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Theme One - Eyes on the Skies
The thematic unit, Eyes on the Skies, was designed specifically
for sixth-grade general education students, English Language Learners, and students
with disabilities. Students will be presented with a set of integrated
lessons that revolve around these essential questions: What
do people do when they need to explain something? Why do people
need to explain things they observe? How do people's explanations
affect their daily lives? How do people's traditions, knowledge
base, geography and climate affect their explanations? How can
museums be useful in answering these questions? The link between
the essential questions and the museums is a comparison among
the Maya, Aztec, Pawnee, and Egyptian cultures. The focus is in
looking at their observations in the sky and their explanations of those observations,
the role of science and myth on their observations,
how it influenced their beliefs and daily lives. Students will
compare the cultures through activities and/or visits to The Field
Museum, Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, and Mexican Fine
Arts Center Museum.
The study of cultures, observations, beliefs and available technology
requires both interpretation and judgment, which are important
critical-thinking skills. Students bring a great deal of prior
knowledge and experience with them. The goal is to bring forth
that experience and apply it to thinking about and understanding
how it connects to the essential questions that have impacted
the lives of humans since the beginning of time. Productive museum
visits, as well as carefully integrated lessons, help students
understand how their lives are connected to the lives of all human
beings throughout the ages. These same principles will be continued
in the second half of the unit, bringing the connections to modern
times as well as taking a look toward the future.
Theme Two - Tools for Change
The thematic unit, Tools for Change, was designed specifically
for sixth-grade general, bilingual, and special education students.
Students will be presented with a set of integrated lessons that
revolve around these essential questions: How does looking
at the past and present help people imagine a future? What can
people learn from the past? How has technology changed over time?
How has evolving technology changed people's perceptions of the
world? How can museums be useful in answering these questions?
The link between the essential questions and the museums is through
the study of Mayan and Aztec forms of recording oral tradition; studying
the changing technology that affected people's view of the universe;
and studying how developing technologies have aided in the recovery,
research, and display of fossils. The focus of the unit is on
the role of technology and its effect on society at that time.
Technological changes can evolve over time or can be radically
new ideas. Students will use the information gained through activities
in the classroom related to The Field Museum, Mexican Fine Arts
Center Museum and a visit to Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum.
As a culminating activity, students will design a prototype of an invention.
The study of the evolution of technology and the role the changes
played in altering viewpoints require the use of critical-thinking
skills. A productive museum visit, as well as carefully integrated
lessons, help students understand how the advances of technology
have changed the quality of life as well as the viewpoints of
human beings throughout the ages. It is hoped that this unit will
lead students to take a look at the contributions they can make
to society.
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