Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Videos about the Respiratory System

Here are a few videos with simple introductions to the Respiratory System for children. My favorite is from the Magic Box Animation Studio. The narrator is an Indian lady with perfect enunciation and a friendly and attention-grabbing disposition--every engaging for the kiddos:



Another video with easy-to-understand animation (including subtitles) is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hc1YtXc_84A. The narrator has a British accent, so he pronounces some of the words differently than we do here in America. However, since it has subtitles, it's easy to figure out what he's referring to (e.g: "capillaries").

By far, the best video and most-informative, creation-based presentation is called The Miracle of Respiration. According to the person who uploaded it, The Miracle of Respiration "...is a seven part series about the repertory system. Each part focuses on one particular section of the flawless system and explains why a creator designed the system."

The videos are wonderfully informative with absolutely amazing graphics and animation and a SOLID theistic creation worldview. The narration is easy to understand, and it promotes a Christian/Jewish/Islamic worldview and "the incomparable art of God's creation" and the "perfection of God's creation." Throughout the entire series, there are many references to God as Creator as well as proof  against Darwinism and evolution.  

Every once in a while, during the video, there is an ad that pops up referring to "Harun Yahya" (which is the pen name of a man Adnan Oktar). He is an influential Muslim teacher and author who is a staunch believer in God as our Creator. There are only a few places in the seven YouTube videos where there is anything at all that would identify them as having been produced by a Muslim, and they can easily be skipped as they are located at the end of various sections. (See my notes about "How to skip to the end" of YouTube videos.)

I see nothing wrong with watching these videos and bypassing the parts where they quote the Qu'ran. I would hate to miss out on the opportunity to show these amazing videos just because I don't read or teach the Qu'ran. The videos are amazing!!! But remember to pay attention, watch the videos with your child(ren), and be ready to "skip to the end" on parts 2, 4, 5, 6, and end early on 7.  

HOW TO "SKIP TO THE END" OF A YOUTUBE VIDEO:


  1. Pause the video at the appropriate time marker (shown as the first number next to the volume control in the YouTube player).
  2. Drag the round place holder--which should be showing you where in the timeline the video was paused--to the end of the video timeline. (To do this, you will need to hover over the place marker, click and drag to the end, then release or "unclick" the mouse.)
  3. Press PLAY. This will play the last second of that video segment and bring up a video montage where you can click to view the next "part" in the series. The next part usually shows up automatically in the top left-hand corner of the montage. If you hover, the title will appear. Simply click it to get on with the show.

IMPORTANT: Before you show this video series to your child(ren), please be sure to read my notes on parts 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Part 1: Breathing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWC8BRCuTtg

Part 2: The Nose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TRI5F6xo5s
There is a quote from the Qu'ran at 9:21 in Part 2. You can easily skip that when you get to 9:19 (right after the narrator says, "God created you."). Skip to the end and head on to the next video; you won't miss anything except the quote from the Qu'ran.

Part 3: The Windpipe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2r5Do9Ureo

Part 4: The Lungs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GERsMFWYZrw 
There is a quote from the Qu'ran at 7:40 in Part 4. You can easily skip that when you get to 7:38 (right after the narrator says,"God's part of creation is flawless and incomparable.") Skip to the end and head on to the next video; you won't miss anything except the quote from the Qu'ran.

Part 5: Hemoglobin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=2TrQkSHpoxQ
There is a quote from the Qu'ran at 6:13 in Part 5. You can easily skip that when you get to 6:09 (right after the narrator says,"Even a hemoglobin molecule on its own is evidence of the invalidity of the theory of evolution and proof of the perfection of God's creation.") Skip to the end and head on to the next video; you won't miss anything except the quote from the Qu'ran.

Part 6: The Brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHupiKNBZ84
There is a quote from the Qu'ran at 4:46 in Part 6. You can easily skip that when you get to 4:43 (right after the narrator says,"The flawless and interconnected systems work and serve beyond the individual's control, will, and knowledge.") Skip to the end and head on to the next video; you won't miss anything except the quote from the Qu'ran.

Part 7: Conclusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zgcL3JPXm8
There are three different stopping points with the conclusion:
  • Option 1: End at 1:30The first logical end could be at 1:30, right after the narrator says, "A person's taking just one single breath is a great miracle requiring gratitude to God."
  • Option 2: End at 1:54You could continue watching and end the video at 1:54, right after the narrator says, "Until God claims your soul back in the same way that He gave it to you." Personally, I find this scene a little disturbing, because it looks like someone is dying, taking his last breath. But, it's powerful, too...use your own judgment on ending here.
  • Option 3: End at 2:26
    Final stopping point for non-Muslims would be at 2:26, right after the narrator says, "When that day comes, when you take your last breath, you will have to give account for everything you did and every blessing given to you throughout your life." The screen fades to black at 2:27, and it's a logical stopping point. Otherwise, you'll be getting into Islamic theology and quotes from the Qu'ran will be hard to skip, because there's not much time to pause the video.
In my own "conclusion," I would like to highly recommend this video for homeschooling parents who want their child(ren) to understand the respiratory system. Just pay attention to the stopping points, and don't be afraid to skip to the end. If you've never done it before, practice with Part 2. This way, you can practice skipping to the end and going to the next video. 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Videos/Animations about the Heart & Lungs

Videos & Animated resources for demonstrating how the heart works. Ventricles, valves, blood flow, and lungs are the stars of these presentations. These would be appropriate for upper elementary students.




http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX0a0c66477f4a72445c0e63&t=Circulatory-System (Technical, but very good cross-cut animation. The first part is great. The end is too technical getting into how pacemakers work.)

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX7a08025104407275797477&t=Circulatory-System (Decent animation with a guy in a doctor’s uniform explaining the animation.)

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX06707e06626a48527c7145&t=Circulatory-System (Shows the “route” of a single red blood cell demonstrating how it goes from the left to the right through the body & back again.)

I just discovered "Magic Box Abirami" on YouTube
Sooo cute! GREAT animations & narrations for young children about every part of the body.


HEART
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxUNxvsG7lc (adorable heart animation with Indian narrator – explains why hearts beat faster sometimes, and shows the importance of exercise, eating healthy foods, etc.)

BLOOD

Friday, September 21, 2012

Pronoun Worksheet

I've been using Shurley English for years and found the pronoun chants a little confusing (since they all sound exactly the same). I created the first chart to help with a little distinction visually. The charts are not set up in the same order as the chants, but they are set-up according to a regular verb conjugation in any other language. There are three pronoun charts on one page: "7 Subject Pronouns," "7 Possessive Pronouns," and "7 Object Pronouns." The students can fill these in for a grade, or fill them in as reference before a test.

Now that we're well into our first year of Latin (using "Latin for Children: Primer A" by Larsen & Perrin), I've adapted the chart to include the noun cases from Latin. I truly believe one learns more about the English language while studying foreign languages than one ever does in English class.

Please feel free to PIN this image.
Click the documents below for your FREE downloads.
So, if you're studying Latin (or Greek), this chart will help you explain the concepts of Genitive, Dative, Accusative and Ablative to your children while reinforcing the Shurley English chants & labels. Enjoy!

With Parts of Speech & Noun Case Labels:


Without Labels:


Completed:

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Modern Monasticism

St. Anthony's Egyptian Coptic Monastery at Coma, Egypt.

I'm teaching the history of the Middle Ages this year, and some of our first lessons are about monasteries. I thought it might be interesting to visit a modern monastery, if there were one nearby. You can click this link for a List of American Monasteries. Once you're on the page, the quickest way to locate a monastery in your area is to search for your state on the page (ctrl+F). You can then copy the name of the monastery and paste it into a google search. This will generate links to the monastery's web site. From there you can learn about visitor's hours, dress codes, and behavioral guidelines.

Here are links to a couple of the monasteries I found in North Carolina:
  1. Protection of the Theotokos Monastery (Weaverville, North Carolina)
  2. Panagia Prousiotissa Greek Orthodox Monastery (Troy, North Carolina)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Digestive System Online Resources


 When I was searching for resources to help review the digestive system with my favorite (and only) student, I discovered some pretty cool tools! Watch the video first, and then let your child play the online game as a review. The game actually has more detailed information than the video, but the video provides a firm foundation from which to launch the fun.

http://interactivehuman.blogspot.com/2008/05/digestion-interactive-game-for-kids.html


Here's a quick, visually-engaging lesson using common household props to explain how the body digests food. While this is more like an overview of the digestive system, it will keep a child's attention until the end. Children will love learning where "farts" come from, and I'm pretty sure they will enjoy timing the digestive experiment (with corn) he suggests at the end.

This is a great online resource for teaching your child about digestion of a variety of foods. Not only is the game interactive, it is also rich with vocabulary words and fantastic animation to illustrate the information which is given in bite-sized chunks so as not to overwhelm the child. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!)

A Beginner Blog from a Lifetime Learner

I'm not really sure where this blog will go, or if anyone in the world will ever view it, but I'm committing myself to posting links to the "cool tools" I find online (or create myself) to help make the lives of us teachers a little easier. Lately, I've been learning a lot about Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. After listening to a mini-lecture by Dr. Karen Newtzie and Harriet Dawson from Rappahannock Community College entitled, "Using Revised Bloom's Taxonomy to Improve Instruction," I created the following PDF document for my own reference. The chart is based on one of the slides in the lecture, and I added a few notes as to how this chart can be used in lesson planning. I hope you like it. 

Click the link below to download a hi-res PDF of this image