Inclusive Homeschool

Here is an excellent source created by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, “Understanding Evolution for Teachers“. The site for teachers is part of a larger site for evolution.

The section for teachers is divided into learning about evolution and teaching it.

Topics include the history, understanding of evolution, including misconceptions and relevance to our daily lives. The site is geared toward teachers with lesson plans, but there’s also a section that’s geared toward all readers, not just those who are teaching.

This is a very thorough website, neatly laid out with information and hands on lesson plans for teaching specific concepts. A very helpful feature is their search options. You can search according to grade levels, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, by topic or keywords.

To see everything laid out, their site index is neatly laid out and very easy to follow. They, also, have a very nice glossary with short concise definitions and pronunciation guide for most of the terms.

Web pages, also, have graphics to illustrate the points made in text. And while there’s a lot of information on the website, there isn’t a preponderance of text on individual pages, making it easy to read. Links lead the reader to other sections of the website for further study or clarification and/or to outside resources.

This is a great resource for both understanding and teaching evolution. It can be used exclusively or nicely supplemented with living books. While it’s not specifically for homeschoolers, the lesson plans I looked over can be easily adapted for use in the home.

Tags: evolution, lesson plans, Resources, Science

One of the best videos I’ve seen on consumption and the impact it has on the environment and the world by Annie Leonard, http://www.storyofstuff.com

A description from their website:

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. All the stuff in our lives, beginning from the extraction of the resources to make it, through its production, sale, use and disposal, affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world.

I loved it. The fast pace is not initiated by tons of flashy images and a string of 20 second sound bytes. It’s strength comes from the veracity of the facts and statistics and the passion of Annie Leonard. It’s obvious how she leans politically, but since I lean in the same direction, I’m fine with it.

Regardless your political beliefs, the truth Annie Leonard shares about how our consumption is affecting the planet and everyone in it is invaluable. Our rampant consumerism affects everyone…and in the end, without prejudice.

More information about Annie Leonard from her bio on the website:

Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, with more than 20 years of experience investigating factories and dumps around the world. Coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, a funder collaborative working for a sustainable and just world, Annie communicates worldwide about the impact of consumerism and materialism on global economies and international health.

With Annie’s first hand experience of witnessing the impact of our consumer driven society, I think Annie has plenty of room to be as passionate and direct as she is in her advocacy.

You know, much is made of “living books” in the homeschool movement, authors who write books on topics they are passionate about. I believe this is a “living video”, as the person with the passion for this subject is the one standing in front of the camera and not a narrator. It definitely comes across.

There are free downloadable pdf files – tips, invitations, taking action, group activities, discussion guides and posters to help facilitate a screening of the movie (which you can download for free, btw). The discussion and group activities pdf files make this a great homeschool resource for use in the home or in co-ops.

This movie is thought provoking and well worth watching. When Brhiannon comes home from her dad’s, we’ll be sure to watch this together and go over some of the discussion questions and activities.

Highly recommended.

Tags: environment, lesson plans, movies, Resources, Resources Free, Reviews-Movies, Science, sustainability, unit studies

Well, The Nickelodeon Spiderwick Chronicles upset me more than I realized. When I woke up feeling angrier the next morning than I did the previous day, I knew it was more than just because of a stupid movie.

This particular total disregard for the story hit a deep nerve in me. It underscores our culture’s general disregard for the artist, whether authors or musicians or any other art form, and evidently a part of me had an intense reaction to it.

It’s so prevalent in our society, this flippant disregard, that you can become desensitized, but at least for me, not this time. I wrote about it on my personal blog, Keeping the Dream, this morning. I’m sure I’ll be addressing this issue in further posts.

In Honor Of
Today, in honor of telling your story and story tellers everywhere, I want to acknowledge one of my favorite storytellers and include two good resources for stories.

Mountain Moon Storytellers, Bob and Barb Gingrich, two of my favorite storytellers in my hometown, York, PA. If you ever have a chance to catch any of their events, you have to. They are delightful and warm people both on and off stage, filled with rich stories and generous spirit.

National Storytelling Network: Find a storyteller, find support as a storyteller, learn about the art and develop your own skills.

Peace Corps Stories: Phenomenal resource of stories collected by Peace Corps volunteers complete with lesson plans. The stories are grouped by grade, region and subject area.

These are not just a collection of native stories from around the world, but include a collection of letters from Peace Corps volunteers themselves in the field, and that is where all good stories begin – from personal human experience. I just discovered this website this morning. I will definitely be using its resources in our homeschooling venture.

Tags: lesson plans, reading, Resources, Spiderwick Chronicles, stories, storytelling