History & Geography
Social studies with Ms. Marci.
This week we in our unit on the Viking Age we read more about Viking Life and learned about Viking raiders and traders. We reviewed what narrative and point of view in writing meant and then rewrote a first person narrative paragraph into a 3rd person point of view paragraph. The students also wrote a descriptive piece using adjectives and their senses to describe a Viking village.
Our objectives were:
• identify and locate Scandinavia as the area from which the Vikings originated
• locate Iceland on a map
• explain how and why the Vikings travel to other countries
• explain that the Viking people worshipped many gods and goddesses
• describe the everyday life of the Viking people
• explain that the Viking people built and used ships for different purposes
• describe the Viking people’s proficiency and legacy as sailor’s, raiders, and traders
• explain that only the warriors who went on raids to other lands were actually called vikings
• locate the areas to which the Vikings traveled
Social Studies with Ms. Laura
We talked about some of the many differences for children in the Ancient Greece city-states of Athens and Sparta. We made charts describing life as a boy and as a girl in each of these locations. Very different, indeed! We started preparing for our own Olympic Games, SWS Style, which will take place on Tuesday, January 30th during class.
Science
This week we continued with our Light and Sound science domain. In our read aloud we learned about the voice and began to read about Alexander Graham Bell. Next week students will begin to write a short biography on…
Our objectives were to:
• compare and contrast light and sound
• describe how the intensity and frequency of vibrations affect the qualities of sound
• identify the parts of the body that create the human voice
• explain how the human voice is produced and is able to make a wide range of sounds
• Describe the life and contributions of Alexander Graham Bell
• explain the significance of the invention of the telephone
English Word Work
We had our spelling test on Friday. In grammar we worked on adjectives. In our journals we used the word “hurl.” in one entry and they also wrote about the proverb, “actions speak louder than words” in another.
Specialists
Character Education with Maestra Sarah: For the next couple week’s we are working on a citizen project. We talked about how doing and saying kind things for others makes them feel happy. We don’t do acts of kindness because we want something in return. We are working on random acts of kindness. Students will share their acts of kindness on our school-wide bulletin board.
In early January the students watched a Power Point presentation about Totem Poles of Pacific Northwest Coast Native Americans. They learned how and why Totem Poles were made and they learned about the special shapes and patterns used in various artwork of Pacific Northwest Coast Indians. Students practiced drawing the various eye shapes, and Ovoids and U shapes that are prevalent in Totem Pole designs. Then they chose an animal and started a sketch of how that animal would look using Totem Pole shapes.
At the next class, the students used their sketch as a pattern to cut out various shapes from construction paper, and then glued these to poster board. Several students added 3-dimensional beaks or ears to their totem animal. I’m impressed with how hard everyone worked on this project! These great Totem Pole designs are on display at the end of the hallway!
The students also learned about the significance of salmon fishing to all Pacific Northwest Native Americans, and they made beautiful drawings of Sockeye Salmon using oil pastel.
This past week we discussed the Nez Perce and Yakama tribes and the importance of horses to these and other Native American tribes. The students learned that the Nez Perce create beautiful bridles, saddles, and other ornaments for their horses to wear in celebrations and parades. The students designed their own horse ornament using the simple geometrical shapes that New Peace artists use. We’ll add the finishing touches later in February.
On January 31 and February 7, I will be out of town, and our art substitute Miss Karen will be providing some wonderful lessons on Native American pottery, using real clay and glazes! It would be helpful for the students to bring a clean plastic container (from salad mix or berries, etc.) to transport their clay pieces home when they’re finished.