I was born on the panhandle of Nebraska in a town called Sidney. I only lived there for two years, but I have family there still and it is the area where my Dad grew up through his teenage years. The landscape is quite flat, however there are lots of small rolling hills. In American history, it is part of a larger area which were called the plains as the Western movement was occurring. There was lots of prairie grass and buffalo were abundant. As people settled there it became farming country. To this day, my family owns and farms land around Sidney. The elevation typically varies from 4,000-4,800. Wells are used for a water source to irrigate and provide a source of water for humans as well as many farm animals.
The history of the land was well documented on a site that I have listed below.
http://www.geosciences.unl.edu/~tfrank/History%20on%20the%20Rocks/Teachers/Plan%20files/Ford_GeohistNE.pdfE.pdf
I found out that before North America was completely formed that the land where Nebraska is now went through many transformations. For millions of years it was under the ocean and at one point the waters receded and the land between the west coast of North America and the mid-west was all one piece. It stayed that way for many more millions of years. It appears on the link about that at one point the Rocky Mountains were being pushed up higher from the pressure caused by the subduction zone on the west coast of what is now the United States. When this occured, the land in Nebraska became lower than sea level and it became covered with the ocean waters again. The water was coming in from the Arctic Ocean to the north and the Proto-Carribean Sea to the south. Aproximately, 50 million years ago the land became ocean free mammals started to be able to survive the sub-tropical climate. During the middle of the Miocene epoch about 15 million years ago, Nebraska was home to four species of horse, rhinos, elephants, camels, deer and many species of birds. Tragically, 12 million years ago, Yellowstone erupted and all the animals were killed from the ash fall.
EVALUATE:
Module III: P art 1- Second Section
ENGAGE, EXPLORE and EXPLAIN: I spend about two hours checking out Alaska. It amazes me how the indigenous peoples of our state were able to survive no matter where they lived.
One of the spots I visited was the Aleutian Chain. Google earth shows how drastic the subduction zone is along the south, southwest and west side of the land mass and islands. Earthquakes and volcanic action certainly impacted the peoples lives. Volcanic ash would have helped to produce a rich soil for grasses and plants. The abundance of ocean animals would have given them a rich source of meat and vegetables. The winds that are produced through the changes of air currents would have caused them to build homes that were low to the ground. Because of the continuous winds, trees were not able to grow very tall, so the materials that they had to build with would have been limited. Fresh water for drinking was probably not an issue, as rain would have fallen frequently enough for them to collect and save. As well, each isolated group of islands has its own volcano, which would have collected snow and ice in the winter, which would have melted in the spring. Many islands and the main land have rivers that contain fresh water year round.
EXTEND:
Fish processing plant and cannery in Old dock on the Aleutian Chain.
Snug Harbor.
I had may more pictures for the section of images with labels, but the time it took me to get these two placed correctly was enough to discourage me to put anymore. There must be a shorter way that I am not aware of doing, because I had to drag these photos from the top of the blog to the bottom, which displaced other photos and then that became a fixing nightmare.
EXPLORE, EXPLORE and EXPLAIN: When the tectonic forces cause plates to collide, there will most likely be an earthquake. Earthquakes occur frequently along all plate intersections where one plate is forcing itself down below another plate. At the intersection, it is called the subduction zone. Volcanic action occurs in these places as well. When the one plate sides below another, the earth's crust that remains on the top is forces to lift and wrinkle, forming mountain ranges.
EXTEND: Addition resources from teacher's domain that I found that would be useful to teach/learn about geological changes on the Earth.
"Glaciated Landscape"
"The Grand Canyon: How it was formed?"
"Exploring the Arctic Seafloor"
"Deep Time and the History of Life"
"Plate Tectonics: Further Evidence"
and many, many more!
I could use these resources with my fourth and fifth graders. They all are intensive needs identified. The visual and auditory part of the these resources would be easier for them to comprehend.
EVALUATE: The materials that I have explored to get to this part of my blog have been especially useful for the same reasons as for my students. They are animated, visual, interactive and auditory.
Module III: Part IV
ENGAGE, EXPLORE AND EXPLAIN: Some Athabaskan peoples are located along the Yukon River. It provides them a way of transportation to and away from places by boat. The river carries there yearly subsistence of fish and provides them with water. These peoples depend on rivers to supply the needs. They also depend on the animals who use the same rivers.
Tlingit peoples have an opportunity to benefit from plants and animals from the land and the sea. They use the moon and the weather to predicate what source of food will be coming available to them next.
The Yupik people also benefit the land and the sea. They use the seasons to show them the beginning of a new food source becoming available. Berries and some fish in the fall, grasses and plants in the spring, fish in the summer, whales and most likely walrus or seal in the fall and winter.
The Inupiaq people depend on some fish from rivers and a lot on ocean fish and mammals.
All the groups hunt moose, caribou, musk ox and bear for sustenance when the animals are close enough to attain. In the past, all the groups use items that are available to them to build shelter for their families.
Cultural connections: If Alaska Natives live by rivers and the ocean, they are susceptible to the possibility of moving their homes if the ocean or river takes over the ground that they are living on. Floods, violent sea storms, heavy rains, etc. can all make a physical landscape change. The Alaska natives that are still living in a subsistence life style have a spiritual connection with their physical environment. They respect the spirits of animals, landforms like rivers, storms and tundra and/or taiga plants.
Example: In Shishmarif, they have had to build a sea wall to protect the homes and businesses. The violent storms are eating away at the land. When the Yukon River flooded Eagle last year, they lost many of their homes and structures. When there is more water in the river than the river can hold, the water fills homes, businesses and churches. The people end up moving to higher ground until the water subsides.
EXTEND: Rural students are challenged by being isolated from the white world that they are being taught history about in history classes. These same students are taught the ways of a subsistence living based on a spiritual relationship. They are taught to respect their elders and when they come to urban or semi-urban areas and go to school, they do not communicate the way of the white world. While there is nothing wrong with there communication style, it can be perceived by a teacher from a different culture, that they are ignoring and ignorant when neither is true.
The Chevak native teachers role is to learn about ways of the white world so that they can help prepare the native students in villages for experiences that they may have outside of the village. The visiting teachers need to do the same, but in reverse. Urban students in Alaska benefit greatly by knowing as much as they can about the Native Alaskan people.
The migrant education program and the bilingual program are the only ones I know about in my school district. My brother's wife works for Alyeska Pipeline. She is an Athabaskan from the Tyonek area. Her current job is to work with high school students to prepare them for applying for good jobs, interviewing skills and ultimately help them attain employment.
A sense of place has to be within each individual person in order for them to feel like they belong. Living close to the land allows individuals to feel the cyclical relationship that humans have with their existence. People that live in an urban area often cannot appreciate the value of a meal, because they do not have a connection with their environment. The Alaska native population has respect for nature. Nature provides them with an existence. The native peoples take from nature, but they always give back to it as well.
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