Becky Byington No, No I’m not married and I have yet to procreate! Ha! I am an education major with an emphasis in science. I will be a middle school teacher. I am leaving for London, England in January to study abroad for a semester so I will be spending my winter in spring traveling through Europe. I was born and raised in St. Louis so I look forward to living in such a metropolitan city. I added a picture of my sister and her husband because they are my roommates as well. Pathetic……I KNOW! I have been a massage therapist for 10 years and still really enjoy what I do. I have been with my boyfriend for three years now so that’s good. I will be graduating from UMSL next spring and will return to complete my masters in administration and then I am considering a PhD. In educational advocacy.

Take a look at the work that I have completed in Writing for Teachers:

European Vacation“What Britain needs is an Iron Lady”—Margaret Thatcher

Have you ever regretted something that wish you had done but never did? I

actually get to seize the moment. I will never have to say that I didn’t follow a dream.

A dream, an experience of a lifetime. Well, I will be. I am moving to one of the most

Becky and her Boyfriend John and her sister Jennifer and Jen’s husband Brian.

remarkable cities in the world; to spend a winter and spring in London, England for a

semester to study abroad. Technically, I’m going for the educational experience to the

Imperial College of Science and Technology, but mainly for the time of my life! Can

you even imagine all the wonderful things to see? I will have plenty of time to explore

all of England and several other countries in the Europe, in addition to, a two to three

week vacation in Italy and Greece before I return home in May. London is full of

historical and modern museums, palaces, churches and cathedrals and I must soak them

up while I’m there. Picking London was easy because I always wanted to live in a city

larger than St. Louis, where I have spent all of my life and desiring to live in a

metropolitan city. The city of London alone has a population of 7.5 million people. The

only word to say is wow, imagine all the new people that I will meet. I must admit that I

am a little intimidated by that number because the idea of getting lost is both frightening

and exciting at the same time. Honestly, I am not as adventurous as I sound because I

chose to live in London because the official language is English. Could you fathom

living somewhere for months of your life not understanding anyone? Just recently have I

begun to get nervous about the trip, before it seemed so far out in to the future but not

anymore; leaving in just a measly three months. My nerves are shot for the obvious

reasons: what if I don’t have enough money, what if I never make a good friend, what if I

hate my roommate, what if, what if……. At this point I say screw it and embrace this

chance of a lifetime.

First, stop is Buckingham and Kensington Palaces. These remarkable castles are

home to the English royal family. And I must admit that I find the concept of Kings and

Queens amusing. This family has inhabited this location since 1761. I can’t imagine

living in a house this big. How many servants and hours it takes just to spring clean this

place? Hard for me to fathom. Also, on the list tours of some of the other royal palaces

in the country side of Great Britain. Buckingham Palace, known as one of London’s

most visited travel destinations. I suppose that I will be adding myself of travelers to

sight see this famous and historical place.

The next stop, the chapel of Westminster Abbey. The history here is immense.

The Abbey, was built in 1066 which has been the church for over seventeen monarchs.

Difficult for me to wrap my mind around something being this ancient. In America our

entire nation isn’t even this old. Westminster Abbey is a Catholic church, which can be

considered one of the most beautiful in the world; where all the royal marriages, baptisms

and communions take place. It has medieval, gothic decor and sculptures; many British

people value this monumental landmark. Many famous weddings have taken place here

and is a burial place of many past Kings and Queens. The architecture of this building is

incredible making the trip well worth my time.

The list will also include, Piccadilly Circus. Known as another famous and well

traveled destination in London, it is considered to be London’s Time Square. It is a

popular section of the city for shopping and entertainment. Established in 1895, it is still

a popular meeting ground in the middle of the city. Piccadilly Circus was created

because King George IV was looking for a place to connect two parts of the city. So

people who came to this central part of the city would be able to get around easily. Most

people that have traveled London that I have spoke with all mentioned this place as a

must do on my itinerary list.

I’m looking forward to going into the Eye of London. It was built in 1999, and at

the time was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Of course now, it is only the tallest

Ferris wheel in Europe. It is visited by millions of people each year as a great place to

view the entire city. I don’t think that it would be possible to get a better view. Who

wouldn’t be excited to get to see London from such heights? Amazingly enough I’m

terrified of heights, so maybe just maybe when I get there I will chicken out. I think that

I must take someone with me to this attraction to make me get on the damn thing.

There are so many places to see in the city of London and I look forward

to seeing all of them. Another place that I did not put on my list but will be spending

much of my time is at the local English pubs. You can really get a sense of the local flare

and culture when you visit the places where most British people spend their time. Plus

my student handbook suggested that I venture into these pubs. Another little fun fact

about the British pub is that you don’t tip your bartender. Fortunately I will be taking a

course called British Life and Culture, this class takes field trips and excursions to places

like the Parliament, Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford and Stratton. I will be there for a long

time but have a feeling that I won’t be able to find everything. This country is full of so

much history I think it would be impossible to view it all. Although, I just might try!

Name___________________________________

Date___________________________Where in the World

We will be traveling the world with our newest assignment. We will be picking a place…..any place on the planet, to research and create a paper and a visual aid of the plants, animals, people, insects, climate,

culture, food and other fun facts that we are able to find! Then you will be presenting your assignments to the class, so that we all become experts on the various locations. You will have several class periods as well as time in the school library to complete your projects. No two places will be repeated so wisely choose your location. Have fun and let’s learn about our beautiful planet.

Student Calendar:We will have two whole weeks to complete this assignment. Any additional time that you will need for research or completion will have to be completed at home. Each student will be responsible for an 8 minute presentation to the class so take your time and find really good and thoughtful information to talk about.Monday, October 26th: We decide where in the World our project will be. Begin brainstorming the assignment. A graphic organizer will be a requirement for the brainstorming aspect of this assignment and it will be worth 5 points.Tuesday, October 27th through Friday, October 30th: As a class we will spend time in the library for the use of computers and other resources.Monday, November 2nd through Friday November 6th: We will be back in the classroom for the remainder of the week finding pictures writing and assembling our projects. The rolling computer lab will be available.Monday November 9th through Wednesday November 11th: will be each student’s class presentation.Those will be assigned randomly.Points:This assignment is worth a total of 60 points:Good use of class time: 10 points Presentation: 20 pointsPaper with visual aids: 30 points

Oral Presentation Rubric : Where in the World Presentation

Teacher Name: Ms. Byington

Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 5 4 3 2Comprehension Student is able to

accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic.

Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.

Speaks clearly and distinctly most (94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.

Often mumbles or cannot be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.

Preparedness Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.

Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Content Shows a full understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of the topic.

Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.

Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

Total Points:____________________________________Comments:

Total Points:_____________________

Research Report Rubric : Where in the World

Teacher Name: Ms. Byington

Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 5 4 3 2Organization Information is very

organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings.

Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.

Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.

The information appears to be disorganized. 8)

Quality of Information

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.

Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.

Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear, logical relationships between all topics and subtopics.

Graphic organizer or outline has been completed and shows clear, logical relationships between most topics and subtopics.

Graphic organizer or outline has been started and includes some topics and subtopics.

Graphic organizer or outline has not been attempted.

Diagrams & Illustrations

Diagrams and illustrations are neat, accurate and add to the reader's understanding of the topic.

Diagrams and illustrations are accurate and add to the reader's understanding of the topic.

Diagrams and illustrations are neat and accurate and sometimes add to the reader's understanding of the topic.

Diagrams and illustrations are not accurate OR do not add to the reader's understanding of the topic.

Mechanics No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.

Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors

A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.

Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Notes Notes are recorded and organized in an extremely neat and orderly fashion.

Notes are recorded legibly and are somewhat organized.

Notes are recorded. Notes are recorded only with peer/teacher assistance and reminders.

Where in the World…..Overall Lesson Plan Rebecca ByingtonRationale: This lesson will be introducing the students to places and locations they have probably never explored before. By incorporating science, geography and English into this lesson we will be encompassing three subjects into one lesson. This lesson will incorporate both research and writing to see an understanding of the material. There will be no formal assessment after this project. The students are given a rubric before the start of the project to help guide them to completion. We will see a variety of different scientific phenomenon’s through this research. Anything from weather and climate, to plate tectonics and mountain building will be discovered throughout this lesson. We will be covering plants and animals of a particular region to reinforce our knowledge of the location that was chosen. Students will use their background knowledge of particular animals and climate’s but we are hoping that the students will be adding more to that. By really delving into an area that student’s will be exposed to many new and familiar ideas. This will allow the students to build empathy and relate to other cultures and communities around the world. The paper and written notes that are expected when the assignment is turned in really intensifies a reading and writing connection to build their knowledge of these places and our environment.Summary: I expect the students to write two full pages for this assignment. It must also contain visual aids for the full credit for this assignment. The students will be encouraged to have several aids, such as: images, maps, power point presentations, etc. This will be more beneficial during their presentations. The students will be responsible for turning in their notes for this assignment to prove that they investigated thoroughly researched the location, this makes for a better read and write connection.Objective: GLE: ES2F7d. The students will be including the weather and how it relates to that particular region. The idea of this lesson is to see what affects that science can have in a particular region. What role nature plays to an area and why things are the way they are. How long has it been there in geologic time and what put it there in the first place? The students will explore these ideas individually and it will come out during their presentations to educate the other students in the class.Length: The students will have two weeks of class time to complete their projects before their presentations. If they are not ready by then the students will be responsible for completing the work at home. Library time will be given.Materials: computers that will be provided in the library and in the classroom. Construction paper, National Geographic magazine, along with other magazines, markers, crayons, colored pencils and library books.Means of Assessment: There will be no formal exam but the rubric for the paper and the presentation should guide the students in the right direction.

Teacher Calendar:Monday, October 26th:

Introduction to the assignment. Places are decided and assigned to the students. This will be done by pulling the

students names from a hat and giving the students the choice of where their destination will be.

Brainstorming and starting to create a graphic organizer of their locations.

Tuesday, October 27th- Friday, October 28th: We will be spending our class periods in the library looking for other resources,

visual aids and web sites.

Monday, November 2nd – Friday, November 6th: In this time we will be assembling our projects, writing our papers and putting

the assignment together in order to present. Computer labs carts will be available for the students to use during the class

period. Whatever isn’t completed by the end of Friday’s class period will be sent home

to complete over the weekend. The students will begin presenting on Monday.

Monday, November9th- Wednesday, November 11th: The students will present their entire project and submit all of their work for a

grade. The presenters will be first come first serve and then when there is no more

volunteers they will present in alphabetical order.

Name of Lesson: Where in the WorldGrade Level: __7th___ Subject:__Science____ Teacher:__Byington___ Date:___10/26/09____Overview and Purpose: To have the students understand and research different regions in the world. They will discover changes in weather, landscape, culture, foods, plants and animals.GLE: ES2F7d.

Teacher Guide Student Guide

Objectives Pass out the handout begin to discuss the assignment and have the students begin to brainstorm their locations.

The objective today is to have each student pick a destination that they would be interested in learning about and have them begin to fill in a graphic organizer.

Materials Needed- Class

handout- Pencil or pen- Graphic

organizer handout.

Information I will open up the global map and have several globes for the students to see a variety of places at once. I will assist any student who is struggling to find a location.

Tomorrow we will be going to the library to begin our research so it is really important that we take the class period today to have each student certain of their destination.

Verification This assignment is worth a total of 60 points so it holds a lot of weight in their grade so it is vital that they pick a place where research can be easily found.

We have 2 weeks of class time to complete this assignment and is worth a total of 60 points. The students must pick a location today.

Other Resources:- Textbook

will be used as a resource.

Activity To brainstorm ideas of concepts that we would like to cover in their project. I will then group the students according to their location to make better use of the library tomorrow.

After all locations are chosen I will group the students according to region. Asia, South America, Africa, Europe, North America, Australia, and snow caped regions.

Additional Notes:Grouping the students will make it easier for me, the librarian and the students to find material needed in the library.

Summary This will be a fun and rewarding assignment for us all. Be sure to hand out the rubrics today on the introduction to the assignment.

With all handouts and rubrics the students will use this class period to voice any concerns or uncertainties with this assignment as a group. We will address any other issues independently.