Monday, September 20, 2021

Changes

"The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Major Change, he features a video of a glacier melting. I was lucky enough many years ago to take a trip to Alaska. We took a 10-hour boat tour in Kenai Fjords and were able to see glaciers up close and personal. We even saw a glacier calving (chunks of ice break off the glacier) which is amazing to see in person.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Watching this happen, how many things do you see that generate questions for you? Are there places near where major changes have happened in the environment?

Are there little changes in your area or even in your community that make you wonder if something big might happen in the near future?”


Many times in my student’s lives, they face so many unknowns. Some of them don’t know where they may live next month. Some of them aren’t sure their parents will be there when they get home. They face a lot of changes that I was lucky enough not to have faced as a child.

Watching this video can help open up discussions as a class on what changes a person might face in their lives. Sometimes have a general discussion helps students talk about a personal issue without identifying themselves. Some students may have helpful strategies that they use to cope with these major changes.

Of course, this video can also generate discussions on climate change, glacial melting, flora, and fauna in the tundra, and life in places with glaciers, Students may feel inspired to do research on topics that relate to these and share their information with the class.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

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