Arianna and I read about George Washington's teeth and about U.S. symbols, the flag and the bird. We discussed what symbols are and she completed reading comprehension questions after the reading. We watched BrainPopJr. about The President to learn more about his job and about elections. We combined some math. Arianna had to calculate how many years two terms were and how many more years President Trump might serve as President. Finally, she completed some activities comparing and constrasting school, clothing, chores and play of pilgrims and colonists to children of today. We read about choosing the turkey or the bald eagle as our national bird. We also compared the flag from the colonies to the flag today and learned about the symbolic colors, stars and stripes.
Arianna wrote The Batt School Constitution. She used calligraphy pens and made the paper old-looking, like old parchment, and like our original U.S. Constitution. Afterwards, she tried to write with a feather quill and ink. It was very difficult. We read "Time for Kids" about the first Thanksgiving. Arianna also completed some activites using new words - urban, suburban and rural. She completed activities that tested her knowledge of past and present and map-reading.
Charlie turned in his homework. He did an excellent job on it, writing in complete sentences, clearly stating an opinion, and clearly giving thought to what he read. We went to TedEd and watched video to learn about Sparta, the Egyptian underworld: The Book of dead and the origins of the Olympics. We read on the Studies Weekly website about ancient Rome and life in Rome. Charlie completed a crossword puzzle related to the material. Finally, we began discussing the Middle Ages, by looking to an article on the History.com website.
We concluded our study of the stone engineering that was found in the lost city of Petra. We learned how the residents of Petra built one of the first hydraulic systems that provided running water to much of the central city area including a large fountain and canal system found deep within the desert. They constructed over 125 miles of pipeline, which is truly remarkable. We will pick up where we left off in our text on Friday. Homework: none
Craig spent the class time today creating notecards to prepare him for a Quiz next Friday. He wrote notes on many different topics and vocabulary words. He also turned in homework.
Arianna chose a great book at the library today. We read "The White House" by Jon Wilson. She has an interest! She chose this book while she was there with another Teacher. Today we made paper look old by staining it and destressing it to make it look like parchment. We also have calligraphy pens to make The Constitution for The Batt School look special. We made a list of rules and laws that Arianna thought would be appropriate and important for our school. We read and discussed why governments and rules and laws are necessary. We read an article from Newsela and USHistory.org. We also looked at a new photo of Abraham Lincoln.
This morning began a National Geographic special on the Mayan Culture which featured some of their contributions to modern civilization. These include aqueducts, mathematics, a complex writing system and identifying the value of zero. Homework none.
This morning we reviewed the homework from last night. We reviewed highlights from our movie featuring the conquest of the Mayans by the Spaniards and the death of Montezuma. We spent the rest of the period laying the groundwork for our study of Minoans and Myceans. Homework is to read pages 126-130 #'s 1-5.
This afternoon we deviated from our lesson plan to watch a fascinating video on the lost city of Petra in Jordan. This amazing settlement was actually carved out of the sandstone and has been hidden from modern man for the last 1000 years. We examined some of the engineering marvels featured in Petra including the development of running water throughout the center of the city. This design mirrored the efforts of the Incans which constructed aqueducts to accomplish the same thing. Interesting parallels were drawn between two civilizations which had no contact with each other. Homework: none...
