[Johanna Alvarez]

Chinese symbols made their way to the U.S. This is probably due to the fact that Chinese thought started to reach worldwide. One of the popular symbols seen in the U.S. is the Yin and Yang. The Yin and Yang symbol became prominent in U.S. culture. Many companies were using it as part of their logo. It could have been brought in by immigrants. Growing up in the 90s, the Yin Yang symbol was very popular. I had a necklace that I would wear almost daily with the Yin and Yang symbol. I remember seeing this symbol plastered everywhere, from tattoos to posters. Back then, all I knew was that it was the difference between male and female. Now, I know that it is more of a balance and that within female there is male, and within male there is female. It’s great to learn about these symbols, but at the same time being respectful of them. Would I wear that necklace now? Most likely not. I respect symbols from other cultures. As a kid, I didn’t know better. It was everywhere and part of popular culture. I’m sure it is still around today.

 

In my 4th grade class, I can incorporate this into a Social Studies lesson. We can look at different symbols and see if students can identify any of them. I know most have probably seen the Yin Yang symbol. We can then research these symbols to find out how and where they originated.

[Johanna Alvarez]

All of the videos and articles were a great introduction to this class. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. For this post, I focused on the article, “Japan Races to Build New Coal-Burning Power Plants, Despite the Climate Risks,” by Hiroko Tabuchi. It is alarming to read that Japan plans to build 22 new coal burning power plants. According to the article, Japan relies on coal for power generation. However, Japan is already going through global warming. I was shocked to read that the power plants emit as much carbon dioxide yearly as cars sold in the United States. That comparison made me question whether making new power plants is really necessary. More power plants means more global warming/climate change. The water temperature is already rising. This is making it hard for survival. Building new power plants is definitely a climate risk for Japan’s inhabitants. With my class of 4th graders, we talk about global warming during one of our units. We discuss ways to reduce our carbon footprint. One of those ways is by not burning fossil fuels or reducing the amount of fossil fuels we burn. However, our focus is with global warming happening in the United States. It would be a great activity to compare how Japan and/or other countries are doing in terms of climate change.

[Johanna Alvarez]

Hello everyone! My name is Johanna Alvarez and I've been teaching 4th grade for 7 years at LAUSD. I'm excited to be in this class and take this information back to my own class. When I'm not teaching, I spend as much time as possible with my family. We enjoy watching movies and going to concerts. 

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