Charlie and I reviewed by creating a graphic organizer, comparing and contrasting Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We listened and learned more about Islam and the Muslim faith through Studies Weekly. We read in the textbook about the Renaissance, Marco Polo, DaVinci, Guttenberg, and Michaelangelo.
Life Long Ago / Morse Code / Mummies in the Morning
Lesson Outline
As in our last session we talked about communication long ago and today, we began with a video from Dr. Bionics about the invention of Morse Code. We saw that Samuel Morse was frustrated by the slow delivery of mail with the Pony Express. He developed the telegraph using the code to send words and communicate with others. We watched some old black and white video of someone using a telegraph. We saw how dots and dashes make up the symbols for the letters. We had fun with an activity in which we deciphered Morse code to read words. We then wrote mom, dad, Danny, Jack, and Katie (Danny’s family) in Morse code. Next, we read a Florida Studies Weekly packet on Life Long Ago. We read about how kids did chores to help at home and also worked in factories and mines. Boys wore frocks up to age 7! Danny was happy not to do that! Danny and I compared our clothes to long ago and discovered that we were both wearing size medium shirts from Old Navy today! We read that festivals and stories from grandparents help us learn about long ago. Danny completed follow up activities relating to the material. To end our session, we continued reading our new historical fiction novel, Mummies in the Morning. Jack and Annie landed in the magic treehouse in a palm tree on a sandy desert. We discussed the characteristics of the desert landform and looked at pictures of deserts on the internet. They could see a parade with a sarcophagus (coffin) being carried toward the pyramid. The black cat they initially saw outside the window was still there and ran into a hole in the pyramid.
Henry and I went to the new school today to begin planting the raised bed garden. We took measurements of the beds to calculate how much soil we will need and put down cardboard as a barrier for weeds. We will continue the project on Thursday.
Craig and I spent some time reviewing what we've learned about World War I. He is eager to learn more about both Wars. We looked at his flashcards and reviewed vocabulary (armistice, reparations, alliances), events, timeline and cause and effect. We watched a TedEd video about World War I and discussed new inventions. We also looked at images depicting the trenches and discussed trench warfare and the possibility of Craig completing a project based on this - a large diagram of the trenches. We spent the second session learning more about WWI, the U.S. policy of isolationism, what triggered their involvement in the War, and the effect it had. We posted some War propaganda on Craig's wall and discussed the purpose of this and changes that were happening at home. We read the story of Uncle Sam and watched several short World War I videos to summarize. We added words to Craig's word wall. There will be a Quiz next Monday.
Yanuell continued to research South Africa. Today, we printed out a map of the country and found the 3 capitals, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein. Then, we researched the population, official languages, religion, government, and exports. Finally, Yanuell found a website describing the climate and lands of South Africa. He printed this page and glued it into his binder. Next week will be our last week on this country and Yanuell has decided to make a paper mache spear painted the colors of the South African flag.
Charlie and I learned about the origins of Christianity today. We followed the textbook and Studies Weekly and read together about the Renaissance and Reformation. We watched a short video about castles and how they offered protection and were self-sufficient. We learned about the differences between Christians and Jews, the importance of Jerusalem, religion, the church and anti-semitism. Finally, we began reading about Florence, Italy, Michaelangelo and DaVinci.
Today we worked on map skills. Jayne read the Social Studies Weekly article about maps and their use. We discussed the purposes of maps and the reasons people use maps. Jayne learned about Map Keys, Cardinal directions and the Compass Rose. We then did some activities that involved following directions that directed her to go North, South, East or West. She then colored in and created her own Compass Rose. Jayne completed the Florida Studies Weekly Assessment and earned a 90%.
