Job Interviews

On the last day of classes the whole class took part in mock interviews for teaching positions.
Three people volunteered to be administrators. There jobs were to come up with questions beforehand and ask them to everyone else who were interviewing to be hired. The administrators told the class a little bit about themselves, and gave made up back stories.

The administrators asked questions that really forced the interviewers to think about how they want their classroom to run, as well as what's most important to them in building a learning community.
Some of these questions included:

If you could teach in one place in the world, where would it be and why?

How will incorporate cooperative learning in the classroom?

If I walked into your classroom 20 minutes into a lesson what should I expect to see?

If you were to describe yourself as one piece of technology what would you choose, and how would you bring this into your classroom?

After the administrators finished asking their questions, they left the classroom to discuss who they would hire. The people who interviewed were asked to reflect on the experience.


My Reflection
The job interview experience was eye opening, and was great practice for the real world. The questions the administrators asked  made me think critically and really forced myself to think about how I want my classroom to be one day. This experience also made me think about instructional methods  I will use, and how to differentiate instruction based on the needs of every student.  The job interview gave me an opportunity to practice presenting myself as a person. It is important to come off positive and confident. Administrators want to hire the person who shows them they are easy to work with, and are personable. 


When the administrators returned they announced who they would hire. They used their made up backgrounds to make this decision. I was fortunate enough to be hired based on my answers to the cooperative learning questions. I was nervous coming into this class, so this was very exciting news to here. All in all I felt this was a worthwhile experience that I can think back to when going on actual interviews.

Artifact Bag Lesson Example

The whole class was lucky enough to take part in an Artifact bag inquiry lesson plan conducted by the one and only Dr. Smirnova. The class split up into their fieldwork groups, and were each given a bag containing clues.

The first clue that my group pulled out of the bag was a piece of paper that looked like a legal document. Our group was lucky enough to have Krista who identified it as a birth certificate. She was able to do so because she spoke Russian and was able to read what it said. The writing on the box used a style known as cyrillic which is used primarily in Eastern Europe.

The second clue we received was a jewelry box. The correct term for this is a lacquer box. These are boxes made in a specific town in Russia by Moscow. We were able to figure this out with the help of Dr. Smirnova. She informed us that the design used golden circles which is a symbolic sign in Russia. Inside the box was a broach of an American flag. We figured out that this represented Dr. Smirnova because she is a Russian American.

The third clue we received from the bag was a picture of an old Russian woman. We noticed that she was wearing a specific type of scarf. We searched this and learned that the scarf is known as a Babushka headscarf and is commonly worn by older women in Russia. The picture we had was of Dr. Smirnova's Babushka which means grandmother in English.

Using the clues in the artifact bag we were able to come up with the conclusion that all of the clues related to Dr. Smirnova and the country we were given was Russia. 

Tlingit Tribe

As a part of a Jigsaw project I was assigned to teach the class with two other people about the Native American tribe known as the Tlingit Tribe. I learned a lot of interesting things about this tribe which I will now share with you.

History

The Tlingit were believed to have settled in the region of Alaska for thousands of years

The first recorded contact by Europeans with the Tlingit people started in 1745 when Russian traders started to explore Alaska. The Russians initiated trade with the Tlingit for sea-otter pelts and other items.

By 1772 the Russians had established permanent settlements and trading posts in the area. Although initial contact with the Russians was peaceful the culture clash soon led to conflicts and wars.

In 1794 the first Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived from Russia to convert Alaskan Native Indians and in 1799 Russian claimed the whole of Alaska for themselves.

In 1804 the Battle of Sitka, was fought between European and Alaska Natives and in 1805 the Tlingit attacked and destroyed the Russian post at New Russia.

In 1835 the United States and England obtain trading privileges in Alaska. Contact with the Europeans brought sickness and disease to the Tlingit.

Between 1835-1839 epidemics of smallpox, measles, chicken pox, and whooping-cough epidemics ravaged their communities.

In 1838 the British Hudson’s Bay Company leased the Southeast Alaska mainland from the Russians.

In 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States for for $7.2 million.

Where are they Now?

Tlingit people have communities including those at Craig Reservation: State, under the jurisdiction of Prince of Wales Island, Hoonah Reservation, under the jurisdiction of Chicagof Island, the Kake Reservation under the jurisdiction of Kupreanof Island and the Klawock Reservation, under the jurisdiction of Prince of Wales Island.

Culture

Language- The people spoke in their own Tlingit dialect, an Alaskan language distantly related to the Athabaskan languages.

Religion- The Tlingit tribe believed in a god called Kah- shu-goon-yah created the universe. Raven, a Trickster god, taught the Tlingit people the institutions by which they lived. The jek, or supernatural spirits, are found in almost anything and have healing powers. The Tlingit believed that every person possessed a mortal and an immortal soul, and when they died, if morally worthy, they ascend to Kiwa-a, the highest heaven. Those that had led evil lives would be condemned to Dog Heaven, where they would be punished. The Tlingit also believed that, in time, all souls returned to the living through reincarnation. The tribe are strongly associated with Totem Poles.

One of their most famous inventions is the Chilkat Blanket. These blankets were used to tell a story of a family. They are made from sheep wool and are said to have the finest quality and design

These colorful blankets have a very similar purpose to the totem pole: to tell a story of a family. This is a very complex art that can even take up to a year to make! Chilkat Blankets include a variety of colors, but most commonly they are yellow, black, and blue. The colors come from natural dyes. They are made from sheep wool and are used to represent different tribes, leaders, stories. The Chilkat Blankets are said to have the finest quality and design of any Native American custom

Songs

Tlingits love music and there were songs for just about every occasion. There were potlatch songs, songs about the clan, mourning songs (these constitute the most of the songs), walking songs,'house doorway' songs to greet guests, thank you or 'gunalcheesh' songs, funny songs, songs for children, feeling songs, shaman songs, LOVE songs (which are the most beautiful, in my opinion), and of course general dance songs.

Dances

It could be an impromptu performance around the evening fire. The shaman used dance as a vehicle to make contact with the spirit world; regular folks might tell a story, ridicule an opponent, or extend an apology through a combination of dance motions. Drums and carved rattles were used as accompaniment. Beautiful Chilkat blankets are used as dance robes.

Clothes

Hats- basketry hats made of finely woven spruce root and bear grass (designs and patterns displayed status and family connections)

Footwear- Moccasin shoes during winter hunting trips

Clothes- elaborate outfits, with tunics, leggings and cloaks painted with tribal designs

Hair- Women usually had two long braids, Men usually left theirs long and loose

Body Art- often painted their faces with different colors for certain occasions, and had tribal tattoos

Food

The food that the Tlingit tribe ate included their staple diet of fish supplemented by wapato (Indian Potato), greens, seeds and berries. The women also pressed the rich oil from the eulachon (candle fish) and used large amounts of this oil as a dip for their food.

Habitat and Homes

The Tlingit tribe lived in windowless rectangular plank houses with four main house posts and distinctive sloping roofs. They were built from the red cedar, fir or spruce trees and painted with signs and symbols of the family and clan.

Totem posts were erected at the sides of the plank house. The Tlingit plank houses were measuring about 40 or 50 feet long and had a fire pit in the center with a smoke hole over it.

The plank houses held 30-50 people, usually of one main clan. The interior was lined with plank floorboards and had a central hearth and common working area with tiered wooden platforms that were separated by wooden screens and storage boxes.

This was a very interesting project, and I was very happy to learn all the interesting facts and history about the Tlingit tribes. It is extremely important to teach about Native American tribes in classrooms because there is so much rich history to tell.

5 Themes of Teaching Geography

1) Location
2) Place
3) Region
4) Movement 
5) Human-Environment

1) Location
- Can be absolute as in an exact location
- Can be relative as in saying next door or nearby
- Can be general as in next to the Post Office

2) Place
- Area defined by what's in it
- All places have features that give them personality and distinguish them
-Example: School- windows, classrooms, doors, teachers, students

3) Region
- Area defined by certain similar characteristics
- These similar characteristics can be physical, natural, human, or cultural

4) Movement
- The way people, products, information, and ideas move from one place to another
-Example: How did you get to school today- Local Example
                  How did humans get to North America- Global Example













5) Human-Environment Interaction
- Relationship between people and their environment- How they adapt and change it.

3 questions to consider when teaching Human-Environment Interaction
1) How do people depend on their environment
Example: Annual flooding of the Nile River produced good soil for growing.

2) How do people adapt to their environment?
Example: Egyptians rebuilt their homes each year after flooding. They went on to build homes above the flood plain.

3) How do people modify the environment?
Example: Egyptians built irrigation ditches to help water the crops.