Module VIII - Cryosphere

 Live From the North Pole: 
"The value of research coupled with nature's

own wondrous display"

Explain

         This module focuses on the Arctic sea ice and the term cryoshpere, which was new to me.  I learned several things about the cryosphere during this exploration and enjoyed it very much. This coming week I'm attending a symposium on placed based learning in New Bedford, MA, so this module couldn't have been more appropriately placed. 

         I found the article:  “When Contemporary Science and Indigenous Knowledge  Collide: Two     Ways of Knowing How to Survive and Thrive as the Climate  Changes,” very insightful. That coupled with with the Anchorage Declaration renewed the commitment we must all make if indigenous peoples all over the globe are to survive with any authenticity. They are pleading with the global community to validate their way of life and to recognize their right to retain a life style unique to their cultures.

        When a people have a traditional heritage that becomes threatened because of an endangered species being over harvested then I believe compromises need to be made. This is important for the heritage to continue. 

       For example, when I was a little girl I remember loving beaver feet. Beaver feet was a real treat. My family moved away from the area and I haven't eaten beaver feet in 20+ years. They no longer have a draw for me, and that is sad. Beaver are not endangered, but I offer this example trying to show how restricting the harvesting of traditional foods for indigenous people can affect future generations. My kids have never tasted beaver feet, and if they do they almost certainly will not like it like my traditional uncle and his family do. Culture dies when its traditions are not generational.

       

Cultural Connections: 

  "Let us walk softly upon the earth for it does not belong to us, but to our children and their children and their children and ..."

• People of the Arctic    This site has several resources concerning Alaska Native Perspectives on Land and Climate with clips on the cryosphere. It also offers lesson plans and student activities. 

•  Lessons and Activities about Arctic Peoples This is a great site for teachers wondering just how to teach a unit on Arctic peoples. It will help "...your students understand that the indigenous cultures of the Arctic - like other cultures of the world - change over time, incorporating modern technology while retaining traditional values and activities? In this article, we've highlighted resources that can help you design a lesson or unit about Arctic cultures."

Extend 

I am going to use the experiments with the ice cubes melting in the glass and the one with two glasses -  one covered in white and the other in black paper. I'll do this when I return as I am out all of next week. I bookmarked the page. So, I'm not sure if my graphs will make it onto the blog or not. Time is running out. I'm wondering if this site will remain up so it can be accessed after the class is over? I know I would use it. I wonder at the time Clay must put in to find the  resources and write the modules!

Technology: 

• YouTube videos on Arctic Ice Melt

 Several great selections.

• Interactive Arctic Food Web

Great site for students to see the interconnectedness for species.

Creating Inquiry:

• CHALLENGE 1: ARCTIC SHELTER

This site asks students to identify the challenges involved in building a structure in a remote area of the Arctic. They then build and explore. A wonderful lesson for grades 5 and up.

Three Colleague:

• Dave Sather: I loved his "Carl Sagan's Cosmos - Star Stuff" from Module VII. Fabulous resources! 

• Esther Gust   From Module V. I liked that she is learning as much as I am, and enjoying it. She is even sharing the information with her students, and that's so appropriate as they are on the ocean 

• Alicia Weaver   I appreciated her photo of Quinhagak. It brings me back to my roots - village Alaska.

Changing Climate

Module VII
Essential Question: How is Earth's climate connected to its geological, biological and cultural systems?

Explain
“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, they return again. All things are full of labor; man cannot express it.” Ecclesiastesastes 1: 5-8a

 I could not express the concepts in this week’s module as eloquently as King Solomon, so I used his quote. The last sentence captures the essence of Module VII.

Our dynamic universe and planet is living. The complexity of cycles, even  positive feedback types,  to stars creating the elements to the microbial factories is fascinating. All of this makes me want to learn more, and possibly, regret not working in a science field. It is very apparent that things seen and unseen are hard at work producing material that affects earth’s climate.

I learned a lot from this week's module, and added several TD resources to my folders. I didn't know that H and He are the foundational gasses for forming all of the known elements on earth. The video  does a super job of showing how this works. I wish I'd found this out earlier in my teaching career. I think it would have helped my students better understand the earth's elements and the periodic table.

Cultural Connections:
It is very difficult to study ancient Athabaskan culture, beyond the 1700’s, because the microorganisms have played their role in the cycling of matter and energy so well. The Athabaskan's used organic material for practically everything: birch for boats, cooking/eating tools, moose and other animals for clothing, wood for housing structures.  They traded for some items and used others like claws, teeth, and bones for amulets, etc. But, finding much evidence of  their daily life has been difficult because their resources were mainly organic, and thus the artifacts are likewise organic and have decomposed.

There are several Native stories concerning how things came to be or how they will be. One of the most extensive is the story of Maniixaq. It is an Inupiaq, northwest Alaska,  story and it is quite long, but worth the read. A great read aloud for older students. This connection is tied to the science on Module VII through the quest for “intelligence”.

Extend
Technology:
“..and a flash of light filled the cosmos…” Evidence for the Big Bang would be a great introduction for students to the Big Bang Theory as well as the periodic table. Modern technology lends validity to science. Technology has advanced theories to where scientist can prove a hypothesis. This is huge in light of what someone like Galileo had to endure just because he did not have the technology to prove his theories.

Creating Inquiry:
The question: How do we know is important. Teachers should not spew scientific "facts" as if the facts are gospel. Students should always be made to question/hypothesize. Teachers and Students also need to consider that as new information is gained, old ideas will be impacted, and the current science "facts" may change. For example, when watching the TD video The Origin of the Elements , students should ask: How do scientist know what elements are being emitted from a super nova? The answer is not in the video. It comes in reading the background essay: "...two elements produce the same colors and line positions along a spectrum. By using instrumentation that reads light signatures from far away — a technique known as spectroscopy — scientists today know with great certainty which elements a planet or a star, or even a star's dispersed remnants, contains." This keeps inquiry alive, and advances thinking – pushing the limits instead of just receiving information verbatim.

Evaluate:
I found the resources in this week's module very useful for myself and my teaching. I will definitely use the videos and the background essays. The explanation of greenhouse gasses and the greenhouse effect on earth's climate were outstanding.

Resources:

 Maniixaq As A Boy listening to
the bird who guided him to
"intelligence".


Maniixaq

Global Warming with Al Gore

Three Colleague

Ernestine Hayes
I loved her quote from Module IV when she talks about events that have impacted earth through time.  ...and some within a history so distant that it is the earth alone who tells the stories

Tracy R. Pulid
I loved her Module VI comments and resources. I especially appreciated her comments about the freezing and thawing due to the Chinook winds.

Dominic (Nick) Pader
Very good blog about the Arctic haze and the accumulation of "scuz".

Atmospheric Systems

Essential Question: How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

Explain

I thought this week’s module was great. I learned several things and am still puzzled by others.  I take so much for granted as an inhabitant of our terra firma. I knew of currents, but to explore them through the resources Clay provided was fascinating. I gained a new appreciation for the complexity of the elements in my daily life!

The main idea was currents, oceanic and atmospheric. The simulations on TD were wonderful visuals and provided information in a way that elementary students in grades 3+ could understand and make sense of the phenomenon.

I thought the cultural connections were scant, but much could be implied or researched. Native people are often thought of, as being good stewards of the land, but one problem every village in Alaska faces is garbage. Open garbage sites in rural villages are a source of pollution for both atmosphere and rivers/lakes/oceans. Many dumps are burned releasing carbons into the atmosphere. Other dump sites are near a water source and items are carried into the water system creating environmental hazards for life in and along the water way.

The garbage anomaly is in contrast to how precious the water is as it provides so many food sources for native people. It was painful for me to post the picture below of the garbage dump in Barrow, but it highlights a problem that villages are and have been trying to solve for a number of years. I feel, we each can do our part culturally for Mother Earth and dispose of our garbage in a more earth friendly way. It’s everyone’s problem.

In Google Earth I was astounded to discover the number of satellites orbiting earth.  This is space pollution (I guess I’m on a tangent). I’m wondering if the number of satellites are somehow lending to the greenhouse affect? And, it makes me wonder how the space shuttle is so adept at avoiding collisions with them. I wasn’t able to figure out the weather layers in Google Earth. I’ll have to go back and play around with that more.

Extend

I will definitely use many of the resources in my classroom. I have several folders created in TD and add to them with every new module. This weeks’ sites were particularly helpful in explaining weather fronts and ocean currents. Below are new links I found useful. They address the concepts of coastlines, oceans, and the last is a link to Aleut stories and legends. There’s a wonderful story about how the wind originated.

Three Colleague

Dave Sather 

The painting was very intriguing and the information on the explosion of Krakatoa was great.
Dan Adair 

I liked his resource image of the currents. He seems very knowledgeable.
Janet Reed

She figured out Google Earth and inspired me to go back in and figure it out.

 




Resources:

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.earthsys.coastenv/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrrJTzXwKx8&feature=player_embedded#!

Image of garbage dump in Barrow, AK












http://www.native-languages.org/aleut-legends.htm
Scroll down to Origin of the Wind: Aleut legend about the doll-warrior who released the winds.

Climate, Culture, and Oceans

Oceans
Essential Question:
How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?
Oceans
Essential Question:
How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?


    Climate, culture, and oceans are so connected it is like asking how arms and legs impact the body. One isn’t complete without the other. Oceans cause climate while climate influences oceans, and culture evolves, adapts, and utilizes both.
    At this point in the class, after reading, responding, and viewing all of the videos, I am even more in awe of our planet than ever. Our ancestors lovingly, and respectfully said, “Mother Earth” because they sensed the connectedness of everything.  And, as an Athabaskin, this planet “watches” and holds me accountable for my actions or lack of them.


Three ways I might use the resources in Module V in my classroom:
1.   You Tube! I really am disappointed that ASD blocks access to You Tube in district classrooms. After watching What causes Earth's Seasons, I was so impressed.  The simplicity of the illustrations and the explained science behind “seasons” was something any kid could get. ( I need to find a way in behind the firewall!)

2.    I’m also going to use Try this Trick – (I’ve bookmarked it). I am going to use a circular surface and shine a light behind it and then tilt the object to show the shadow gets smaller – less direct surface area to absorb direct hits from our source of physical existence – the sun. I hope this works, as it is so elementary to understanding earth science.

3.   I didn’t really understand Check Out the ThermoHaloPycnocline Graph Found Here. I understood the whale dive and the difference in temperature and density, but I didn’t get the plot the yellow line because I didn’t see a yellow line ☹. This module was full of information, some advanced and very useful for high school teachers, so I didn’t feel too badly “not getting it”.
  
Resources:
Climate videos
    

Several Climate Videos.
Preview and download short, broadcast quality video clips on a range climate topics. Each clip is accompanied by a web preview and suggested script.



Climate change in Alaska

 Bear in Denali National Park.
One of the many species climate
may affect in Alaska.











Three things I learned:

1.  I had never thought of the different densities of water at the surface, although I knew different densities existed with depth. I’ve certainly observed surface densities mixing when muddy river water met clear mountain streams, but I had never thought about them resisting mingling. My mind’s eye takes me to the muddy Yukon meeting a clear flowing tributary and seeing the clear water hold its own for several hundred feet before being swallowed by the more powerful river. I always felt badly seeing the clear water swirling and mixing and then disappearing, but I had not connected it to the resistance because of differences in density.

2.  The experiment with the balloons was so eye opening. It really showed how water has such density that it can absorb heat to a large extent. It was a great demonstration of how water holds heat to the earth.

3.  I also found our that icebergs in the cold regions of earth do not get so heavy that they sink.  It is the salt that gets squeezed out of them as they freeze that settles beneath due to its density. Then when the salty mixture comes up, it replenishs the top layer of the ocean with nutrients. Who would have thought!

Three colleagues:
1.    Cheryl Williams. I was impressed with her understanding of the content. So much so that she found humor! I was straining to digest much of the material!

2.    Dan Adair. I liked his comments of using more visuals in the classroom. They are out there. We just need to find them.

3.    Janet Reed. I liked her bringing us back to cycles, and I liked her link to Shishmaref and the ocean erosion there.

Module IV

Three ways I might use the resources in Module IV in my classroom:

1.    The Teacher Domain sites are invaluable to building a visual understanding for students and teachers alike. They explain the Pacific Rim of Fire visually, which cannot be reproduced in words. Using Google Earth to locate places and to calculate distances is also a wonderful tool to any teacher's toolbox. I will definitely use it.
2.    I would use the TD and You Tube resources to reinforce the idea that the earth is a dynamic, powerful “being” under our feet. And, many cultural stories stem from trying to make sense of this dynamic, and many times catastrophic, display of power, which occurs as a result of earth’s turmoil with itself. Things we earthlings depend upon to be consistent just isn’t over time. And as such, in ancient times a great respect for Mother Earth was created because she had the power to create and destroy. Today, modern science elevates itself above such reverence, and therein lies the disconnect between academia and culture.
3.    Resources:
Volcano Woman
Volcanoes around the world

Three things I learned: 
1. Two types of earth's forces that cause volcanoes: hot spots and plate action;
2. I know about the controversy on Hawaii over the observatories. I’ve heard speakers for both positions and watched documentaries concerning the cultural history and relevance of the mountain. What was new information for me was the need/desire to build a new structure. I agree with the native traditional perspective. Use what is there – upgrade or whatever, but another structure would not only be an eye sore, but also, negating native Hawaiian traditional values.
3. How to use the ruler in Google Earth. That was cool! My class is writing to students in Craig, AK so I will go on Google Earth and show them the community and use the ruler to show that Craig is about 733 miles from Anchorage.

Three colleagues:
Ernestine Hayes.
 I appreciate her cultural comments and her perspective on land. I also love her comments, which include comments from Paul Marks. All indigenous people lived by the moon. We Native people have 13 lunar cycles to our year. The western way of thinking had to cram 2 full moons into one month to make all of the full moons fit into a 12 month year. And when 2 full moons occur in one month we say, "Once in a blue moon". How blue got associated with 2 full moons in one month is a story I don't know.
Konrad Mittelstadt.
I really liked Konrad’s research into traditional stories.  His relaying of the Tlingit legends of a monster frog living in the bay that created a death trap is so relevant to me. Native people have observed phenomenon, and their stories tell “tales” if the listener can make the conscientious link between culture and “science”.
Tracy R. Pulido.
 I liked her humor laced with  a reality check. I think all of us who have survived from the land feel we have a reasonable chance of making it if the world does go to “hell”. 

Module III - Landforms and Their Impact on Cultures

Module III
    Module III explores the idea of connectedness between culture and landforms. Exploring how landscapes formed and how, in turn, they shaped cultures by their landforms is not only interesting, but also a fundamental necessity in understanding any culture.
.    The Yupik, Cupik, Athabaskin, and Tlingit cultures were featured in the Teacher Domain episodes. Each is very unique in certain aspects of their culture, and this uniqueness stems from restraints and opportunities afforded by the local, regional landforms and geological processes in their area. Each of these cultures had to find ways to live in harmony with what was around them.
For example, the Athabaskins along the Yukon River use the river for transportation, survival – both subsistence and non-subsistence, and aesthetics. The river is constantly being traversed by boat, snow machine, dog team, automobile, or serving as a landing strip for airplanes. In turn the river brings fish, barges, water, and wood. And, there isn’t a more astounding and beautiful sight on earth as when the “sun dogs” appear or the moon is being reflected from the white ribbon of river ice.
This same river can be menacing when it swells and floods or becomes so turbulent it swamps boats. The Athabaskins living along this river have a “centered” respect for what it “is” – beneficial, beautiful, and threatening. The Yukon connects the people to the land. It provides for them, and they in turn have come to love and revere it.
When I say the river brings wood that may sound strange to someone who hasn’t lived along the river. During spring break up, the river delivers all kinds of driftwood. The water is high from melt off, so trees along the banks often loose their grip due to erosion and become part of a journey to the sea. Natives along the way look for good logs and then go out in boats to drag them ashore for use. I have watched this and heard constantly phrases like, “Let that one go for our relatives down the coast” or “That’s a good one, we should get it”.
    I used the Yukon River and the Athabasin culture for my primary source to show how landforms create a connectedness with the people subjected to them. But, I would also like to say that in Tlingit country I felt that same sense of reverence from them toward the cedar and sea. In Aleut, Unangan, country the wind and sea hold tradition and life in their hands. The Inupiat and Yupik have the true tundra and sea, which also have a hold over them. Each season has its gifts and challenges. All of our cultures are tied intrinsically to the land, and its formations - from which a predictable life was carved and established.
    People living in an urban area cannot begin to develop this sense of reverence for the landforms unless they leave the comfort of their living rooms and venture out into the surrounding “wildness”. This is a challenge for Native people. How can this value for the land be kept alive if we don’t expose our children to all of its features? With so many rural families moving to urban areas, this should be a point of concern. If we lose the connectedness to the land, then we cannot be good stewards of it.
    The concept of Pangaea explains commonalities among fauna, flora and ethic groups living on different continents. It seems to make sense, and it seems to be an accepted theory. How else do we get the Himalayas? And, some awesome, dynamic force pushed Denali to a height unequaled on the planet from base to summit. It had to be colliding landmasses of some sort. Weathering and erosion are natural forces of nature like birthing, living, and dying when the time comes – if one is fortunate to live the full circle.
    In Anchorage, like most places in Alaska, it is easy to see the impact of geological forces at work. We have the Chugiak Mountains forming a semi-ring around the city. We have Mt. Redoubt, Sleeping Lady, and the Valdez-Chugiak Faults in our back yards. I will use the resources on Teacher Domain showing how the geological forces formed different mountain types, and how these forces are dynamic even today.
    Goggle Earth is wonderful! I looked at the island of Attu because my dad fought there in WWII. He told me how difficult it was to route the Japanese out of the hills in the fog and terrain. Then I contrasted Attu with Wrangell to show how different the land was for the Aleuts. I find this type of teaching invaluable as students are pushed to examine and evaluate how the Aleuts had to adapt during their interment.
 Unless we look critically at all of this, and appreciate what it means to “adapt”, then we are misusing our opportunity to “teach” and we are robbing students of the opportunity to synthesize, evaluate, and apply new knowledge.

Three Colleagues:
Matt Hunter of Sitka. I loved his pictures and my granddaughter goes to MEHS. 
Lila's blog also caught my eye. I liked her ideas and on intergrating Native knowledge and western science.
Ester Gust's blog is another one I visited. I am interested in hearing other Native perspectives and how they are using the ideas in the course.

Where on Earth Was I Born

I was born in a log cabin located on the Kuskokwim Riverin Alaska. There was no hospital, just some trappers, my mom and the landlady of the trading post. The place is named Medfra and was, at one time, an active and viable trading post for trappers, miners and local Native people. It is surrounded by low hills and still has an airstrip where a small plane can land. I was gifted the small cabin I was born in, and it is still there.
Medfra:
63° 6'24.00"N
154°42'51.00"W