The View from Here

To Look at Any Thing
John Moffitt (1908 - 1987)

To look at any thing,
If you would know that thing,
You must look at it long:
To look at this green and say
"I have seen spring in these Woods,"
Will not do - you must
Be the thing you see:
You must be the dark snakes of
Stems and ferny plumes of leaves,
You must enter in
To the small silences between
The leaves,
You must take the time
And touch the very peace
They issue from.

Welcome to
The View from Here!

The View from Here is an ongoing activity designed to build community among the participants of the Bilingual Telemation Project.

Each month, the moderator (project administrator) collects the sign-up forms submitted and assigns the classes into clusters to work together on a writing project describing who they are and where they're from. They will also be assigned a date to post the class writing. Classes are invited to read and respond to the writing of others as the project progresses.

After completing The View from Here, our community building activity, classes are encouraged to further participate in the exciting Sunrise-Sunset class project activities. We hope all classes will maintain contact with their new friends through ongoing visits to The View from Here.

Here is some of the information about the project you'll find in the following responses:

Response 1: Description of Project/Extension Activities

Response 2: Invitation to say "Hello!"

Response 3: Sign-up Form

Response 4: Detailed Directions for Project

Response 1: Description of Project/Extension Activities

The View from Here project provides participants with a community building activity. Through the experience of sharing information about themselves and their cultures, they collaborate to create a group poem or narrative expressing the culture of their location. The classes then post that information online in their assigned article, and are encouraged to read and respond to the writing of other classes, either within their own group cluster or in other articles.

To participate, continue reading to Response 2, where you will be invited to say "Hello!". Then copy the information in Response 3, fill in the blanks in your word processor, and mail the completed form to the project moderator to register your participation.

At the beginning of each month, the moderator collects the sign-up forms, assigns classes to particular clusters and announces these clusters through electronic mail and a public posting in an article. The classes will be assigned a date to post their writing.

Further extensions: Classes may wish to join in further activities established personally through electronic mail arrangements. Such activity might include an exchange of photographs or videos, HyperCard or HyperStudio Stacks, geography boxes packed with selected articles to show the culture of your area, art boxes, or online graphics files.

Response 2: Invitation to say "Hello!"

Please let us know you are here. Enter a brief "Hello!" statement by responding in Article 3 (immediately following The View from Here project information). Tell us who you are and where you are from!

Target Science Participants:
Enter your greeting (and read other's) here:

K-3
4-7
8-12

e. g.: We're Mrs. Wilson's fourth grade class from Lincoln Elementary, in Whittier, California. We have two hamsters in our class-both female. We want to meet new friends.

Respuesta 2: Invitacion para decir "Hola!"

Por favor dejenos saber que esta aqui. Ponga una frase breve diciendo Hola! en respuesta al Articulo 3 (en sequida de la informacion sobre el proyecto "The View from Here"). Diganos quien es usted y de donde viene!

Por ejemplo: Nosotros estamos en el cuarto grado con Mrs. Wilson en la Escuela Elemental Lincoln en Whittier, California. Tenemos dos hamsters en nuestra clase--son hembras. Queremos conocer nuevos amigos y amigas.

Response 3: Sign-up Form

Copy and paste this form to your word processor. For each class participating, fill out the information and send it as an electronic mail message (e-mail) to the moderator of this project. This information will be used to form groups to participate in The View from Here Project.

Teacher Name:
Login Name:
School Name:
School Address:
School City, State, Zip:
School Phone Number:
Grade Level:
Number of students participating:
Ethnic and socio-economic information (optional):

Response 4: Detailed Directions for Project

Bring and share books about families and cultures. Home research assignment: Sharing From a Bag. Bring in something in a bag that is important to your family (family photo, special food, record/tape/CD, or some symbolic item).
Engage class in discussion of family traditions, folktales, songs, foods or other items from their sharing bags. Talk about cultural differences and similarities in items shared. NOTE:sometimes cultures have cross-pollinated. Help students see the cross-cultural linkages that you think they may not perceive.
Extensions: Plan a celebration of cross cultural diversity. Activities may be as simple as sharing books and photos to a full day festival of family culture.
Develop a class poem or narrative, in whatever their native language might be, that allows each child to add a one or two line observation to what will become the class tapestry of what we see in our community. Use the following for both introductory and concluding statements: "This is our class story: The View from Here."
On the day designated by the moderator, class writing will be posted in the assigned article.
Participants are encouraged to read and respond to specific postings by other classes. The intent is that each class feels the acknowledgment and appreciation of self and culture.

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