Colonization 5th

As encouraged by Dr. Tate, I pondered how to teach the idea of colonization using multiple learning styles, movement, and theater.  So, I landed on an idea for fifth grade to colonize other classrooms and claim them as our own. Maybe we would even name them after the explorer who found the land, for example "Kyleland" and "New Jamie." I made hats for different people: pilgrims, explorers, merchants, and a king, who gave charters to the merchants to find land.  We hung pictures of the British flag wherever we decided to colonize, or claim land.  We also had to decide which rooms would be most beneficial for us to take first.  The cafeteria  had lots of food and money, so we decided to take that land for the King, King James I.

My reflection of the activity was mostly positive.  Though, it looked a little disorganized, it definitely gave us a reference point of understanding such a large idea.  One example of this was when we claimed a first grade classroom even though they weren't even in the room.  They had no idea we had declared a new allegiance for them.  This sparked a discussion about how the Natives who had lived in North America thousands of years were not aware of what was really happening.

If you try this teaching idea, please leave comments below to let me know how it goes.  This was something brand new I made up this year.  It made a difference as we went throughout our unit on settlement and colonization.

Teaching Light

We had an exploration day to focus on the concepts of reflection and refraction.

Each student had to bring in a flashlight and a mirror.  I supplied pieces of tin foil as well.  A fun exploration of vocabulary terms.

A Lesson on Teamwork, Planning, and Practice

  Hold class discussion on what teamwork, planning and practice means using these clips.  You might have different students interested based on different video clips.

Latitude and Longitude 4th-5th

Here is an example of how to teach latitude and longitude.  I had students start by drawing three longitude lines around the "globe."  Then, we drew an equator.  After that, we drew two latitudes above and below the equator.  Everyone had a few different color permanent markers to switch colors as we talked about different vocabulary terms.  Students could draw any continents they wanted.  A few chose to draw the real shapes of the seven continents.  Our world map was available for reference if needed.

Last, I cut a clementine to open it, shown above.  To do this, cut three lines like an x on the top and bottom of the clementine.  Then, I could peel it, but keep the skin in tact.  This demonstrates how difficult it is to make an accurate map of a sphere on a flat piece of paper.  The Mercator Projection is one solution to this problem, however it stretches out sections of the map.

We had a great time getting dirty with markers and learned a great deal.  Latitude and longitude is a detail that gives great foundation for learning history.  These words come up in the oddest places and we can reference this activity to remember what they actually mean.

Stacking Cups

The big ideas matter!  This is a great way to tie together Russian Nesting Doll concepts, ideas that build on each other.

This can also be adapted to coincide with history or literary events to practice sequencing.

BLOOD!

Make a model of blood in the classroom!
GREAT MEME!
http://www.rundesroom.com/2012/10/our-classroom-was-covered-in-blood-today.html

Mr. Parr, The Best Science Songs in NJ!