The American Empire: Age of Imperialism (America Journey) [7th grade]

This rather large unit discusses the imperial age of America during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. This unit was created as 7th grade curriculum for St. Luke’s Episcopal School using “The American Journey: Modern Times” textbook. In this unit, teachers will find a comprehensive set of lessons to lead students to think about empires, what makes up an empire, and which foreign policies are best for empire-making. This unit includes narrated PowerPoints that should be used as a basis and modified for each class according to student needs. In the end, students are required to use their knowledge of American Imperialism and their understandings of Big Stick Diplomacy, Dollar Diplomacy, and Moral Diplomacy to create more than 10 “points” (like Wilson’s 14 points) on a presidential white paper that deals with a current world event. Enjoy

Sleuthing the Buffalo Wars

This is an entertaining Flipped Instruction unit on the Buffalo Wars that was designed for a 5-6 grade independent school classroom; however, this unit can be adapted for a 7th grade Texas History classroom. The main focus and eventual performance task for students is to answer the question “Whose Buffalo?” While employing this unit, please take into consideration the narration and Flipped Instruction as not a means to an end but as a start – I encourage anyone who uses this unit to perhaps re-narrate the flipped instruction portion of this unit to tailor the information to your specific student, class, and school environments. Overall, students are expected to develop a thesis, using synthesis and analysis, for the basis of a poem that includes facts, information, and concepts learned in the unit to describe a point of view other than their own that ultimately answers the question, “Whose Buffalo?

Limiting factors for crayfish and finfish in acidic coal pit lake

World-wide, open-cut mining operations often leave pit lakes at closure. The Collie Lake District in south-west Australia has 13 pit lakes from open-cut coal extraction, with more expected. Many lakes may offer beneficial end uses as fisheries habitat for biodiversity or for recreational species. However, pit lakes may have degraded water quality due to Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD). A literature review and survey for marron (endemic crayfish of biodiversity and recreational value) and fin-fish (of only biodiversity value) found that crayfish were likely more limited by habitat and food availability, and fin-fish by water quality. Management of these mild acidic water bodies must address both issues if sustainable fisheries and aquatic biodiversity are desired beneficial end uses

The Library & Generative AI

A demonstration of several AI tools, including ChatGPT, ChatPDF, Consensus, and more. The focus of the session is on potential student uses of the tools and related library initiatives, so we address the limits of ChatGPT as an information source. Librarians can help students learn how to use these tools responsibly and provide leadership on campus as AI is integrated into assignments

Microcosm testing of municipal sewage and green waste for full-scale remediation of an acid coal pit lake, in semi-arid tropical Australia

Pit lakes (abandoned flooded mine pits) represent a potentially valuable water resource to mining companies, the environment and regional communities across arid inland Australia. However, the water is often of low pH with high dissolved metal concentrations. The addition of organic matter to the pit lakes to enhance microbial sulfate reduction is potentially a cost effective and sustainable remediation strategy for these acid waters. However, the cost and availability of sufficient quantities of suitable organic substrates is typically limiting in these remote regions. Nevertheless, small quantities of sewage and green waste (organic garden waste) are often available in these areas from the regional towns which support the mines. This paper reports on preliminary microcosm laboratory experiments in preparation for the treatment of an acid (pH 2.2) coal mine pit lake in semi-arid tropical, inland north Queensland, Australia with municipal treated sewage and green waste. A laboratory experiment using microcosms (acrylic tubes) containing acid pit lake water and sediment were treated as follows; controls (untreated), sewage, green waste and sewage and green waste. The pH increased to a maximum of 5.5 in 145 days in the green waste and sewage treatment, with notable decreases of iron, aluminium and toxic heavy metals. Our results indicated that the green waste was a key component in alkalinity production and heavy metal removal

Potential of sewage and green waste for acidic pit lake bioremediation

Bacterial sulfate reduction-based bioremediation was trialled in an acidic pit lake, divided into two sections by an earth wall. Sewage and green waste was added to the smallest section, while the other was kept untreated as a control. Bioremediation initially increased the pH of the hypolimnion of the treatment lake but after 12 months the pH suddenly returned to pre-treatment levels. This proved to be only temporary and pH bounced quickly back to previous highs. The pH decreases appeared to be associated with heavy rainfall events. These rainfall events affected the bioremediation by mixing the lake and increasing acidity inputs from the catchment

Model-based Investigations of Acidity Sources and Sinks of a Pit Lake in Western Australia

Lake Kepwari is a rehabilitated lake in the Collie Basin lignite mining area in Western Australia. The water quality of Lake Kepwari was modeled with the pit lake hydrodynamic and water quality model PITLAKQ. Based on a hydrodynamically validated model, water quality scenarios were used to quantify the sensitivity of different acidity sources including groundwater exchange, surface runoff and erosion, providing new insights into the system. The technique of monthly aggregation of all sources and sinks of acidity, based on detailed model output, provided the basis for useful conclusions. Model results suggest a new focus of field investigations to improve modeling certainty and a follow-up, improved phase of modeling

More Than Water Quality: Environmental Limitations to a Fishery in Acid Pit Lakes of Collie, South-West Australia

Marron (Cherax cainii Austin) are a freshwater crayfish native to permanent waterbodies in the south-west of Western Australia. A popular aquaculture and sports species, marron are considered a potential end-use fishery species for and have been deliberately released into several historic pit lakes of the Collie coal mining region. This study investigated what environmental factors in these acid mine drainage (AMD) contaminated pit lakes might be affecting the health and success of existing marron fisheries. Although pit lake water quality was often low (pH concentrations) this did not appear to lead to lower marron health indices. Rather, lack of burrow habitat, low biomass and quality of food with further competition for these resources from related non-fishery crayfish species may be the most important factors limiting marron health. Decreased marron health is likely to result in decreased individual growth rate and final fishery biomass. Such ecological considerations are not common to the mine water literature but offer a more holistic perspective to much mine water research and may provide more tangible environmental goals for achieving environmental and social sustainability of mine waters

Southern Baptist Agricultural Missionaries: Their Situations and Successes

Technology Educatio