Oregon's Beautiful Bounty - Lesson Plan

The following lesson is inspired by and includes pictures from various gardens throughout Oregon including, Lan Su Chinese Garden (Portland), Portland Japanese Garden, The Oregon Garden (Silverton), and the Mary Woodward Elementary School garden in Tigard. There are also a few pictures from the Portland Farmer's Market. Those ones should be obvious.

Vegetation ABC's

Objective: Each student will create an informative page (guidelines to follow) for a classroom ABC book on plants.

Standards addressed:

Reading: Read and locate information in specialized materials and a variety of informational texts. Use structural features to strengthen comprehension.

Writing: Focus on a central idea, excluding loosely related, extraneous, and repetitious information (main ideas).

Science: Observe physical characteristics of organisms.

Steps:

1. Students will choose a plant to research. The plant will begin with their assigned letter of the alphabet.Enlarged copy of Kingore’s “Alphaboxes” to be posted in the classroom throughout this project. We will meet as a class to fill in students’ choices of plants as the anticipatory set to the research portion of the assignment. As a class, we will work together to fill in any letters of the alphabet not assigned to students.These will serve as the examples/models throughout the project.

2. Students will access research using Grolier Encyclopedia online. Students will read and locate information while using a research graphic organizer to note take. Before students begin their individual research, we will do research as a class on one of the examples we chose during the class discussion.Teacher will go through graphic organizer with students to model note taking as we research one or more examples together.

3. Teacher and students will use plant page criteria to go over completed research organizers, checking for completeness and revising where necessary.

4. Students will use revised research organizer to create and design their plant’s page. Again, before students begin their individual projects, we will use one of our researched plants to do an example together. While completing the example, we will discuss visual aesthetics, layout, and formatting.Students will first complete a rough draft before receiving teacher approval to move on to final copy.

4. Students will present their completed pages to the class. Completed pages will be bound into one class book for the classroom library.

Plant Page Criteria

Name

Scientific name

Classification

Illustration

Habitat

Physical description

Facts

Rimu

Now This Kid From New Zealand Can Dance!

My Personal Interests...

There are a number of things that define my personal interests. Anything that is "typically Portland" can be found pretty high on my list of personal interests. Some of these things include running, cycling, hiking, eating locally, shopping at farmer's markets, and reveling in Portland's abundant and varied restaurant and cafe scene. Although I don't consider myself a "hipster-geek", which is very Portland, it did just dawn on me how stereotypically Portland I am. Beyond the obvious Portland overtures to my personality, I fancy myself a decent photographer, a seasoned traveler, a SCUBA diver, a dog lover, and a father-to-be in November. I'll expand on a few of these topics a bit further.

1. Portland

I've lived in Oregon nearly all my life. I spent my younger years growing up in Salem and Eugene. After graduating from Sprague High School (1994) in Salem I moved to Eugene to attend the University of Oregon. UofO is beautiful and I was surrounded by many friends - perhaps too many. My freshman year I witnessed "the pick" by Kenny Wheaton against the University of Washington, which sent us to the Rose Bowl and turned around the fortune and image of UofO football to this day. However, I decided to transfer to Portland State University in 1996 to focus more on academics and graduating. It was a decision that forever changed the course of my life.

Other than teaching English in South Korea and Singapore for a total of three years, I've lived in Portland ever since. I've come to absolutely adore this city. It has a culture that promotes and thrives on healthy, active living. Whether it's Nike, Oregon's track legacy, or simply in our blood, Portlanders love to run and I've certainly caught the buzz. Two of my favorite places to run are Forest Park and down around the waterfront. Although I've never taken on the full marathon bomber, I have raced in many 10K and half-marathons all over the greater metro area. My personal favorite is the Vernonia Half, which I've run twice and placed 13th overall this past April. The Forest Park Half Marathon is an insane trail run, which I placed 7th overall in the spring of 2009.

Great hiking is another luxury Portland has to offer. Whether it be locally in Forest Park (again!), or around Mt. Hood, or in the Columbia River Gorge, a national scenic area, there's something spiritually rejuvenating about getting out and hiking in nature. It's something I love to do with my wife, Karen, and our dog, Carter.

Every Saturday my wife and I head down to the Portland Farmer's Market to load up on produce for the week. Some people complain that the vendors are too expensive, but higher prices are something we're willing to deal with in order to get fresh, quality, local, tasty food in which to fuel ourselves with. Really, there's nothing more important in life than your health, and that starts with diet. With that in mind we're willing to spend more on food that's healthier for us, supports our local farmer, and tastes much more scrumptious.

Lastly, no mention of loving all things Portland would be complete without mentioning the restaurant and cafe scene. My wife and I have sampled just about every restaurant Portland has to offer. Some of our favorites include Laurelhurst Market, Ken's Pizza, Yuzu (Beaverton), and Beaker & Flask. One of the best websites to keep up with the restaurant scene is Portland Food & Drink. There is certainly no shortage of cafes and coffee houses in and around Portland. There seems to be a Starbucks on every corner, and most folks can tell you about Stumptown having some of the best locally brewed coffee in town. However, by far my favorite place to plunk down with a book, newspaper, or to catch a World Cup soccer match is easily Costello's Travel Caffe in NE Portland. It's run by a family of four, consisting of dad, mom, son, and daughter and it has a very European vibe to it.

2. Photography

I am by no means a "photographer." To this day, all of my pictures have been taken with a simple point and shoot digital Canon camera. But, I happen to think so much of photography lies behind the subject of the photo and practice, practice, practice. I've never taken a photography class, but I like to go to unique and beautiful places, which combined with a little bit of skill, timing, and iphoto work can make for a fantastic photograph. You can see some of them below or on the Flickr top left. Soon that Flickr link will have classroom photos as well.

3. Traveling

As I mentioned above, I spent three years living and teaching in South Korea and Singapore. I have many happy memories and lifetime friends from these two experiences. In addition, I have spent nearly a year of my life traveling throughout SE Asia. I met my lovely wife (pictured above) while waiting in the immigration line at the Kathmandu airport in Nepal. That chance encounter in the airport lead to six weeks of rafting, kayaking, and hiking through the Himalayas together, which in turn lead to three more months of traveling together in Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore.

On a previous trip to SE Asia I spent a month in Laos, including one week on a tiny island in the Mekong called Don Det (Don meaning island), three weeks in Cambodia, two weeks in Indonesia, and many months in Thailand SCUBA diving.

When Karen and I lived in Singapore we spent our vacations in either the Philippines or Indonesia diving some more. One of the best places we found in the area for SCUBA was Bunaken National Marine Park in Manado, Indonesia. The reefs and walls surrounding the island had an absolutely amazing array of sea life. The pictures below are some I've taken while scuba diving in the aforementioned locations.

Karen and I also spent two weeks in Peru for our honeymoon in August 2008. The picture at the top of the blog is from Machu Picchu. We're hoping to go to Costa Rica in March 2011 for a "babymoon."

4. Baby Girl On The Way

I've recently given up my motorcycle interest for strollers. Not entirely true, but the motorcycle is now gone and all sorts of baby gear is on the way. Who knew their was such an arsenal of baby-related products out there? Pretty much any parent, that's who. I've found myself researching and tinkering with all kinds of strollers, car seats, and cribs. Like most Portland folk, we're of course getting a B.O.B. so we can jog and get aggressive while walking with our baby girl, but the stroller link above shows my true favorite stroller. See how bad I've gotten? Luckily, Portland has a plethora of cute baby stores. Some of local favorites that help parents make sure their kids will grow-up to be hipster Portlandites are Posh Baby and Little Urbanites.

Okay...I think that's enough for one post.

Summer Course: Connecting Art & Math

Kids aren't the only ones who have to go to school. I took three classes this summer as part of a continuing education requirement to maintain my teaching credentials with the Teacher's Standards and Practices Commission. The goal is to keep teacher's up-to-date and excited about some of the topics, tools, and practices associated with quality education.

One of the classes I took was one day one credit class called Creating Better Writers. It was taught by a fourth grade teacher from Eugene with many years of experience and even more wonderful lessons and ideas to create motivated and successful young writers. 84% of her students past the state writing test last year, which is an amazing feat. I'm looking forward to implementing many of her suggestions and following her sequence of building skills in young writers throughout the year.

This blog is a product of a four credit course I'm taking this summer as well. I'm taking it online and it's uses for the classroom are exponential. I've enjoyed every aspect of the course so far and look forward to using with my class this upcoming school year.

The pictures above are a product of a three credit course I took a week ago called Connecting Art & Math. It was a week long course taught by a Portland artist/educator named Roger Kukes. He has come to Sexton Mountain before as a guest educator. All the pictures in this posting are of art work I completed in the class - with a torn ligament and splint on my right thumb! The class was invaluable and I came away from it with three-ring binder chalked full of lesson plans and ideas to help me continue to incorporate art into my classroom as much as possible. This course in particular focused on connecting art and math as the title suggests. The first picture is the culmination (final copy) of a lesson on geometric solids and the second and third pictures are final copies of polygon tessellations. I plan to do both of these lessons, as well as others, in my classroom next school year.

Classroom Activity

BIZTOWN!

This year our three fifth grade classes had the opportunity to go to Biztown. This was the second time our team and school participated in this program and it is quickly becoming the "highlight" of every student's fifth grade year at Sexton Mountain. The word is spreading through the younger grades like a rampant case of head lice.

The premise of the program is to interactively teach kids about economics, community development, government, and civic responsibility through hands-on and engaging curriculum provided by the wonderful team at Biztown. Our job as teachers is to teach our students the ways of "adult" world through twenty different lessons. After lessons on business, business ethics, philanthropy, and civic responsibility the students elect a Biztown mayor, create resumes, fill out job applications, apply for jobs, and participate in a group interview with staff members. Now they're ready to be put into their business teams. Each business consists a CFO, CEO, and various other titles pertinent to that particular business. They work together to create newspaper ads, TV ads, set prices and many more things related to operating a successful business.

Ultimately, the big trip to the Biztown warehouse comes a few days later. The students - with the help of parent volunteers - run their own city for the day. Long story short, it's a hoot of a time for all. Especially, teachers because we get to sit back the entire day at Biztown while the kids and they're parents run the show. Great times!

How I'll Use a Classroom Blog

The potential for a classroom blog is endless and right in line with the current technological trends that encompass the lives of our students and their families. I happen to work at a school where 100% of my students last year had access to computers at home and the only technological connection we had between school and home was either through email (mostly to parents), or an antiquated web page used strictly for our daily planner and homework, which was minimally checked by either parents or students. I think a specific blog tailored to the goings on in our classroom would increase both student and parent involvement, and ultimately strengthen the relationship between schools, parents, and community.

A goal of mine for next year is to start a school garden at our elementary school. I started this project late in the year last school year with my fifth graders. Although, we weren't able to get through the district's bureaucratic red tape for official approval before the end of the school, we were able to get things moving in the right direction, do some activities related to gardening, and even grow some veggies in individual pots outside our portable. The kids loved every minute of it and the educational opportunities are endless. Had my classroom blog existed last year I would have used it to chronicle our efforts and progress to continue momentum and gain the support of our community. I plan to use my classroom blog for this purpose next year.

Lastly, I think a classroom blog can be used to give students a purpose to write on a daily basis with their peers as an audience. I can pose questions related to a topic of study or short writing prompts as homework and my students will simply be expected to respond. Soon, they'll be posing their own questions and responding to each other.