Clarifying Assignments

Clarifying points from the previous entry:

1. Regarding journal entries: For most of you, I am simply asking you to do two more reflections IF you already did the two on Native Americans and Fire Ecology when we were in Sequoia. These final reflections should follow the format in the previous blog entry (below).

2. I am out today, but there will be a rubric on the shelf near my desk for your final natural boundary project.

3. The digital camera from the trip has a dead battery, but it will be on my desk. Connect with Lisa or Julianne to get the pictures.

Please email me with any questions. My email is in your handbook and the directory, as well as on the board in the science room.

Updated Sequoia Work

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay getting to this. Remember that we do not meet again until Tuesday for our Sequoia work, but don't delay because this is a bit of work to be completed by the end of the morning on Wednesday. After a brief discussion on Tuesday morning, we will have the remaining time on Tuesday and Wednesday as a work period to wrap up the final natural boundary projects.

Please complete the Journal Reflections (#1) and prepare for the human-created boundaries discussion (#2) BEFORE class on Tuesday.

1. Journal Reflections. These can be written, sketched, or painted. Choose FOUR (4) of the following seven topics on our trip, and please address the following three things for each: 1. Indicate what was meaningful or interesting to you about this topic. 2. EXPLAIN at least two boundaries related to each topic (i.e. the boundary, its origin, its effects on humans, its effects on the natural environment, etc.). 3. What role do you feel people can or should play in maintaining, breaking through, or strengthening each boundary.

Topics (YOU ONLY NEED TO REFLECT ON FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING):
Native American History and Boundaries at Hospital Rock with Tom Burge
Fire Ecology and Boundaries with Deb Schweizer and Tony Caprio
The Origins and Meanings of the Park Boundary with Bill Tweed
Bear Biology and Management with Ryan Leahy
Crystal Cave
The Giant Forest and Moro Rock
The General Sherman Tree


2. Please prepare to have a discussion about human-created boundaries in Sequoia during the first part of class on Tuesday. I will want everyone to contribute to this discussion, so jot down at least five of these boundaries in your journal, and be ready to discuss the reasons for these boundaries, their effects on people, and their effects on the natural environment. This will replace the skits that we didn't get to on the trip.


3. Please continue working on your natural boundaries final project as assigned. This is due by the end of class on Wednesday, and can take many different forms as long as it meets the criteria as detailed in the assignment.

As usual, email me with any questions. Again, thanks for a great week!

Thank You, and Tune in Tomorrow

Wow! What a week!

Thank you all for such a great time. As you know, Sequoia is a very special place for me, and it was such a thrill to share some of it with you!

I know that I said I would post the follow up work this evening. I apologize that I must make you wait until tomorrow morning. Get some rest in your own beds, and tune in tomorow for more details.

Last Minute Preparation

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all as excited as I am for the departure on Monday. Please review carefully the letter that went home on Friday, your packing list, and remember winter hat and gloves.

Additionally, I mentioned it more than once, but everybody must pack a lunch for the trip on Monday. Our first prepared meal will be dinner at the campsite.

School materials to bring: your journal and all of the handouts that should be stapled into your journal. You should also bring the reading packet. This is the only item not easily stapled into your journal, but you should still bring it. Obviously, a couple of pencils to write with will also be necessary.

Remember to be on time to school on Monday, leave your gear in the labyrinth, and meet in the amphitheater to start the day. Please contact me via email or phone if you have any questions.

Last Class Before the Trip

Hi All,

Wow, What a productive class!

To recap:
1. I gave a bit of a "tour" of the areas of Sequoia that we will be visiting, and an overview of the itinerary. I did receive word after class, that our CAVE TOUR IS ON!
2. Determined our tent groups.
3. Figured out our food groups, generated menus, and I will develop shopping lists for the weekend.
4. We did an equipment check-in, and delegated responsibility for who is bringing what.
5. We revisited the human-created boundaries, and grouped people in their skit groups (to be performed next Thursday night - 10/25).
6. Reading - FINISH ALL OF THE READING PACKET BEFORE MONDAY! Remember to pose three really good questions about the Native American section, as well as three for the Exploration and Exploitation section. Remember, we will be visitng with both Park Archaelogist Tom Burge and retired Chief of Interpretation Bill Tweed - the respective experts for each section of the reading.

Just checked weather.com, and it says all sunny days next week. Translation: days in the foothills about 80 degrees, nights 50'ish; days in the mountains in the 50s and nights possibly as low as 20 (clear skies allow heat to escape at night).

Over the weekend, email me at BMS or call me at home if things come up (I am in the directory). It should be a great week!

Staying on Track

Hi All,

Sorry that I am out today. However, I wanted all of you to keep moving ahead with preparation for our trip.

Please continue reading the packet that I handed out yesterday. I hope that all of you have read the Native American portion, and posed your three stellar questions. As you can tell, that piece was written in the early 1930s, but provides good background on native peoples and their places in the southern Sierra Nevada. When we meet with Park archaeologist Tom Burge next Tuesday morning, you will be able to ask him many of your questions.

The rest of the packet (Exploration and Exploitation) is an excerpt from Dilsaver and Tweed's Challenge of the Big Trees (1990). Finish reading this packet before our trip on Monday, and again, pose at least three good questions. We will be meeting with Tweed on Wednesday morning, and he loves answering questions about the history - as well as the present and future - of Sequoia Park.

Lastly, if any of you are having trouble securing the necessary equipment for the trip, I assume that I would have heard from you by now. However, if there are remaining challenges, please contact me ASAP via my email.

Class, Homework, and Tomorrow

Good work in class today.

We generated lists of human-created and natural boundaries in Sequoia National Park. Then, students chose one of each to focus on. Students will work in groups to perform skits on their human-created boundaries, and will complete individual projects on their natural boundaries.

First piece of homework for tomorrow, October 17: Students began reading a piece about the Native American groups in the southern Sierra, and have to pose three inquisitive questions that they want answered from the article. Do not begin reading the Exploration and Exploitation section yet.

Second homework for tomorrow: Students must assemble tent groups of three or four (including themselves).

Thirdly, students must put together groups of five to oversee meals. Each group will be responsible for one breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Tomorrow is a wonderful opportunity, as we get to work all morning with John Muir Laws, who has published a beautiful field guide to the Sierra Nevada through Heyday Institute. Laws will share some of his sketching techniques with students to help us capture as much of our experience as possible in Sequoia next week.

Sequoia Trip Update - Important Details!

Hi All,

Permission slips went home on Friday. I would like these back with payment for the trip ASAP.

A packing list also went home. I think that I neglected to include RAIN GEAR and WINTER GLOVES AND HAT - sorry about that. Did I miss anything else?

We leave a week from tomorrow, and we are still short on drivers! If you or anyone one you know can drive on the first half of the trip (Monday - Wednesday), I think we will be okay.

Details for this week:
1. Confirming drivers
2. Menus, shopping lists, and meal duties
3. Gathering tents, lanterns, coolers, and two-burner stoves
4. Figuring out tent groups
5. Continue our academic preparation - there will be homework this week!

Days Two and Three and Moving Ahead

Hi All,

The last two days showed more great work and progress towards our trip. Here is an overview:

Wednesday, October 10:
1. Most people have had the letter signed and checked in to see if parents can drive.
2. The driving situation is very tight, so we need to keep working to figure this out.
3. I handed out a two-page sheet that provided an overview of our Boundaries of Sequoia & Kings Canyon work. Very nice insights and discussions about the concrete and abstract human-created and natural boundaries that we will endeavor to explore.
4. On the back of the Boundaries sheet are the impressive lists of questions on the KWL sheet.
5. As a warm-up to our cological studies we played "Oh Deer!" which is a game that enables students to be either deer or components of habitat. As deer can find their needed habitat, the population grows; as habitat is scarce, population declines. Students discussed some of the ecological boundaries related to wildlife populations and suitable habitat.

Thursday, October 11:
1. Students created their journals for the trip. This is the space in which they will take all notes, create future scketches, and store any necessary handouts.
2. They also worked in pairs to research flora and fauna of the Sequoia foothill community. We will put the final touches on this activity next Monday.

Homework for Monday October 15:
Students will return their permission slips and make payment. This paperwork will go home today.

Monday's focus:
Finishing the foothills
Finalizing driving list
Inventorying equipment needed
Beginning to develop menu
Line up shoppers
Other background research and logistical work

Day 1 Review

Hi again,

I wanted to keep track of our progress in class. From Tuesday, October 9th:

1. Students generated a list of what we know or think we know about Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.
2. Then they generated an impressive list of things they want to learn about Sequoia & Kings Canyon.
3. We took time to read the four-page letter that gives an overview of the trip (to sign this, and to have at least one parent sign this was part 1 of the homework).
4. Students also had to check about the possibility of parents driving on the trip (part 2 of the homework). This is by far our biggest challenge at this time.

Thanks for the great start!

Getting Started

Hi All,

Great start in class today - a lot of inquisitive minds about Sequoia National Park. Don't forget that you have two homework assignments for tomorrow:
1. Check in about the possibility of a parent driving on the trip.
2. Have a parent sign-off on the letter that we read this morning. There is a lot of important information in it.