Hey Good-looking!

Alright, I'm going to start off with this picture.

http://www.cryptomundo.com/wp-content/uploads/the-capybara.jpg

This is a capybara, the largest living rodent and native to South America. I could tell you how it has brown/grey fur and a short, elongated snout like a guinea pig, and long hoofed legs like a piglet, but would the picture you form in your mind really match up with what what the picture shows a capybara to really be like. You may have your own idea, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

I do believe that one cannot just study words when they are studying history. We may be reading texts and analyzing them, but we are really just seeing the world through the eyes of books during a particular time period. To really transport ourselves to that time, a time so very different from our very own, we need to enlist the help of some visual aids. There was a different structure and way of life in those days, and there is nothing today that can really compare. Taking an image into account can make all the difference. Try describing an oil lamp when all of our lighting today come from incandescent or florescent bulbs. Knowing the difference between these two types of lighting can change a well-lit room into a darkened and more mysterious one. Subtle details like lighting and fashion can really change the meaning of a story if one knows what the things described really look like. If you know what a thing in the text is and how it was used during that time period,  you will have a greater understanding of what is going on as well as the connotation that comes along with that item.

Pictures can really help in my understanding of texts from a different time period. Life was so different from how it is today and images from the past can transport me to that time. Before I set out on a text from a different era, I always look up an image. Like a window, it transports me to that time and prepares me for the journey that the text details.

Until next time adventurers,
Emilie

Following the Leader-An Adventure in Guided Inquiry

I must admit to never having done a guided inquiry before so pardon if I muddle the steps.

Step #1 is What do I Know? Well since I don't know anything about the Restoration and Neoclassic time periods, I will be starting for scratch here. Nothing to fill in this box besides what I maybe can guess from the names of the time periods, but that is it. When in doubt, make a guess. It's called making an inference. I would take what I could gather from root words (Neo=new) and from what I know of other time periods to try and date what would be going on during this time period. So I inferred that something might be being restored during this time period, maybe a ruling family or way of living or something and that maybe the people are taking a new take on classics, which from this time period might be the Greeks and Romans. Also from the literature that I had help picking out, a common theme was class.

When that is done, on to Step #2 What do I want to know? As an ever-curious adventurer, I am always ravenous for more information. I really just enjoy learning as much as I can. Every fact must fit into the tapestry of the time in some way.  I want to know what the historical events going on during and around those times were, who were some of the important people, what were some of the common customs, what people wore, how did people define themselves from others (classes, professions, etc.). Basically, I want to learn a whole lot, pretty much everything that I can to define the culture of those times to really hone in on what was going on during that time. I will probably start by just googling the time periods and see what comes up to give myself a basic background in what went on. From there, I would pick out more specific topics to delve deeper into the topics that I want to focus on.

Hobbey-ho!
Emilie

What Team?!?!!

Out of all the ways to learn, the one that works the best for me is having to learn and explore with others. I might just have one idea, but someone else might have a completely different idea. Texts are able to have different meanings to different people-it's just the nature of wanting to interpret the meaning behind the words that the author chose. I find that getting to know what others interpret a text to mean can help me increase my own understanding of the text.

One day in English class, a few years ago, we were having a discussion on a certain poem. The poem starts out "Christ climbed down from His bare Tree this year." I had thought that the bare tree refereed to a Christmas tree, devoid of decorations, but this turned out not to be the case. Over the course of the discussion, someone mentioned that maybe the bare tree was the cross that Jesus had been hung from. This blew my mind. I would never have thought of that interpretation of that line, but someone else had. By having this discussion, I had a greater understanding of what the author was trying to convey.

By working together as a team to try and uncover the author's purpose in writing, I feel that more can be discovered. Something somebody else thinks can give me a new angle on the meaning. Talking out loud is a more informal way of sharing ideas, and what I think to be the best forum for discussion. Letting the ideas fly allows more interpretations to be brought to light which gives me all of this inspiration to improve my own thoughts on what the author was trying to convey.  But without discussing the material with others, none of this would be possible. As one of my favorite bands of all time says "and I'm thinking two is better than one."

Allons-y!
Emilie

Mental Workout

Even though the brain is not really a muscle,  I like to think of it that way. Just like if I wanted some tight abs, my brain needs training too. After all, I can't just wake up one day and decide to run a marathon. I have to prepare and exercise to become fit enough to make it through those endless miles, just like I have to prepare mentally for any sort of test or activity that requires thinking so I don't tire out before the finish line and don't make the grade.

Working  out my brain takes a bit of motivation. If I had the choice, I, as well as many of you out there, would love to spend a day relaxing in front of the tv or sleeping. But these things don't build brains, or muscles for that matter. To prepare my brain I need to take an active stance when it come to learning. I can't slack off or wander off into the bottomless pit that is Facebook.

To my training brain, the biggest threat is lack of concentration. I won't be motivated to do the work necessary if my mind is wandering off in la la land or focusing on one of the many distractions that surround me. To combat these distractions and keep my concentration, I need to be sitting somewhere quite and alone so friends cannot come and disrupt my study. I find that when I have to do a large project or paper, this quiet place can really keep me focused on what I need to do. This just applies to when I study on my own. Otherwise, as in a group project, I feel that it is better to talk aloud and not keep strictly silent to better flesh out the direction that we want the project to go.

Out of all of the organs in the body, I think that the brain is the most important one. Without it, none of our other organs would know how to function. Like this, our minds control our capability for learning. If I can concentrate and focus on my learning, not getting distracted, I can learn more efficiently and not waste time procrastinating.

Cheerio!
Emilie