Since Pippy was so quick to end the first Earth Science contest, here is another opportunity for my students in 3rd block. Although, I suspect that this may be a replica of the ancient "white-stone" wall of the Kremlin, it still looks pretty interesting. I did not have an acid bottle with me, but I bet this stuff will fizz! So Earth Science students.... what is it? (Other blog readers......please don't tell!)
Science is everywhere! Of course! I saw many applications of the topics we have been studying in class, recently. As promised, here is your opportunity to try for those bonus points. The first member of the class to post or email me the correct answer is the winner of this one. If you are not in one of these classes, I would love for you to read and comment, but please, contain your enthusiasm and do not give away the answers! Physics students: This is the famous Czar Cannon on the grounds of the Kremlin. This was built of bronze in 1586 in Moscow’s Cannon Court by Andrei Chokhov. Although it was designed for the Kremlin’s defense, no shot was ever fired from it. If a shot had been fired what would be the shape of the path of the cannon ball, and what would be the approximate components of both the horizontal and vertical velocities? Chemistry students: The Czar bell (purportedly the world’s largest) was cast at the decree of Empress Anne Ioannovna in 1730. The casters used pieces of an older broken bell made mainly of bronze to make it. During a fire in 1737, cold water was poured over it to extinguish flames and this resulted in a huge cracked piece. Now, look at the close-up. For your contest: What is the green stuff? What are the sources of the two reactants? Give the name and formula of the green product. And classify the reaction type in which it formed in two ways. Earth Science students: The Armory Museum in the Kremlin has a display of carriages used by the Tzars of Russia. A particular one, owned by Nikita Ivanovich Romanov in the 1640’s has some very nice windows. What is the natural material that was used to make these windows?
Thanks to all of you who are reading and commenting. I am trying to keep up with all of this. So here are a few replies. To Ms. Whiteis.......I think the view from my window includes The Ivan the Great Bell-Tower in the Kremlin and perhaps a bit of The Assumption Cathedral? To Emily and Makayla...... I do not think the cheesy bread will travel well, but I have tasted some awesome candy here, so.....we'll see.Students, Look for the bonus contests very soon!
We started the day by visiting the US embassy in Moscow where we learned about the politics, economics, and culture of Russia. All of this was fascinating and we had many questions for the embassy staff. Ask me about this when you see me. We ate lunch at one of the many My-My (pronounced Moo Moo, with a cow as the symbol) restaurants. This is a food chain that is cafeteria style which was good for us because you could just point to the food you wanted and not have to speak much. Several of us thought we were getting a chicken leg. This thing looked exactly like a chicken leg. However, when we cut into them, there was no bone. The chicken skin was stuffed like a sausage casing with some sort of tasty mixture that probably included chicken. We still don’t know exactly what it was. It had to take a lot of work to make it look exactly like a drumstick. We spent the afternoon in the area of the Kremlin and Red Square. I saw the changing of the guard and took photos in front of St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square. Then, we had a guided tour into the Kremlin. The sites of the Kremlin are the most famous ones of Moscow. Archeologists have found evidence of settlements on this spot dating back to the late third and mid second millennial BC. In 1156, a fortress was built here which is considered the start of Moscow. The fortress and its interior have undergone many changes that time. Inside the walls, which you enter through large gates, there are palaces, museums, cathedrals, and the government buildings that house the modern day Russian government. (Note to my civics teacher colleague: We did see the building where Putin’s office is located.) I was fascinated by the onion domes of the cathedrals…so different form the towers of cathedrals in France, Germany, and Spain. I had to take a lot of pictures. I especially enjoyed the Armory which is a museum that contains the crown jewels of Russia. Imagine a horse blanket emblazoned with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds! We ended the evening with dinner in a Turkish restaurant after a walk down Stary Arbat, an old street which is closed to traffic. There were lots of interesting shops interspersed with recognizable American franchises including two (!) Dunkin’ Donuts shops with a few blocks of each other. A series of unlucky events caused me to miss my connecting flight and to miss meeting up with the other teaching fellows in the Russian travel cohort. At several points, I thought it would take an extra day to get to Moscow because of flight schedules and overbookings. Thankfully, my luck got better and things all worked out. I had to travel to Moscow by myself on the Russian airline, Aeroflot. I realized that although I have learned several Russian phrases, I am a little short on nouns. I knew the flight attendant was asking me if I would like ____________ or ____________. I just did not know what ___________ and _______________were. Now, I have learned vada( воды -water), kof-ye (кофе -coffee), and chey (чай -tea) It was all fine because I only arrived three hours later than the group. And…the hotel in Moscow is amazing. I can see the Kremlin from the window of my room. It is right across the river. After a brief meeting, we ate dinner at a restaurant that specialized in Georgian food. Everything was delicious. I am looking forward to tomorrow when we will visit the US embassy and see a lot more of Moscow. At the moment, the essential question is: Will I make it on time for the flight to Moscow with my TGC cohort, despite confusing flight information and multiple flight delays? However, IREX has requested that we reflect more deeply and select an essential question to focus our learning while we are in Russia. I have so many questions! And so do my students and colleagues. I will try to investigate as many of those as possible, but I have decided that my essential question will be: How is effective STEM (Science. Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education implemented in Russia? Some supporting questions that I will use to help me investigate this:
I have some initial assumptions that may or may not be accurate. Although, there is an increasing emphasis on STEM in the US, I wonder if that will be even stronger in Russia. I suspect that STEM courses in Russia may be more rigorous than ours. I wonder about the amount of “voice and choice” that Russian students have in selecting courses of study, but also in selecting project topics within courses. What about labs and hands-on activities? Group work? Field trips? Implications of testing? These are all aspects that interest me. What will I be doing in Russia?
I am going to Russia for two weeks as part of a year-long professional development experience, the Teachers for Global Classrooms program (TGC). There are twelve teachers from all over the United States who will be part of the travel cohort. We will all go to Moscow together where we will learn about the Russian education system and, of course, visit some cultural sites. (I will be sure to add photos!) From there, we will break into small teams and travel to various cities all over Russia. Each team has a host teacher, and a host school, where we will observe, present, team teach, and otherwise be involved in school activities. We will also have the opportunity to visit sites in this city. Each team worked out a detailed schedule of activities for their time together. I will have to fill in more details of this later because, at the very last minute, my host school and city had to be changed. So I have a lot of learning and catching up to do in the next few days. I am hoping that my fellow teaching partners will help me with that! I am definitely ready for the adventure. And, certainly, my years of working in a school have taught me to be flexible! I remember riding with a team of my husband’s forestry students, on the way to a national FFA convention in Kansas City. It was some time back in the 90’s. We had just turned off of Rt. 219, making the turn west, toward Kennison Mountain and the county line. To make conversation, I asked the group, “What’s the farthest west you’ve ever been?” I expected a range of answers. I even suspected to discover someone who had not been beyond our state capital of Charleston. But I was totally taken aback by one boy’s exclamation of “I’m seeing new country, now!” This trip was a big deal to these students, but I had no idea how big.
Obviously, times have changed….even in this, the most rural county east of the Mississippi. Now we have the internet and satellite TV. But therein, is a deception. Our view of the world is shaped by the media we select to watch and not by our own experiences and interactions. Stereotypes abound when there is such a limited view. In seven days, I will be leaving for two weeks in Russia, a travel and field experience component of a year-long professional development program, Teachers for Global Classrooms. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to explore connections. My students and colleagues helped me create presentations for Russian students and teachers. They are eager to share their messages and questions. I Skyped with my host teacher in Saratov, Russia, who shared the enthusiasm of her students and colleagues, as we planned activities for our time together. I am looking forward to this exciting time of collaboration as an opportunity to initiate global awareness and understanding among our school communities. Meanwhile, I better start packing! |