True of False?

Thanksgiving seems to always be the same story every year with the Pilgrims and Indians coming together to have a friendly meal. However, it was brought to our attention in class Monday that this may not be the case! It is so hard to believe that everything we as educators have built our knowledge around may be false, but that is the issue that we are being faced with. I understand that is important to follow tradition, but what if that tradition is based on inaccuracy? It is a fine line that we have to walk! So the choice is up to you ....do we teach according to truth or fallacies?

Book Reviews

Today in class I really enjoyed hearing about all the different books that everybody had read. I think doing something like this in the classroom would be a great activity for kids to do! For example, if a class had just finished a story unit this would be a great way for each of them to express what they thought about the story or what they took from it. Book talks are definitely something I will be incorporating into my classroom in the future!

Story Path

Yesterday in class we did story path and I had so much fun! I thought this activity was such a great way to get the students involved and into the topic they may be covering. By having the students create characters it gets them to see and put themselves into the story. Story path brings learning to life and this is an activity that I will do in my classroom!

Social Studies in the Classroom

The other day while I was observing in the 4th grade classroom the teacher began the social studies lesson. She told the students they would begin their new unit about new worlds, this included the discovery of America and and the Pilgrims and Indians. The teacher told the students she wanted them to write in their journals as if they were one of the pilgrims coming to America and how they felt coming to the new world. I thought this was great activity because not only does it incorporate social studies but writing as well. The students did very well at the activity and continued writing in their journals throughout the unit. I hope to use fun and creative ways such as this in my future classroom!

Mount Everest

I have to say that Mount Everest is a beautiful place! However, it is a place I can enjoy through pictures and movies. I thought it was interesting all the things that climbers have to do in order to climb the mountain! It was so neat learning how Sherpas and climbers depend on one another and the things they have to do to train their bodies. I do love thrill seeking my I would have to say that climbing a mountain for 40,000 dollars is not one of them!

Geocaching

Even though I was absent for the class period where the class went on a scavenger hunt, I was told about how much fun it was! I went to the Geocaching website and think it is so neat how the whole thing works. I think it is a great way to get students excited about geography and using latitude and longitude. Students can also create similar ideas with using latitude and longitude with their community and students can create boxes they want to hide with special things in it!