Going Global

Introducing the second graders of Rocky River to my birthplace was a fun task.  Opening up with a video, of my own cousin speaking Vietnamese, that introduced me and asked them if they were ready to journey with me to Vietnam.  Then proceeding to show them what the countryside looked like, through a short video that highlighted the beauty of Vietnam.

Getting into the meat of the presentation, I was able to introduce the kids to the basics of Vietnam, the facts about the geography and standard details (population, capital, language, products that they exported …) then went on to talk about some more interesting facts, like the rare animals that live in Vietnam and of course, one of my favorite things about Vietnam, the food!  It was neat when I had a child recognize the spring rolls they saw upon the screen! The kids also got to see an Ao Dai, the traditional costume that the women of Vietnam wore for special events. After discussing some of the foods and the costume/dress, I went on to talk about some famous Vietnamese people and loved it when the kids recognized the Yellow Power Ranger, Trini!

I think one of the highlights was when the kids got to watch a video of the Mid-Autumn Festival, simply because it is a festival that revolves around the children.  Lots of interesting sights to see in the form of the lanterns, food, parading and the dragon dances!  Another thing that the kids found interesting was the comparison on the school days between us and the children in Vietnam!

In closing, the kids got to watch another short video that showed more sights from all around the different parts of Vietnam and then I did a “drawing” and presented three lucky kids with special prizes … one even got a Moon Cake!

We packed our bags for our next journey this time south of the equator.   This land was one of high mountains, volcanoes, fjords, waterfalls and beaches.  For most people, the word “fjord” conjures up thoughts of Scandinavia and the frozen North.   But New Zealand, is a surprise to many,  because it can boast some of the world’s best fjords — hemmed by towering cliffs, fantastically deep and stretching like long, crooked fingers from the Tasman Sea into some of New Zealand’s most lush and remote scenery.  It was amazing to us that you can be at a beach and only go 75 miles to get there.  There is a North Island and a South Island.   We have to travel many more to get to a beach in North Carolina.  We don’t have volcanoes!

They have mountains called the Southern Alps.

We saw some flightless birds.  They developed differently then other birds because originally there were no natural prey trying to get them.  The kiwi is one of these birds.  The giant weta (large insect) lives there and can be as big as 3 mice.

We learned that the Maori people greet each other by rubbing  their noses together.  The men originally did a loud chant that scared away enemies.  Today the All Blacks rugby team does this loud chant.  Wonder if they are trying to intimidate their opponents?  They also like to play cricket.  We aren’t sure what cricket is but it has a ball and bat so we think it might be like baseball.

Students wear uniforms to school.  You go to school 13 years where we only have 12 years.

There are many types of transportation.  There are four large cities.  The capital is Wellington which is between the two islands.  This is not the largest city.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were filmed there and made New Zealand popular.

They have sheep and cows.

They have lots of rain and a mild temperate climate and have sun .

In New Zealand, they have 14 flightless birds.  Two are the Kokopa and the kiwi which are both flightless birds.  In New Zealand they grow things like Kiwi and grapes.   There is a parrot that likes snow and the only parrot that ate meat, sheep meat that is and it is lucky they stopped.  In New Zealand they have a special greeting putting noses together.  In New Zealand they have 20 active volcanoes.  They call hiking trekking in New Zealand.  The first person to climb Mount Everest trained in the mountains of New Zealand.   The sing songs from the Maori people.

McKenna

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings was made there.  There is a bug called a weta and there are 5 types of weta.  New Zealand is safe.  New Zealand police don’t carry guns.  New Zealand is in the South.  New Zealand has a famous rugby team called the All Blacks.  And it’s national bird is the Kiwi.  And they grow kiwi!   New Zealand people are called Maori.  New Zealand is near Australia and Antarctica   If you are coming from Los Angeles, California to New Zealand you have to stop in Hawaii first.  It can take a whole day to travel there from here.  New Zealand has a parrot that lives in the cold and that is the only parrot that lives in the cold.

Emanuel

This time we went to South America for an Adventure in Colombia.

Colombia, South America

They have gold and I love gold. So I want to go to Colombia.  They dance so good.  I want to learn how to dance like they did.  They have really, really long dresses, they don’t even trip over their dresses.  They danced barefoot in Colombia.  I think that is AWESOME!  They even have snow-topped volcanoes.  That’s AWESOME to because you think volcanoes are hot and would melt the snow.

Amanda- 2^nd grade

Colombia, SA

It has 10% of the world’s animal population.  It has the 2^nd longest river in the world.  If stretched out it would go a long way around the world.  They have a great soccer player.  They speak English and Spanish.  The Amazon River is the 2^nd longest river and the Amazon Rainforest is there.

Charlie- 2^nd grade

Colombia, SA

Shakira gets paid at a music concert and builds schools for kids in Colombia.  The volcanoes are so high up they have snow on them.  They have many diverse animals in Colombia. They have gold.  They learn French, Spanish and English in their schools.

2^nd grade –

Colombia, SA-

The children wear uniforms to school.  They have lots of flowers and sell them to the United States.  They have flower farms and the ladies work there putting flowers together.  The flag is red, yellow and blue.

Conor- 2^nd grade

We began our journey in the Amazon (home for 10 % of all the animals in the world); we continued and arrived where the beaches of Atlantic and Pacific Ocean are. We learned that Colombia is the only country to border two oceans in South America.   We kept going and flew on top of the snow covered volcanoes and the peaks of the Mountains of the Andes. When we passed over the grasslands, the students were able to appreciate the beautiful sunsets that would illuminate the birds’ way home. Finally, we came to the desert and admired the diversity of colors of the sand and were delighted with its’ musical rhythms.

The country is full of hard-working people who help in the manufacture of export products, for example: coffee, gold, emeralds, banana, flowers and more.  Colombia has many natural resources but it’s people are it’s main asset.

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Sweden

The author of Pippi Longstocking was from Sweden.  Her name is  Astrid Lindgren.  Sweden is also home to Swedish fish.  Sweden has lots of famous people.   

Lots of cars were made in Sweden like the Volvo.  Sweden’s favorite sport is hockey because it is more up north where there is colder weather.

Sweden’s favorite food is fish and it is a tradition to eat crayfish in the midsummer.  Some of the other foods are Swedish meatballs and pea soup.

In one of the holidays the oldest girl in the house wakes up early and wears a special white dress and goes to the church with a candle to light the way and sings a song.

Carson M.   – 2nd grade

Sweden

They have a King and Queen.  The Queens travels a lot.  Every midsummer they build a huge cross and put flowers on it and dance around it.  December 13^th the oldest child wakes up early and wakes up the parents.  It has to be a blond hair girl that has a candle on her head because it’s the darkest night.  They eat pea soup with pancakes.  They have lobsters.  They crack the head open and eat it.  They also have boarding school where Mrs. Broms-Their  went to stay.  A lady author wrote Pippi Longstocking.  She is the strongest girl and she has adventures.   She has no parents.  Emil is a naughty boy that she wrote about. They made movies about both of them.

Angelina R.

– 2^nd grade

• What resources/products are the same in North Carolina and Australia?
• What are some that are different in each place?
• Why does our maps show Australia having most of their resources around the edge and not in the center of Australia?
• Is the sugar cane grown in NC the same as the sugar cane grown in Australia?
• Are the cattle and sheep the same? 
•  Why do you think both North Carolina and Australia are able to have cattle and sheep?
• Does your country produce the same things?   Do you have different things?

Recently we started a mapping project to learn more about products and natural resources in Australia and Monroe, NC.  We spent a day working on NC paper maps and using a map key and placing products/natural resouces on the map.  Then another day we did Australia the same way   After that we used a web 2.0 mapping tool —  communitywalk.com to create the same information with technology.  Watch for these  in a later post.

Ms. Crowther from Upper Plenty sent us some maps showing a few of these to compare.  She did beef, sheep/wool and grains.

Victorian Agriculture (1)

View Larger Map

We are starting a project using mapping tools this week.    Our inquiry will be to see if different places around the world have the same natural resources and agricultural products as we have in North Carolina.   We have been learning all about maps this past week.   We learned about map keys, compass rose and grids.   We discussed latitude and longitude.   We looked at the seven continents and 4 oceans on the map.   We compared a model, map and globe.   We have also been learning about natural resources and agricultural products in the three regions of North Carolina so we thought we’d combine the maps with this and then compare places in Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand.

• What natural resources and agricultural products do you have?
• What is your favorite mapping tool to use?
• How can you compare regions of the world using these maps? 
• What other things could we show on maps?

“First the girls danced with soft shoes then they did some dances with hard shoes “, said Destiny.  McKenna thought they danced very fast.  Zachary said, “they kicked up their legs a lot.”  They criss cross their legs a lot when dancing.   “They have to keep their arms straight beside them when they are dancing”, said Adyson.  ”They did this to keep balance and not fall because in olden days they took off the upper door and danced on it so they didn’t want to fall off” said Nicole.  They wore certain costumes depending on how long they had danced. Both boys and girls can do Irish dancing.  The beginners wore white shirts and black skirts if they were girls or boys would wear black pants and white shirts.  Another level dancer had a black embroided dress.  The upper levels got to pick their own colors and design their own costume.

Charlie said, the Irish Dance comes from Ireland.  The Irish celebrate an important day called St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th.  That is a busy month for the dancers.  They travel to different schools to dance and exhibit their talents. They also traveled around doing contests.  One of the girls was a champion level dancers.  They ranged in age from 6 – 24 years of age.

A few days after they performed we watched some other videos of Irish dancers from Liverpool, Sydney, Australia and the USA.  We decided if they dance in all these places that Irish dancing most be world wide.  Have you ever done Irish dancing?   Our state dancing is clogging and shagging.

Visit the Piedmont of North Carolina from Brenda on Vimeo.

In the middle of North Carolina, discover fabulous foods, pottery,  thrilling NASCAR, world-famous golf, a natural habitat zoo and so much more.

Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham  Three awesome cities, each with fine museums, colleges  and fantastic local  arts, crafts and music.

 Closest large city to Monroe and our School is Charlotte.   Charlotte —– apparently royalty loves whitewater rafting, NASCAR, nightlife and shopping because the Queen City has it all.

If you are looking to plan a Charlotte family vacation you will have a lot to choose from. Family friendly activities include the Discovery Place, ImaginOn, Carowinds, Carolina Raptor Center, Lazy 5 Ranch and plenty of kid friendly restaurants.  We’ve been to them all.

Latitude: 35° 13′ 53.04″ N
Longitude: -80° 50′ 44.8794″ W

Visit  NASCAR at the Dale Earnhardt Showroom and the North Carolina Racing Hall of Fame, then browse the more than 40 race shops before heading over for to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Catawba River is near for outdoor activities as well as Lake Norman.  You’ll find outdoor adventures galore, from whitewater rafting and kayaking to rock climbing, mountain biking and Eco Caching at the US National Whitewater Center.   See a Panthers game at the stadium while in Charlotte.

Crowders Mountain State Park    This natural getaway is located in Gaston County just 30 minutes from Charlotte. Weekend warriors flock here on beautiful weekend days for a hike to the top of Kings Pinnacle (1,705 feet) or Crowders Mountain (1,625 feet) where the views of the surrounding Piedmont are spectacular.  Others come for rock-climbing adventures, fishing, or wilderness camping just half an hour away from the big city.

Latitude: 35° 12′ 44.2794″ N
Longitude: -81° 17′ 34.44″ W

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site -Statesville , NC

Situated  near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Fort Dobbs State Historic Site provides a window into the tumultuous period of history known as the French and Indian War (1754-1763) or Seven Years War.

Also see the Balloons Flying high over Statesville in the fall at the Hot Air- Balloon Festival.

Piedmont Triad—   How can you resist an area that’s home to Krispy Kreme, Mayberry, Texas Pete, Lexington barbecue and Moravian cookies?  Cities of Winston Salem, Greensboro, Lexington.

Lexington  is the self-proclaimed Barbecue Capital of the World, in a state that has an abundance of great barbecue. So, whether you like it vinegar-based or tomato-based, whole hog or pork shoulders, chopped or sliced, you can’t miss out on barbecue in Lexington, accompanied by hush puppies, cole slaw, and super-sweet sweet tea.

North Carolina Zoo

Natural habitat enclosures for its animals. Today, it is still one of the largest walk-through zoos in the US, incorporating more than a thousand animals into natural settings on approximately 500 acres. The bird house is worth the trip alone, but here you can also walk from the African grasslands to the Arctic coast in a matter of minutes.  See the dinosaur exhibit.

History and hiking go hand in hand in the Northern Foothills. Everywhere you go it seems you’re following in the footsteps of those who came before. Walk the cobbled stone streets of Old Salem and you’ll find interpreters depicting the daily life of the Moravians who settled here in 1766. Guilford Courthouse National Military  is the site of a fierce Revolutionary War battle and includes 2.5 miles of battlefield walking trails. Pilot Mountain was once used by Native Americans as a guide or “pilot” on the north-south travel route. Pilot Mountain State Park and nearby Hanging Rock State Park  both offer miles of trails, rock climbing, picnicking, and spectacular views.

The rolling northern foothills region of the Piedmont offers fabulous scenery and attractions like the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro Latitude: 35° 42′ 28.0794″ N
Longitude: -79° 48′ 49.68″ W ,

the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove and Mayberry in Mount Airy.

History comes to life in Winston-Salem, where some of the best-preserved colonial heritage sites in the country can be found. Members of the Moravian sect settled in the area in the mid-18th century, and eventually established the thriving community of Salem. Today, visitors can see how those early settlers lived, worked and worshiped by visiting the historic settlements of Bethabara Park,Bethania, and Old Salem.

Pinehurst and the Sandhills-  Find natural beauty, antiquing, unique pottery, history and a hidden gem known as Pinehurst No. 2. Take your golf clubs with you if you are a golfer.