We looked at the "Miami Circles" archaeological site near Biscayne Bay which is believed to be the remains of the dwellings and some tools left by the Tequesta Native Americans. We found the oldest pictures on record of this area to understand how the lives of these ancient people might have been. We looked at the site in Miami where Henry Flagler built a hotel on remains from Tequesta Indians and gave out skulls to each patron of his hotel.

While subbing in Charlie's social studies class, we read articles in Time for Kids. He read the article and answered who, what, where, when, and why questions on paper. We read two articles together and discussed them.

Gwendolyn began to research Native American tribes in Florida for a new project. She decided to research the Calusa, the Seminole, and the Tequesta. We began by researching and reading about the Tequesta. We also planned the project to include famous names, mini-maps, and the use of real pictures, if possible. We also hope to take a field trip to the Johnson History Museum and Historical Society in Palm Beach as a culminating activity.

Jackson and I researched the timeline of ancient history and civilizations today. We discussed how civilizations have risen and fallen over time, as well as the marker of ancient and modern time based on the death of Jesus Christ. We completed a brief overview of the following ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, China, India, and Greece. We began to collect data on Ancient China, and we talked about dynasties, the rise of the Chinese empire and the creation of the Great Wall of China. Additionally, Jackson expressed great interest in researching the Vikings (800-1100 AD) so as a fun Friday activity, we following his interest and learned a bit about their history as well.

Student worked on lesson 2 from Weekly Studies program. Discuss maps and parts of a map including symbols, compass and map key. Learned about why people used maps and how they were first made.
* Why pirates used maps and liked to collect detailed maps.

Gwendolyn and I continued work on our maps of Florida today. Through this project we labelled and discussed many features of the state including the major cities, roadways, waterways, and landmarks. She learned about map reading, features of a map, distances, map keys, border states, and postal codes.

Gwendolyn explored Florida geography today. We looked at cities, counties, regions, roadways, landmarks, national parks, tourist attractions, and topography (including sea level measurements). She decided she wanted to create a large map with each of the aforementioned topics layered into the map using a variety of art materials. We sketched out the maps, labeled the regions and began to label the cities. We made a plan for the completion of the project as well.

Gwendolyn watched videos, completed comprehension questions and we talked about the following topics: citizenship, our changing flag, contributions of public servants, taxes, the minimum wage, branches of the military and their responsibilities, local government services, the history of education in the U.S. and Florida's Bill of Rights for citizens.

Today Gwendolyn completed her poster on the three branches of government as we talked about the legislative and judicial branches as they span federal, state and local governments. We also talked further about the judicial branch as we explored how bills become laws.

Today Gwendolyn learned about a variety of Florida symbols and natural resources. We also began talking about the three branches of government, and focused today on the executive branch. We created a web about the presidency, and she talked about what she knew, and wanted to learn about the Commander in Chief.