Introduction

Class Schedule

This Week

Classrooms

Field Reports

Student Projects

Map Library

Chat Room

Video Library

Trail Guides

Members

Search

                       






Camp Internet Teacher Briefing


BackCountry Studies


For the Week of November 1 - 5 1999



This coming month we will be studying Native life in the northern temperate rainforest around Mount Shasta and in the desert areas. We will also be learning about rock and sand art, reading the myths and legends of the early California inhabitants, and weaving together a comparison of the backcountry lives of the earliest Californians. In Science, we will begin our month long exploration of Geography, starting with general geography activities, and moving into more specific studies. You have the option of using the general geography introduction, and then jump into specific studies of different backcountry areas. Teachers in the past have been successful introducing the basic concepts of geography to the students during class time, and then assigning special research topics to small groups where each group adopts a different geographic area to report on. All of these resources are available to you through the Camp web site.

The Camp Expedition Supply Kit includes a large laminated map of California for your class to study, and challenges are included in the online text that will require using the map to find the answers. The Kit also includes a compass for every student, and a corollary activity is suggested online. During summer teacher training, we passed out materials from ESRI that you can share with the students to introduce them to GIS, and we will be sending out the ESRI CD ROM for you to begin working with in class. November is GIS month, with the specific day of observation being November 19th.

Reading

We are now ready to move you into the Native American Myth and Legend section where we will be doing reading comprehension and art activities related to the stories in the Camp's Coyote's Storytelling Center. We will be posting stories from all of the backcountry tribes, and you will have reading comprehension and art assignment suggestions to enrich their reading experience. Look for stories from the Miwok, Maidu, Shasta, Chumash, Gabrielino, and Cahuilla this month for a representative over view of the mountain, desert and island dwellers.

Geography

We have received a number of requests to receive the loaner GPS units for classrooms, and have ordered supplies accordingly. If you would like to have one of these small units to use in your classroom over the coming months, please let us know. They will be used to help chart resources and events in your local community, and then that data will be combined with other classroom findings as the Camp's GIS server goes online in the weeks ahead. Send any requests to camp@rain.org. When the units we have ordered arrive, we will let you know on the listserv that they are going out in the mail to you directly. We have also received the ESRI CD ROMs for classroom use, and will be sending those your way soon as well.

Upcoming Chats

We are scheduling live chats for students to meet Geographers in the weeks to come. Ben Waltenberger from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary will be available, and Dr. Bill Bushing who runs the Catalina Island Conservancy will take time out of his busy schedule to answer your student questions later this month. Additional chats are being scheduled on Rock Art, and on Native American Harvest Celebrations.

Fall Community Nights

Let us know if your school can host a Fall Community Night anytime this month, or in early December. These evenings are a great opportunity to get parents more involved in the technology literacy process, to let students share their accomplishments, and to build support for the year end field trip activities. We will provide either a Paleo Dig for your families to enjoy live online, and encourage these events to promote community technology literacy.