Ioana Ward

Environmental impact of mining in Southeast Alaska

Environmental impact of mining in Southeast Alaska

This lesson is designed for 8th grade science classroom. Duration of class: 60 min.

I would start my lesson by asking the students to take 3 minutes and think about what they know on mining and its effects. Then using www.kahoot.it!, I would test their background knowledge with 5 questions about: mining- definition, mining- extraction methods ( images).

The next part of the lesson would be for them to do a 15 minutes research and answer:

When did gold mining started in Southeast Alaska?
Where do we find the gold?
What other minerals can we find in Southeast Alaska?

I would use an activity of matching names of minerals with the image of minerals. On IBook I thought to have a short description of the mineral when they get the right answer. (10 minutes)

For the environmental impact of mining I would use an activity called: Mining for Blueberries (20 minutes)

For this activity students will work in groups of 3 or 4.

Mining Challenge

Question: Can you successfully mine for blueberries while not destroying the earth?

Research:

Hypothesis: What are some techniques you are planning to use?

Materials Needed: blueberry muffin, paper towel, toothpick, knife, other mining materials?

Experiment: You will be given a muffin. The muffin represents a land area and the blueberries are valuable deposits. Your goal is to remove as many mineral deposits (blueberries) with the least amount of damage to the land.

Inspect the land area for surface deposits and made predictions about underground deposits.

Record findings and predictions.
Record the number of mineral deposits successfully removed.
As a group, compare and average your data.

Record Data:

number of surface deposits
predicted number of underground deposits
number of mineral deposits successfully removed
number of failed or abandoned attempts

Analyze Data:

Was your mining effort successful? How did you determine your level of success?
How did the land areas change as a result of your mining?

Conclusion:

Can you successfully mine for blueberries while not destroying the earth? Explain.

I would appreciate any feedback. 🙂

Artifact: telling a story

Seagull Mask by Sam Hunter (Yup’ik), 1945-6, Hooper Bay, Naparyaarmiut- courtesy of Alaska State Museum – Juneau

Explore their web-site to see more: http://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html

Yup’ik culture includes a vast amount of ceremony, dance, and costumes. The masks have always helped the Real People to see through the eyes of the animals, and they are used in ceremonies to tell a story.

According to the Yup’ik story of the beginning, the first humans emerged from pods of beach grass. The animals saw the first humans as vulnerable creatures so they would offer themselves to the Human hunters, who could use their skins as clothing in the winter and consume their flesh as food. In return the Real People showed Respect, Gratitude, and Humility towards the animals.

I choose this artifact because it tells a beautiful story about the strong connection between Yup’ik people and animals.

Sharing their wisdom

It was a real honor to have Selina Everson, Linda Belardi, and David Katzeek open their chest of knowledge in front of our class today. I truly believe that what makes each culture unique are the stories, advices, and wisdom that are transmitted from generation to generation through elders.

We have an interesting saying in Romanian : “ Cine nu are bătrâni să-şi cumpere“, which basically is translated: “ Who doesn’t have elders should buy some.” Where do we buy our elders? What this really means is that the richness of people is not measured by material things, but by the elders who are our connection to the past and our bridge to the future.

Listening to “ Grandma Selina” speaking about her experience as a child, being forbidden to speak her native language stroke a sensible cord in me. I remembered my grandmother talking about her childhood and annexation of Bessarabia, Romanian territory to Russia. That had a huge impact on her family because all use of Romanian language was phased out, and substituted with Russian. People were not allowed to speak their language, which is such an important element that defines the identity of a culture. I admire Selina Everson because she is a survivor, she fought for her values and beliefs.

There are a few things I’m taking with me from today’s experience that I want to use in my classroom.

Firstly, David Katzeek’s advice to give students the confidence that they can do whatever they put their mind into. A great teacher knows how to build confidence in another human being.

Secondly, Selina Everson’s lesson about not giving up in front of hardness, and respecting every culture. It is really important to me as a person to preserve my culture for my kids and I would try to infuse that feeling of preserving the cultural identity in my classroom.

Finally, Linda Belarde’s words to love your students, to get to know them, and their stories.

Walking tour of Brasov, Romania

This was the first time when I used GoogleMyMaps to do a walking tour and I enjoyed every moment. I think this is a great tool to use in a Social Studies class because it will keep the students engaged and focused on their task.

As a future Science Teacher, I will definitely use HaikuDeck in my classes for previewing a unit or as an assignment for students. This will give them the opportunity to explain different processes using images and key words.

Overall, I was very excited about both of the tools that were presented today. I believe technology is an important part of teaching and we should embrace that.

Where I’m from: Brasov, Romania

Where I’m from: Brasov, Romania – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

I’m from Brasov, a medieval town surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, in the beautiful region of Transylvania. This is a place of legendary figures, myths, and stories. Castles of haunting beauty and buildings touched by time and history. Alluring collection of century old monasteries, and traditions carried from generation to generation.

All these places are so dear to me, each has a memory tied to it.

This is where I’m from.