Gravity, part 2

I have tailored the videos to meet my classroom needs. This video is a great example of how I will use skits to engage students before designing their own experiments, answering their own questions.

Slow Work

I've been working on the engagement videos for a while now in my spare time (which hasn't been as much as expected). I have so much raw footage that organization has been a real challenge. I have over a terabyte and am almost filling up a second external hard drive. My Macbook has not had enough memory to add the newest videos, so I've decided to create and delete to make room.

This video is perfect for my classroom. It is inquiry in nature. I begin with one topic and end with another. There is space for the students to take notes and answer questions as they build evidence to support a claim and later write an argument for a class discussion. I simply cannot wait to use this and see what the students research and write. I hope that it makes sense without me standing nearby to push pause and have students turn and discuss before moving on. This video will launch us into a 3 day exploration on the topic of density; then it will be used for another 3 day unit based on their research on the topic of environmental impact vs. personal rights. Enjoy!

Home... Well, almost.

After nearly 7,800 miles, 35 days, and 21 States, we arrived safely in Chattanooga!

But... We are still on the road. After unloading our latest home, we are traveling South to Savannah to continue our journey and film some more. Why? My aunt lives in Statesboro; and she loaned us the motorhome. But besides returning the vehicles, I'm also looking for a few extra shots from the coast. I didn't get enough the first time.

This is video is just for fun!

Yellowstone

This entire trip has been one amazing adventure after another. Our country is rich with diversity of people and places. But there is nothing like Yellowstone! I have never seen anything like it. Absolutely incredible.

Check out this a Bison that was holding up traffic our first day in the park.

Extended Stay

We were supposed to leave the Forrest of Gifford Pinchot days ago, but we were captivated by the beauty of the landscape and the people. Despite scars from stinging neddles and yellow jackets, scrapes and scratches, we could not have loved a place more. We fished and hiked and climbed in the most amazing places, while learning about the diversity and preservation as well as the reconstruction after devastation at Mount Saint Helen's. I interviewed sportsmen, loggers, and forest rangers and realized misconceptions that I will use in my classroom to initiate debate and conversation that may lead to a common ground and understanding, which from my investigation has not been successful in the adult world. Maybe our students can be the mediator and concentrate on the "common" in common sense. 

We are now in Anacortes on the way to the San Juan Islands to meet a scientist with NOAA who runs the fisheries science for University of Washington. It is way too busy and the ferry is moving. I don't want to miss a thing!

Now in Washington State and Oh My!

There is no way for me to put in words the beauty that I see all around me. We are so far off of the main roads that we no longer have cell phone service. And, once again, "Free WiFi"is what you pay for because I cannot upload any videos so far. I will simply add pictures from now on. Since this journey's main goal is to create short videos, I really felt that this blog should include as many samples and video logs as possible, but that just hasn't been feasible.

I have lesson after lesson all around me, from nurse trees' importance to plant adaptations to change in ecology due to climate factors. We will be here a little while for sure. If you want to know exactly where we are, find Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens. We are in the middle of this "Volcanic Triangle"!

I've made connections with our neighbor campers and have a lot of unexpected events ahead. These old gold miners are taking me with them to their secret spot and showing me their methods, all for the sake of science. This will be a great density introduction!

It seems all the retired here are former geologists or biologists or physicists and now just enjoy the land in one way or another. These that know the most about the world around them appreciate it the most. This is the transcendent message that I hope for to instill in my students: The more you know, the more you love. I am seeing with new eyes and learning more than I anticipated. I'm beginning to see that this trip may be more about my growth as a teacher with a greater appreciation for the subject that I love and teach.