Module # 10

Critique 5 blog sites from the Alaska Science class:

KOBUK RIVER VALLEY PEOPLE; Franklin started with a village he knows, then moved farther outward to speak of permafrost's effects resulting all over our state of Alaska. He ties in subsistence hunting affected by climate change. Great statement relating time element of climate change; Arctic tundra is stopped by the Arctic ocean and vegetation can't reproduce fast enough to keep up with the climate changes. You bring in thinning ice resulting in unsuccessful hunting methods. Information is related to real people, not just statistics and you feel drawn into the seriousness of climate change for the people who live in that area.

LIFE IN ALASKA; Wayne has good referencing of materials and logical flow of information. Great visuals. You hit on thermohaline circulation, sea-ice cycle, and predictions about what could result as an effect of sea-ice melting. Erosion of land due to lack of protective sea ice is mentioned. You made good, clear connections between sea-ice melting, warming temperatures, and effects on Indigenous people.

HANSON'S CLIMATE PAGE; This article was started with climate history found in ice cores, river mud, and tree rings. I liked the points of proof that are numbered after your main subject is presented. Your explain, extend, evaluate kept your module short, but to the point.

NATIVE SCIENCE; I enjoyed your sense of humor with introductory jokes. Relating your experiences and a specific area of your state ( Fairbanks ) makes the information pertinent. Your quote from "Two Old Women" is a classic. Your personal observations were thorough and heartfelt.

CLOSING THE CULTURE GAP; Adriana Rodriguez has great references to the written topic. She used the explain, explore, format that gave good logic and smooth flow to your blog.


FINAL PROJECT; Lesson Plan

Objective: The students will know the Kreb's cycle, global warming effects and pollution effects on our Earth due to primarily carbon monoxide and PCBs. Students will know how these three factors interact and cause harm to humans. The students will orally give survey questions to an elder ( 60 years or over ) and write the responses down to share in class.

Survey questions:

1.) Do you see a warming influence in the last 30 years?

2.) How is the weather changing from when you were younger?

3.) Has there been any major change in the plants growing on or near the tundra?

4.) Has there been any major erosion of our river banks?

5.) Has the river depth changed in your life time?

6.) Are summer time temperatures different from 30 years ago?

7.) Are the tundra berries as plentiful as past years?

8.) Do you notice changes in the wind direction and speed over time?

Students will speak their native language ( Yup'ik ) to their elders and write the responses either in English or Yup'ik. Once the classroom of 19 students complete the survey, we will tabulate and see what factors of change were discussed. This is pretty open ended survey, but I wanted the responses of our Elders to be taken for what they were. I have presented the Western Science concepts of Kreb's cycle, global warming and pollution. I wanted to have the Native thoughts on our area and specific to our village from those that have lived and noticed changes.

Activities: Writing from Yup'ik to English our results. Graphing changes and writing a summary of what the Elders have said about these 3 concepts.

Our students are excited, as they get to know about their immediate climate changes and climate history from people they know and respect. Often times our Native peoples are not asked for their input or wisdom about their lands. The instructor presented mini-lessons on the three concepts, had the students draw each concept, and gave a short quiz. We reviewed our concepts over the last 2 weeks in preparation for our survey.

To summarize, my students will be able to see concepts of global warming, Kreb's cycle and pollution first hand and know the oral knowledge of their Elders within our village. We are speaking of our area and the lands we know and live upon.