Thursday, February 5, 2015

TKWA = Music (and Natural Resources)

I'm sorry it's been a few days since I've posted.

We started a simulation today.  But I'm not going to write about that.  If you're reading this as a student/adult partnership, ask the student what happened.  Specifically ask about the tape represented, how they changed their style of dress and why.  What did the chant/song represent?  What did their flag look like?  What did it represent?

If you don't get through all of those questions, that's fine.  The big day is tomorrow.

The past few days we've talked about exploration.  Why did explorers explore the world?  What were they after?

Gold?  Sure.  Silver?  Check.  Fame?  No doubt.  Furs?  Yes.  To spread their religion?  Definitely.  (We really focus on the age of exploration - which deals mostly with the spread of Christianity, but there were some very notable explorers who weren't Christian.  We've mentioned Ibn Battuta in the past - who was Muslim.  Benjamin of Tudela was Jewish...)

There were a lot of reasons explorers explored.  But many of those reasons fall under one category: natural resources.  If it was here before people, it's a natural resource.  Wind.  The sun.  Gold.  Silver.  Fur.  Spices.

Yesterday we worked on a map of land use in Asia - which dealt with natural resources.  Many students remembered to TKWA the map before they started answering the questions, but some did not.  (TKWA = Title, Key, What's the point/purpose of the map?  What's it trying to show?  Answer the questions.)

There are lots of things that can be read.  We read books, music, people, maps.  Sight-reading a map is more like sight-reading music.  If you play music and you're going to start sight-reading it without having practiced it before, you can't just jump into it.  You have to look at the key.  Are there any sharps or flats?  What's the time of the piece?  4/4?  2/4?  6/8?  And then you should look through it without playing.  Finally, you can give it a shot.

When students TKWA a map, it's the same thing.  You can't just jump in and expect to understand it without looking at the title, key and thinking about the purpose first.

Students:  If you read this with an adult, find a scrap of paper and write 3 sentences from your discussion.  When you're done, have the adult you read with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow for extra credit.

1 comment:

  1. hey mr. habecker its me!! if you're even reading this you're probably wondering who. the girl in your first hour that made a kahoot and is probably the only one who will comment... anyways, my question is if we will be able to use my kahoot? i know i've asked this about a million times but... also, can i PLEASE move in with your cap class? you guys have better resources! just think of it as EXPLORING!!!! ;)) ok. bye!!!

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