Thursday, December 13, 2012

Geography - December check in


Hello class. That's Thorin (son of Thrain, son of Thror), carrying both an axe and a sword... why not?  The sword is Orcrist, forged by elves in Gondolin long ago.  That's what's on my mind, with the Hobbit movie coming out tomorrow. What's on your mind?  Could you take a minute to check in?  Leave a comment giving a brief description of what you have planned so far for your final project in Geography.

Also, here are some links that we talked about in class but maybe you haven't had a chance to visit...

These are two videos recommended by your classmate CJ as a follow-up to our discussion yesterday on the purpose of our public education system (great discussion by the way!):
Hate school, but love education - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZmM7zPLyI
Changing Educational Paradigms - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Here is the other Geography teacher's blog I mentioned... notice what her students are talking and thinking about... feel free to leave comments there, too, if you want -- she has invited you to do so.

And finally here is the tool I was telling you about in class... maybe this might be an option for presenting your final project.

27 comments:

  1. I'm doing a story with the greek gods contemplating destroying humanity because of pollution.

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    1. Cool idea, and a great chance to weave your passion for creative writing into the project design. I'd encourage you to use real world case studies (modern examples) of pollution so that the story has one foot in the reality. Maybe you could pick a pollution element from the four spheres... rock, air, water, life

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    2. I can use air for Zeus and water for Posieden but I think I might just focus on those. I could mention a little bit about Hades because he's the god of riches in the earth but I don't know what I could do for life.

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    3. Dionysus, god of wine... Persephone, goddess of spring growth, Plutus, gold of earthly wealth, Demeter, goddess of fertility.

      I think working with the gods will be interesting, but the really interesting part will be to see how you can attach them to profound issues

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  2. Researching all sub-species of both endangered and extinct tigers. Comparing poaching rules in China; what Canada is doing to stop this.

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    1. Great idea. Why do you think the "big" species like tigers draw so much attention? Look for short, relevant video clips to show us the issue. Maybe pick at least one species in BC or Canada for a direct comparison. It would be neat to interview a local wildlife biologist (try the Ministry of Environment) and ask what species are at risk locally and why.

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    2. Tigers tend to draw so much attention, because everyone knows what they are; surprised at the downfall of them. There will be comparisons, and blood.

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  3. Endangered Sharks and Whales off our coast and why other land species seem more important than our ocean species, and The involvement of Canada to stop these animals from going extinct.

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    1. Good question there to guide your research. What's the personal connection? Be sure to investigate the causes of endangerment... habitat loss, commercial fishing, climate change, etc. and get some perspective on how the issues can be addressed

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    2. The Personal connection is that I have always loved the ocean and I've seen dead sharks on our coastline and wondered how they got there.

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  4. JP, Gordon: Doing a short, comical News Cast.

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    1. Can you provide a few more details? Without spoiling the fin, which learning outcomes will you explore?

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    2. we're going to be talking about the weather systems, mainly how the snow is formed, and we will also be talking about clouds.

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  5. Painting a picture of global warming.

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    1. Art can be an amazing way to explore scientific issues. What aspects of climate change will you take on? How will you incorporate research into your presentation? We will need to be convinced that the art represents both your inspiration and your depth of learning. Do you think you'll still blend music and/or singing into your work? I'm excited for the results!

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  6. I'm doing a video on endangered/extinct animals,
    it will look wicked when done.. i just have to find the right software...

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    1. See comment for Alysha Maegan and Faith above... I'm really looking forward to your work -- you have so much creativity, original thought, and a wicked sense of humour. Remember that your unique approach can be a mystery for us to understand sometimes :), so be sure to give us some kind of a roadmap to navigate your art.

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  7. Drydon and CJ are making a spiderweb...on energy in the world
    Sherlock Holmes style
    BATMAN SYMBOL Q Q 4 Z
    GIT R DONE

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    1. I'm not exactly sure what this means but I have some confidence that it will be unique and alos rigorous re the geography topics. Drydon has told me about his plans to compare current and future energy systems and what it will take to get us to a sustainable pattern... is this where you are still going with it? What's the Sherlock thing?

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  8. Kalem said Going to be making a report on how we aere contributing to teh affects of climate change and then how climate change will in turn affect us

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    1. This is a broad and ambitious topic to take on. I would highly recommend confining it to real examples (case studies) in BC or Canada. I have some resources on that if you want. It is really important that you set a few mileposts for your project. You and I both know that if you leave it to the end, you'll rush though and try to pull off something witty but far short of the learning intentions... been there, done that. I'm really looking forward to something you can be proud of, your "swan song" in Geog 12. Find a way of incorporating your love of metal into the project -- there are many bands that have taken on environmental and landscape themes in their music.

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    2. I had planned on making it a bc based topic -Kalem

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  9. Going to try for a poem about clouds. May journey into other topics depending on how much content is generated from the information I can find.

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    1. Awesome! We're looking for depth on two fronts: the expression of self/investment of your identity in the project, and the use of key questions from unit 5 and/or unit 6. I think a series of poems might be appropriate - maybe one for each cloud type. This would go great with visuals - photos or videos. You could even try to capture video of each cloud type over the next few weeks as a backdrop to your poems. Think about what you want your presentation to look like. Don't forget poems don't need to rhyme... English is actually rhyme poor and yet so rich in alliteration... worth thinking about.

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  10. Making a childrens book then after explain how the book has to deal with the topic we are learning about

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    1. I love your quirky sense of humour and tendency to drift off on tangents... I can relate with that. You may want to explain a bit before and have time for questions after. One thing I learned from Davyn's "interpretive dance" a while back was that it really helps to have a sense of where we're going before diving into a creative performance. One thought I had when you were telling me about the story was that you read the lighter child-focussed part out loud while the darker sub-text appears on the screen behind you. Just a thought. Looking forward to what you come up with.

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  11. Chantelle and John
    We're making a map or globe of the world with footprints on it. Each footprint will represent the effects of human activities and have a description.

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