H9

TASKS

1. Epals is a site designed for educators to connect with others all around the world. This is a place for educators to share lesson plans/objectives/and focus points for the classroom. It is also a way for students to connect with other students around the world VIA email or even handwritten letters if that is preferred.

2. I would use epals for educating a classroom on diversity and different ways of learning, learning about other cultures and connecting with them, and focusing on the point that all people deal with the same things no matter what race they are or where they are from. For example, you could do a lesson on weather and how weather changes everywhere, and everywhere has their own type of climate. You could teach a lesson on how different animals need to adapt to different types of climates, and that is why they live in different parts of the world. You could have students create their own digital story and see what others think about it, and try to interpret what it means. All of these would be based off of the students writing and connecting with others around the world to communicate their knowledge of his/her country.

3. I found an Australian classroom that would be interested in sharing cultural likes, dislikes, and information about each other overall. I would use a theme like habitat and have students explain what kind of animals they are used to seeing a lot, and what type of climate they need to stay alive and healthy. I would have students send each other pictures, and write up a summary of the animal, what the like about it, and what type of habitat it lives in. Because they are 5th graders and could use emails, we could email each other.

MINI LESSON PLAN

ANIMALS AROUND THE WORLD

Objectives:
Students will be able to describe the animals most commonly found in specific habitats.
Students will be able to explain why certain animals and plants live in specific habitats.
Students will be able to describe the geographic and climate conditions of specific habitats.

Students will interact with each other through email and exchange information about the types of animals they see on an every day basis. For example, a student from Buffalo, New York might educate their epal about the history of Buffalo, what type of habitat a Buffalo lives in, and what a Buffalo does to stay healthy. Students could research the history of Buffalo and how the city acquired it’s name. A student from Australia might be used to seeing koalas, or kangaroos, and know a lot about their habitat and likes/dislikes. Students will then have to create an image of the animal they learned about inside their habitat. Students will also create a map of the country the animal is from and locate where on the map the animal’s habitat is. Students will be asked to go outside and see if they can find nature in their environment that relate to the animal they learned about’s habitat. This will help the student really think about what belongs in the animal’s habitat and express the fact that it isn’t easy for an animal to live anywhere they want. Student’s can incorporate the nature they find into their image they create.

http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/index.html


(The statements below relate to the images on the top of this blog from left to right)
If a student created an image similar to this, they could use leaves and branches found from their own environment to incorporate into the artwork they have created.


Students could trace a map of the country their studied animal’s habitat is found, and mark the locations where it is most popular. For example, the population of koalas is highest in Queensland, Australia, so the student could mark it on the map.


A Koala in it’s natural habitat.