Learning Page Chat, June 16, 2005:
Environment
Room: ASO
LeniD joined the room.
BjB: |** ANNOUNCEMENT: The Library of Congress Learning Page Chat is starting in the ASO. The topic is Environment. To participate, click on the online tab to the left of the chat window, single click on LeniD and then click on the door icon at the bottom of the frame **|
LeniD: Let's begin with introductions... please tell us your name, where you are from and what you do in education.
BJB2: I'm an art teacher in Pennsylvania.
LeniD: I'm the Coordinator of the Learning Page project at the Library of Congress...and a former teacher/tech director.
MichaelRu: Michael Russo, NY, Educational Technology Specialist
EmilyW: I am a recent college grad currently living in TX (but hopefully will be in DC); I am a web designer who hopes to design educational websites
WendyLM: I'm a family therapist in Louisiana. One of my teachers is having us observe a meeting for an assignment in grad school.
LeniD: What an interesting group. Thanks :-)
LeniD: Welcome to the last chat of the 2004-2005 school year.
BJB2 . o O ( except for the festival )
LeniD: (right BJ)
LeniD: Tonight we are sharing resources about the environment.
LeniD: The Library has some very interesting resources to use when teaching about the environment - tonight, I’ll show you some of them. Are you ready?
LeniD: Let’s start with the Conservation and Environment map collections.
Take some time to poke around a bit...
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/cnsvhome.html
LeniD: Did everyone get that one?
DavidWe nods
LeniD: Good :-)
EmilyW: no
BJB2: I did
EmilyW: I am having problems today with loading links
WendyLM: yes
EmilyW: got it
MichaelRu: sorry - busy browsing - yes
LeniD: Great! Tonight you have time to browse. Let me know if you find something truly wonderful or just surprising!
EmilyW: so we are just browsing the site?
LeniD: I’ll direct your browsing, Emily. However you will have more time to look around on the suggested sites than I usually allow.
LeniD: If you teach about the American Conservation Movement, this timeline might be a huge help.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/cnsvhome.html
LeniD: Here's what might seem a companion piece...
Ecology and the American Environment
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/icuhtml/aepsp.html
BJB2: cool!
LeniD: I like that one, too, BJ:-)
LeniD: From the Folklife Center’s Teacher’s Guide to Folklife Resources come these links to Internet resources and curriculum materials on the topic.
Ecology and Environment
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/teachers/subject_list.php?subjects=Ecology+and+Environment
LeniD: Let me know if that link works for you, please.
BJB2: yeppers
MichaelRu: ditto
LeniD: Good :-)
LeniD: This exhibition offers an excursion into American literature through literary maps, photographs and quotations from works by American authors. Each section features landscape photographs and drawings.
Language of the Land: Journeys Into Literary America
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/land/landintr.html
BJB2: wonderful
LeniD: BJ, I knew that one would catch your fancy :-)
LeniD: From Science Reference Services...
A guide to Natural Disasters...
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/naturaldisasters.html
LeniD: If butterfly migration is of interest, you’re in luck!
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/butterfly.html
MichaelRu really hates when he closes the wrong window
EmilyW: I really enjoy looking at the sites on loc
LeniD: We're glad your back, Michael :-)
BJB2 smiles...we've all done that, Michael
LeniD: Glad to hear it, Emily!
LeniD: More from the Science Reference Room...
Selected Internet Resources
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/environment.html
LeniD: If you are a fan of John Muir...
The story of my boyhood and youth, by John Muir; with illustrations from sketches by the author.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/lhbumbib:@field(NUMBER+@band(lhbum+05573))
LeniD: Learn about the National Herb Garden in this presentation by Curator, Jim Adams.
The Herb Garden at the National Arboretum
http://www.loc.gov/locvideo/herbgarden/
BJB2 head is spinning!
LeniD: Hang on, BJ :-)
LeniD: You may not be aware of it, but we have MANY fascinating programs at the Library...and many of them are cybercast after the fact.
MichaelRu: that is one of the awesome things about the net - you can get access to events you can’t be at
BJB2 tightens her seat belt
EmilyW: where do you find the cybercasts?
LeniD: I have probably shown this one in other sessions... It fascinates me!
Earth As Art: A Landsat Perspective...
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earthasart/
BJB2 smiles...I think I do have that bookmarked...fascinates me too
MichaelRu: question regarding maps...
LeniD: Yes?
MichaelRu: I am somewhat familiar with a map format I think is (or was) used by LOC - MrSID - is that still used?
MichaelRu: the first link you showed made me think of it
BJB2 thinks Dragon Lake is very well named
LeniD: The Library is transitioning into jpeg 2000...but at this time, we still use MrSid, as well.
LeniD: I agree, BJ.
MichaelRu: thanks
LeniD: These maps are more for aesthetic value than for real "mapping" purpose, Michael.
MichaelRu: understood
LeniD: They are gorgeous, though :-)
LeniD: Would you like to see some lesson plans about the environment?
Ready or not...
LeniD: The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads:
The Hetch Hetchy Controversy
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/97/conser1/xroads.html
LeniD: I love this one because I'm a native Californian. My son, who practices "water law" in CA, tells me that this is still a controversy!
LeniD: Here's another lesson with a literary connection...
Students gain an understanding of Dust Bowl history through the eyes of a child, using Karen Hesse's novel, Out of the Dust.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/99/dust/intro.html
DavidWe smiles
LeniD: What is the smile about, David?
DavidWe likes the Dust Bowl stories/histories
DavidWe . o O ( my Dorothea Lange story )
LeniD: Ahhh...stories...yes, indeedy :-)
LeniD: For the high school set...
Twain's Hannibal
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/99/twain/intro.html
DavidWe has a good environmental website for later....
LeniD: Great! Just a few more lessons, then please share, David!
DavidWe: sure, Leni. Thanks
LeniD: For the younger set...
Artifact Road Show
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/99/road/intro.html
LeniD: Nature's Fury...
Brace yourself for this one...
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/00/nature/index.html
DavidWe . o O ( last year's Florida hurricanes? )
LeniD: You will see :->
LeniD: I confess that the social studies and language arts are usually the focus I favor
for most teaching themes...
LeniD: This lesson works for me on that level...
LeniD: Students study photographs, maps and interviews with two New England fishermen of the early 20th century, construct "found poetry," and research in Thomas to understand legislation restricting the fishing industry.
LeniD: Sea Changes: A Study of a New England Industry
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/00/sea/index.html
EmilyW: for these topics those seem to work best
Art might work too
DavidWe: Eastern Long Island has suffered a lot in the past 25 years
BJB2: found poetry is an interesting concept
DavidWe agrees with BJ
LeniD: We are creating a new activity for the fall that has students create found poetry.
DavidWe: cool
LeniD: I'm glad to hear that it seems an interesting concept to you all.
EmilyW: I really like how the lesson pages are organized on this site
LeniD: Thanks, Emily.
LeniD: Do you all know what "found poetry" is?
MichaelRu would not mind a brief overview
EmilyW: no
LeniD: Found poetry can be made in many ways...
Sometimes, students choose phrases and text blocks from narratives...
And get to the essence of the content (or show their understanding of the content) in poetic form.
It's a nice way for students to analyze and synthesize content.. And share their learning in a creative and student satisfying way.
LeniD: BJ, David...would you care to add more about this technique?
DavidWe stumbles for something to say
BJB2: I've read where you take key words from the narrative to start the poetic composition
DavidWe: I don't really know that much about "found poetry", Leni. I'm learning from you
MichaelRu: can you point to an example? Can’t remember if we saw one tonight...
LeniD: Try this, Michael...
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/00/sea/examples.html
DavidWe: yes, choose small chunks of text - less than a footnote
DavidWe: Here's the definition from the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_poetry
BJB2: Found poems are build from lines of existing poems, allowing student writers to "paw through popular culture like sculptors on trash heaps." (Dillard) The poems created are original poems; their themes and their orderings invented. Their lines, when extracted from existing poems, are not. This tool already uses lines from Whitman's "Song of Myself" and Dickinson's "I'm Nobody..." However, it can be altered to accommodate lines from any poem simply by deleting the lines that appear and inputting ones that are new. The creation of found poetry allows students to closely examine literary devices, syntax, semantics, and meaning. Appropriate for grades k-12 (depending upon the poetry selected for students to "pull" from.)
http://www.poetryforge.org/teaching.htm
DavidWe wonders where Bj found the Annie Dillard quote
LeniD: You can see there is not only "one" way to do found poetry, Michael.
BJB2: check the url, David
DavidWe smiles
DavidWe does and thanks Bj for that URL
DavidWe likes Annie Dillard A LOT
LeniD: Nice one, BJ...thanks!
MichaelRu: definitely - thanks for the great resources and info
BJB2: take a look at the found poetry tool...very very cool
LeniD: Can't wait to try it, BJ.
DavidWe: my turn?
LeniD: Go David :-)
DavidWe: Photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - amazing!
http://www.wwbphoto.com
DavidWe: Subhankar Banerjee - the photographer - grew up in India, studied engineering and then got a Master's degree in physics and computer science
He worked at Los Alamos National Lab and Boeing before heading north!
Here's his bio page:
http://www.wwbphoto.com/banerjee.html
DavidWe: I met him in September, before he gave a talk about his photographs and what amazing life comes to and goes from the North Pole as well as the people who live there, despite the harsh conditions
DavidWe: Lots of bird migrations
LeniD: What a beautiful site!
I'm lost on the site... I see need for real time to explore. BJ and David...thanks for these treasures.
DavidWe smiles
MichaelRu: wow
LeniD: Where did you meet him, David?
DavidWe: In the gallery in New York City (Gerald Peters) where his photos were on the walls. I couldn't believe how beautiful they were
DavidWe: He and I were talking about cameras, he's amazingly humble
LeniD: I'm in awe.
DavidWe is in awe, too
DavidWe: They are just remarkable and they suggest such a foreign land, yet it really does teem with life
DavidWe thanks Leni for letting him share
LeniD: Thanks so much, David!
LeniD: Any further sites to share... Or questions or comments?
BJB2: wow...that's ending the school year with a royal bang, Leni!
BJB2: thanks so much for the wonderful resources
DavidWe echoes BJ's remarks
MichaelRu: yes - thank you so much
WendyLM: thank you for letting me observe
LeniD: You are all very welcome. Thanks for joining us.
LeniD: All these resources and a good deal more can be found in the Environment Community Center on the Learning Page...
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/00/sea/examples.html
MichaelRu: thanks for a great conversation - goodnight
LeniD: Our first chat in the new school year will be about Government and the Constitution. I hope you will join us then.
DavidWe: GOOD topic!
LeniD left the room (signed off).
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