I am a sixth grade Science and Social Studies teacher at Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy in New Haven, Connecticut. My classroom community consists of a diverse population of students both culturally and academically. The cultural diversity of the 15 learners in our homeroom class is, 11 Hispanic or Latino decent, 3 are of African American decent and one is Middle Eastern. Academically, the class population consists of 3 students carrying Individualized Education Plans, IEP’s, 2 Students who have Learning Health Plans, 504’s and 3 students who are Multi Language Learners, MLs. My students have various needs based on their skill levels and behaviors. Roberto Clemente is a project-based learning magnet school. Constructive learning is fundamental to the magnet theme. All students have the ability to learn through a student-lead, hands on approach. This learning approach will create meaningful connections with the curriculum to help clarify and create lasting understanding.
Our classroom is built on strong community connection. We start our mornings off with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) time which helps create a safe learning environment daily so that students feel received by one another and can safely explore ideas without fear of ridicule. Although SEL time is not the focus of this unit, it does influence the learning environment that is paramount in our class. I find that students who participate in SEL trust their peers and are more likely to take risks and explore ideas than those who are chronically absent or tardy.
This unit is being developed to explore how culture is shaped by the natural world. Through critical thinking learning activities, students will acquire information that will create an understanding of how our cultures are influenced by the location and availability of resources. When considering location, we must examine what type of land features are present, weather and climate, food availability and water resource availability. We must also consider how the resources contained within the land influence why a place was settled and what elements from nature are used for progressive economic growth. The focus country of this unit will be on Venezuela. Many of our students come from South America and this unit is designed to be culturally relevant to our learners. I also am focusing on Venezuela because its proximity to plate boundaries make the location intriguing. These plate boundaries have caused the natural landscape to form in a way that will keep learners interested and provide a good example for why settlers might choose one location over another. Additionally, Venezuela is projected to be the first country to lose all of its glaciers due to climate change. The country of Venezuela is located on the northern tip of South America, just north of the equator. According to NASA, Venezuela's Humboldt Glacier, has been in decline for a long time due to a combination of human-caused global warming and warmer temperatures exacerbated by El Niño. In May 2024, scientists found that the glacier had melted much faster than expected and was now too small to flow under its own weight, downgrading it from a glacier to an ice field. Satellite images show that the glacier, which was once 450 hectares (more than 1,100 acres) wide, is now only 2 hectares (slightly less than 5 acres). Using Venezuela as a model we will be able to determine how culture is affected by the physical world around us.
