, but wants to be president. He can't be president of the United States because he was not born in the U.S. (which is a Constitutional Law - you must be a natural-born citizen of the U.S. in order to serve as president).

Arnold wants his own island nation. You are being asked to create it. There are specific details that you must follow (Arnold will tell you about them).

Once you listen to Arnold, you might want to visit the site below to help you with your ideas.

Arnold Interview

Arnold's Movies

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Day 21 - Media Center

2008-09-08T05:36:00.002-04:00

Today, we will visit the computer lab in the Media Center. You will be given a handout in class which will be completed during your WebHunt for Geography Features.

Today's work is in preparation for your Island Project, which will start tomorrow.

Click here for your instructions.

Click here for a form if you lost yours.

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The content of Room 755 is the interpretation of the Georgia State Standards for 7th grade Social Studies, and how we seek to address these standards in one classroom, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school system in which I work. This work (unless expressly stated) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

The First 20 Days

2008-09-06T19:13:00.003-04:00

Mr. Murry's 7th grade Social Studies class has gotten underway.

We are developing routines and getting a grasp on the basics of our studies.

We have been learning the location of countries in the Middle East and have been introduced to the Eight Concepts that will be the foundation of everything we learn this year:

Conflict and Change
Culture
Governance
Economics (Production, Distribution, Consumption)
Human / Environment Interaction
Location
Movement
Time > Change > Continuity