The Oral History Project: by Cummins

Guess what activity Sherry is going to do next fall in her World History class? This article was so practical to me. I was immediately engaged in the reading from the first paragraph. How does a teacher make history relevant?
The teacher makes a concerted effort to bring history to life for his students. He continues to work diligently to make it relevant, but also rigorous at the same time. He wants them to relate what happened hundreds of years ago, to today’s events. Many of us work with students who read below grade level, yet it did not get in his way of making the learning relevant and meaningful to his students.
I have tried “mini” activities such as the Oral History project, but definitely not of the magnitude this teacher did. I appreciate his thinking how he wants his students to be well rounded citizens. This too is my goal for my students.
I liked how this would develop a relationship with parents through the many questions and interviews. This would be a strong school-home relationship. I was intrigued by the terminology of “historical inquiry skills”. These skills include constructing historical questions, comprehending and working with information from primary and secondary sources, reconciling accounts, and constructing explanation s and accounts. I agree, these are the most interesting, but also the most challenging. And he had 7th graders complete this project……. I definitely can get quality work from sophomores! There is so much history my students can uncover. We have many who have lived in Douglas there whole life, and others who have lived in 5-10 different towns/cities. It is intriguing and exciting to engage my students in this activity.
I really liked his two broad research questions: What kind of history can we find in our families? Where do we come from? These two questions can go many directions and what fun it would be for students to engage themselves in.
The use of the Internet is today’s genealogy research is unbelievable. I appreciate the listing of the websites that he proposed to the students. These I will “steal” from him!
What a wonderful way for students to begin to understand history. I agree with the teacher when he says that to get at history, one needs to go beyond yes/no factual questions and learn to probe-to think like a historian. As mentioned in the article, that students came to understand that all kinds of interesting things happened historically that never make it into the history books. Maybe my students will find out they are related to a 16th century King of England, or a professional baseball player, maybe that their grandfather was a war veteran. These stories may never be learned if these students don’t do a little questioning and a lot of probing.
Great article and thanks for sharing it with us. I am excited for next year’s students!

Chapter 11: Including All Students on the Internet By Leu

I have a mentally handicapped nephew that is in his 30's. As I read this chapter, I kept reflecting on the fact that how richer his education would have been had he been educated during this decade instead of the 1980's/1990's. This chapter brought to light so many opportunities that special education students are now given not just using the Internet, but with other technologies.
Side note: Douglas High School has recently purchase the Wii game systems for the lower IQ students. These students are working on their hand eye coordination skills, learning to understand the use of the remotes, and many other aspects. Of all the games, they enjoy boxing and bowling the most. They have the most success. These type of technologies would have proven so "fun" and successful for my nephew and his classmates.
I was just amazed and thrilled to see the many websites available in understanding learning disabilities and brain functioning. Many years ago I had a student who was sight impaired. I kept thinking how many of these websites, and how the computer in itself would have so beneficial to his education.
I also liked the section on readability. I am always looking for websites that will assist me in materials that I am sharing with my students. I found the reading level calculator to be valuable.
Wasn't it cool how there are websites that use sign language. What a way to enrich the deaf impaired students/individuals.
I definitely will be using Doug Flutie's website when I teach autism next year. Our school has 3 autistic students, and I always find it very important for my Psychology students to understand this neurological disorder.
New literacies provide new opportunities for learning. I believe that each student should have the opportunity to reach a level and potential that will provide them with a rich learning environment. It is through these many new literacies that ALL students are given these opportunities.

Website Review #5: Brain Connection

Website Review #5 brainconnection.com

My first unit in Psychology is based on the brain, so when I saw this website in chapter 10, I knew I had check this website out, and am I ever tickled about what I found.

This website has unlimited opportunities for me as a teacher and for my students.

I first was interested in the following brain facts. These little snippets provide just enough to interest my students. This little bit of information could challenge them to learn more:

Abused Children Have Smaller Brains Parts of the brain of a severely abused and neglected child can be substantially smaller than that of a healthy child. Babies Lose Half their Neurons at Birth It is estimated that a baby loses about half their neurons before they are born. This process is sometimes referred to as pruning and may eliminate neurons that do not receive sufficient input from other neurons. Baby Talk Increases Vocabulary A study showed that when mothers frequently spoke to their infants, their children learned about 300 more words by age two than did children whose mothers rarely spoke to them. "Brain Attacks" Strokes or "brain attacks" are the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to the brain is disrupted. Disruption takes place either when a brain artery is blocked or when an artery explodes. Recently, exciting medical breakthroughs have been announced with respect to treating stroke. Brain Uses 20 Percent of Blood Approximately 20% of the blood flowing from the heart is pumped to the brain. The brain needs constant blood flow in order to keep up with the heavy metabolic demands of the neurons. Brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) rely on this relationship between neural activity and blood flow to produce images of deduced brain activity. Brain Uses 20% of Oxygen Breathed Although the brain accounts for only 2% of the whole body's mass, it uses 20% of all the oxygen we breathe. A continuous supply of oxygen is necessary for survival. A loss of oxygen for 10 minutes can result in significant neural damage. Child Brain Development Measures of brain activity show that during the second half of a child's first year, the prefrontal cortex, the seat of forethought and logic, forms synapses at such a rate that it consumes twice as much energy as an adult brain. That furious pace continues for the child's first decade of life. Dividing the Hemispheres Commisurotomy, the transection of the corpus callosum, is one possible treatment for patients with severe epilepsy. This procedure causes a complete split between the two hemispheres of the brain. As a result of this split, words presented to the patient's far left visual field cannot be read (alexia), and hidden objects placed into the left hand cannot be named (anomia). This is significant evidence for hemispheric specialization. Miles and Miles of Neurons There are one hundred billion neurons in the brain. A stack of one hundred billion pieces of paper would be about 5000 miles high, the distance from San Francisco to London. No Pain in Brain There is no sense of pain within the brain itself. This fact allows neurosurgeons to probe areas of the brain while the patient is awake. Feedback from the patient during these probes is useful for identifying important regions, such as those for speech, that are spared if possible. effectively. Working Memory Stores Seven Digits It's no accident that telephone numbers in the United States are seven digits long. Our working memory, a very short-term form of memory which stores ideas just long enough for us to understand them, can hold on average a maximum of seven digits. This allows you to look up a phone number and remember it just long enough to dial.

I did not provide all the facts from the website, but a few select ones that I would concentrate on in my class.

This website has many options for a teachers k-12. There is link for reading, bilingual ed, child development, language, learning, stress, motivation, and more. All these links take the teacher to articles and information to best work with students of any grade level. I was particularly interested in mood disorders as I am about to teach my unit on Mental Illness. The link takes the reader to many choices of articles. I have chosen a couple to use in my Psych class.

The website also is interactive for students. Students can be engaged in memory games, brain’s processing speed, and reaction time, and illusion identification.
There are also many brain teasers for the primary grades. Topics such as memory attention, and sound discrimination, provide fun and engaging educational material.

I really liked the image gallery that shows the many facets of the brain. These images can be downloaded as a power point, and are explicitly detailed. I am excited to use these next year, and show them on my smart board.

This is just an outstanding website with many opportunities for teachers and students alike. It is a good one!

Manyak: Lessons from a Mexican Immigrant Family's Storybook Reading

Dr. Manyak mentions at the beginning of the article that story book reading can play a important role in children's early literacy development. There is also research to show that children that participate in family book reading will be successful in school literacy activities.
This is so true with my two children. Since their tenure in school my daughter, and my son, both have experienced success in their academic activities, especially in the area of literacy. They both continue to score in the advanced categories in reading on many of the standardized tests. I relate this all to the story book reading that existed from the time they were infants. My husband and I both read to our children. Many times a night, my husband would read 2 or more books to one child while I was doing the same with the other. Then the children would ask if we could switch. Before we knew it, the children were reading the books to us!
As with Maria's family, our children were involved in the adult-directed exchange. We also were involved in the collaborative interpretation, and cultural transmission. Our children were able to fall back on their knowledge of the ranching community that I grew up in.
These transcripts were interesting in the sense that I could visualize every statement and activity that Maria and her children were involved in. It was enlightening to witness on paper, Maria and her children having rich conversations during the process of reading a story book. All were engaged!
I am sure that you, Dr. Manyak will always treasure the experience you had with this family. How delightful to witness the resourcefulness, and powerful traditions that were transcended during your tenure with this family.

Chapter 10: Using the Internet to Increase Multcultural UnderstandingI

We are not existing in a country of many languages and cultures. Even thought we expect all to speak English, it doesn't always exist. This chapter brings to light the need for multicultural education.
It is nice to see how the book invites teachers to take advantage of the many languages spoke in the classroom, not to see them as a liability. That by empowering those who speak two or more languages we are build a community of learners.
As mentioned in the chapter, the Internet allows students to explore issues of social justice. Exploring thees issues is essential to preparing children for citizenship in a diverse society in which equal access and opportunities are fundamental to our collective well being. In many parts of Wyoming we don't experience many issues of multiculturalism. So our students are at a deficit when traveling outside of the state. It is my hope that within classrooms, teachers are providing opportunities for students to experience these issues.
There were many websites that would help enhance multiculturalism. Here are the ones that looked interesting (didn't get to look at them):
*www.humatities-interactice.org (art and info of many countries)
*www.loc.gov/rr/international.portals (countries of the world)
*www.isoplucla.edu (Asia on the web) I do believe this site has been around for some time)
*www.sas.upen.edu/African_Studies/A.S. (Africa)
*www.imiagiware.com/mancala (When I taught Geography, 2 students at a time were able to play) Now many can play! (Africa)
*www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/apr99/calendar/index.html Chinese Zodiac Calendar....this would be fun!

Also mentioned in the text, that Internet Project is perhaps the best method for developing multiculturalism. When your students communicate with other cultures it is like no other experience!
New literacies permit new understanding. The Internet has provided and will continue to provide wonderful opportunities for teachers and students!

Toward a Social-Contextual Approach to Family Literacy by Elsa Auerbach

This article brings to light the importance of family literacy. I always knew as a teacher and parent how important it was for my children to be active readers. From pregnancy on, my husband and I read to our children. And as they began to engage more in the reading, we would let them read to us. Our children are middle/high school students and still read 20 minutes or more a night (longer if it is a good book :). We were true believers in the power of reading and this was influenced greatly with there teachers. And as we look at the second language learner engages in literacy, something other issues are involved. So the questions is: is it the home or the classroom teacher stimulate the learning?
The article stresses the powerful influence of parental involvement. Parental involvement in an advocacy role is important because it shapes teacher's perceptions, which in turn influence student achievement. The parents are powerful influences in second or first language learners.
The article suggests that we must draw on parents' knowledge and experience to inform instruction. It is key to involve parents in the literacy of the children, by incorporating community cultural norms and social issues into the content of the literacy activities. It is with parent, teacher, and child that the family literacy becomes whole.
Family literacy is:
*Parents working independently on reading and writing
*Using literacy to address family and community problems
*parents addressing child-rearing concerns through family literacy class
*Supporting the development of the home language and culture
*Interacting with the school system

It is through these that family interactions on language and literacy will flourish.

Chapter 9: Using the Internet in the Primary Grades

I have said this before, and will continue to say this: what opportunities children and adult of all ages have in the Internet. This chapter especially opens up many opportunities for teachers of primary school age.
How exciting it is for parents too, to know of the many talking storybooks, electronic coloring books, web-based microscopes, guided White House tours, and a number of other resources that are available to teachers and students alike.
I even found a website that I believe could be useful for high school students. It was the alphabet book in Swahili. When teaching Geography, I love to have students experience and practice some of the language from that country/cultures. It had primary students say the word. My students could practice the same way.
It is once again amazing how technology can teach and enhance a student's learning and practicing. The new coloring and alphabet books are just awesome and provide the opportunity for the students to be engaged and enhance their learning. So many cool Social Studies sites are offered for Primary grades. I checked out the Find It! China Quiz. It would be a great pre-test on China to use with high school students. It was an alphabet quiz. Here is the first question:
1. This word starts with an "A." It is the name of the continent in which China is located. What is it called? _______________ How did you do?
The scavenger hunts are also great ways and ideas to have students become engaged!Today Hooray also looked like a great website for jokes and questions of the day. Engagement!
Even weekly reader is online. The best resource ever is now online. What great opportunities for young children.
I also was given an "Ah ha" during the reading. The sharing of name and information is a NO NO on the Internet. I have students sometimes try to download ring tones and music while in my class, just one more situation we at the high school level deal with. It is a risk for them to share there name and personal information. I need to again stress to them NOT TO do that! Also I appreciate that fact that this chapter reminded us of the .com sites and to be careful when suing them. And to remind students of all the commercials that are found on the Internet and to ignore them. Our school district provides for us software for pop ups, so students aren't bombarded with all the pop ups and commercials that are out there. I am thankful for that, because I remember years ago, how long it took to navigate the Internet.
In closing, again great opportunities for students to become engaged! What a great text we have had the opportunity to use extensively. The corners are torn, there are many post it notes and stars.....but a text well worth writing on!