Writing prompts - paragraph starters for Africa Environmental Issues essay

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Former student styling in her #TOMSshoes. Thanks Caroline for modeling at church today.

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Chattanooga Fall Walk

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Short Day - Heavy Material

Today was a half-day of school.  We watched the following two videos about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It could be the richest country in the world, but it is one of the poorest.

Civil war, lack of government structure, and illegal trafficking of gold and weapons makes this country a very difficult country to understand.

Take a look at this 2-part documentary.

PART 1

PART 2

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Short Day - Heavy Material

Today was a half-day of school.  We watched the following two videos about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It could be the richest country in the world, but it is one of the poorest.

Civil war, lack of government structure, and illegal trafficking of gold and weapons makes this country a very difficult country to understand.

Take a look at this 2-part documentary.

PART 1

PART 2

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Making My Class A "Killer"

Since the start of the school year we have been learning bits and pieces of Geography.  Things like country location, water forms, land features, environmental issues, population distribution (where do people live and why), unequal distribution of resources (the earth's not fair), ethnic groups, religions of the world, and other things.

I said in class today that I like to teach like a TV show.  There is a murder in the first 30 seconds of the show, then there are clues during the show, that if you pay attention will provide you with enough information to find the killer.

In class, students have been given numerous pieces of information, facts, and stories.  We are nearing the end of the Geography program.  We are about to put all the videos, maps, charts, tables, stories, and discussions together to answer what the state of Georgia calls "Essential Questions."  [NOTE: I've never liked this term for at least two reasons: a) the questions are really statements turned into contrived questions, and the questions are not really essential to life, just for a test.  We have tackled much more essential questions than the ones provided.]

So, here are the state Essential Questions we put in our notebooks today.

The student will discuss environmental issues across the continent of Africa.

• What is the impact of water pollution and the unequal distribution of water on irrigation, trade, industry, and drinking water?
  
• How do poor soil and deforestation distress Sub-Saharan Africa?
  
• What is the impact of desertification on the environment of Africa from the Sahel to the rainforest? 
  

Translations:

• The water in Africa has polluted and that leads to negative consequences for drinking.  What are these problems?
• The water in Africa is not available to everyone (or every country) equally.  Some have more than others.  How does the lack of waterways make business more difficult for some countries and people?
• Since water is polluted and not always available, how does that affect irrigation (creating pipelines, trenches or ditches from major rivers) of crops for families and countries?  Why is famine a problem in parts of Africa?
• Why is the soil bad in the Sahel (Sub-Sahara Africa)?
• How does deforestation make the soil even worse?
• What happens when the desert grows over the areas that once were used for farming and grazing?
• Where do the people move when the desert takes over their land?
• Why is the rain forest affected when the people move in?

These questions are important, but not what I would consider "essential" for anything other than a basic understanding of life in parts of Africa.  Here are my "essential questions" for Africa's environmental issues:

• What COULD happen as there is less and less land but more and more people in Africa? 
  
• What has happened in the recent past when ethnic groups, religious groups, and tribes have been forced to share land and water?
• Which is a better solution to the health issues created from biologically polluted waters of Africa: finding a cure? or preventing the disease?
  
• Knowing the diseases like guinea worm and podoconiosis are preventable if people simply had sanitation (filtering systems) and shoes (instead of sandals or nothing), what could you do to make a difference for the people there?  What will you do?  What should you do? What can our class/school do? 
• Malaria is a bigger problem, but there are things that we can do to help.  How can a person use a social network to get others to help and should they use their networks to do such things?
  
• Knowing what you now know, how will your life be different than it used to be?
• For nearly all of us, we were unaware of these problems; yet we knew many details about Jon & Kate + 8.  Why does the U.S. media not report this information?

So there's day 1 in beginning the organize our clues into a meaningful adventure.  More tomorrow, and the rest of the week.

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Major religions chart

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2009 Cruise - Bahamas

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Pic from our cabin.

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Making The Transition To What Makes Social Studies Fun...

...and more difficult.

I still maintain that Social Studies is the most important class in school.  You can watch my explanation below.

We are moving away from where countries are located and what is located in those countries to discussing why people live where they live and what life is like for them.

There are seldom single right answers - and this is what makes Social Studies fun, important, and difficult.  It's not that you have an answer, it's that you know why you formed that answer in the first place.

We watched this short, humorous video from TED U to set the stage for our transition into deeper waters.  It is from Joachim de Posada and is titled, Don't Eat The Marsh Mellow...Yet.

Students, you will have to get used to the idea that learning Social Studies issues takes patience, takes effort, and will take time - not in search of the right answer, but in search of why you think your answers might be right at that moment in time.

Parents, you will want to encourage your students to begin seeing more than "one side to a story."  Developing the ability to understand differing ideas about issues will provide your child with lifelong advantages, contentedness, and happiness.

So be patient, but persistent.  You'll like that future rewards.

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