Sunday, May 10, 2015

Week of 5/11-5/15

**Keep taking those pictures! The due date will be pushed to some time next week!**

6-1
Many of you are curious about historical abuses of power. One of the most significant examples of abuse of power is genocide. Here is an overview of genocide (*warning: graphic images*) and a brief intro to the genocides of the last 150 years.

Sadly, America is not innocent from these atrocities. Here is information about Native American Removal and a video showing the Trail of Tears.

Later, we will read an excerpt from Yoshiko Uchida's autobiographical memoir The Invisible Thread to learn about the Japanese Internment during World War II. Here is George Takei's experience.


6-2
Last week, we began exploring respect/disrespect for animals. This week, we will transition to respect/disrespect for the environment. Here is an amazing speech about protecting the earth from Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who started the Environmental Children's Organization at the age of 9. We will learn about climate change, including watching a brief intro from Bill Nye the Science Guy.

A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change
Solar Bike Path in the Netherlands
Solar Array in South Korea
Eiffel Tower Wind Turbines
Human Footprint: Where Does Our Trash Go?



6-3
We have been exploring more of the dangers of living in a digital world, now let's see what Sugata Mitra has to say about his educational research in remote Indian villages. And what about toys that make kids smarter? Or a calculator that makes you better at math (hint - you have to enter an estimate in order to get an answer!)?