Geography
News
Volume 31, Issue
2 --- Fall 2007
Geographic Alliance of Iowa
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Geography
News
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Coordinator’s
Corner
Kay Weller
It hardly seems appropriate to say welcome to the school year as this semester is going much faster than the office staff wants. However, I welcome you to the fall issue of the GAI newsletter.
The GAI had an exciting summer with several interesting experiences for many of us. We held a literacy workshop with a small group of a dozen. One thing I found exciting about such a small group was the lively interaction and sharing between participants. The staff working with that event was enthusiastic and provided a wealth of strategies for participants to take back to their classrooms.
Costa Rica was a destination for many of our members and their families. Despite the fact that it was the rainy season, it was a beautiful trip. Park Rangers provided excellent talks and field trips for us. There were an abundance of flora and fauna that we enjoyed each day.
Finally, the most important offering was the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad trip to Bangladesh. Both experienced GAI members and "newbies" participated. I found Bangladesh surprisingly beautiful even during the Monsoon. Because we were there during some of the worst flooding in years, we learned to appreciate the calm and organized way Bangladeshis cope with natural hazards. The focus of the project was natural hazards and we were not disappointed. The best part of the project was good health. It was unnecessary to summon a physician for any of the participants. What a blessing!
The group is already making presentations locally and regionally at various venues. I presented an American’s perspective of Bangladesh during Labor Day weekend to a national Bangladeshi organization and was warmly received. In fact, comments about my presentation were on the website for several weeks.
The photo below was taken at NCGE in Oklahoma City where Rex Honey, Anne Hoeper and I presented in October. Luke Juran, Kim Daughetee, George Kuhter, Jane Watson and Jill Watrous are others that have also recently made presentations.
Future GAI Plans—2008
We have many exciting things planned during the coming months. February 15-17 we will have a winter workshop focusing on the materials developed during the Bangladesh project. It promises to be an outstanding and fun weekend. We have tried to condense the workshop into three days (Friday evening through Sunday afternoon) and hope you find it a useful venue. (See page 6.)
There will be a workshop offered in Southeast Iowa (page 7), and one on Technology (not underwritten by the GAI). Next summer’s Family Friendly workshop will be in the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park (page 5).
What a spectacular trip that promises to be! Dates for the Rockies are July 5-12. Please call the GAI office at: 1-800-601-3899 for more information. Hope you can join us. Ray and I intend to bring our grandson Zachary.
Future GAI Plans—2009
I am currently working on a Family
Friendly package for summer 2009. Hint:
Big game preserves, breathtaking scenery, long air flights, very large
continent, volunteer work at an orphanage and possibly visits to two countries.
Naturally cost will be my most serious consideration.
At this point I am uncertain if it will come together, but I am trying
to find great venues along with great prices.
The other destination under consideration is the
I invite you to participate in our reasonably priced workshops and earn graduate credit at the same time! Our workshops are always staffed by well-trained teachers and university faculty.
Many of you may already be aware that the world lost a very avid supporter of geography/social studies. Helen Finken passed away peacefully on May 31, 2007 after a brave battle with brain cancer. Helen devoted her career to the Iowa City School District, as a social studies teacher, mentor, and coordinator. Later she also taught as an adjunct at Coe College and instructor at the University of Iowa. Helen was selected as Iowa Teacher of the Year, and received several other national and local awards. Helen was energetically involved in professional organizations, and for several years was the State of Iowa coordinator for the National Geography Bee. She was passionate about active learning, and helped to organize and train groups of teachers on study tours to China. She was an unfailingly warm, cheerful, positive, and caring person who enriched the lives of those she touched. She will be greatly missed.
Making
the Connections in the Classroom: Literacy and Geography
Lacy Sprung
and Chris Joslin
Having been my first time at a geography and literacy workshop put on by the Geographic Alliance of Iowa, I really wasn’t sure if anything was going to be pertinent and relevant to me. I really didn’t think I was going to fit in at all. After all, I’m only the language arts and reading teacher, right? What does geography have to do with my program? I discovered more than I could have imagined.
The first item on the agenda was a pretest to see what the students taking the class already knew about geography. Are we smarter than college freshmen? Hopefully yes! Just taking the test was educational! Throughout the first day, we were introduced to many reading strategies at both the
elementary (Jan Bettin-Baseman) and secondary levels (Amy Morgan). We explored graphic organizers for reading in the content area (George Kuhter). We looked at the characteristics of academically gifted students and how to address their need for higher order thinking skills and projects (Chris Joslin).
Finally we learned how to use fly swatters….they aren’t just for flies anymore…in an easy classroom ‘game’ that reviews geographic information (George ‘the Flyman’ Kuhter).
After the two-day workshop on June 14-15, I was inspired to take back some information and strategies that were introduced then taught at the workshop. One of those ideas was using The Cay by Theodore Taylor in my reading and language arts classroom. (Thank you, George Kuhter!) Integrating the story into the "Courage and Survival" theme I use each year, I read the book aloud to my students each day, having wonderful discussions and keeping them in suspense when I would end the chapter each day. During that time, we did many of the activities from the workshop in language arts as well as social studies (in part with the social studies teacher) including the blind activity, the drawing of the cay using the description from the story, learning about latitude and longitude, and locating the different places mentioned in the story. I was even able to use the flyswatter game for the students to help review the vocabulary words from the story for their test. (It was a huge hit with my students!)
Aside from the activities mentioned above, Chris Joslin and I wanted to give some students the opportunity to explore other venues and topics that went along with The Cay. Chris pulled a handful of interested students to work with out of the classroom to discover what lay beyond The Cay. Essentially the students created a power point presentation for the rest of their classmates and used Google Earth to show the different locations in which Timothy and Phillip traveled and ended up on the cay. They also presented information about U-boats and a bit of information regarding the time period when The Cay was set. The students also discussed the culture of the West Indies (where Timothy hailed from) and the attributes associated with a cay including the wildlife Timothy and Phillip encountered in the story. We finished with a look at the United States using a small board book, Goodnight America that proved that it is never too early to read about geography.
All in all, I would say that I was quite surprised with what I took away from that workshop those two fateful days at UNI this summer. Not only did I rediscover a wonderful book to share with my students, but I was also able to help those students make connections and become excited about learning by integrating geography and literature in my classroom.
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| Kudos to one of our own, Dan Walsh, for being selected as 2007 Linn County Educator of the Year. Dan teaches at Metro High School in Cedar Rapids, and has been an active member of the GAI since attending the Summer Institute held at Coe College in 1998. He has participated in both Fulbright-Hays curriculum development trips to Nigeria in 1999, India in 2003 and also this past summer’s trip to Bangladesh. Dan also currently serves on the GAI Steering Committee. "To be the Linn County Educator of the Year for 2007 is truly an honor and it humbles me." — Dan Walsh | In September 2007 on his birthday, Luke
Juran learned that he had been awarded the Rotary Ambassadorial
Scholarship. This scholarship pays all expenses (up to $25,000) for
studying at a foreign institution for one full academic year. The
scholarship also requires the awardee to implement a project in the host
country. Luke has also been an active participant of the GAI in the past
several years. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
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¡Pura
Vida, Costa Rican Style!
Kim Daughetee and Audrey Hentges
Pura Vida ("live pure") fellow GAI members! This past June 22-July 1, GAI members and their families flew to Costa Rica to experience the natural environment. Costa Rica is in the running to become a major ecotourism destination.
Members converged on the city of San Jose at all times of the day and into the night. We were met by a fabulous team from Caravan who whisked us to our rendezvous point at the Aurola Hotel. Our first full day, we found ourselves on a tour bus with people from all over the United States. We viewed the Poas Volcano from an overlook, which has been dormant since 1991. We walked to the top of it and viewed it, but all we could see was a vast smoky cauldron, so we had no sense of the depth. After departing from the volcanic site, we ate lunch at a restaurant that overlooked breathtaking scenery. We then went to the National Museum, where we strolled through a butterfly garden. After returning to our hotel later in the day, we embarked on an adventure before dinner, trying to locate ponchos. I brought along on the trip my 16 year old niece Audrey. We were in search of ponchos, since, after all, we were in a country full of rain forests, and we forgot to pack them! There were lots of people in the shopping plaza located in the neighborhood near our hotel, and my niece had the uncomfortable experience of being ogled at by men of all ages. I explained to her this was part of the culture, but she wasn’t comforted. I had to soothe her with chocolate! The trip resulted in no poncho, but our first experience with the language barrier.
Day two wasn’t as stressful. This is when the fun really began. We went on a guided hike through the rainforest, where we saw a lot of biodiversity. There were lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Okay, not really. But we saw plenty of snakes, including a monstrous boa constrictor. We also saw amazingly strong ants moving pieces of leaves three times their size, sloths hanging out in the trees, and an array of vegetation that had amazing adaptation skills. We then took the infamous aerial tram, which took us up into the canopy. Our guide told us about the weather patterns in Costa Rica, which summed up, is rain just about every day. The view was magnificent! Once our rainforest tour was complete, we started our journey to our next destination, Tortuguero. We rode the tour bus until the road ended. We then got on a boat and cruised through the canal. We saw spider monkeys swinging from the trees, and a variety of different birds. When we finally got to our lodge, we could hear the roaring waves from the ocean about a mile out. To our surprise, each room was a separate cabin, suspended on stilts. In addition to helping to keep the rooms dry, cabins on stilts aid in natural air conditioning, helping the air to circulate over water to help keep things cool. The pool was in the shape of a turtle, complete with 4 legs and a head. There was a spa on the shore and several of us took advantage of the pampering, soothed by the sounds of the sea. The sounds of the drumming rain falling on the tin roofs lulled some of us to sleep, while others slept fitfully.
Tortuguero was the quintessential island experience. People there are self-reliant and hard-working. There was very little evidence of technology, which made some of us appreciate our conveniences while others longed for a more simple life.
Leaving the turtle island of Tortuguero, we were filled with a kind of sadness. The escape from the complicated every day life was rejuvenating and moving. We traveled back through the canal with more fondness and knowledge of what was surrounding us. Our bus driver met us at the shore with a wave and a smile. The next leg of our journey began. We were onto the San Carlos Valley and the city of Fortuna. We stopped to walk the famous 300 foot long suspension bridge over a jungle river. Then we reached our next hotel.
We spent the next two days in a beautiful area of Cano Negro, home of the Arenal Volcano and hot springs. We spent the morning cruising the Rio Frio, enjoying the sights and sounds. We stopped just short of the Nicaraguan Border. While we don’t have a passport stamp, we have pictures to prove that we were there. After the boat ride, we went to the natural volcanic hot springs. The higher you went, the hotter the water got. It became a goal for several group members to experience every pool, if only for a split second!
Beginning our journey back to the capital, day seven found us traveling through the Monteverde Cloud Forest region. A cloud forest differs from a rain forest because it has less rain but more humidity. This is where we had the true national geographic moment. Our driver had a keen eye for sights that would be of interest to us. As we were traveling down the road to hike through the Children’s Eternal Rain Forest (a forest funded totally by donations of schoolchildren from around the world), he spotted a sloth hanging from the barbed wire fence on the side of the road. We stopped and got out, and were able to get up close and personal pictures, so close in fact, that we saw the green algae growing on the slow creatures’ fur. Hiking through the forest, we saw a variety of flora and fauna including epiphytes, orchids, ferns, and colorful toucans.
Our final leg of the journey found us in the beach town of Jaco on the Pacific Coast. There we visited Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica’s most beautiful park. We frolicked in the surf, ventured onto well-worn paths, and saw white-faced monkeys strolling through the rest areas. We enjoyed the day hanging out in the ocean, letting the waves wash over us. This area has beach-front property for sale, and is home to nearly 100,000 Americans who have retired here.
Our last day on the tour before we traveled home was full of sights, sounds, and smells. Our first stop was a photo stop overlooking the Carara Biological Reserve. Carara is an Indian word meaning "river of crocodiles". This tropical bird and wildlife sanctuary is one of the world’s few nesting places for the scarlet macaw. We then visited the town of Sarchi. We went to the ox cart factory, where Kay purchased a beautiful wooden ox cart as one of her most treasured souvenirs. Finally, we visited the Britt coffee plantation and learned about the history of the coffee bean. We had very entertaining tour guides and walked through part of the plantation to view plants and processing. Did you know that the caffeine processed from the coffee bean is sold worldwide to soda making companies? Many of us tried a variety of samples and purchased gifts for our loved ones.
We returned to San Jose and had our farewell dinner. It was time to say good-bye to new friends and old as we packed and headed for home. This was a wonderful experience as it opened our eyes to the beautiful and diverse geography of a Caribbean gem called Costa Rica.
Natural
Hazards & Related Health Issues in Bangladesh Curriculum Development Trip
Maureen Smith
A young boy riding a water buffalo down the side of a busy road, men running down the street balancing large baskets of mangoes and pineapples on their heads, hundreds of colorful bicycle rickshaws swerving in and out of congested traffic; these are a few of the everyday sights of Bangladesh.
As recipients of a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, a group of fifteen professors and teachers from around Iowa traveled throughout Bangladesh. Our group traveled July 7th through August 6th in Bangladesh to study the environmental hazards and disasters experienced by its inhabitants. Participants affiliated with the Geographic Alliance of Iowa are Dr. Kay Weller, Coordinator, Dr. Rex Honey, University of Iowa, Dr. Bimal Paul, Kansas State University, Kim Daughetee, Sarah Dorpinghaus, George Kuhter, Kathy Sundstedt, Luke Juran, Jill Watrous, Anne Hoeper, Dan Walsh, Jane Watson, Linda Litterer, Dawn Brown, and Maureen Smith. They were expertly guided through Bangladesh by Dr. Alam of Rajshahi University, Moshiur Rahman and Kahled Rahman, both of Bengal Tours, Ltd.
The participants traveled throughout Bangladesh, spending time in the countryside as well as visiting the capital Dhaka and the cities of Rajshahi, Sylhet, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar on the Bay of Bengal. We saw firsthand the effects of severe flooding, landslides, and erosion. We had the opportunity to visit with many university, high school and elementary students and see how their lives are affected by these hazards and what they do to survive. The students were eager to share their experiences with the teachers and asked questions about life in the United States.
Bangladesh is approximately the same size as Iowa, but has fifty times the population. Iowa has about three million people compared to Bangladesh which has one hundred and fifty million. Because there are so many people in such a small area, they are forced to live in disaster prone areas. They are susceptible to monsoons, flooding from rivers and rainwater, cyclones (hurricanes to Americans), earthquakes, tsunami, tornadoes, drought, river bank erosion and landslides. Many agencies, governmental and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are working to relieve the pressures of dealing with so many natural hazards. Flood and hurricane shelters that double as schools have been built. Embankments have been constructed to create an area of higher ground when there is flooding. Although they provide safety during flooding, they also hold water and cause the floods to last longer. The introduction of cell phones has helped to speed the warnings to rural areas of pending inclement weather.
We found the country of Bangladesh full of smiling and extremely friendly people making the best of a difficult place to live.
One older woman the group met while visiting a hospital said, "Are you Americans?" We replied yes, and she said, "I love Americans, they gave me my glasses!"
We were able to make many new friends and acquaintances, left many pictures of ourselves behind on cell phones, drank many cups of tea and ate much rice, mangoes and chicken. We survived buses, cars, rickshaws and minicabs all vying for the same spot on the road at the same time. The lush green countryside, huge rivers full of ships and small boats, beautiful and gracious people, and ancient mosques and temples are impressions that will live on in each of our memories. The people and the experience provided an unforgettable trip that we were very fortunate to have shared.
| Dates: | February 15-17, 2008 |
| What to Expect: | Free materials developed, and piloted, during
a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad in summer 2007
Presentations by GAI members Learn to dress like a Bangladeshi Limited enrollment |
| Benefits: | Earn
1 hour UNI graduate or undergraduate credit Reasonable price, plus free materials Comparing |
| Hours: | Workshop hours are: Friday evening 6:30-9:00
pm, Saturday 8:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sunday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Location: | Ramada Inn in downtown Waterloo |
| Cost: | $25 registration fee, plus $65
lodging and meals by 12/03/07 (free room 1 night) After 12/03/07, $25 plus $130 lodging and meals. FOR COMMUTERS ONLY: $25 registration fee by 12/03/07; after 12/03/07, $25 registration plus $65 |
Bangladesh Workshop Registration Form:
Mr. Mrs. Ms.
Name_______________________________________
Home Address________________________________
City____________ State________ Zip_____________
Phone__________________ Fax__________________
E-mail_______________________________________
_ Check here if you do not want the above information included on a roster distributed to participants.
_ Check here if you have any special needs, including dietary. We’ll call to discuss how we can best meet your needs.
*Sign up today! Enrollment is limited. Registrations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Your registration is confirmed when payment has been received.
FAX: 319/273-7103
MAIL: J. GILLEN
UNI – ITTC 205
CEDAR FALLS, IA 50614-0406
PHONE: 800/601-3899 OR 319/273-5952
PLEASE REGISTER ME:
_ Regular registration – meals
and lodging included
By 12/03/07 - $90; After 12/03/07 - $155
_ Commuter registration – meals
included
By 12/03/07 - $25; After 12/03/07 - $90
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
_ I’m interested in receiving 1 hour UNI credit
PAYMENT INFORMATION:
_ Check payable to UNI Geographic Alliance of Iowa
_ P.O. or Requisition #________________________
| Dates: | June 16-19, 2008 |
| What to Expect: | Presentations
by local experts Limited enrollment of 10 participants Field trips |
| Benefits: | Earn
2 hours UNI graduate or undergraduate credit Reasonable price Free materials Learn about diversity in Meet new people |
| Hours: | Workshop hours will run from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. daily |
| Location: | Keokuk, Iowa and Nauvoo, Illinois |
| Cost: | $50
registration fee, plus $124 lodging and meals by May 1, 2008 (free
lodging 1 night) After May 1, 2008 $50 plus $174 lodging and meals. FOR COMMUTERS ONLY: $50 registration fee by May 1, 2008; after May 1, 2008, $50 registration plus $65 |
Cultural Signatures in Southeast Iowa Workshop Registration Form:
Mr. Mrs. Ms.
Name _______________________________
Home Address _________________________
City___________ State________ Zip_______
Phone______________ ___Fax____________
Email________________________________
Check here if you do not want the above in-formation included on a roster distributed to participants.
Check here if you have any special needs, including dietary. We’ll call to discuss how we can best meet your needs.
*Sign up today! Enrollment is limited. Registrations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Your registration is confirmed when payment has been received.
FAX: 319/273-7103
MAIL: J. GILLEN
UNI – ITTC 205
CEDAR FALLS, IA 50614-0406
PHONE: 800/601-3899 OR 319/273-5952
PLEASE REGISTER ME:
Regular registration – meals
& lodging included
By May 1, 2008 - $174; After May 1 - $224
Commuter registration – meals
included
By
May 1, 2008 - $50; After May 1 - $115
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
I’m interested in receiving 2 hours UNI credit
PAYMENT INFORMATION:
Check payable to:
UNI Geographic Alliance of Iowa
P.O. or Requisition #__________________
Mountains,
Glaciers & Lakes: A Canadian Experience Workshop
July 5-12, 2008
What to Expect:
Beautiful scenery
Comfortable bus
Lake cruise, Glacier National Park, Banff, float trip, glaciers, wildlife viewing, Lake Louise
Many meals furnished
Benefits:
Earn 3 hours UNI graduate or undergraduate credit
Reasonably priced @ $995 (at this writing), plus transportation to Calgary and some meals included
Family friendly—bring someone of your choice, if you wish
Hours:
As per itinerary (after 3:00 p.m. day of arrival)
- Go to http://www.caravantours.com/Tours/canada-rockies-tour.html#itinerary to view on-line
Location:
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
Cost: $25 registration fee per credit hour ($75 total)
Mountains, Glaciers & Lakes: A Canadian Experience Workshop Registration Form
Mr. Mrs. Ms.
Name _______________________________
Home Address _________________________
City_______________ State_____ Zip_______
Phone________________ Fax_____________
Email________________________________
Check here if you do not want the above in- formation included on a roster distributed to participants.
Check here if you have any special needs, including dietary. We’ll call to discuss how we can best meet your needs.
*Sign up today! Enrollment is limited. Registrations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Your registration is confirmed when payment has been received.
FAX: 319/273-7103
MAIL:
J. GILLEN
UNI – ITTC 205
CEDAR FALLS, IA 50614-0406
PHONE: 800/601-3899 OR 319/273-5952 for more information, or contact Kay directly at 319/273-7343
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
I’m interested in receiving 3 hours UNI credit
PAYMENT INFORMATION:
Check for UNI credit hours only payable to:
UNI Geographic Alliance of Iowa
P.O. or Requisition #__________________
The Geographic Alliance of Iowa requests this information for the sole purpose of registering you for this program. We do not routinely release any of this information to anyone outside our institution without express permission. We do ask that you complete all the registration items that apply to you for planning purposes.
The University of Northern Iowa is an equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for affirmative action.
Geographic Alliance of Iowa’s Calendar of Events
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October
2007 15-16 ICSS - Coralville 18-21
NCGE Annual Meeting – |
November 2007 11-17
Geography Awareness Week 19-23 UNI Thanksgiving Break |
December
2007 |
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January
2008 |
February 2008
15-17
Surviving the Monsoon: |
March
2008 |
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April
2008 |
May
2008 |
June
2008 16-19 Cultural Signatures in Southeast Iowa 23-26
Technology Workshop
– |
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July
2008 5-12 Canadian
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August
2008 |
September
2008 TBA Fall
Steering Committee |
Geography News is a free publication of the GAI and produced with the support of the Department of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa. The Alliance is funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society. Permission is granted to reproduce any parts of the newsletter.
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Geography News
Staff
GAI Coordinator: Dr. Kay E. Weller
Associate Editor: Jane Gillen
E-mail: kay.weller@uni.edu
jane.gillen@uni.edu
GAI Website: http://www.uni.edu/gai
1-800-601-3899 or 319-273-5952
