Tis the Season...

In school, the time between Thanksgiving and the December Holiday break is always an adventure. Between field trips and special school events, life is quite busy. From a social perspective, the past two Wednesdays have been exciting. Two weeks ago, our field trip to the Dartmouth Womens' Basketball game was a thrilling experience with Dartmouth winning the game and many positive life skills messages from Dartmouth student-athletes. Last Wednesday, we attended Northern Stage's musical production of "Matilda." The show lasted two hours and twenty minutes and the audience was captivated by the performance. Instead of worrying about who might need to go to the restroom, it was a "where did the time go" magical show.

Our fifth graders are have been exploring maps from the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s together to discover information about the impact of the exploration of North America during those time periods. We are finishing our study of the Chinese explorer, Zheng He, who may have "discovered" the Americas before Columbus, and are about to go on to learn about Viking explorations in North America. In our Scholastic News magazines, students continue to learn about important events in our world.

In Sixth Grade, we are enjoying the finale of our study of ancient Greece and its impact on our modern world by watching a 1997 movie version of "The Odyssey." Sixth graders were excited to share their research and products at our recent "Ancient Greece Exhibition" night. Thank you for your support and the tasty, "mostly" Greek recipes shared that evening. This week, we will begin studying how our Connecticut River Valley was settled by colonial settlers and our Rivendell towns began. Independent current events articles continue and students are reporting out fascinating events taking place globally.

Happy Holidays everyone!

We are having many positive conversations these days!

Our Fifth Graders worked thoughtfully last week as they reflected on their work in Social Studies through their Personal Learning Plans. If you ever have any questions about our work together, please contact me.

We are reading Russell Freedman's Who Was First: The Discovery of the Americas. As we read and discuss, we are identifying key ideas together and students are now beginning to take notes in their journals on the ideas that stand out for them. I have been impressed with their insights and how they build on one another's ideas. We continued our Scholastic News current events studies. This week, students will write summaries of the feature article. Last week, we used our "close reads" to create outlines for the summaries. Later this week, students will begin a new issue of Scholastic News.

In Sixth Grade, student are beginning their Ancient Greece Research Projects. This week, they will decide on research themes, partners, create essential questions that drive their research, and take notes as they dive into their project research. Students will be bringing home project outlines for parents to approve. Students will continue to independently choose current events articles, summarizing their thinking in reflective writing.

Lots of learning adventures ahead!

In Fifth Grade, we are beginning to explore the "discovery" of the Americas. Together, we are reading, discussing and taking notes on, "Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas" by Russell Freedman. We are studying maps from the "age of explorers" as well as images of the time plus other texts. It is a challenge to reimagine our history. When I was growing up, there was no doubt that Christopher Columbus "discovered" the Americas. Now, we know that others visited the Americas before Columbus did. As we study together, students will have the opportunity to draw their own conclusions about who did discover the Americas.

Fifth Graders continue to read Scholastic News as a current events study. They have made real progress in learning to "close read" text in order to think carefully and determine the most important ideas in what they read. We are learning to create outlines so that we can organize and plan our written responses to what we read.

Sixth Graders are about to begin independent research projects on the "Golden Age" of ancient Greece. Last week, our Sixth Graders shared their oral storytelling of Aesop's Fables and Greek Myths with Kindergarten and First Grade students. There were many smiles and lots of laughter as students shared their stories. We are finishing our shared reading of "The Odyssey" by Homer. Students will be writing reflections on the "theme" of The Odyssey later this week. Through their reading and taking notes on the Kids Discover issue of "Ancient Greece," students have explored the many "firsts" that were created in math, science, architecture, the arts, and medicine during the "Golden Age." This week, students will be selecting topics based on the question, "How does the civilization of ancient Greece continue to influence our world today?" On Wednesday, December 28th, at 6:00 PM, students will share the results of their research, and the projects they create and build to express their understanding of their topics. Stay tuned...

I am impressed by the diversity and quality of the current events articles sixth graders are choosing to read, summarize and discuss together.

Busy Times in Social Studies

In Fifth Grade Social Studies, we are considering how historians use primary and secondary sources to refine our understanding of the history of human beings. We have been studying the discovery in 1991 of Otzi the Iceman in the Italian Alps. Through the study of this 5,300-year-old "ice mummy" and the possessions (artifacts) found with him, we have learned so much more about how people in Europe lived at the end of the "Stone Age." We are brainstorming key ideas, taking notes, and preparing to use our notes to prepare an outline, and write a one to two paragraph summary on the question, "How has the discovery of Otzi, the Iceman helped historians learn new information about how humans lived in the "Stone Age?" We continue to read our Scholastic News magazines. The latest issue focusing on fighting wildfires in the west. I am impressed with the creative curiosity and focus of our fifth-grade students.

In Sixth Grade Social Studies, we continue to explore the "Golden Age" of ancient Athens, Greece. As we read The Odyssey together in a readers theater format, we are identifying how this classic story informs us about ancient Greek values and their culture. (Students are demonstrating a real enthusiasm for reading this graphic novel version.) We are doing Critical Explorations of images of ancient Greek artifacts and their art. Presently, we are summarizing key concepts connected to Greek civilization as we read and take notes on the Kids Discover issue of "Ancient Greece." By the end of this week, students will begin making choices about their independent research projects based on the question, "How does Greece's "golden age" continue to influence our world today? Students continue to choose their own current events articles each week, write a summary of the key ideas in the article, then share their topics with one another.

Welcome to Tools For Learning!

Welcome to Tools For Learning...our fifth and sixth grade Social Studies blog at Samuel Morey Elementary School. I hope you will find this blog informative. Students may use this blog for general information and research purposes, to find current events articles, and to further explore themes we are studying in class.

Sixth Grade students are already using the Current Events section to select articles they want to read. Please check out our blog by exploring some of the features and let me know if you would like to add any links to make our blog even better.

Regards,

Gordon Christie-Maples

4Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity

The "4Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity" are the touchstones of learning. This past week in class, we viewed a short animated video together entitled, "Above and Beyond," by fablevision. The video was well received by our students. It fit right into the discussions and practice we have been sharing concerning the value of the "4Cs." Above and Beyond was originally posted on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills site. I saw it again tonight on the  elearning blog "Don't Waste Your Time" and thought it would be worth sharing directly on our blog. "Above and Beyond" promotes the creative potential and value of working with people who have different perspectives. The principles embodied by the "4Cs" have the real power to help us optimize our learning potential. Click here to check out "Above and Beyond."

The Value of Community & Collaboration

This is truly exciting work. This evening I developed a Mind Map which outlines the social learning and collaboration applications of several of the digital tools I am currently becoming acquainted with. I have included potential connections to ongoing Language Arts and Social Studies learning opportunities and projects. Embedded in the three center connections of the Mind Map are links to two exciting video clips on the value of social learning and collaboration in our 21st Century, digital world. There is also a link to an article entitled, "Minds on Fire" by  John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adle. The premise is that understanding is enhanced through social communication. It is worth a look. Click here to get to the Mind Map: