Week 38
by Amanda Wagner | May 5, 2017 |
It’s the end of Native American week and it has been absolutely amazing! The students had such a great time with the different daily activities and learning more about Native American culture. A member of the Potawatomi, Skip, came in and taught many different lessons. There were four activities each day and on Friday all classes came together for a Pow-Wow that Skip led with other fellow Native Americans.
On Monday, the students learned about different Native American artifacts. Skip brought many different artifacts in and described their uses. The students also got to guess the use or importance of some artifacts at another activity. In the afternoon, the class hiked past the farm and harvested willow for our wigwam!
On Tuesday, our class went on a hike to learn about different Native American campsite locations. The students got to go into the tipi and Skip taught a lesson on Native American religion. After lunch, we all made our own dream catchers. The students learned how to weave string through a wreath and create their own web to catch bad dreams. At the campfire, we got a chance to try a Native American staple, succotash! Delicious!
Wednesday was our only normal day of the week. We focused on finishing our Little House on the Prairie discussion – the students did an amazing job with their reading groups. We also worked on our fairy tales. They all have such creative ideas to create their own adaptations to a fairy tale.
Thursday we were back to our Native American activities. Skip taught the students how to build a wigwam our of the willow we harvested on Monday. The 3/4 wigwam is outside of Mrs. McGovern’s classroom and is there to stay! We also learned how to weave! The students each wove two different colored pieces of paper together and made a place mat. They can use this skill to weave other things, as well! We all got to make our very own medicine bag. The students can keep their special items in these bags and wear the bags around their necks. At the end of the day, the class learned five different Native American games that Native American children used to play. They had a great time trying them all out!
Friday was our last day of Native American week, and it was absolutely amazing. The students made their own raven after hearing a legend about how the raven stole the sun. In the tipi, the class made their own Native American bracelet. Each bead means something special – be sure to ask your child what it means! We heard the “Three Sisters” legend and started planting our squash for next year. We also got to try maple rice and maple candy at the campfire. In the afternoon, the students got to attend a Pow-Wow. Skip and his friends showed us all an amazing time, and we learned so much. The students danced, sang, chanted, and had an amazing time!
Next week, it’s back to normalcy. We are continuing our ABC countdown to the end of the year. Remember each day is a different letter! In writing we will continuing our fairy tale adaptations. Our goal is to have the students finish their rough drafts by the end of the week. In reading, we will back to our normal Daily 5 schedule and we’re off to our next week of spelling. We’re done with our Social Studies unit and we’ll be moving onto a new unit in science – weather! Our fourth graders will continue learning about decimals in math.
Dates to remember!
- Wednesday, May 10th – Farm to Table – the last of the year!
- Thursday, Math 11th – Field trip to Old World Wisconsin – please, please, please have your child dress for the weather; we will be outside ALL DAY!
- Tuesday, May 16th 9:55-11:10 – Math NWEA – please have a good night’s rest and eat a nutritional breakfast
- Wednesday, May 17th 9:55-11:10 – Reading NWEA – please have a good night’s rest and eat a nutritional breakfast
