Marsha
Rogers
2400 Interlachen Road #110A
Spring Park, MN 55384
952-471-1127
msrogers@mchsi.com
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January, 2004
January 1
I don't very often suggest a particular lesson plan, but I am going to do so this week. I recently attended a lecture by one of the food critics for the New York Times. An interesting fact she brought up got me thinking about this plan. She was able to trace the region her family immigrated from by the way they prepared a specific food they regularly had during the holidays.
During the next few weeks many of your students will be involved with their families in celebrations that involve food. Different cultures have various traditions. By looking at holiday traditions, students can take a look at how their family heritage plays a part in these celebrations. Different locations where I have worked have shown these cultural heritages. The school at the reservation where I worked for many years in Nevada used Indian fry bread for tacos instead of tortillas. The schools in Wisconsin serve more brats than hot dogs. Jewish families serve latkes during Channukah. Minnesota Norwegians serve lutefisk during the holidays (see the humorous recounting of a first taste of lutefisk http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/ic/lutefisk.html). Cookies are made in particular ways by those from Norway, Lebanon, and France. Student families in Canada and England have special dishes they savor in those countries. Even regional differences can be seen in the way the American traditional stuffing/dressing is made. My family traces this dish to its southern heritage in that cornbread is used rather than white bread crumbs. Even what is included in the stuffing is regional: oysters, fruit, vegetables, etc. Even New Year's day has its traditions. My family always had ham hocks and beans.
Have students check with their families about one tradition they have relating to food for the holidays and report to the class. If you are feeling adventurous, have a small serving of each prepared for the class or you can prepare a couple of dishes and share with your students.
Depending on your discipline, you can seriously look at this lesson meeting standards in social studies, cooking, and language arts;
CNN has a good article on foods around the world available on the web. This is a great starting point for introducing the unit.
http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/PURSUITS/FOOD/9812/holiday.food/
Recipezaar is a wonderful resource for foods of all kinds.
http://www.recipezaar.com
Recipe Source is also a great web site with all kinds of ethnic recipies.
http://www.recipesource.com
Classic Jewish Food Recipies has a good variety of foods served at holiday time. There are many latkes recipies here.
http://www.jewish-food.org
Have fun with the holidays. You can have fun and teach at the same time...it's allowed.
January 1
Even now it's late to start applying for grants and scholarships for the 2004/5 school year. However, there are still some that are available to you and your students.
TechLearning has a listing of grants and scholarships with deadlines in January and February. Some of the awards are available to students and teachers in both the United States and Canada.
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16000690
TechLearning also has a searchable data base that contains grants, awards, and prizes for students, teachers, and schools.
http://www.techlearning.com/resources/grants.jhtml
January 4
I've had a request for information on Stock Market sites where students can learn about how the markets function. Not only did I find several games online, but there are also several "fun" games that use stock market principles.
Stock Market Game
This game is sponsored by Nasdaq, the NYSE, and Reuters.
http://www.smg2000.org/
Virtual Stock Exchange is sponsored by CBS MarketWatch. It is free.
http://game.marketwatch.com/Home/default.asp
Stock-Track is a portfolio simulation used on all levels, including college. Educators must register a class. Some states already have registered classes. Click on "high school teachers" on the left to see if your state is registered.
http://www.stocktrak.com/
Investment Challenge is a "real time" stock market simulation game for both U.S. and Canadian students. Real money can be won.
http://www.ichallenge.net/
The Mississippi Dept. of Ed. has developed a stock market challenge aligned with Mississippi State Standards
http://www.mississippisms.com/
Besides the traditional stock market games, there are a few out there that might be used to teach those students who find traditional finance "boring." For these students, it is a way of teaching how finance affects all aspects of our lives.
Hollywood Stock Exchange game
Buy shares of your favorite actors and their new movies. Watch their values rise or fall based on their success. Prices soar with a blockbuster opening at the box office and plummet with a bomb no one went to see.
http://www.hsx.com/
WallStreetSports.com
Trading takes place by buying & selling contracts on each team or result. Contracts are similar to stock & shares, instead of buying & selling shares in Microsoft and Vodaphone, you buy & sell contracts in the St Louis Rams and the New York Giants.
http://www.wallstreetsports.com/
January 25
Art and music are great ways to teach about a period. There are a couple of sites you might want to check out.
http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/
Ancient India is presented by the British Museum. The site provides resources that are user-friendly and combine suggested activities with background information. The goal is to present information about ancient India through the art objects from the British Museum collection. The site covers geography, history, and political divisions. I took a quick tour through the site and was impressed with the information there.
http://www.rienzihills.com/SING/
This site has an index of music that spans several decades. It's a great place for your students to hear music from other eras.
For other educational links, please
visit my column at Backwash
The
Oldest Cyber-Geek I Know