This week I explored a website called Out of Eden Walk, it was a fascinating website that takes a look into the past of mankind. It all began in 2013 when a reporter set out to trace our ancestor’s global migration. This was all done on foot; on this website that I highly recommend looking at, you will see all of the amazing places and their history that this reported stepped foot in. Thinking from a teacher’s point of view, this website is a great way to teach your students about the great migration of the human race and what they had to go through. From the harsh weather conditions, danger, and violence. While exploring this website, I found 3 great attractions that I would teach my students about before anything else on the website. Ghost City in the Autumn War chapter, Troubled Currents in the Riverland chapter, and After the Gold Rush in the Riverland chapter. While going through all of the articles and stories on this website, I have found that these stories are interesting and important for my students to learn from.
While exploring the Autumn War chapter, I have come along Paul Salopek’s article about Ghost City. It talks about Cypriot city and how it used to be a tourist resort. Now mostly abandoned with only a few people left in this city. It uses to be a beautiful place that grew its own food and had who were happy to be living there. After the war, not a lot of people went to visit or even wanted to live there. I would want my students to read these articles because it causes them to think that this can happen to any city and anyone. I would want my students to use their critical thinking skills when I pose the question, “Do you think your city will ever become a ghost city with few people living or visiting there? Why or Why not explain your answer”. Having my student read the article will help them answer the question and have them thinking outside of the box about their town they grew up in and what would happen to it if there was a war or serious damage that would cause them to leave.
When reading Trouble Currents, it got me thinking about how many of our students do not know the hardship of not having fresh water to drink in the United States. They can go to the water fountain in school or their refrigerators at home to get to water when they are thirsty. Many young children do not that other countries struggling in finding water that is safe to drink. Our planet is full of water, but less than one percent of that water is safe for people to drink. Why showing my students this article opens the discussion on how we can save water since, in fact, there is less than one percent to drink. It will also have them think that even though not everyone in the United States is rich, and we do have many people living in poverty, we are all very fortunate to have safe drinking water. I enjoyed reading articles because it allows your students to think and be engaged in conversations worldwide and be globally educated.
The last article that I believe is important for my students to read is After the Gold Rush. I thought that this would be an interesting article to show my students because, in the United States, our Gold Rush happened years ago in the 1800s. I would want my students to read this article to understand that gold had happened and continues to happen worldwide. I would want my students to learn from what can happen after the Gold Rush, that not everyone strikes big and becomes rich. That a lot of people are still poor and that it is, in fact, hard to find gold. I would teach them about the Gold Rush in Htaw Thar, Myanmar, while learning about the Gold Rush in California and comparing the two. That although these events happened years apart, sometimes history can be the same and be different. I would also want to teach them that many people looked for Gold in Myanmar because they were being paid in rice or food for their families to eat. After all, they were very poor. They were not making money off the gold they found. If they were to find gold, they were to give it to the people to hire them. After discussing this article as a class and comparing this Gold Rush to the one in the 1800s, I would give my students a project. To develop an easier and better way to mind for gold, this will also boost their critical thinking skills.
For my other fellow teachers, I recommend that you check this website out! Let me know what articles you read and how you would use it in the classroom. I look forward to hearing from my other fellow educators.
