Artifact Museum Walk

After creating artifacts, students set up their desks as museum displays and we did a gallery walk! 

"The Johny that was to light, he flew off with a balloon."

Pig Wand

"It turns things into pigs for food!"

The Time Teller

The 

Recess 

Decider

Sapphire Circlet

"Wow, it has a LED light in it!"

Orblib

Johny Boomerang

Chicken Protector

The Orb

Artifact Building

Our class has been exploring ancient cultures and to understand them fully we have been learning about the cultural universals in each society. This includes food, clothing, shelter, religion, government, economics, etc. 

Along with learning about the cultures, students have been learning about artifacts from the time periods.

Each student was asked to draw an artifact and write a description telling why it was an artifact. Mrs. Maitlen and I noticed that most were on the right track, but we needed to revisit the definition of artifact to make sure each student understood what they were to create. 

What is an artifact? 

An artifact is an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

After drawing their artifacts, students were given the task to create a 3-D model to share as a museum exhibit. 

Here are some creating pictures:

"Creativity is intelligence having FUN!"

-Albert Einstein

Mentoring: Flying Flyers

 Today our class did a fantastic job being mentors! They guided our littlest kids in creating circles with paper and taping them to a straw. It was fun to see everyone work together to complete this task.

"How should we make the circle?"

"Let's use a small amount of tape!"

"Can you help make my circle?"

"Wow! You are doing a great job."

"Hey, look! I have my straw!"

Teamwork

"Hey, can you help me tape my circle?"

 Test runs of the flying flyers:

"3, 2, 1, fly!"

"In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn" -Phil Collins

First Day of Mentoring

The first day of mentoring was a success! Our class was kind, patient, and helpful with our littlest Seabury friends. 

"What is a mentor?" asked a student.

These were some of the answers:

"a role model"

"helpful and kind"

"patient and caring"

We helped our friends discover how many seeds were inside an apple. Our class also helped with writing, counting, coloring, and gluing. 

It was fun to see the hard work by our Pre-K and Kindergarten friends!

Mystery Cemetery: Part 2

After recording all our observations, we shared our thoughts in small groups, discussing different ideas and trying to come up with inferences about the people in the cemetery, supported by the facts we were given and the observations we made. 

We noticed all the tombs with weapons had no pots and were facing south, so we thought those must all be male. We knew all the artifacts in each tomb were things that had been worn by that person in life, so the tombs with more artifacts, we decided, were the tombs of higher social status individuals.

It was not easy (or comfortable) to figure out the meanings of things like which way the skeletons were facing. We made plenty of wild guesses and got some things wrong. Ultimately though, we realized how important it is for archaeologists to look at finds in connection and comparison to the other things found around them. Thinking like an archaeologist, it turns out, is no easy feat. It requires a lot of comfort with uncertainty, as there is ultimately no 100% complete, correct answer.

 

We learned how to recognize inferences or educated guesses supported by fact vs. wild guesses, which were often more interesting to think about. What a fantastic lesson in critical thinking and a great start to a year of "Advancement!"

Team Building

The Supernovas (3/4) and the Olympians (4/5) needed a brain break during those first long days of school, so we headed out to the playground for a little team building exercise. Students on opposing teams jumped a hula-hoop trail toward each other until they met, then did "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see which team member would advance.

In the end, it didn't really matter who won. It was so much fun, that we all won! We sure know how to solve any decision-making dilemmas that come up in the future!!