During the fall of
1999, Mrs. Johnson's Third Grade class continued the International
Internet Project with a slightly different
approach. Bears were sent simultaneously to Fairbanks, Alaska and La
Plata, Argentina, South America.
The class began to study the similarities and differences between North and South America, with a particular focus
on the Fairbanks, Alaska and La Plata, Argentina, South America. The
class gathered books and websites to read. Two small teddy bears,
Millennium Bear and Little
Bear, were also packed and ready to do
their part in helping the class learn about the geography and the
people of Alaska and Argentina.
Millennium Bear was packed and sent
to
University Park Elementary in Fairbanks,
Alsaka while Little Bear headed to South America. During the months
of October and November, both bears kept in contact with the class
via email (with the help of their human hosts, of course!).
While in Fairbanks, Millennium Bear helped
us learn about both the old and the new aspects of life in Alaska.
One of the most interesting traditions we learned about, the
"Potlatch", comes from the Athabascan tribes.
A Potlatch is a great
feast. An Indian who is well off hosts a
Potlatch for many guests. During the Potlatch, which can last for
days, the host presents his guest with blankets and money as a way of
sharing what he has with those who are less fortunate. The gifts of
money are usually given to a man, woman or child who pleases the host
by dancing a beautiful dance.
Another interesting aspect of life in
Alaska was the Alaskan
pipeline. Millennium Bear was lucky enough
to take a field trip with the third grade class from University Park
Elementary to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where the pipeline begins.
We also learned about the Alaskan
Gold Rush. University Park's award-winning
web page has a great deal of information on this topic. It's worth a
trip to their webpage!
Of course we found it very interesting
that there are days during the winter in Fairbanks when the children
only see three hours of daylight! And for some people who live in the
far north, on December 21 they may not see the sun at all for a whole
day!
We watched videos about Alaska's huge
vegetables due to the long summer days, which are filled with many,
many hours of daylight.
After reading everything we could about
the "Land of the Midnight Sun" we decided we like living where we
are, in Custer Park, Illinois! Everyone that is except for one of our
students named Ben, whose family moved to Alaska in February,
2000!!
Our thanks to University Park Elementary
for helping us learn about life in Alaska.
[return
to main menu]
[return
to 2000]