Technology in Science

6th Grade Science

CONTENT

Standard 3-Students will understand the relationship and attributes of objects in the solar system. Objective 2- Describe the use of technology to observe objects in the solar system and relate this to science's understanding of the solar system.

And I will be tying this curriculum in with Social Studies Standard 1-Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world. Objective 2-Evaluate how religion has played a central role in human history from ancient times to today.

PEDAGOGY

Students will be working in parnerships to explore the night sky using Stellarium. After completing their partner work they will be sharing their projects with the rest of the class. This is a good fit for the content because students will get time to explore the objects in the solar system. They will choose which constellation or object to focus their group project on. Many of these stars tell the stories of the ancient Greek mythologies. Their group projects will tell the story of a specific myth/constellation, about it's location in the sky, and how/if we will be able to see it.

TECHNOLOGY

Stellarium is a great resource for this lesson/project. It allows for students to explore and to be intrigued by the constellation pictures with the overlay. The pictures are intriguing and will help students to select the one they want to discuss. Students will also be able to find out how to locate this constellation in the night sky; some will be only seen in the southern hemisphere. This technology will make the project fun and more applicable to the students.

Malorie- her tour made me want to go to New Zealand even more than I already do!

Ashley- she made an ancient civilizations tour. I bet 6th graders would really enjoy this ancient civilizations tour!

Whitney- she created a tour of health services in the area. It was really useful and well put together. I appreciated that it was so different than anything else I saw.

Human Rights Tour.kmz

Tell 400 Cultural Snapshot

Media Analysis for a Cultural Snapshot

Our Arab/Muslim Friends as Portrayed in the Media:

Time Magazine article Hostile Arabs 

This article is linked from the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee home page offers safety tips to American Middle-Easterners who will possibly face racial discrimination in their schools or homes because of more terrorist activities.

U.S. MUSLIM & ARAB GROUPS URGE VIGILANCE FOLLOWING LATEST NY TERROR CASE 

This is from a YouTube search of "Muslim Children"

Analysis

Now, I have lived among Palestinians and the first YouTube video I posted is not at all what I experienced among the Muslim children. Most were excited to see us and the few who weren't were frustrated with American support of the Israelis who oppress their people. 

I had to search for quite a bit on YouTube to be able to find a positive video that portrays the religious beliefs of the majority of Muslims. 

I am amazed that so many Americans misunderstand the Muslims. However, as I skim through our media and find articles about Jihad it is hard for the American public to believe anything else. To clear up the misconceptions about Islam, it is a peace-loving religion seeking a self-controlled lifestyle. There is a small (very small considering how many Muslims there are in the world) that have created a violent sixth pillar of Islam. These Islamic radicals gain all the media attention, so the culture of power is forced to see all Muslims as threats. And unfortunately they are continually discriminated because they don't have a strong voice as a minority culture. 

How this affects students in the classroom and teacher strategies to assist these students:

This is an account of a Muslim girl attending public school in America

Here is her story  of her childhood in public school and moving to a private Muslim school where she has become a teacher herself.

When teachers create an environment of passive racism, these students with different beliefs and backgrounds suffer. They are bullied and teased because other students have only been given misinformation. Quite often these students feel as if they shouldn't share their opinions or views for the fear of being different. If the classroom is not a safe environment for the student, then their ability to learn will be jeopardized. 

Unfortunately, the religious clothing that the Muslim females wear is seen in a negative light by most Americans. We assume it is a sign of male dominance in their society. However, it represents their modesty and religious sacrifices, so it should be condoned. Also, Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and fast during the daylight hours. Students during this time need to be carefully watched to ensure they are understanding the material as it may be more difficult for them to focus. 

Even further, this student could possibly be an immigrant or refugee fleeing the struggles of war in their home country. This difficult past was left in the hopes of a better future. These students need to feel that they can be successful in the classroom. 

Teachers should first inform all the students about the different culture, so that there are no misconceptions. If the Muslim student is willing to share personally then it opens his/her ability to communicate about the topic in a respected way. In the process the teacher will be creating an environment of sociocultural learning. Also, teachers should not force assimilation on these Arab students. It is important to respect their religious beliefs and be aware of possible cultural conflicts. Promote biculturalism in a way that prevents resistance to the classroom culture. Furthermore, create a nurturing pedagogy that will only disprove the deficit theory. 

Virtual Google Earth tour

Covering content from 6th grade Social Studies: Standard 4 - Students will understand current global issues and their rights and responsibilities in the interconnected world. Objective 3 - Determine human rights and responsibilities in the world.

I chose to write on this subject because I love being able to open the eyes of students to the wide world around them. Many students will not have left the US in their years thus far. I want to be able to instill an appreciation of different cultures. 

Pedagogy - I want to make this into an exploration of current world oppressions and allow students to realize that little is known of these circumstances around the world. So, I will have them do the exploration in pairs, so they can discuss the situations at each tour stop. They will then have a whole class discussion afterwards to share their discoveries and conclusions. 

Technology - We will use Google Earth to tour several different countries. At each stop there will be pictures, video, or a news article about the current situation. This will link each location to other media and exciting technology. 

Location	Activity	Google Earth content
1. Middle East Israel and the west bank	Pictures of the people and clashing cultures	boundary lines between Israel and the West Bank illustrated  3D images? Panoramics?
2. Ghana	News	Polygon
3. India	Caste system - personal account	Polygon 3D images?
4. Iraq	Kurds - video	link to video