We're going to Africa this week! Here's a list of book suggestions I made for them regarding this continent:
The Hatseller and the Monkeys, Baba Diakite' (West African)
If you like his work, also: The Hunterman and the Crocodile
Too Much Talk, Angela Medearis
This for That, Verna Aardema (Tonga of Zambezi)
...also by her: How the Ostrich got a Long Neck (Akamba of Kenya) and
Tales for the Third Ear (Equatorial Africa) and
Jackal's Flying Lesson (Khoikhoi) AND
Anansi Finds a Fool (Ashanti) - Anansi Does the Impossible
The Orphan Boy, Tololwa Mollel (Maasai), also
The Flying Tortoise: An Igbo Tale and
Anansi's Feast (Ashanti)
Stories from West Africa, Robert Hull
The Lion's Whiskers, Nancy Day (Ethiopian)
The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kente Cloth, Margaret Musgrove (Ashanti of Ghana)
Zzzng! Zzzng! Zzzng! A Yoruba Tale, Phyllis Gershator
Ashanti to Zulu, Margaret Musgrove (traditions and customs of 26 African tribes on one or two pages each)
Talking Drums of Africa, Christie Price (Yoruba and Ashanti)
Kids Discover: African Kingdoms
Shaka, King of the Zulus, Diane Stanley
Count Your Way Through South Africa, Jim Haskins
South Africa, Ann Heinrichs
Mandela, Floyd Cooper
Nelson Mandela, Pamela Dell
Tales from Africa, Mary Medicott
Fire on the Mountain, Jane Kurtz (Ethiopia)
The Name of the Tree, Celia Lottridge (Bantu)
Kenya, Jim Bartell
Count Your Way Through Kenya, Jim Haskins
Little Big Ears, Cynthia Moss (about an orphan baby elephant growing up in a wildlife preserve)
How it was with Dooms, Xan Hopcraft (living with a cheetah in Kenya....)
Looking for Miza, Juliana Hatkoff (mountain gorilla family rescues a baby gorilla)
(Watched Born Free lately?)
Count Your Way Through Zimbabwe, Jim Haskins
Tales Told Near a Crocodile, Humphrey Harman (Nyanza - Lake Victoria)
Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, Kephra Burns
Faces: Morocco (children's magazine like Calliope or Cobblestone)
The Children of Morocco, Jules Hermes
The Bachelor and the Bean, Shelley Fowles (Jewish folktale from Morocco)
Regena
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Logic Class
At last things seem to be coming together better for my logic class! I still have some parents helping perhaps a bit too much with the Mind Bender puzzles, but I'm hopeful that the children are getting the hang of figuring those out on their own....
For this week's class, I asked them to read "The Speckled Band" from their Sherlock Holmes book.
I had them fill out a survey from, checking off the elements of a detective novel that they found within the story as they read (jotting down a couple of references to help them remember specific details of what the clues were, etc.)
The form is from a Scholastic teacher lesson plan unit on exploring the mystery genre:
http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/f.jsp?id=38980
Here's the info page for the entire unit, which has many useful worksheets as well as good info:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/exploring-mystery-genre
We discussed more about induction/deduction with regard to this story by looking at how Holmes knew that the lady "came in by train."
[Deductive reasoning applies general principles to reach specific conclusions, whereas inductive reasoning examines specific information, perhaps many pieces of specific information, to derive a general principle.
Both types of reasoning are routinely employed. One difference between them is that in deductive reasoning, the evidence provided must be a set about which everything is known before the conclusion can be drawn. Since it is difficult to know everything before drawing a conclusion, deductive reasoning has little use in the real world. This is where inductive reasoning steps in. Given a set of evidence, however incomplete the knowledge is, the conclusion is likely to follow, but one gives up the guarantee that the conclusion follows. However it does provide the ability to learn new things that are not obvious from the evidence.]
Here's more information on Deductive vs. Inductive reasoning:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-inductive-and-deductive-reasoning.htm
I asked them to look up the following vocabulary and bring their answers to class so that we could discuss it:
pg. 74 "knock you up"
pg. 75 dog-cart (I showed them some pictures of these and we discussed)
pg. 82 staples
pg. 91 bell-rope
ventilator
- both of these words and the one on the next page are essential for you to understand if you wish to try to figure out what is happening prior to the end of the story!
pg. 93 dog "lash"
Can you guess now what happened to the lady in the room?
I asked them to think about this part of the story:
"When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its place, I think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines."
"But what, then, did the gipsies do?"
"I cannot imagine."
"I see many objections to any such theory."
"And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are fatal, or if they may be explained away."
Here we see a good illustration of Holmes's methodical working practice. Refusing to theorize ahead of facts, he formulates a logical theory that might explain one of the few facts he has—the metallic clang, which could have been caused by the bar holding the shutters slamming down. Beyond that, he does not try to guess what the gypsies might or might not have done. Holmes's gradual progress towards the truth by trial and error adds to the suspense and heightens the reader's interest.
We talked about how this method is used by all of us everyday to figure things out, how it applies to their grid puzzles, etc.
Did "gipsies" have anything to do with this crime? We talked more about Red Herrings in class after they properly identified this as such utilizing their chart, above....
We began talking about two other logical fallacies last week: Appeal to the People and Slippery Slope. I asked them to look for one example of AtP in television or print advertising during the week and bring info on that to class. I also asked them to be on the lookout for the Slippery Slope fallacy in conversations they have with parents or others and share examples of those when found. I actually got some very good examples and a great slippery slope commercial that I had forgotten about!
We talked a great deal about the elements of this story as they were all intrigued by the possibility of trap doors in the room, etc. We talked about the fictitious snake created by Doyle for the story, and compared that to Father Brown's fictitious capers detailed in "The Blue Cross" when he was scaring Flambeau with his knowledge of dastardly deeds.... We also discussed the old adage that snakes "drink milk" and how that would have been widely recognized at the time this story was originally published....
We talked so much, in fact, about the story and the examples of fallacies that they found during the week that we really ran out of time to play Clue, which I had promised them. I did set it up and ran through two rounds so that they could see how it's done. I am going to try to allow them to play it on their own next week.
(My version is much, much older than this, LOL!)
For next week, I backed up on the grid puzzles to a set of simpler ones that they should be able to work out for themselves. I asked again that parents try to allow them to do these on their own. Of course, if they become frustrated, offering a clue to get them over the hump is acceptable - I'd just like them to work the puzzles on their own as much as possible because it is only in doing this that they will get the knack of it. It's not so important that they come to class with perfectly done puzzles. It's more important that they're getting the practice of reasoning through how to get to the answers.... We can work through the puzzles in class to get the answers if they have any problems with them.
I also gave them four more simple numbers board puzzles; I showed them how to do those in class last week and sent some home with them then, too. These utilize hundreds boards and a set of narrowing clues to figure out a mystery number.
I asked them to read the second Father Brown story for next week: "The Strange Feet," originally entitled "The Queer Feet." ( As words go in and out of fashion, you will sometimes find antiquated words used in titles changed in newer editions of books or stories, etc.)
For this week's class, I asked them to read "The Speckled Band" from their Sherlock Holmes book.
I had them fill out a survey from, checking off the elements of a detective novel that they found within the story as they read (jotting down a couple of references to help them remember specific details of what the clues were, etc.)
The form is from a Scholastic teacher lesson plan unit on exploring the mystery genre:
http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/f.jsp?id=38980
Here's the info page for the entire unit, which has many useful worksheets as well as good info:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/exploring-mystery-genre
We discussed more about induction/deduction with regard to this story by looking at how Holmes knew that the lady "came in by train."
[Deductive reasoning applies general principles to reach specific conclusions, whereas inductive reasoning examines specific information, perhaps many pieces of specific information, to derive a general principle.
Both types of reasoning are routinely employed. One difference between them is that in deductive reasoning, the evidence provided must be a set about which everything is known before the conclusion can be drawn. Since it is difficult to know everything before drawing a conclusion, deductive reasoning has little use in the real world. This is where inductive reasoning steps in. Given a set of evidence, however incomplete the knowledge is, the conclusion is likely to follow, but one gives up the guarantee that the conclusion follows. However it does provide the ability to learn new things that are not obvious from the evidence.]
Here's more information on Deductive vs. Inductive reasoning:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-inductive-and-deductive-reasoning.htm
I asked them to look up the following vocabulary and bring their answers to class so that we could discuss it:
pg. 74 "knock you up"
pg. 75 dog-cart (I showed them some pictures of these and we discussed)
pg. 82 staples
pg. 91 bell-rope
ventilator
- both of these words and the one on the next page are essential for you to understand if you wish to try to figure out what is happening prior to the end of the story!
pg. 93 dog "lash"
Can you guess now what happened to the lady in the room?
I asked them to think about this part of the story:
"When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its place, I think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines."
"But what, then, did the gipsies do?"
"I cannot imagine."
"I see many objections to any such theory."
"And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are fatal, or if they may be explained away."
Here we see a good illustration of Holmes's methodical working practice. Refusing to theorize ahead of facts, he formulates a logical theory that might explain one of the few facts he has—the metallic clang, which could have been caused by the bar holding the shutters slamming down. Beyond that, he does not try to guess what the gypsies might or might not have done. Holmes's gradual progress towards the truth by trial and error adds to the suspense and heightens the reader's interest.
We talked about how this method is used by all of us everyday to figure things out, how it applies to their grid puzzles, etc.
Did "gipsies" have anything to do with this crime? We talked more about Red Herrings in class after they properly identified this as such utilizing their chart, above....
We began talking about two other logical fallacies last week: Appeal to the People and Slippery Slope. I asked them to look for one example of AtP in television or print advertising during the week and bring info on that to class. I also asked them to be on the lookout for the Slippery Slope fallacy in conversations they have with parents or others and share examples of those when found. I actually got some very good examples and a great slippery slope commercial that I had forgotten about!
We talked a great deal about the elements of this story as they were all intrigued by the possibility of trap doors in the room, etc. We talked about the fictitious snake created by Doyle for the story, and compared that to Father Brown's fictitious capers detailed in "The Blue Cross" when he was scaring Flambeau with his knowledge of dastardly deeds.... We also discussed the old adage that snakes "drink milk" and how that would have been widely recognized at the time this story was originally published....
We talked so much, in fact, about the story and the examples of fallacies that they found during the week that we really ran out of time to play Clue, which I had promised them. I did set it up and ran through two rounds so that they could see how it's done. I am going to try to allow them to play it on their own next week.
(My version is much, much older than this, LOL!)For next week, I backed up on the grid puzzles to a set of simpler ones that they should be able to work out for themselves. I asked again that parents try to allow them to do these on their own. Of course, if they become frustrated, offering a clue to get them over the hump is acceptable - I'd just like them to work the puzzles on their own as much as possible because it is only in doing this that they will get the knack of it. It's not so important that they come to class with perfectly done puzzles. It's more important that they're getting the practice of reasoning through how to get to the answers.... We can work through the puzzles in class to get the answers if they have any problems with them.
I also gave them four more simple numbers board puzzles; I showed them how to do those in class last week and sent some home with them then, too. These utilize hundreds boards and a set of narrowing clues to figure out a mystery number.
I asked them to read the second Father Brown story for next week: "The Strange Feet," originally entitled "The Queer Feet." ( As words go in and out of fashion, you will sometimes find antiquated words used in titles changed in newer editions of books or stories, etc.)
I didn't see any vocabulary in this story that I found overly challenging, but asked that if they did to please note it for me.
I told them that there's a type of logical fallacy on display throughout this story that is related to "appeal to the people" and it is also used heavily in advertising today. I clued them in that they might find it in many upscale magazines or the sales catalogs of expensive brands of clothing, such as J. Crewe, etc. I told them that we will talk about it a little next week and asked them to see if they can guess what it might be called.... (Appeal to Snobbery, or Snob Appeal)
I told them that we are also going to talk about another related fallacy called "bandwagon," and asked them to look that word up to see what it means and to think about how these two fallacies might be related to "appeal to the people."
I asked them to think about whether they expected to see Father Brown catch the thief just a little over halfway through the story, and if they expected to see an old acquaintance of his in this story, so soon after the last one (Flambeau just went to jail at the end of the last story). I reminded them to read the footnotes at the end of the story because they will provide some enlightenment for them on various items of interest.
Finally, I reminded them that there are examples of logical fallacies all around us in life. They don't have to own a television to see commercials. Commercials are in newspapers, magazines, on billboards, on signage for stores, etc. Logical fallacies can regularly be found in conversations, as well. In class, we talked about the story of Chicken Little and how slippery slopes can grow out of gossip, rumor and other exaggerated conversations.... I asked them to keep looking for the four fallacies we've talked about thus far and we'll add a couple more to the mix next week....
Finally, I reminded them that there are examples of logical fallacies all around us in life. They don't have to own a television to see commercials. Commercials are in newspapers, magazines, on billboards, on signage for stores, etc. Logical fallacies can regularly be found in conversations, as well. In class, we talked about the story of Chicken Little and how slippery slopes can grow out of gossip, rumor and other exaggerated conversations.... I asked them to keep looking for the four fallacies we've talked about thus far and we'll add a couple more to the mix next week....
Regena
Ancient History and Geography
In tutoring ancient history this week, we finished up looking at Old Kingdom Egypt and did some mapping activities to wrap up our studies of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. I utilized some maps from this workbook I've had a long time:
We also began creating a timeline of our studies, utilizing various stickers and the review cards from Story of the World. We'll work on it periodically after completing every 6 or 8 chapters. After we get more done, I'll try to remember to take a picture of it.
Next week, we'll be taking a look at ancient Jewish civilization and culture through reading Story of the World chapters 6 and 14, as well as some of these library books:
We also began creating a timeline of our studies, utilizing various stickers and the review cards from Story of the World. We'll work on it periodically after completing every 6 or 8 chapters. After we get more done, I'll try to remember to take a picture of it.
Next week, we'll be taking a look at ancient Jewish civilization and culture through reading Story of the World chapters 6 and 14, as well as some of these library books:
Alexandra's scroll : the story of the first Hanukkah. Chaikin, Miriam.
Bible lands. Tubb, Jonathan N. (DK Eyewitness book)
Joseph, the dreamer. Bulla, Clyde Robert.
The white ram : a story of Abraham and Isaac. Gerstein, Mordicai.
David and Goliath. De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk.
Journeys with Elijah : eight tales of the Prophet. Goldin, Barbara Diamond.
David's songs : his Psalms and their story. Eisler, Colin T.
King Solomon and the bee. Renberg, Dalia Hardof.
Moses. Hodges, Margaret.
Joseph. Wildsmith, Brian.
Exodus. Wildsmith, Brian.
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Greenberg, Blu.
Angels sweep the desert floor : Bible legends about Moses in the wilderness. Chaikin, Miriam.
When Solomon was king. MacGill-Callahan, Sheila.
The two brothers : a legend of Jerusalem. Waldman, Neil.
The golden city : Jerusalem's 3,000 years. Waldman, Neil.
Regena
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Tutoring Ancient History and Geography
I am tutoring a young person in history and geography this year. I only have a short time with them, once per week, so I am providing them with lots of books to read on topic during the week. When they are with me, I am reviewing some of what they've read, using some of the SOTW chapter questions as well as my knowledge of some of the books they're read. I am using the SOTW maps, but because they are so simple I'm also adding in others that I already own from various other sources.
Here are some of the readings thus far this year:
Pre-history - Intro to study of Archeology and History
Story of the World (intro – what is history/archaeology)
Ancient Agriculture, Michael Woods and Mary Woods – just chapters 1 and 2 for now….
Mesopotamia
For extra reading regarding Mesopotamia, the first book covers all three major civilizations that lived in the region, so read that one if nothing else:
Ancient Mesopotamia, Virginia Schomp
Here are some of the readings thus far this year:
Pre-history - Intro to study of Archeology and History
Archaeologists Dig for Clues, Kate Duke
Archaeologists, Holly Cefrey
Hunt! Can You Survive the Stone Age? Julia Bruce
Life on Earth, Steve Jenkins
The Tree of Life, Peter Sis
Painters of the Caves, Patricia Lauber
Lucy Long Ago, Catherine Thimmesh
Story of the World (intro – what is history/archaeology)
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Mammoth Hunter! John Malam
The Ice Age Tracker’s Guide, Adrian Lister
11,000 Years Lost, Peni Griffin
Death Trap, The Story of the La Brea Tar Pits, Sharon Thompson
Ancient Agriculture, Michael Woods and Mary Woods – just chapters 1 and 2 for now….
Mesopotamia
I don't usually lump the study of one group all into one time frame, but the way SOTW covers all the different cultures that inhabitated/controlled Mesopotamia over time is just too disjointed for me, so I decided last time we did it to lump all the chapters together and then fill in with reminders as we study other cultures. It seemed to work well, so I'm doing it that way again.
SOTW chs. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 16, 17
After studying Mesopotamia, we'll come back and pick up the Old Kingdom period of Egypt (chs. 2 and 4) and then move on in a more normal fashion.
For extra reading regarding Mesopotamia, the first book covers all three major civilizations that lived in the region, so read that one if nothing else:
Ancient Mesopotamia, Virginia Schomp
Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia, Eva Bargallo
Kids Discover: Mesopotamia
Calliope: Mesopotamia the Land of Firsts
Kids Discover: Mesopotamia
Calliope: Mesopotamia the Land of Firsts
Mesopotamia: Iraq in Ancient Times, Peter Chrisp
Appleseeds (a Cobblestone Publication): Children in Ancient Mesopotamia
The Assyrians, Elaine Landau
The Sumerians, Elain Landau
The Gilgamesh saga:
Gilgamesh the Hero, Geraldine McCaughrean
and/or a trilogy of books by Ludmila Zeman (Gilgamesh the King; Revenge of Ishtar; Last Quest of G)
...and for the second week of this study:
Lugalbanda, the Boy who got Caught in a War, Kathy Henderson
You Wouldn't Want to be an Assyrian Soldier, Rupert Matthews
Chs. 1-3 of Joy Hakim's The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way
To Ride the God's Own Stallion, Diane Wilson (which was not a hit with this particular child, although my younger son loved it)
Week 4: Old Kingdom Egypt
Voices of Ancient Egypt, Kay Winters
The Great Pyramid, Elizabeth Mann
The Sphinx, Bernard Evslin
Pharoah's Boat, David Weitzman
The Great Pyramid, Hazel Martell
Nat. Geo.: The Scorpion King:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/the-scorpion-king/
Picture of the Narmer Palette:
http://www.nationalgeographicstock.com/ngsimages/explore/explorecomp.jsf?xsys=SE&id=451261
Egyptian timeline (Nat. Geo.):
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/timeline.html
You Tube on Narmer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW06y_BRyCQ
Egyptian Myths, Jacqueline Morley
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Henry Barker
Gods and Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, Henrietta McCall
The Great Pyramid, Elizabeth Mann
The Sphinx, Bernard Evslin
Pharoah's Boat, David Weitzman
The Great Pyramid, Hazel Martell
Nat. Geo.: The Scorpion King:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/the-scorpion-king/
Picture of the Narmer Palette:
http://www.nationalgeographicstock.com/ngsimages/explore/explorecomp.jsf?xsys=SE&id=451261
Egyptian timeline (Nat. Geo.):
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/timeline.html
You Tube on Narmer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW06y_BRyCQ
Egyptian Myths, Jacqueline Morley
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Henry Barker
Gods and Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, Henrietta McCall
Chs. 2 and 4 of SOTW
...and for the second week of this study:
Calliope (Cobblestone) Science and Medicine in Ancient Egypt
The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt, Dianne Hofmeyr
Egyptian Treasures, Catherine Chambers
Ancient Egyptian People, Sarah McNeill
The Ancient Egyptians, Lila Perl
Ancient Egyptian Art, Susie Hodge
I think we're going to start a simple timeline next week, too, using mostly the review cards from SOTW, as well as some stickers, etc. that I have....
I hope someone finds this helpful!
Regena
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Logic Class is underway....
Our beginning Logic class has been meeting for a few weeks now. Here's a look at some of the things we've been discussing:
Information for first class:
There are five basic elements in the detective story: the milieu (which is the world surrounding the characters, not only the setting but also culture and society, government and religion, family and traditions, everything), the victim, the criminal, the suspects, and the detective(s).
Poe referred to his stories as “tales of ratiocination.” In stories such as these, the primary concern of the plot is determining truth, and the usual means of obtaining the truth is a complex and mysterious process combining intuitive logic, astute observation, and discerning inference.
When you get to page 15, stop at the top of the page, at the end of that first paragraph that is carried over from page 14. Watson says that he came back to Holmes’ house the next evening to see if he had solved the mystery….
Look up the definition of the term “red herring” and be ready to discuss it in class. Many detective stories include red herrings. Why? Did you note any in this story?
(For more information on required reading for the class, please see my earlier post:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1373838005234058414#editor/target=post;postID=6631183813679481067 )
CLASS I
During the first class, we talked a little about mankind's enduring interest in riddles and codes. We used some of the Mind Bender Warm-ups puzzles, which are very simplistic, to get them thinking about solving puzzles using clues.
After the warm-up, we talked through several of the riddles from A Case of Red Herrings. These are meant to be used in a group and are a sort of twenty question game in which I can only answer 'yes' or 'no' in helping them narrow down possible answers (although I've had to do a bit more than that in getting them used to the game....)
I showed them how to work a grid puzzle, and gave them four additional grid puzzles to work prior to returning to class from the Mind Benders A1 series.
I also gave them two sheets that contain some number logic puzzles. These came from a Sherlock Holmes' workbook I found at Dover. One had more introductory notes on Sherlock Holmes and a simple number sequencing puzzle. The other had codes on both sides. I encouraged them to seek out more information from the library on codes and try creating their own to share in class. We did talk a little about symbolic, or numerical logic, and at the end of class we played a little SET, which is a symbolic logic game.
We talked a little about red herrings and how that term is used in logic debates or in the world of advertising, politics, etc. vs. how it might be used within a detective story. I also talked a little about deductive reasoning and how it differs from inductive reasoning.
We will follow this same approach each week: discussing the elements of the assigned story a little; doing some verbal logic puzzles; discussing the answers to the logic grids or puzzles completed at home during the week; playing some SET or other logic related games, etc.
I provided a list of some library books covering codes that we have at our local library:
Top Secret, Paul Janeczko (re: codes, ciphers, and secret writing)
The Master Spy Handbook, Rain Newcomb
Math Trek: Adventures in the Math Zone, Ivars Peterson - this one is more than just codes! It includes fractals, chaos theory and more VERY cool stuff!
The Cat's Elbow and Other Secret Languages, Alvin Schwartz (Pig Latin, need I say more?)
Destroy After Reading, the World of Secret Codes, Mary Colsen
"The Red-headed League"
Because they all found the first set of logic puzzles I sent home too easy, I moved them into the second book, A2. Once we find a set that proves tricky for them to work, we'll slow down and move through that series. (None of these children had done logic puzzles before, or so I was told before class began, so I didn't know how they would do with them. Also, I have a mix of kids in class, from age 8-12.)
We continued talking about Red Herrings and added the Straw Man fallacy to the mix. We talked a little about deductive and inductive reasoning and I game them some work from the Sherlock Holmes book which involved simple puzzles using deductive skills. We'll build on these as we move through the course, adding more types of fallacies and continuing practice at recognizing the ones we've already discussed. I encouraged them to watch upcoming political debates, commercials, etc. to look for fallacies. We played a little SET, again, at the end of class.
I am using The Fallacy Detective to talk about logical fallacies with them, as well as some online material.
Assignment for third class:
For our third class, I asked them to read our first Father Brown story: "The Blue Cross:"
I had them work some assorted logic puzzles this week. These are from Discovery Toys, but I don't see them currently offered by the company. We again ended the class with them playing a little SET. They are getting better at it!
I asked them to go back to their Sherlock Holmes book for next week and read "The Mystery of the Blue Carbuncle." Of course, the first thing I'd like them to do is determine what a "carbuncle" might be.... Here's some additional vocabulary that I'd like them to define as they move through the story:
http://theproblemsite.com/games/my_secret_word.asp
...and also a few more number puzzles:
http://theproblemsite.com/games/secretnumber.asp
Information for first class:
Introduction to Fiction
There are five basic elements in the detective story: the milieu (which is the world surrounding the characters, not only the setting but also culture and society, government and religion, family and traditions, everything), the victim, the criminal, the suspects, and the detective(s).
The plot centers around the question of who done it, which
keeps the reader’s attention, building excitement from the elimination of
several suspects to the surprise ending - the key to a good detective
story. The actual criminal is finally
caught and brought to justice. As the
student reads the novel, following the detective’s lead, his/her own logic and
reasoning skills are sharpened.
There are some
examples of stories from ancient times that arguably fit the general definition
of the detective genre; however, true detective fiction is more often
considered in the English -speaking world to have begun in 1841 with the
publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allen Poe,
featuring the first fictional detective, the eccentric and brilliant C. Auguste
Dupin. Poe devised a plot formula that's
been successful ever since, give or take a few shifting variables. Poe followed with further Auguste Dupin
tales: The Mystery of Marie Roget in 1843 and The Purloined Letter in
1845. (I believe it is this last one
that is highlighted on the Jim Weiss CD that I recommended. Mr. Weiss also has out a Sherlock Holmes CD
that contains more of his stories….)
Poe referred to his stories as “tales of ratiocination.” In stories such as these, the primary concern of the plot is determining truth, and the usual means of obtaining the truth is a complex and mysterious process combining intuitive logic, astute observation, and discerning inference.
Some others argue that Wilkie Collins, writer of longer
detective novels, was actually the father of the modern detective story rather
than Poe (who we might designate as father of the short story….) Collins wrote The Woman in White, and The
Moonstone, which you might also like to check out some time if you
decide you really like detective stories.
The Notting Hill Mystery, Charles Felix (author’s actual name
is Charles Warren Adams), is another early masterpiece of detective
fiction. As you get older and begin
reading more adult novels, you might like to explore one of the great authors
from the golden age of detective fiction: Agatha Christie. If you do begin to read Christie, pay
attention to how different her writing seems than some of these other authors. After reading a book or two of hers, you
might like to look up information on the “Christie Code.”
The game of “Clue” was developed using elements of the
popular detective genre. If you haven’t
played it for a while, you might like to give it a try!
Assignment
Setting: For our
first week in class, please read the Sherlock Holmes story “A Case of
Identity.” I believe you will find it
rather odd, as the setting is a world very different from our own. Most of these stories are set in London in
the late 1800’s. Think about this. England was the center of the industrial
revolution that led us into the modern age.
It was also the greatest colonial power in the world at this time. In spite of this, our world has changed so
much (just in the past ten years) that much of what you will read in this story
seems terribly old fashioned!
Period of authorship:
These stories are not only set in the late 1800’s, but were actually
written during that period, so they must have seemed very fresh and modern to
readers at the time (in the way that
many people enjoy CSI or other “modern” crime shows today, although I detest
the inaccuracies in that particular show, but I digress….)
Writing style: I
think you will notice something that is found in many books written during that
time period. Education at that time was
very different than it is today. Many
people at that time had what was called a “classical education,” which often
involved learning at least 3 languages, among other things. You will see regular references in the
Sherlock Holmes stories that were at that time the mark of any well educated
person. The words and phrases from
French and Latin would have been more widely recognized at that time than they
perhaps are today. Also, writers of that
time used a wider vocabulary (always more interesting, I think) and more
complex sentence structure (called syntax).
Vocabulary: As you
read this story, please note these words or phrases and try to find out what
they mean. If you read a story without
really understanding a lot of the words or references in it, you are missing
out! In a detective story, this might
cause you to miss out on clues that will help you solve the mystery, so please
note these:
outre’ (page one, I believe, although if you’re reading
different versions of this story then your page numbers may vary)
affair de coeur (page 3)
oscillating (page 3)
vacuous face (page 5)
axiom of mine (page 8)
pince-nez (page 12)
denouement (page 15)
voila’ tout! (page 21)
Make a Prediction!
When you get to page 15, stop at the top of the page, at the end of that first paragraph that is carried over from page 14. Watson says that he came back to Holmes’ house the next evening to see if he had solved the mystery….
Now, make your prediction based on the facts of the story
thus far. Jot them down so that you can
remember later, for our discussion purposes, what you think is occurring here. Write down what facts you base your
predictions upon, etc.
What do you think happened to Mr. Angel?
Now finish the story.
Was the end what you expected? Do
you understand why all involved agree that no crime had been committed in this
case? Do you agree with this? Do you think that this would constitute a
crime today?
Red Herrings
Look up the definition of the term “red herring” and be ready to discuss it in class. Many detective stories include red herrings. Why? Did you note any in this story?
(For more information on required reading for the class, please see my earlier post:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1373838005234058414#editor/target=post;postID=6631183813679481067 )
During the first class, we talked a little about mankind's enduring interest in riddles and codes. We used some of the Mind Bender Warm-ups puzzles, which are very simplistic, to get them thinking about solving puzzles using clues.
After the warm-up, we talked through several of the riddles from A Case of Red Herrings. These are meant to be used in a group and are a sort of twenty question game in which I can only answer 'yes' or 'no' in helping them narrow down possible answers (although I've had to do a bit more than that in getting them used to the game....)
I showed them how to work a grid puzzle, and gave them four additional grid puzzles to work prior to returning to class from the Mind Benders A1 series.
I also gave them two sheets that contain some number logic puzzles. These came from a Sherlock Holmes' workbook I found at Dover. One had more introductory notes on Sherlock Holmes and a simple number sequencing puzzle. The other had codes on both sides. I encouraged them to seek out more information from the library on codes and try creating their own to share in class. We did talk a little about symbolic, or numerical logic, and at the end of class we played a little SET, which is a symbolic logic game.
We talked a little about red herrings and how that term is used in logic debates or in the world of advertising, politics, etc. vs. how it might be used within a detective story. I also talked a little about deductive reasoning and how it differs from inductive reasoning.
We will follow this same approach each week: discussing the elements of the assigned story a little; doing some verbal logic puzzles; discussing the answers to the logic grids or puzzles completed at home during the week; playing some SET or other logic related games, etc.
I provided a list of some library books covering codes that we have at our local library:
Top Secret, Paul Janeczko (re: codes, ciphers, and secret writing)
The Master Spy Handbook, Rain Newcomb
Math Trek: Adventures in the Math Zone, Ivars Peterson - this one is more than just codes! It includes fractals, chaos theory and more VERY cool stuff!
The Cat's Elbow and Other Secret Languages, Alvin Schwartz (Pig Latin, need I say more?)
Destroy After Reading, the World of Secret Codes, Mary Colsen
Assignment for second class:
"The Red-headed League"
Here is some more vocabulary that you might want
to pay attention to and look up as you read this week’s story. Again you are seeing lots of Latin and French
words and expressions sprinkled throughout these stories:
Page 25 – Omne ignotum pro magnifico
Page 33 – foolscap
Page 36 – introspective
Page 38 – conundrums
Page 44 – partie carree’
Page 44 (and other places in the story) – rubber
Page 48 – ennui, and the phrase: L’homme c’est rien – l’ouvre
c’est tout
At page 40, stop and write down what you think is
going to happen in this story, then read to the end to see if you guessed
correctly. In case your page numbers are
different, stop at the point where Watson says “It was a quarter-past nine when
I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford
Street to Baker Street.”
Think about clues you are given in the story as you
read. I’ll give you one clue and you
look for others in your reading.
Basements weren’t always finished concrete structures as they are
today. Have you ever been in a very old
house or other type of building that had a dirt basement? Builders used to (and still do, sometimes)
simply dig out a whole in the ground, shaping the walls out of the dirt. They would leave the basement dirt, rather
than pouring concrete floors and walls, and it would stay cool. People often used these “root cellars” to
store fruits and vegetables to keep them cool in the days before refrigeration
or freezers. Imagine the basement of
the pawn shop as just such a cellar….
There are lots of things to think about… why would Mr.
Wilson’s worker (Spaulding) be willing to work for half wages (half of what
most men made in a day at that time)?
Has Mr. Wilson seen all the pictures that Spaulding is
developing in the cellar?
Who brought the advertisement for the Red-headed League to
Mr. Wilson’s attention?
What did Holmes and Watson find out when they took a walk
around the block surrounding the pawn shop?
Put on your thinking caps and decipher those clues!
Here are a few online logic based puzzles to try:
http://www.logic-puzzles.org/
These involve more numeric logic:
http://www.puzzles.com/Projects/LogicProblems.html
Here's a set of the riddle type that are rated from easy to difficult:
http://www.brainbashers.com/logic.asp
These involve more numeric logic:
http://www.puzzles.com/Projects/LogicProblems.html
Here's a set of the riddle type that are rated from easy to difficult:
http://www.brainbashers.com/logic.asp
CLASS II
In class, we talked about the elements of a good detective story:
First,
the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives. Most
stories involve
murder,
though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft.
Second,
the detective must be in some way a memorable character. He or she must be very
intelligent,
of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing perhaps
some
odd
idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her. Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s
crumpled raincoat,
James
Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these things make the hero
somehow
distinct.
Third,
along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a
criminal
clever
enough to be a match for the hero. Solving the crime can’t be too easy.
Fourth,
because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity
for the reader
to
try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the
crime must be
introduced
early in the story, and
Fifth,
all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also.
Finally,
at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, and possible.
The crime
must
not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the detective
must be able
to
explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way. A fine detective story
should meet each
one of these standards.
We continued talking about Red Herrings and added the Straw Man fallacy to the mix. We talked a little about deductive and inductive reasoning and I game them some work from the Sherlock Holmes book which involved simple puzzles using deductive skills. We'll build on these as we move through the course, adding more types of fallacies and continuing practice at recognizing the ones we've already discussed. I encouraged them to watch upcoming political debates, commercials, etc. to look for fallacies. We played a little SET, again, at the end of class.
For our third class, I asked them to read our first Father Brown story: "The Blue Cross:"
These stories use footnotes. When you see a tiny number following a word or sentence, you will find the explanation for it at the very end of the story - not the end of the chapter, but the end of the entire story.
I don't see the same sort of unexpected vocabulary here that we find in the Sherlock Holmes stories, so I asked each of them to choose five words they ran across in their reading that they didn't immediately recognize. I also asked them to make sure to note what page in the story these words were on so that we could talk about usage in context if need be....
You will find a couple of interesting names in this story: Valentin is a common enough male name in Europe. You may recognize the word if you think of St. Valentine, who gave us Valentine's Day.... Father Brown is a rather plain, non-descript sort of name. Do you think it matches the description of the little priest given in chapter two?
And what about the criminal - Flambeau? Look up that word to see what it means....
What are your expectations of Father Brown after reading about him in chapter two? What about after finishing Valentin's musings on him in chapter 7? Is he just a poor little bumbler?
In the end, who is the master detective responsible for the capture of the elusive Flambeau?
Do you see a red herring (smelt, cod, etc.) in this story, designed to throw you off track?
CLASS III
I'm continuing to move them ahead in the level of logic puzzles I'm sending home with them until we find a place where they are experiencing more difficulty. I have them working with mostly three dimensional puzzles now, so perhaps they will find those at least a little more challenging. In the meantime, if they want more challenge in those types of puzzles, I hope they will utilize the online resources that I have suggested over the past few weeks. I just ordered a couple of other books to look at to see if they contain more complex puzzles.... I guess I'll be moving them into the A3 book puzzles next week. I'm just afraid that they're going to get into the B level puzzles and suddenly find those too difficult....
I'm a little perplexed with this class at this time, because I can't seem to get them to solve verbal puzzles through the Red Herrings book I'm utilizing in class, but they tell me the grid puzzles are too easy! Perhaps the visual aspect of the grid puzzles makes them simpler to solve than purely verbal puzzlers - I'm just not sure right now....
I'm a little perplexed with this class at this time, because I can't seem to get them to solve verbal puzzles through the Red Herrings book I'm utilizing in class, but they tell me the grid puzzles are too easy! Perhaps the visual aspect of the grid puzzles makes them simpler to solve than purely verbal puzzlers - I'm just not sure right now....
Assignment for fourth class:
Page 52 - inferences - look at the additional info I'm sending you (below) regarding the difference between induction and deduction. What does it mean to "deduce" something? Do you sometimes see Doyle using these terms interchangeably even though they really mean different things?
Page 53 - think about fallacies of old that have now been debunked by modern science: does a large head always equal a large brain (in terms of IQ level)?
Page 58 - "vitriol-throwing"
Page 60 - disjecta membra (should be pretty obvious to you from the context of the conversation, but it's another Latin term...)
And what about the way this particular story ends? Do you think the solving of the crime is more likely due to a happy chance, rather than any sort of sound detective work? How else might this crime have been solved? Do you think the chances were pretty good that it might not be solved at all?
Here's a good exercise for the inductive/deductive reasoning we've been discussing:
With regard to the logical fallacies we've been discussing in class, here's a good exercise for them to look at how the straw man fallacy is often used in politics:
This is a little You Tube animated video that includes not only the straw man fallacy, but also appeal to the people and slippery slope fallacies which we will be talking about next week. Please try to take a look at it:
...and, pretty irrelevant, but I couldn't resist the red herring:
More relevant, and this one also talks about how a red herring differs from a straw man fallacy:
With regard to the logic puzzles they've been working, here's a word puzzle you might like to try (you can change the length of the words):
http://theproblemsite.com/games/my_secret_word.asp
...and also a few more number puzzles:
http://theproblemsite.com/games/secretnumber.asp
Here's a whole set of different types of online codes to attempt to crack:
(These are from the CIA and FBI.)
And here's how the FBI investigates cases:
History of cryptography:
A secret code maker that can help you learn how to create your own secret codes:
I am hopeful someone else will find this information useful. I must say that I'm really not at all happy with how this class is going at this point. Perhaps things will change.... Right now, I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what else I can do in an attempt to engage the children in this class as about half of them seem uninterested. Perhaps it is just the mix of personalities and ages, but I've never had a class go quite so poorly and I'm just not quite sure what to do.... If in reading over this you happen to have any ideas to help me, then I'd appreciate hearing those!
Regena
Intrepid Explorers Begins!
My long awaited geography class finally began this week. Here's a look at what we did in the first class and what we'll be doing each week:
When the children came in to class, I had them work on identifying the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world. I will continue with this each week until they seem at ease with it. I found a small, blank map showing all the continents, then made name tags and had it all laminated so that they can use it as a matching puzzle.
They then choose one continent to visit and it was Europe. At the end of class, they chose for next week, and we'll continue that from hence forward. Next week we will study North America.
(Please see my Geography in a Box post for pictures and more details on the contents of each continent box:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1373838005234058414#editor/target=post;postID=2278402931910317202 )
I doled out various stickers for their passport books that related to the continent under study. When they bring these home at the end of class, I am hopeful they can use them for review and further study. I am including in these stickers some of the flags from various countries, animals found on that continent, children in native dress, or other stickers that show representative symbols of a particular country. They are also completing a small sticker project where they affix stickers of various animals to each continent on a globe map, and we're talking a little about the native flora and fauna.
(This is from Oriental Trading Company. It has some mistakes on it, so is not perfect, but I can work with it....)
They each brought home a small flag key chain from a different European country. I am hopeful they will get interested in learning about the flags of different countries. I believe there may be at least one free App. out there on flags of the world.... I have some things for them to bring home as "souvenirs" each week.
(I think I also got these at Oriental Trading, but they must be out right now as I no longer find them listed....)
Each week, they will complete a little written map work that is general in nature, at the beginning of class, before we embark on our trip to our continent of the week. This will vary, but will include work with looking at the different hemispheres (which we did this week), longitude and latitude, etc.
I'm taking all my map work from copies of old workbooks that I've used over and over again through the years. I think most of them come from old Weekly Reader series. (Map Skills for Today is the title of their books now, but I'm not sure it was the same back when I was collecting these.)
(I also found a terrific coloring book with informative pages about various countries from Dover and will be using some of those with them:)
As we get into talking about our continent under study for the week, they will complete some type of mapping exercise related to that, generally. On at least some weeks, I may send home additional map work related to that continent. These, too, mostly come from old Weekly Reader series workbooks.
Our box for Europe this week included selections of Celtic music, which we listened to in the background as they were completing other work. I have geographic flashcards of various landmarks and animals in each box, as well as some 3-D models. We discussed what city and/or country/region these are found in and found those on the map. I showed them a three dimensional representation of the landmark later, or a different view on another flashcard, then asked them again about it. We discussed the significance of these landmarks a little.
(Target generally has educational flashcards in their dollar bins at the beginning of any new school year....)
I had coins from various countries in Europe that I showed them and we talked a little about those and the Euro, of which I also had samples.
I will generally have some dolls or pictures of people in native dress for various countries. This week we looked at a Spanish lady all in lace and I talked about Flamenco dancers, hand-made Spanish lace, etc. We looked at a pair of children from Holland and talked a little about wooden shoes. I showed them a picture of traditionally dressed members of a Greek guard unit, as well.
I read to them, from DK's Children Just Like Me, about a little girl living in southern France (Provence), and a little boy from the far north of Scotland. They put together a couple of simple puzzles that I got in Scotland long years ago: a long-haired cow and a badger, and we talked about those. We also talked about the fact that moose range over northern Europe as well as North America.
I read them a couple of stories from Usborne's Stories from Around the World, and I'll be using books like these each week to cover some traditional folklore. This week, I read "How the Turtle Got Its Shell," a Greek myth that features Zeus, but is one that none of them had ever heard before. I also read "Puss in Boots," from France, because they said they loved it, but will generally try to read more non-standard things that I think they have not heard before and from countries not generally featured as much on the world stage....
I must say, we really didn't touch on Eastern European culture at all, so there will certainly be huge gaps in this due to time constraints! (I tried to include some of that in reading suggestions....)
As we talk about the different things in class, I will be working to try to get them identifying the areas on the map so that they will get more comfortable with where to find countries in relation to each other. I didn't manage to do a very good job of that this week, because they were so excited by just looking at the "stuff," but I think that as we go along and they get more used to it, we can do more map work along with the cultural. We did manage to talk quite a bit about Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, but insofar as pointing out other countries, we didn't do so well. We did look at the Mediterranean region and the Scandinavian region of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and we did talk about and look at how only a very small part of Russia (but it's the part with the capital and important cities) is considered to be in Europe, and I marked the Ural Mountains for them as the dividing line between Europe and Asia. But I think we can do better....
Each week's class will have this same general flow, but will vary somewhat because I have slightly different materials collected from each continent.
Here is the reading list of books available in our library system that I sent to them before class began regarding general geography:
We have always loved Bobbie Kalman books and she has a series at our library called Explore Africa, Explore Asia, Explore etc..... I would recommend those for general reading on each continent. Once we get into our studies, I will make more specific recommendations about each area of the world as we study it.
Where on Earth: A Geograpfunny Guide to the Globe, Paul Rosenthal
For general world folklore, you might start with:
Noodlehead Stories from Around the World, Jagendorf
Favorite Fairy Tales Told Around the World, Virginia Haviland (a favored author of ours)
Wonder Tales from Around the World, Heather Forest
Cat Stories from Around the World, Jane Yolen (another favored author)
Can You Guess my Name? Traditional Tales Around the World, Judy Sierra (different versions of the traditional Cinderella story, Red Riding Hood story, etc.)
For general map reading purposes, they might check out:
Map Math: Learning About Latitude and Longitude Using Coordinate Systems, Orli Zuravicky
And if they want to read more about longitude:
The Man Who Made Time Travel, Kathryn Lasky (another great author)
For more on maps:
Maps and Mapping, Jinny Johnson (Kingfisher)
Maps and Globes, Jack Knowlton (a Reading Rainbow book)
Maps and Mapping, Deborah Chencellor (another Kingfisher book)
Mapping the World, Sylvia Johnson
Mapping Earth (Discovery Channel) - covers more modern mapping techniques
And here is the list I sent them covering Europe and North America:
European countries and their folklore:
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in France, Virginia Haviland
She also wrote Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Norway; Sweden; Spain; Ireland; Greece; Scotland; Italy; England; and Czechoslovakia, so take your pick!
The Names Upon the Harp: Irish Myth and Legend, Marie Heaney
Favorite Norse Myths, Marie Pope Osborne (nothing like the lame Tree House books) if you'd like to look at the northern lands
D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Mythology
D'Aulaire's Book of Trolls
Look What Came from the Netherlands, Kevin Davis
Castles in Spain: from The Alhambra, Washington Irving (but parents should pre-read to make certain you approve)
The Castle of the Cats, Eric Kimmel (Latvian folk tale)
Little Dog Lost, Monica Carnesi (true story set on the Baltic Sea)
The Jar of Fools, Eric Kimmel (from Eastern European Jewish tradition)
The Singing Tree, Kate Seredy (Hungarian) ...and, if you want a thoroughly boybarian, politically incorrect book by her set on the great European steppes, you might also try The White Stag....
North America:
Caribbean Pirates: A Treasure Chest of Fact, Fiction, and Folklore, George Beahm
The House in the Sky: A Bahamian Folk Tale, Robert San Souci ... and, if you like his style....
Twins and the Bird of Darkness: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean, Robert San Souci
The Faithful Friend, Robert San Souci (French West Indies)
Rain Player, Davis Wisniewski (Central Americas)
Quetzal: Sacred Bird of the Cloud Forest, Dorothy Patent
Journey of the Nightly Jaguar, Burton Albert
Hands of the Maya, Rachel Crandell
People of Corn: A Mayan Story, Mary-Joan Gerson
Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush, Lynne Cherry (Costa Rica)
Costa Rica, Kathleen Deady
Rain Forests and Reefs: A Kid's-eye View of the Tropics, Caitlin Maynard (Belize)
Locks, Crocs, and Skeeters: The Story of the Panama Canal, Nancy Parker
The Panama Canal, Elizabeth Mann
Greenland Mummies, Janet Buell
Canada, Kay Olson
Crazy About Canada! Vivien Bowers
Seven Natural Wonders of the United States and Canada, Cheryl DeFries
The Eastern Forest, Eileen Fielding
The Migration of a Butterfly, Tanya Kant
A Pioneer Sampler, Barbara Greenwood
Prairies, Dorothy Patent
Hudson, Janice Weaver
Stories from Where We Live: The Great North American Prairie, Sara St. Antoine
Despite All Obstacles: La Salle and the Conquest of the Mississippi, Joan Goodman
The Broken Blade, William Durbin
I hope that someone else will find this information helpful for their geography studies,
Regena
When the children came in to class, I had them work on identifying the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world. I will continue with this each week until they seem at ease with it. I found a small, blank map showing all the continents, then made name tags and had it all laminated so that they can use it as a matching puzzle.
They then choose one continent to visit and it was Europe. At the end of class, they chose for next week, and we'll continue that from hence forward. Next week we will study North America.
(Please see my Geography in a Box post for pictures and more details on the contents of each continent box:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1373838005234058414#editor/target=post;postID=2278402931910317202 )
I doled out various stickers for their passport books that related to the continent under study. When they bring these home at the end of class, I am hopeful they can use them for review and further study. I am including in these stickers some of the flags from various countries, animals found on that continent, children in native dress, or other stickers that show representative symbols of a particular country. They are also completing a small sticker project where they affix stickers of various animals to each continent on a globe map, and we're talking a little about the native flora and fauna.
(This is from Oriental Trading Company. It has some mistakes on it, so is not perfect, but I can work with it....)
They each brought home a small flag key chain from a different European country. I am hopeful they will get interested in learning about the flags of different countries. I believe there may be at least one free App. out there on flags of the world.... I have some things for them to bring home as "souvenirs" each week.
(I think I also got these at Oriental Trading, but they must be out right now as I no longer find them listed....)
Each week, they will complete a little written map work that is general in nature, at the beginning of class, before we embark on our trip to our continent of the week. This will vary, but will include work with looking at the different hemispheres (which we did this week), longitude and latitude, etc.
I'm taking all my map work from copies of old workbooks that I've used over and over again through the years. I think most of them come from old Weekly Reader series. (Map Skills for Today is the title of their books now, but I'm not sure it was the same back when I was collecting these.)
(I also found a terrific coloring book with informative pages about various countries from Dover and will be using some of those with them:)
As we get into talking about our continent under study for the week, they will complete some type of mapping exercise related to that, generally. On at least some weeks, I may send home additional map work related to that continent. These, too, mostly come from old Weekly Reader series workbooks.
Our box for Europe this week included selections of Celtic music, which we listened to in the background as they were completing other work. I have geographic flashcards of various landmarks and animals in each box, as well as some 3-D models. We discussed what city and/or country/region these are found in and found those on the map. I showed them a three dimensional representation of the landmark later, or a different view on another flashcard, then asked them again about it. We discussed the significance of these landmarks a little.
(Target generally has educational flashcards in their dollar bins at the beginning of any new school year....)
I had coins from various countries in Europe that I showed them and we talked a little about those and the Euro, of which I also had samples.
I will generally have some dolls or pictures of people in native dress for various countries. This week we looked at a Spanish lady all in lace and I talked about Flamenco dancers, hand-made Spanish lace, etc. We looked at a pair of children from Holland and talked a little about wooden shoes. I showed them a picture of traditionally dressed members of a Greek guard unit, as well.
I read to them, from DK's Children Just Like Me, about a little girl living in southern France (Provence), and a little boy from the far north of Scotland. They put together a couple of simple puzzles that I got in Scotland long years ago: a long-haired cow and a badger, and we talked about those. We also talked about the fact that moose range over northern Europe as well as North America.
I read them a couple of stories from Usborne's Stories from Around the World, and I'll be using books like these each week to cover some traditional folklore. This week, I read "How the Turtle Got Its Shell," a Greek myth that features Zeus, but is one that none of them had ever heard before. I also read "Puss in Boots," from France, because they said they loved it, but will generally try to read more non-standard things that I think they have not heard before and from countries not generally featured as much on the world stage....
I must say, we really didn't touch on Eastern European culture at all, so there will certainly be huge gaps in this due to time constraints! (I tried to include some of that in reading suggestions....)
As we talk about the different things in class, I will be working to try to get them identifying the areas on the map so that they will get more comfortable with where to find countries in relation to each other. I didn't manage to do a very good job of that this week, because they were so excited by just looking at the "stuff," but I think that as we go along and they get more used to it, we can do more map work along with the cultural. We did manage to talk quite a bit about Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, but insofar as pointing out other countries, we didn't do so well. We did look at the Mediterranean region and the Scandinavian region of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and we did talk about and look at how only a very small part of Russia (but it's the part with the capital and important cities) is considered to be in Europe, and I marked the Ural Mountains for them as the dividing line between Europe and Asia. But I think we can do better....
Each week's class will have this same general flow, but will vary somewhat because I have slightly different materials collected from each continent.
Here is the reading list of books available in our library system that I sent to them before class began regarding general geography:
We have always loved Bobbie Kalman books and she has a series at our library called Explore Africa, Explore Asia, Explore etc..... I would recommend those for general reading on each continent. Once we get into our studies, I will make more specific recommendations about each area of the world as we study it.
Where on Earth: A Geograpfunny Guide to the Globe, Paul Rosenthal
For general world folklore, you might start with:
Noodlehead Stories from Around the World, Jagendorf
Favorite Fairy Tales Told Around the World, Virginia Haviland (a favored author of ours)
Wonder Tales from Around the World, Heather Forest
Cat Stories from Around the World, Jane Yolen (another favored author)
Can You Guess my Name? Traditional Tales Around the World, Judy Sierra (different versions of the traditional Cinderella story, Red Riding Hood story, etc.)
For general map reading purposes, they might check out:
Map Math: Learning About Latitude and Longitude Using Coordinate Systems, Orli Zuravicky
And if they want to read more about longitude:
The Man Who Made Time Travel, Kathryn Lasky (another great author)
For more on maps:
Maps and Mapping, Jinny Johnson (Kingfisher)
Maps and Globes, Jack Knowlton (a Reading Rainbow book)
Maps and Mapping, Deborah Chencellor (another Kingfisher book)
Mapping the World, Sylvia Johnson
Mapping Earth (Discovery Channel) - covers more modern mapping techniques
And here is the list I sent them covering Europe and North America:
European countries and their folklore:
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in France, Virginia Haviland
She also wrote Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Norway; Sweden; Spain; Ireland; Greece; Scotland; Italy; England; and Czechoslovakia, so take your pick!
The Names Upon the Harp: Irish Myth and Legend, Marie Heaney
Favorite Norse Myths, Marie Pope Osborne (nothing like the lame Tree House books) if you'd like to look at the northern lands
D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Mythology
D'Aulaire's Book of Trolls
Look What Came from the Netherlands, Kevin Davis
Castles in Spain: from The Alhambra, Washington Irving (but parents should pre-read to make certain you approve)
The Castle of the Cats, Eric Kimmel (Latvian folk tale)
Little Dog Lost, Monica Carnesi (true story set on the Baltic Sea)
The Jar of Fools, Eric Kimmel (from Eastern European Jewish tradition)
The Singing Tree, Kate Seredy (Hungarian) ...and, if you want a thoroughly boybarian, politically incorrect book by her set on the great European steppes, you might also try The White Stag....
North America:
Caribbean Pirates: A Treasure Chest of Fact, Fiction, and Folklore, George Beahm
The House in the Sky: A Bahamian Folk Tale, Robert San Souci ... and, if you like his style....
Twins and the Bird of Darkness: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean, Robert San Souci
The Faithful Friend, Robert San Souci (French West Indies)
Rain Player, Davis Wisniewski (Central Americas)
Quetzal: Sacred Bird of the Cloud Forest, Dorothy Patent
Journey of the Nightly Jaguar, Burton Albert
Hands of the Maya, Rachel Crandell
People of Corn: A Mayan Story, Mary-Joan Gerson
Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush, Lynne Cherry (Costa Rica)
Costa Rica, Kathleen Deady
Rain Forests and Reefs: A Kid's-eye View of the Tropics, Caitlin Maynard (Belize)
Locks, Crocs, and Skeeters: The Story of the Panama Canal, Nancy Parker
The Panama Canal, Elizabeth Mann
Greenland Mummies, Janet Buell
Canada, Kay Olson
Crazy About Canada! Vivien Bowers
Seven Natural Wonders of the United States and Canada, Cheryl DeFries
The Eastern Forest, Eileen Fielding
The Migration of a Butterfly, Tanya Kant
A Pioneer Sampler, Barbara Greenwood
Prairies, Dorothy Patent
Hudson, Janice Weaver
Stories from Where We Live: The Great North American Prairie, Sara St. Antoine
Despite All Obstacles: La Salle and the Conquest of the Mississippi, Joan Goodman
The Broken Blade, William Durbin
I hope that someone else will find this information helpful for their geography studies,
Regena
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