National Standards:
Foreign Language Standards: K-12
Cultures: Gain knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures

Standard 2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture
Studies.

Standard 2.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

Standard 3.2 Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its culture.

Standard 4.2 Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.

Social Studies Standards K-12
The World in Spatial Terms

-Understand how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
-Understand how to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
-Understand how to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.

Places and Regions
-Understand the physical and human characteristics of places.
-Understand that people create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity
-Understand how culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions.

Physical Systems
-Understand the physical processes that shape the pattern of Earth’s surface.
-Understand the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface

Human Systems
-Understand the characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics.
Understand the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface.
-Understand the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
-Understand how the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth’s surface.

Environment and Society
-Understand how human actions modify the physical environment.
-Understand how physical systems affect human systems.
-Understand the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.

The Use of Geography
-Understand how to apply geography to interpret the past.
-Understand how to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.

OBJECTIVES: Participants will…
gain a better understanding of the history and purpose of the Great Wall.
learn legends about the Great Wall.
learn what leadership should be in Chinese people’s eyes.

NATIONAL STANDARDS:
World History
NSS-WH.5-12.5 ERA 5: INTENSIFIED HEMISPHERIC INTERACTIONS, 1000-1500 CEThe student in grades 5-12 should understand:
•the maturing of an interregional system of communication, trade, and cultural exchange in an era of Chinese economic power and Islamic expansion.
•the rise of the Mongol empire and its consequences for Eurasian peoples, 1200-1350.

Geography
NSS-G.K-12.1 THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
As a result of activities in grades K-12, all students should:
•Understand how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
NSS-G.K-12.2 PLACES AND REGIONS
As a result of their activities in grades K-12, all students should”
•Understand the physical and human characteristics of places.
•Understand that people create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity.
•Understand how culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions
NSS-G.K-12.6 THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY
As a result of activities in grades K-12, all students should:
•Understand how to apply geography to interpret the past.

From the Baseball Hall of Fame web site:

“It’s the final day of the 1941 season and Ted Williams’ batting average is .39955. What will he do? Sit this one out and guarantee an historic .400 season or take a chance and aim for mathematic immortality? At the Rookie and Intermediate Levels, students will find the answer to this and other exciting stories in a unit full of whole numbers, fractions and decimals, percentages, proportions and problem solving. This thematic unit teaches fundamental concepts that connect the calculator and the clubhouse while using and interpreting the statistics of famous ballplayers. At the Advanced Level, this thematic unit covers some of the basic topics of a beginning statistics course using baseball as the primary source of applications. If your students are particularly interested in baseball statistics, this unit is a great starting point for further research and analysis.”
http://baseballhall.org/education/school-programs/curriculum/statistics

• The World’s Biggest School Assembly on the BBC: for one day, schools around the world have told us what matters to them
• We’ve heard from schools from all over the world including pupils in Burma, China, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Ukraine, Indonesia, UK, and Spain.
• A range of issues and topics have been covered so far including the environment, the credit crunch, education, social media, whaling, drugs, poverty, and Nicki Minaj.

Barbara Biddy’s Grade 6 Suffern Middle School Students:

• want a voice
• want to be respected
• want to be heard in their community
• care for their family and friends
• want a safe environment for themselves and their loved ones
• are upset by bullying by both children and adults
• think education is important
• care about art and music
• need to express themselves and to be appreciated for who they are as individuals

Program Description: “The traditional Chinese dragon will take students on a journey to experience the charm of China. Students will learn Chinese greetings and the characteristics of Chinese characters, witness the development of China from ancient times to the present, trace the origins of Kung Fu, and learn to appreciate Chinese music.” (http://cilc.org)

From the Baseball Hall of Fame web site:

“It’s the final day of the 1941 season and Ted Williams’ batting average is .39955. What will he do? Sit this one out and guarantee an historic .400 season or take a chance and aim for mathematic immortality? At the Rookie and Intermediate Levels, students will find the answer to this and other exciting stories in a unit full of whole numbers, fractions and decimals, percentages, proportions and problem solving. This thematic unit teaches fundamental concepts that connect the calculator and the clubhouse while using and interpreting the statistics of famous ballplayers. At the Advanced Level, this thematic unit covers some of the basic topics of a beginning statistics course using baseball as the primary source of applications. If your students are particularly interested in baseball statistics, this unit is a great starting point for further research and analysis.”
http://baseballhall.org/education/school-programs/curriculum/statistics

This series features former Hall of Fame pro football players who talk about the importance of the 6 Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

Mr. Smith gave memorable advice to our students. The following is just a sample of this remarkable hour with an outstanding role model.

1. “Life is like four quarters; you are in the first quarter. You have a long life ahead of you. What you do today will affect tomorrow. Don’t just try to get by.  You need to master or conquer a lot of things; the world is dynamic; it’s constantly changing. The reality is that you will someday be reflecting back on this moment.”

2. “Be mindful of your surroundings, of the people you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with positive people”

3. “Attitude determines altitude.”

Many thanks to Jerry Csaki and the Pro Football Hall of Fame for this high quality program. Archived programs may be accessed on itunes University

Brianna and Brittany answer all emails from students. winnertwins@winnertwins.com.

Thank you, Winner Twins. I am spreading the word to teachers and hope to give more of our students a chance to hear your valuable writing tips. See previous post for more information about this program.

Many thanks to Jerry Csaki, of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for bringing Harry Carson, New York Giants Linebacker, Team Captain, Superbowl Champion ’86, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and author of the recent Captain for Life, to Suffern Middle School on Friday, March 9. Mr. Carson spoke to Jennie Narcisco’s grade 6 and Russell Rice’s grade 8 in two sessions about the 6 Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Suffern Middle School hosted two multipoint videoconference sessions with Mr. Carson for eight schools nationwide in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jerry Csaki facilitated the discussion so that students from each school had a chance to ask questions.
Harry Carson exemplified the 6 Pillars of Character in his courteous manner and inspiring words. He spoke about how values on the field and as Captain mirror positive values on life’s playing field.

Mr. Carson’s message  was in essence two nuggets of wisdom:
1) Be a Hall of Famer in life.You have your life ahead of you. Strive to be the best you can.
2) His mother always told him to be nice to people. At the end of the day we are all God’s creations and we are all the same. We don’t know what people are going through or who they are or how we will affect their lives.

Each hour, however, was packed with such wisdom from Mr. Carson that I have listed a sampling here:

• Life is a journey and so you need to prepare yourself for all the obstacles that you may encounter. There will be bumps in the road.

• Be a ‘Hall of Famer’ friend and student.

• Strive to be the best that you can be. At the end of the day when you walk away from school, ask yourself, ‘Did I do the best that I can do?’

• There are situations in life in which you want to throw up your hands and walk away, but you have to do it.

• When I give of my self, I feel blessed. It’s about being a good citizen. It’s the right thing to do.

• We need to take care of one another, we need to bring out the best in one another. We are all caring individuals. If there is an opportunity to show our care for one another we should do it.

• Adversity brings people together. Especially on a team, that’s really when people bind and come together, when you have adversity in schools, that’s truly when schools come together.

• Surround yourself with positive people.

• One of the most important things you can do is to get the best education you can get.

• My mother always told me, just be nice to people. Make the time to listen to what people have to say. It’s easier to be a nice person. You don’t know what another person is going through.

• Don’t let it get you down when people are mean to you. Just smile and go about your business. It reflects more on them than on you.

• A leader steps forward, takes risks, moves forward and says, ‘I’ll do it.’

• Anybody can be a leader. It’s about leading by example, not talking the talk, but walking the walk.

• We are not always going to get what we want. Life is that way. Sometimes you will hit the ball out of the park and sometimes you will fail. Life is that way. Take it in stride.

• Inspire those around you to be great. There are people who took their time to inspire me, that’s why I am here. I enjoy giving back.

• There’s not a lot that separates us in life. At the end of the day we all seek the same thing: we want to be loved, we want to be respected, we want to live life to best of our abilities. Doing the right thing is simple.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Distance Learning Goals/Objectives:
Students will:
Define the 6 Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.
Demonstrate understanding of the traits associated with the 6 Pillars of Character.
Demonstrate understanding of how good character is essential for achieving success in life.
Be inspired to live more meaningful and effective lives by incorporating new insights regarding good character into their daily lives.

National Standards met:
Family and Consumer Sciences: 12.0-Analyze factors that impact human growth and development; 13.0-Demonstrate respectful and caring relationships in the family, workplace, and community.

Brianna and Brittany showed how writing can be fun with a positive feedback loop. They talked about how their tips for successful writing can be applied to many disciplines and even test taking.

A few of their writing tips:
DO:  Keep Calm – Keep Going -  Focus – Have a Positive Attitude
DO Not: Freak Out – Rush – Obsess over Details – Get Angry

This is a highly energetic and interactive program. The girls are motivated, friendly, and relate well to middle school students. The conversation went beyond writing tips to how they overcame learning obstacles to accomplish their goals, and all of this with great fun. They emphasized that people can get through disabilities, that things do get better.

The content provider was The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)  Description from the program flyer:

“Identical twin teens and America’s youngest award winning authors, The Winner Twins, present a multi-media presentation that educates, informs, and inspires. Their program focuses on.

1) The creative writing process that the Winner Twins developed in writing their multiple award winning novels.
2) Their journey in getting their books published and in the process overcoming their dyslexia.
The twins’ novels are aligned with US national standards for fourth grade and higher and is a 14 point book in the Accelerated Reader program.

OBJECTIVES
America’s youngest multiple award winning authors the 15 year old Winner Twins, will teach students, about the creative writing process they use to write their novels.

The students will engage in a question and answer session about creative writing and overcoming challenges.”

NATIONAL STANDARDS
NS.LA1: Students read a wide range of print and
nonprint texts to build an understanding
of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information;to respond to the needs and demands
of society and the workplace; and for personal
fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and
nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

NS.LA5: 5.Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.