Module VI..Atmospheric Systems

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

Explore:

Here is an intriguing bit of information that I had not considered...it is a great example of how animals and atmosphere are connected. When contemplating the subsistence lifestyle of many Native Alaskans, the topic also has implications on native culture. A study was done on the effect of whaling and the atmosphere. Dr. Andrew Pershing from the University of Maine said "Whales, like any animal or plant on the planet, are made out of a lot of carbon." "And when you kill and remove a whale from the ocean, that's removing carbon from this storage system and possibly sending it into the atmosphere." I believe that it is impossible to explain atmospheric phenomenon without including oceanic concepts. The vast amounts of carbon being used by living things, along with oceanic currents (and other factors), play a role in atmospheric temperature and thus makes the oceans an integral part of the "atmospheric system". In the studies initial calculations, the team worked out that 100 years of whaling had released an amount of carbon equivalent to burning 130,000 sq km of temperate forests, or to driving 128,000 Humvees continuously for 100 years. These numbers are astonishing, though the subsistence whaling done by Alaska Native groups would only represent a small fraction in these numbers, it would still have an impact. I write this, not to imply anything negative for the whaling subsistence practice, but to assist in the understanding that what we do in and with our oceanic biomass has an effect on our atmospheric conditions and greenhouse gases percentage, specifically carbon amounts in our atmosphere. It goes without saying that worldwide illegal taking of whales and the countries that do not regulate the amount of whales taken would presently be the largest contributors of this dramatic "deforestation" of the oceans!

Explain:

In both my Geology and Physics courses I have students compare Earth's atmosphere with that of Venus. Astonishing to consider a nearly constant temperature (night or day) of about 350 degrees C coupled with an atmospheric pressure 92 times that of earth!

I also discuss the greenhouse effect in terms of an automobile with its windows up tight on a hot summer day. For example, we have all heard the news stories of people leaving their children or pets in a vehicle while they run into a store. They have been driving with the air conditioner on so the vehicle is cool. Those that I have seen interviewed state something similar to "the baby was asleep and the car was cool. When I came out of the store, which took longer than expected, the baby/pet was dead." High frequency infrared from the sun is transmitted through the glass. As the interior of the vehicle (seats, floors, etc.) begin to warm they emit lower frequency infrared back into the air in the automobile that does not transmit through the glass and exit the car...it is reflected by the glass and is trapped inside the vehicle with a resulting dramatic temperature increase that can kill. Knowing a little applied physics can be beneficial to those who take the time to learn and possibly tragic for those who don't! (A little common sense is also a good practice!)

Personally, like any other technology (or nearly anything for that matter), it becomes exciting when I understand what its uses are for and figure out how to use it...case in point is this GE snapshot (now that I have learned the process) of South America on March 4th, 2010. It distinctly shows the convection cells moving towards and away from the equator...in this case (southern hemisphere) the colder air from the Antarctica area flows toward to equator (2nd Law of Thermodynamics...thermal energy always flows, unless energy is put into the system, from higher temperature to lower temperature) and the warmer, closer to the equator air, moves up in latitude (down in relation to the equator) as it moves towards the South Pole. The Polar Front Jet Streams are quite obvious in this image! I am dumbfounded when I see and am able to use this type of technology...when I went through school, including college, without the use of even a computer, let alone the internet, I realize how students today have so much information readily available at their fingertips. The data at our disposal, nearly instantly, both now visual (satellite photos) and now proven, by today's technology, is mind boggling!

Extend:

Above is a beautiful picture of our Mt. Redoubt taken on February 17, 2009. Another consideration for atmospheric carbon is volcanic activity. We know geologically that volcanic activity has been globally fairly consistent over that past several millennia as humans have been recording events. How much does this add to our climate change in relation to human activities...namely the burning of fossil fuels. According to the United States Geologic Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), while 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide was released by volcanoes on land and underwater volcanoes (which is a lot), the global fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions for 2003 was 26.8 billion tonnes. Conclusion...volcanic activity contributes less than 1% of the carbon dioxide to the atmosphere that the burning of fossil fuels.

Evaluate:

Even after 18 years of teaching Geology and Physics, along with having a personal interest in the concepts, I am still in awe as to how thin and fragile our atmosphere really is. I have for many years stated to my students, as was read in this weeks module, that we live at the bottom of a (relative to the diameter of earth) "shallow" ocean of air. It helps students to better understand density, air pressure and how close we live to "real space". The notion of how small it is versus it's complexity is challenging to teach and often difficult for students to comprehend. The idea that what one country contributes to the atmosphere, effects the atmosphere of the entire earth, thus could and is by many believed effecting cultures today. The concept of climate change is most pronounced in the upper latitudes of the northern hemisphere, thus is effecting cultures that have existed for centuries and requiring them to change their way of life in order to survive. Northern (especially) Native Alaskan communities (several TD video clips) have changed the way they go about maintaining their subsistence life style and because of living off of the land have been put in harms way as the oceanic and atmospheric currents bring with them industrial pollution from the southern, more populated regions. Climate change has also resulted in hunting manner...boating farther out into the Arctic and Bering to find walrus and other species that they require for foodstuffs are just the beginning of what is happening today!

Module V...How are climate, cultures & oceans connected?

Explore:

By total coincidence I am currently using part of this week to introduce my Physics students to the concept of specific heat capacity! I used a few of the segments of this weeks blog as part of my lesson...what really struck me was that I had taught this concept for many years, but had never put into a "global" or "cultural" context. I have often used the winter and summer extreme temperatures of Nome vs. Fairbanks in my discussions though(even though the Bering Sea usually freezes near Nome so summer highs are more extreme than winter lows)...we all know that Fairbanks is colder in winter and hotter in summer, even though they are both at about 64 degrees north latitude and only a few hundred miles longitude apart.
Nome temperature averages/records compared to Fairbanks temperature averages/records is a great comparison because students know where they are and are fairly familiar with the towns. The record temperatures are about 10 degrees F higher in summer and about 10 degrees F lower in winter in Fairbanks! Another good comparison is Anchorage vs. Glennallen.

I use a step by step lab with my Physical Science students...I tried pasting and this was the best I could come up with. If someone is interested in the "printable/table" version please email me and I will be glad to attach and return to you!

Specific Heat Lab--Transfer of Energy
Objective:
Students will use lab measurement skills to find the specific heat of several unknown materials.

Materials Required:
1 100 ml graduated cylinder per group of three students
1 Aluminum block/piece
Other “unknown” materials
1 Celsius thermometer or temperature probe
1 large Styrofoam cup

Procedures:
1) Place EXACTLY 150 grams(ml) of water from bucket in the insulated cup using a graduated cylinder
2) Record temperature of bucket water in the table.
3) Go to your teacher and ask for the one of the objects—do aluminum first to prepare yourself for the unknowns.
4) Have your teacher place the object in your water and read you its temperature—record this in the table.
5) Allow the water and object to come into “thermal equilibrium”—about 3 to 4 minutes and record final temperature.
6) Remove the object from the water, dry it, mass it and record the results. Pour water in sink!
7) Repeat procedures 1 through 5 for each object.
8) Clean your work station.
9) Complete the data table by using the formula: specific heat(c) equals energy (cal.) divided by mass x change in temperature: c = Q / m∆T also…Q = mc∆T

**Remember**-- by understanding that the amount of energy lost by the object(Q) is equivalent to the energy gained by the water(Q), you can easily calculate the specific heat of the unknown object! I use the following objects...
Aluminum
Cylinder (nylon)
Bolt (brass)
Nut (iron)
Ball (lead)
Stone (basalt)
Bar (copper)

Yet another fun activity is to fill a paper cup with water and try to burn the cup with a torch. We all know from those camping trips as kids (even big kids) that the water boils and as it boils evaporation occurs and only the exposed top of the cup will burn. My students could not believe that the water balloon in the "Oceans of Climate Change" you tube video would not pop...I love it when students question what they see or hear, so of course we had to put it to the test..even my seniors could not believe it! A simple but very "cool" demo.

Explain:

The specific heat capacity of water plays a huge role in our earth's "thermal energy" balance and dynamics as is shown in this module. Couple that with fluid dynamics (oceans and atmosphere) and the constant mixing and motion of these fluids, and the result is a very complex system. The effect from a cultural standpoint is the number of humans that live near oceans...easy to understand near the equator and assisted by the information in this module...fluid dynamics elsewhere at greater latitudes.
Another major component of global heating and cooling is expressed in the "Reasons for the Seasons". I remember my first summer solstice in Alaska as I went out to measure my height to shadow ratio just for curiosity. Even in southcentral Alaska my shadow is longer than I was tall (comparing the ratio with what it is in 37 degrees north with that of 60 north)...and watching the sun go "around" the sky, rather that "over" the sky was interesting to observe. Fewer photons results in less energy received and thus a lower increase in the surrounding temperature which plays a big part in the climate of the area.

Albedo is an interesting concept also, especially when discussing latitudes that are above or below the "critical angle". At a certain angle light is totally reflected from a surface (here we are concerned with water). At certain latitudes and times of the year the infrared wave energy from the sun that strikes an ocean surface is reflected back into space with no increase of water temperature. Yet another (of the many other) consideration is the "phase change" of water. The energy required for melting solid water and released when changing from a liquid to a solid play another role in this very complex global energy concept...the reason that lakes are the last to freeze over in the fall and the last to melt in the spring are those same lakes!

Extend:

I found the "Gulf Stream" you tube video of particular interest...I did NOT know that Ben Franklin was originally commissioned to map those streams nor the process he went through to create his maps. This and several other of the clips were very helpful to me this week in driving home the concept of thermal energy. In Geology one assignment I use is to assign my students to choose a dozen sea side cities...six from the Atlantic and six from the Pacific and they all have to be at least fifteen degrees difference in latitude. They then, using oceanic currents and latitudes, describe the climate of the cities and explain WHY they are that way. I am excited as I continue to learn more tricks on Google Earth and know my future lessons will be more engaging for and meaningful to my students than just pointing to places on a map!

Evaluate:

The Teachers Domain and You Tube presentations in this module were extremely useful in visualizing several difficult and challenging concepts, from oceanic currents to the Coriolis effect. I look at these and don't know how I have gotten those concepts across to my students in the past(maybe I had failed)...I know future lessons will be much more "understandable" using these digital (and already created!) resources. When I found the sea surface temperature plug-in, I could not resist taking a snapshot...

Finally, another great interactive to exemplify the greenhouse effect is from PHet. Try adjusting the amount of greenhouse gases to really drive home the concept of global atmospheric warming and how those gases effect temperature. In my opinion this is the best website for Physics interactive resources. It also has chemistry, earth sciences, biology and mathematics interactives...I would highly recommend taking a look if you are not familiar with the site already!

FINAL PROJECT...EXPLORE ALASKA!

ESSENTIAL QUESTION FOR FINAL PROJECT...

How can digital resources and effective teaching methods be used to integrate Alaska Native ways of knowing and Western scientific methods in order to create greater understanding of, and interest in, geosciences for students?

• Below is a lesson created to introduce and develop the concept of glaciers, along with an understanding of the effects they have or had on not only our physical earth, but some of it's effects on humanity. It is intended for a 9-10 grade level earth science or geology course. More specific goals are found in the objectives portion of the lesson...
  
  How Do Glaciers Effect the Earth’s Surface?
  

Objectives:

• Students will learn what glaciers are, characteristics of a glacial valley and the glacier life cycle.
• Students will develop an understanding of how glaciers form a glacial valley and their importance in fresh water provision to cultures below.
• Students will be able to determine if a valley is a river valley, glacial valley and/or possibly both.

Subject Area and Suggested Grade Level:

• Earth Science, Geology and Glaciation for grade levels 9-10

National Education Standards:

• Interactions among the solid earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and organisms have resulted in the ongoing evolution of the earth system. We can observe some changes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on a human time scale, but many processes such as mountain building and plate movements take place over hundreds of millions of years.

Time Needed: two hours of class time, more if extensions are desired.

Background Information:

A foundational concept of Geology/Earth Science is how the earth’s crust is always changing due to weathering and erosion. An important part of this concept on parts of our earth’s continents is glaciation. The earth’s crust is being continually changed in valleys where glaciers presently exist. The changes that occur are only evidenced over a long period of time and/or after the glacier no longer exists. Many of Alaska’s and lower 48 states valleys are the remains of glacial activity during the last ice age. Students should know how to make observations which will give them evidence, and then be able to illustrate in order to visualize how glaciers have changed the overall shape of the valley in which they currently exist or once existed in.

Materials:

• Snow at a temperature just below freezing in order for it to be easily made into snowballs—a 5 gallon bucket should work for a 25 student class.
• Small rocks and sticks
• Several football sized chunks of soft sandstone or other fairly soft rock type
• A large shoe box for sand—about 3 cm of sand in the box is enough
• Hand-lens for each group
• Paper to record data, record observations & answer questions
• Internet access and printer






Suggested Lesson Plan:

1) Show the you tube video “glacial erosion”

2) Discuss how a glacier forms, with it's life cycle. A very dramatic You Tube video is called "Collapse of a Glacier", take a look! If you have the time and need more information, any/all of the "other resources" listed below have a wealth of information about glaciers!
3) Discuss the shape of glacial valley versus a river valley and ask students to describe on their paper why they look the way that they do and how the process works. Use the site USGS "Alaskan Glaciers" to show examples during the discussion. Also question the class as to what they have heard or seen about climate change. How would a rise in global temperature effect the life span of a glacier and the number of glaciers, along with the cultural connection of fresh water needed to maintain a certain lifestyle in a place where glacial runoff is the main source of fresh water? Show the Teacher's Domain video clip "Climate Change Impacts Alaska Glaciers".

4) Divide into groups of four. Each member of the group should be assigned a duty; leader, recorder, glacier creator and earth’s surface creator. Have the recorder write the groups’ hypothesis as to what will happen to the sand and the rock as their “glacier” is rubbed against their surfaces.
5) Using the snow, make a glacier about 2 cm thick and 10 cm wide. When making the glacier, be sure to have students add a couple of sticks and a few pebbles to the underside of the mix. Make the glacier as solid and compacted as possible!

6) Use the glacier to create a valley in the sandbox. Take notes (using correct terminology) on what is observed; shape of valley, any grooves or notches and any other unusual phenomena. Then smooth out the sand in the box, put one end of the box over your textbook and pour 50 ml of water on the textbook end. Record your observations.

7) Make another glacier, this time round and very solid (a hard snowball). Again include the sticks and rocks. Carefully observe the surface of the rock sample you have using the hand-lens prior to scraping your glacier on it. With as much force as possible without breaking the glacier, vigorously rub the “glacier ball” over the surface of the rock many times. Make another observation of the surface and record your findings—again use the hand lens.

8) Students should summarize their findings upon completion of the activity on the paper which includes their observations...stress the use of the correct terminology & assist where needed.


9) Finally, go to Google Earth and take an "Alaskan Motorcycle Trip". During the trip, which can be done quite quickly, take three snapshots of valleys on the way. First a river valley, secondly a glacial valley that no longer contains a glacier and thirdly a glacial valley that presently contains a glacier. Paste the snapshots onto one page per group and collectively compare and contrast the three valleys on the paper next to the three snapshots. While on GE, have the group take one more snapshot of a mountainous area containing a large glacial valley. The Chugach Mountains contains many of areas...the pic should contain(labeled properly by the group members), at least one of each of the following...a cirque, an esker, both medial and lateral moraine, a horn, an arete, a hanging valley and a tarn. Lastly, the group should write at least two comments in reaction to what they heard in the TD video from #3 and as a group, create two questions about glaciers that they have, but were unable to answer...use this as part of the activity conclusion discussion.

**Glacier vocabulary...(a general and not complete list, add or delete as desired)
alpine glacier, continental glacier, flow, gravity, cirque, valley, piedmont, tidewater, advance, retreat, mass balance, ablation, accumulation, moraines, arete, crevasse, esker, erratic, glacial striations, till, terminus, hanging valley/glacier, headwall, tarn and tongue.

Possible Extensions:

1) Take a trip to a glacier, observe the ice, and test its hardness at different elevations in the glacier itself.
2) Go on-line and have students draw and label two “glacial valleys” that they have been to or may have only heard of. Have students find pictures of glaciers on the internet that have dark stripes in them and write a paper as to what is causing the phenomenon.
3) Have students write a paper on “blue ice” that is found in glaciers and why it appears that color.
4) Students could also describe five examples of changes in the earth’s crust of their local area. This could be right in their home-town or within their home state. Students could identify whether the changes observed are natural or man-caused type of changes.

Other Resources:



A couple of other great internet resources for understanding glaciers are;

• "Glacier Power" from the University of Fairbanks


• "Glaciers and Icefields" from the Tongass National Forest


• "All About Glaciers" by the National Snow and Ice Data Center

Evaluation:

• Observe the written findings for each group and discuss any misconceptions found in their write-up.
• Quiz students on parts of a glacier, its color, hardness, crevasses and dark lines. There could be questions regarding length, thickness, color, age and speed at which they travel. Also include, to the depth of your lesson, a physical diagram of a glacial valley to be labeled using proper terms.
_____________________________________________________________________

Course Conclusion...My Answer to Essential Question


I believe the use of technology is the answer to the essential question...data collection, TD resources, Google Earth, legitimate You Tube Video, other internet resources and testimony from Native Elders, brings Western Science and Alaska Native views together. I learned much from listening/reading what was presented to us by Teacher's Domain concerning the Alaska Native way of teaching and their view of the world.
Combining decades of native observations & information with data that has been collected by Western Science increases my understanding (I believe it does the same for students) and creates a better overall picture of what is happening climatically for not only Alaskans, but for all humanity present and future!

On a personal note, Teacher's Domain has become an integral part of my Geology, Physics and Physical Science courses...thank you TD for making my job easier and most importantly increasing the engagement and effectiveness of lessons for my students!

Week 4...Earthquakes

Essential Question: How do stories of cataclysmic events help inform students about geosciences and cultures?

Explain:
Historic events, from primitive to Mt. Vesuvius, to our 1964 Alaska Earthquake, to the recent Haiti tragedy, all add to students understanding of the unimaginable quantity of energy that can is unleashed due to a sudden shift in the earth's crust. From the destruction of Pompeii, to the creation of the Hawaiian Islands by Maui the fisherman, history and stories, play a role in students understanding of geology and culture. From the havoc that occurred in Seward, Kodiak, Valdez and other coastal communities in 1964 Alaska and the death and destruction of the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, with the resulting tsunami, along with the recent Haiti quake, we learn that culture...where we live, for whatever reason, our "living" planet plays a part in our lives. Our proximity to subduction zones and/or faults determines the how much it effects us.

Extend:
Nearly the entire southern portion of the state of Alaska sits on the edge of the North American Plate. The Pacific Plate is being pushed northward due to convection currents from the mantle resulting in what is known as a subduction zone. As the Pacific plate is pushed northward it subducts under the North American Plate at the Aleutian Trench, which thanks to Google Earths ruler, I now know to be over 2600 miles long!

A continuous "creep" or slow consistent movement of this subduction provides Alaska with an average of about 50 to 100 minor earthquakes per day(Alaska Earthquake Information Center)--most small in magnitude. On occasion though, the Pacific Plate "sticks" and strain builds up to the point of a sudden shift, releasing energy in the form of seismic waves..."big earthquake"! Most major earthquakes, on our globe, occur on or near subduction plate boundary zones such as ours. An additional result of this plate movement is Alaska's volcanic activity which forms the Aleutian Chain. The Wrangells are also a result of plate movement, though they are constructed (uplifted) due to a folding action that occurs where boundaries are "smashed" together. Yet another result of tectonic movement is faulting. The diagrams below are from the Alaska Earthquake Information Center...the top diagram shows Alaska Seismicity of 1898 to 2002...the bottom diagram shows Alaska's major fault lines. Faults are places where action of natural stress in rock on one side of the fracture (fault) is moved with respect to the rock on the other side.

More devastating destruction occurred, from the 1964 Alaska earthquake, because of the tsunami waves that were produced by the quake. The July of 1964 National Geographic magazine has some incredible stories and photos of Alaska's Good Friday quake--I picked up my copy on ebay for $2. Many seaside communities were forever changed and some even relocated as a result of the quake and the ensuing tsunamis. Earthquakes, tsunami, and volcanoes should be, and are, of particular interest to Alaskans as we live "with" them--they play a factor in our work, play and should be a major planning concept when it comes to family/community emergency preparation plans.

I now realize what I, and more importantly my students, have been missing by my lack of utilization Google Earth as an instructional tool. Google Earth is effective for establishing connections between different places and people. Our department has just acquired a set of laptops, along with wireless internet. I annually begin my Geology course with the interpretation, understanding and use of maps. Google Earth will assist my students on properly determining distances, latitude and longitude, topography and the like. Using "paper" maps, with the combination of Google Earth, will develop a better understanding of what mapping is and I believe increase the validity of the use of mapping. It will raise the understanding of how people live and assist in the perception of the resources available in an area because of topography and location. I have a SmartBoard which will add to the effectiveness of Google Earth, especially for use in Geology as it will enable students to follow along on their paper maps and laptops with what I may be demonstrating/explaining utilizing the SmartBoard.

I have already integrated P and S waves into my Physics smartboard lesson (did not do that until just this week) when introducing the concept of waves...I know this will be more engaging for my students and create a higher level of interaction/understanding between the lesson and the learner. A compare/contrast activity of P and S waves versus transverse and longitudinal waves will be more coupled, with a result of a higher level of understanding! A great site for Alaska seismology information/data is http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/html_docs/faq.html
Another suggested site is http://express.howstuffworks.com/wq-earthquake.htm

Evaluate:
The materials of this module have reinforced and enriched my knowledge of the constructive and destructive forces involved with living near a plate boundary or hot spot. It has helped me better understand the personal/cultural side of these types of events both historically and in the present, along with attempting to comprehend what the future may hold. Google Earth has taken me places that I have never been. The wealth of information that I am now aware of is exciting. The instructional tools that Teacher's Domain has to offer is nearly endless and very user friendly. I know the quality of lesson delivery will be visually and conceptually enhanced and with confidence I can say that this will benefit my students understanding of some of the geologic cataclysmic events of the past and augment what they should know about our planet, along with the possible effects it may have throughout their lives.

Week III Landscapes

Module III...part I & II
I was born and raised in the mountain west. I spent much of my free time in the very mountainous country north of the small town where I was raised. After using Google Earth to do some "exploring", I now realize that those mountains were even more steep and rugged than I remember. I was astonished as to the amount of mountains that I had never heard of, let alone been anywhere close to. There are also many more watersheds that I remember. To the east and west of the community is high plateau, rolling hill/desert type terrain. My biggest surprise from GE was the terrain to the south of town...I thought it was just a flat, "desert" landscape and now know that it is every bit as rough and rugged, though not as high in elevation, as the area to the north. Looking at the surrounding areas of my home town helped me to realize why a settlement started there back in the late 1800's. Not only is it a valley, nestled in a mountainous area, but the largest river in the area flows nearly through the middle of town. Being a relatively dry environment, early settlers would have found more game near the river and had the water resource, along with large relatively flat floodplain areas, which would ease the growing of crops.
It is interesting also to note that 280 miles to the south(the GE ruler is handy), in the Grand Canyon, the geologic time layers are the same but "upside down". In the Grand Canyon the farther down you go from the top, the older the layers...law of superposition. My home town it is just the opposite. The higher you go up the mountains the older the rock layers. A great folding took place there millions of years ago, literally turning over the mountains from "uplift" and the result today is the turnover of the rock layers. The rock layer in my home town is the same layer you find on the rim of the Grand Canyon and at the top my home town mountains, at about nine thousand feet, is the same layer found in the bottom of the Grand Canyon! Very interesting to a Geologist!
We are fortunate today to have GPS, Google Earth and LandSat, etc., to give us the information on a chosen scale that was not available to us just a few decades ago. These technologies allow us to know where we are, what it looks like and using Google Earth, allows us to explore virtually anywhere we want on earth from a computer screen. I am excited for next years Geology with lessons that will enable my students to become intimately associated with Google Earth on both a local and global scale! I begin my course with map reading and what a fantastic way to learn latitude and longitude...select "view", then "grid" on GE(for those who may not know already) and the lat/long grids are now on the globe...really cool!

I chose to explore Hoonah, as the southeast is an area I have yet to physically visit. The community is nestled among mountains and is right on the side of a bay. The mountains between Hoonah and the Pacific Ocean provide a "break" from the vast storms that come off of the Gulf of Alaska. There would be plentiful berries, fish, crustaceans, deer and bear as food and clothing resources locally which would benefit indigenous people. Early people here would have relied heavily on boating for travel and food gathering. GE assisted me in becoming familiar with an area that I had only heard of. What a wonderful tool to use while teaching about the early inhabitants of Alaska and particularly Alaska as it is such a huge area!
Module III, part III
Living on the Kenai Peninsula and being fortunate to teach Geology I now see what I have been missing by not using GE in my lessons. We live on the edge of the Pacific subducting plate and thus the folded/uplifted Kenai mountains to the southeast and the "line" of volcanoes on the northwest. I find particular interest in the ability on GE to show what is going on right under our feet! Among the many lessons I found on TD were "1964 Alaska Earthquake" and "Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!"...these are geared to high school level and very well designed. The visual aids, rather than my verbal aids, will be much more effective as I describe why our local geology is the way it is today.
Module III, partIV
In Alaska, I believe that most cultural connections to physical landscapes are those of fishing. I am sure that hunting plays a key role also, but water systems and salmon cycles seem to be the main connection with the people and where the communities are located. Elders instruct and edify their stories and history today as it was done for their generation. I found it interesting how the "school teachers" in Chevak were taught the same traditions and customs by the native elders that the elders would pass on to their native progeny. Non-native teachers are brought into the bush schools to educate mostly native students and native ways were important enough to the native people that they would educate non-native "new teachers" about thier ways. I am sure with the intent of having the "new teachers" realize that native ways were as important, if not more, than western ways. I know living in an urbanized area here on the Kenai, young people do not have the respect for the land and it's resources that youth who are raised in the "bush" have. We just go to the local supermarket and buy what we need for the most part...very little is taken naturally and for the most part, I know our youth have little respect and "understanding of nature" that students living mostly off of the land would present!

"The Universe"

Being someone who is very interested in space studies, I chose to comment on the "Common Ground" portion of the Venn diagram shared by "Traditional Native Knowledge" and "Western Science" with the topic of "Universe is Unified".

Western Science has traced time of the universe back to the "Big Bang". The farthest back look in time (earliest actual photograph of the universe) that we currently have is the image of the cosmic background microwave radiation that is said to be at a time when the universe was about 300,000 years of age. Before that (an even younger universe), the theory states that there was a rapid inflation of space and time, but due to not yet formed "matter" as we know it today, no frequencies of light were "released" from the universe. Our "Western Science" states that the entire universe started as one singularity and thus today's universe, with its billions of galaxies, billions of stars, etc. and of course our earth, both physical and biological, are all from the same origin.

We, the earth itself, with everything in and on it, are made up of specific combinations of atoms. Carl Sagan called this "stardust", meaning different atoms are the result of just one of the many cycles of nature, the stellar life cycle. (The Handy Astronomy Answer Book by Charles Liu) Nature, from the largest galaxies to the smallest sub-atomic particles, are an organized phenomena that has been observed and tested by scientists for decades.

Traditional Native Knowledge is similar to Western Science as Alaska's Native Elders have taught about a holistic point of view...the connection of everything. For centuries, village Elders have shared their vast array of accumulated knowledge and life wisdom through stories and demonstrations. They speak of the universe as a system that is intertwined and intratwined with itself and the importance of cycles to maintain a balance in nature. The stars have a spirit along with the grasses and all nature in between.

Like Western Science, Alaska Native Elders have attained their knowledge of the natural world by observation and testing in the form of application of their knowledge for centuries. (Teacher's Domain)

I teach in a community where there are very few Alaska natives and look forward to reading other views, especially those class members from communities who are predominantly Alaska native.