Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Main

11 Things We Learned This Week

This week we learned …

… 5 things teachers can learn from Harry Potter.

Photograph by Simon Roberts, National Geographic
Photograph by Simon Roberts, National Geographic

Learn how one teacher uses Harry Potter and other pop culture references in class.

 

… five servings of fruit and veggies every day is good, but 10 is great.

What would happen if we stopped eating meat altogether?

 

… honeybees cover the Beatles.

Bees vibrate in the key of “Hey Jude” to make flowers give up the goods. Photograph by Mark Moffett, National Geographic
Bees vibrate in the key of “Hey Jude” to make flowers give up the goods.
Photograph by Mark Moffett, National Geographic

What are some ways you can be a “bee BFF”?

 

… border wall would split a tribe.

The Tohono O'odham Nation sits on 119 kilometers (74 miles) of the U.S.-Mexico border. Photograph by Edward S. Curtis, National Geographic
The Tohono O’odham Nation sits on 119 kilometers (74 miles) of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Photograph by Edward S. Curtis, National Geographic

How is one school incorporating Tohono O’odham ethnobotany to its sustainable schoolyard?

 

… air pollution is an invisible threat facing U.S. schools and the London Underground.

West Virginia students take recess while a factory emits steam and gases nearby. Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic
West Virginia students take recess while a factory emits steam and gases nearby.
Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic

How can you assess the environmental conditions in your own community?

 

… UPS drivers don’t turn left—and save 10 million gallons of gas a year.

How does UPS sort and ship thousands of packages every day?

 

… the collapse of Aztec society may be linked to a salmonella outbreak.

The Spanish invasion of Mexico (that’s Hernan Cortes meeting Aztec leader Moctezuma II, above) was followed by a series of epidemics. Illustration by Ned M. Seidler, National Geographic
The Spanish invasion of Mexico (that’s Hernan Cortes meeting Aztec leader Moctezuma II, above) was followed by a series of epidemics.
Illustration by Ned M. Seidler, National Geographic

How does Aztec society live on during the Day of the Dead?

 

… how to raise an environmentalist.

A father and son appreciate California’s redwoods. Photograph by Michael Nichols, National Geographic
A father and son appreciate California’s redwoods.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, National Geographic

Introduce your students to environmental issues with our activity.

 

… our lust for leather comes at a high price in the developing world.

Tanneries, like this one in Nigeria, are often unregulated and workers are exposed to toxins such as sulfuric acid, chromium, and lime. Photograph by Ed Kashi, National Geographic Kano was once the industrial center of not only northern Nigeria but this part of West Africa. It ruled in textiles and leather. Over the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost and factories lay dormant and rusting. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and it is also one of the world’s most important oil producers: 50% of the population lives in poverty, and in the north, where the situation is particularly dire, the number is more than 70%. Nigeria is evenly split between the primarily Muslim north and a Christian south, and although most people live in harmony, since 2009, a murky Islamic insurgent group, Boko Haram, which translates as Western Religion is Sacrilegious, has become increasingly radical and violent, targeting Nigerian security forces and churches. As tensions flair, there is a looming potential for civil war that could threaten to engulf the country and tear Nigeria apart –a disastrous outcome for all of Africa. Photographer Ed Kashi intends to make two trips to the Northeast to complete this story. This story will show how converging issues are impacting Nigeria’s growing crisis: religious strife, economic disparity, ethnicity, and a fight for resources.
Tanneries, like this one in Nigeria, are often unregulated and workers are exposed to toxins such as sulfuric acid, chromium, and lime.
Photograph by Ed Kashi, National Geographic

Europeans have been dressing in leather for a long time.

 

… a new citizen science project is crowdsourcing Shakespeare.

Illustration by Mikel Jaso, National Geographic
Illustration by Mikel Jaso, National Geographic

Catch up on 10 ways to celebrate Shakespeare!

 

… the DC Metro commute is a game.

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Where else is public transit a challenge?

2 thoughts on “11 Things We Learned This Week”

  1. Nothing is impossible but everything is not even possible.. World vegetarianism is really next to impossible.. Food is also responsible for emission of gases I really never thought like that.. After reading this article I became aware about it.. Instead of paying focus to vegetarianism we should pay attention to our diet… Include an appropriate amount of nonveg in food it maybe helpful..

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  2. The ideas were good for teachers to learning students but personally I have never watched Harry Potter.. I have watched just some scenes it’s just like BLACK MAGIC.. In my perception it’s not a good movie completely boring for me!!!

    Reply

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