Middle East Peace Summit Simulations

As you may recall from my earlier blog communication, students had been preparing for and were participating in a Middle East Peace Summit simulation during their social studies classes. This simulation was based on a United Nations-led effort to bring together many elements of both Israeli and Palestinian societies to hold discussions about the needs and interests of both sides before entering into formal negotiations. The simulation provided an opportunity to view this longstanding conflict from the perspectives of those immediately impacted by it: in particular, the communities of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who have yet to see much benefit in their own lives from the peace process. Students had the opportunity to role-play ordinary Israelis and Palestinians engaged in discussions about the conflict, the peace process, and the potential impact of real peace in their daily lives as they presented their formal proposals for lasting peace in the region.

This process proved to be an engaging and enriching experience for students as they gained a deeper understanding of the underlying reasons for the conflict and listened to the needs and interests of parties on the other side of the divide. Though an agreement for peace was not achieved at any of the three summits, students gained firsthand experience of the challenges confronting those who tackle the issue of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and how these parties might better forge a path to peace going forward.

Special thanks to Mrs. Kosakowski, our digital literacy specialist, for preparing the maker space for our peace summits and for creating a digital recording of each of the three summits as a witness to history. Please click on the links below if you are interested in viewing these peace summits.

Note: Many of the resources, materials and language used for this simulation and blog communication were obtained from the United States Institute of Peace and its Simulation on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict documents. 

Mrs. Valzania's homeroom class (above)

Mrs. Sierpina's homeroom class (above)

Ms. Magee's homeroom class (above)

Worldly Weather Broadcasters

Students are currently studying the climate of South Asia and learning how seasonal weather patterns affect this particular region.  With half of the climate zones that exist on Earth located in South Asia, people living in that region must adapt to widely varying conditions. There are so many different human interest stories related to the monsoon seasons in this part of the world - stories that demonstrate the significant impact these seasonal winds have on the environment and lives of the people living there. It seemed fitting to have students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the climate in this region by creating a learning product that would showcase not only their understanding of the climate, but how the climate affects how and where people live in South Asia - the essence of geography!  

Pairs of students were assigned to a season (summer monsoon or winter monsoon season) and conducted an in-depth investigation relating to the temperatures, precipitation, monsoon wind direction and the resulting impact on the people and environment - flooding, droughts, the spread of disease, landslides, water scarcity, etc. Students used their research findings to create a weather broadcast using Flipgrid, complete with some very creative and relevant human interest stories.  

Tune in to your "local weather station" by clicking on the image below and check out our South Asia weather broadcasts. I definitely see the potential for some future careers in broadcasting. 😀

We Are Bloggers

When I was first planning out an informative writing unit for my students this year, I wanted it to be different than what I had implemented in years past.  I wanted to create a writing unit that was more engaging, to offer them the opportunity to write with real purpose and to have them write for an audience that was bigger than just their classmates and me. I wanted to find a way to draw all of my writers, including my most reluctant ones, completely into the fold.  I wanted every single student to be ALL IN on this.  I knew firsthand what blogging had done for me as an educator and realized that it could provide the same experience and benefits for my students. 

With so much technology being integrated throughout our curriculum to enhance student learning, digital citizenship has become a part of our daily conversation. Digital citizenship skills are being explicitly taught and practiced on a regular basis to ensure its safe and responsible use, but more importantly, students are beginning to develop an understanding of the true impact of their words, particularly those posted online. I remind students often that technology must be used for the greater good - that technology should be used to empower learning, communicate effectively, collaborate globally and create passionately. These conversations and practices have certainly paved the way for the journey my students and I are about to embark on.  

We began our informative writing unit using mentor texts to analyze and evaluate different text structures - descriptive, sequential, cause/effect, problem/solution, and compare/contrast. Students will be applying their knowledge and understanding of these text structures as well as complementary text features, as they create their individual blog posts for topics of their choosing (with my approval, of course), giving them a voice to the world.  The plan is to assign students a new blogging challenge to be posted every other week. Students will also be required to read each others' blogs and post thoughtful comments and/or questions. Parents and teachers, as well as the entire world, are encouraged to read students' posts and comment on them as well. I will be moderating all posts and comments to ensure the safety and integrity of our blogs.  

Well, here we are, folks... Week One of transforming students into bloggers, of transforming students into teachers of future generations because that is what our words become - thoughts and ideas that shape the future.  We are excited to begin this adventure and to present the world with our voices.  Stay tuned for an announcement about our first published posts in the coming weeks.  
      

Students learn how to set up their blog accounts