FROM THE BACK FILES: GHANA SESSION ENTOMOLOGY, EUROPEAN EXPLORERS, IRONCLADS, BATMAN, AND MORE!

This Ghana session began with cheerleaders beginning a cheer for upcoming Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School sporting events.

ENTOMOLOGY

From there, forensic science teacher, Mr. Middleton, and his student Jaiden Griffin gave the students in Ghana a presentation on entomology.

They explained that entomology was used to study insects from a crime investigation. Mr. Middleton and Jaiden Griffin explained that when a body was decomposing, insects may lay eggs within it. As a result, forensic scientists could know how old the body was by counting how many insects developed from their larval stages.

European Explorers

After explaining entomology, Mr. Wronko’s students presented numerous power point presentations on European Explorers . For instance, presentations were conducted on the following:

Diaz: Sails around southern tip of Africa.

Columbus: First European to explore the Western Hemisphere; explores the West Indies and the Caribbean.

da Gama: Sails around Africa to India.

Cabot: Explores Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

Vespucci: Explores coast of South America.

Cabral: Explores Brazil.

Ponce de Leon: Explores Puerto Rico, Explores Florida

de Soto: Explores Central America

Magellan: Circumnavigates the globe

Cortes: Explores Mexico; conquers the Aztecs

Verrazano: Explores northeastern coast of North America

Pizarro: Explores Peru: conquers the Incas

Cartier: Explores St. Lawrence River

Coronado: Explores southwestern U.S.

Cabrillo: Explores western coast of North America

Champlain: Explores St. Lawrence River valley founds Quebec.

Hudson: Explores east coast of North America, including Hudson River.

Marquette/Joliet: Explores Mississippi River.

La Salle: Explores Great Lakes region; reaches mouth of the Mississippi River.

Information was used from the Advancement Placement in History.

Christopher Columbus

After the students gave their presentation on their European Explorer, they also gave a brief presentation to the students in Ghana on whether or not Christopher Columbus was a hero or villain.

To enhance this presentation, Mr. Wronko showed both fights of Batman vs. Bane in the Dark Knight Rises. When Bane won the first fight, Mr. Wronko asked both audiences, the students at MLK and Ghana, was Columbus like Bane, brutal and unforgiving. Then when Batman won the second fight, Mr. Wronko asked both audiences was Columbus like Batman, brave, forgiving, and a hero.

The Monitor

Once that presentation was done, the students in Ghana were shown a video of the battle between the ironclads of the American Civil War, the Monitor and Merrimack.

The Monitor served for the North while the Merrimack served for the South.

Mr. Wronko showed in the video that even though both ironclads fought to a draw, the Monitor made sure that the Merrimack did not sink anymore Union ships. Therefore, it was a victory for the Monitor.

Mr. Wronko finally told the students in Ghana, that the MLK students were working on designing their own Ironclad from the American Civil War in which they had to write a story fighting another ironclad.

Artwork done by JaNiya Stewart Brazile.