History Mystery

This Wednesday, the school got to take a trip into the past, as the Upper Elementary put on their annual History Mystery.  The students from fourth through sixth grades each chose an explorer from history to portray.  They researched their historical figure and wrote a script as if they were actually this person, come to tell about their life.  To complete the effect, the students also dressed as the person they were portraying.

We were visited by such historical icons as Christopher Columbus, Pocahontas and Sacagawea, as well as more recent explorers and adventurers, such as Jessica Walsh and Dr. Mae Carol Jemison.

The Lower Elementary students had all been given a lesson to introduce them to each historical figure.  On the day of the History Mystery, they used their background knowledge to make a guess as to who each student was portraying.  History Mystery is something they all look forward to being on the other side of, when they become a student in the Upper Elementary. 

November Studies

During the month of November, in Social Studies and History, we are going to be studying Thanksgiving, Immigration, and Native Americans.  We have also been studying American Government and the upcoming elections.

In Biology, we are studying reptiles.  We are continuing to study stars and navigation, and we will move into the moon phases and the calendar.

As we get further into the year, we are also encouraging the students to begin memorizing math facts in addition (first grade), addition and subtraction (second grade), and multiplication (third grade).  If you are looking for activities to do with your child at home to supplement their school learning, this would be a good choice.  We are going to be assessing them on math facts on Fridays with their spellling tests.  We will begin with simple facts and make them more challenging as time goes on.

This week, we are going to assess the first graders on addition facts +1; second graders on subtraction facts -1; and third graders on multiplication facts x 2.

Thank You 

Thank you to those of you that continue to volunteer and donate things to our classroom.  We made the salsa yesterday and it was a big success.  The children really enjoyed being able to prepare and eat their own snack.  We will be making another class snack in December.