Tuesday, March 22, 2011

1st and 2nd Grade - The word of the day was Instill. Instill means to put a feeling or idea in someone's mind slowly. There were four pilgrims for us to explore today. They were: Zachary Taylor, Mallard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. In 1849, the inauguration day for Zachary Taylor fell on a Sunday. Being a very religious man, President Taylor refused to take the oath of office on the "Lord's Day." Since the Vice President could not be sworn into office before the President, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, David Rice Atchison, was put in charge of the United States until Zachary Taylor was sworn in as President. These students played 20 questions as a warm-up activity. It took more than 20 questions, but they finally identified the mystery object. The affective lesson focused on the idea that making and keeping friends may help alleviate stress. Students also learned what the terms assumption and inference meant. The trip to Crystal Pond Woods had students working on Evaluative Thinking and developing criteria to help the make decisions.

5th Grade - The word of the day was Underdog. Underdog means a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest and sounds like under dog.The pilgrim of exploration was John Walker. While trying to discover a more effective explosive, he accidentally invented match sticks. 75 years later, a Philadelphia lawyer by the name of Joshua Pusey invented match books. These students also played 20 questions. They used more than 20 questions, but were able to identify the item. The affective lesson had students focusing on what difficult choices they may have to make in the future. By discussing those situations now, it is hoped the students will be able to make better choices in the future. The SOS/Journey lesson had students researching information that came from the CSI unit. These students were able to reduce the number of places they will have to search in order to find their lost families. The Exploration lesson had students once again focusing on parts of the body. In order to help us better understand what is happening inside our bodies, students wrapped themselves in clear packing tape. Next week, we will add veins and arteries and discuss the effects of damage to those parts.