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Review March 1 - 5th
So there it is. By now I hope you have heard the product of our labors over the last two weeks, the oddly named 'Red Moon'. We will be tweaking and finalizing the project over the next week or so. It might be worth knowing a few of the details attached to the project: All of the information about who played what can be found on the site following the Red Moon Info. link. Some of the songs were recorded after school. The students who stayed later seemed to enjoy forming live bands and improvising simple songs. 'Holes' was played and recorded live by such a spontaneously formed student band, as were 'Vampire Lovers', 'Werewolves', 'Search and Destroy', 'Green Moon', 'Face of My Life,' and 'Girls with Fists' (all with additional studio trickery added later). The lyrics to all these songs were improvised on the spot, except for one! Can you tell which one was not? The project was an excellent experience for most of the students, though I'm sure some of them will relish the relative quiet of the upcoming weeks. Hopefully, you (and they) think the music is pretty good, too!
We'll be looking at the other aspects of the project: the Million Dollar Math Challenge, the Kid's Life PowerPoints, and the Science notes during this week.
As you may know, due to the vast shadow of the MCAS, I have been informed that we cannot go to Sturbridge Village on April 1st. I'm going to try to rebook for April 15th (one day before the April vacation). As soon as I get a confirmed date, I will post it to the What's New page. What can you do? MCAS is the Darth Vader of the spring - its filthy breath pollutes even this most wonderful of all seasons!
This Week:
I have detailed the plan for The American Revolution project below, though we don't really get into the heart of it until next week. This week we will be reading about the Colonies. We will aim to set the scene for the next major project, the epic story of the American Revolution, both in class and for homework. The students will be starting up Unit 6 in math, starting preparation for the upcoming Reading Comprehension and language Arts MCAS tests, finishing work on the Music project stations, continuing work with the Kindergarten buddies, and finding out a little about the early life of Benjamin Franklin.
Language
The language MCAS tests take place at the end of March/ first week of April. The exact date has yet to be determined. This week we will be looking at the kinds of questions the students will need to answer for the tests in this subject. This week we will be reading and answering three open response questions. The students will be reading 'Your Travel Guide to Colonial America', by Nancy Day, in large and small groups. The students will begin writing fictional journal entries attempting to replicate and understand what life must have been like for the colonists leading up to the War. I've already started what is possibly the last book I'm going to read to the class as a read-aloud. It is the riotous and sublime, 'You Don't Know Me', by David Klass. This is a particularly stylistically powerful, humorous, and original book. If some of the lightning spark of Mr. Klass were to infest the content of the student's writing, wouldn't that be grand?
Math
This week, we will start Unit Six. Unit six has two main aspects: Using Data - how to organize and represent data, and the addition and subtraction of fractions. The opening lessons are:
Project
This is a three to four week plan for the next Social Studies unit, the American Revolution. There are three main parts:
Causes of the War The War itself The Meaning of the War This week we will be concentrating on life in the Colonies. We will try to immerse ourselves in the language, dress, and style of the times. Students will be encouraged to come to school dressed in Colonial era fashions, and to use Colonial era language throughout the project.
Causes of the War
Life in the Colonies The French and Indian war The Stamp Act The Intolerable Acts The Boston Tea Party The Boston Massacre
The War Itself
Lexington and Concord, Breeds Hill/ Bunkers Hill/ Dorchester Heights/ Ticonderoga New York/ Trenton/ Princeton/ Winter in the war/ Franklin in France The Grand Strategy/ Germantown/Brandywine/ Howe takes Philadelphia/ Gentleman Johnny and Saratoga- the turning point. Yorktown
The Meaning of the War
TThe Declaration of Independence The compromise over slavery The Constitutional Convention
The students will be working in teams of four or five. Each group will be formed around a ‘Tavern’ that they will create, using historical data to inform their choice. The 'Taverns' work on various projects each week and are rewarded using ‘Revolutionary dollars’ for completion and quality of finished products.
Activities for ‘The Causes of War’ Create a Tavern Create a Tavern logo, sign, cheer, secret handshake, and scarf. Create a fictional journal – based on Joseph Plumb Martin’s journal – life during the Revolutionary war Read about the Stamp Act, the Intolerable Acts, the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Massacre Make a timeline of the precursors Watch DVD – Franklin’s life and 'Liberty' part 1 Read ‘Old Mother” by Franklin Patrick Henry speech competition Loyalist vs. Patriot – drama activity
Activities for ‘The War itself’ Continue with timeline Journal entry – on the battlefield Making diagrams of the Grand Strategy Revolutionary replicas – life sized portraits of famous characters Disease and medicine – reading Codes and Spies – inventing codes, Washington’s ‘mask’, and a real life spy mission! World turned Upside down – music challenge
Activities for ‘The Meaning of the War’ The Declaration – learning a short section The musical ‘1776’ Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hancock How to make a fair system – The House of Representatives and the Senate Best form of Government? Diagrams of the Constitution The PBS series ‘Liberty’ is a main source of information for this unit. The students will watch and discuss selected pieces of the series. www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/index.html
Buddies: We continue with our team-up with Ms. Sherman-Hudson's Kindergarten class. Our new assignment all involves math: We are Math Buddies! This week we are going to help the buddies start to make a math game.
Homework:
Homework will be handed out this coming Friday, March 12th. Look for it in the student's backpack. The project will also be up on the 'Homework' page here at the site by early Friday evening, for those students prone to forgetfulness, or accident! Check out the 'Projects' page for the 'Parent's Guide to Homework', as well as other fabulous treats! See you back here next week!
Overview for the rest of the year!
Social Studies: The Colonies and American Revolution (March)
Science: Living things (April)
MCAS Prep: Preparation and tests (May)
Final Show (June)
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