This morning, our class read about ancient China and its geography–a section of our textbook that mirrors many other places we have studied.  After reading, please answer the following questions to the best of your ability (using complete sentences, correct capitalization and punctuation, etc.)

1. What natural barriers isolated China from other civilizations and what two major rivers flow through China?

2. What similarities does China’s geography share with Greece? India? Egypt?  What differences does China’s geography have from Mesopotamia? Greece? The United States?

3. Complete the simile: Ancient China’s geography is like ________________________________________because_________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________.

What a week!  Each city-state has been assigned the task of creating a comic about one of the major battles during the Persian Wars.  Delphi had Thermopylae; Thessaly had Marathon, and Megara had Salamis.

As the students worked from 1:00-2:30 in groups, I observed some excellent work, and I also saw some work habits that could be better.

Thinking honestly about your work this afternoon in class, write a post describing what you did that went well and what you could have done to be a better, more productive group member.

I appreciate your honesty.

Mrs. C

Our Fifth Grade class finished this novel on April 5th, and we loved reading it.  Going wrote this book about an African American girl named Frita and her best friend, Gabriel King, during a time when Georgia had just integrated its schools and racial tensions were high. During the summer of 1976 in Georgia, this work explores the bond between best friends, race, morals and, of course, becoming "liberated" from one's fears.

Students, please share your answers to at least 2 of the following questions:

1. Do you think Gabe is a peace warrior? Explain why.
2. Who would you rather have as a friend?  Frita or Gabe? Why?
   
3. Do you think Gabe and Frita could still be friends today?  Why or why not?
   
4. Explain the differences between 1976 in Georgia and Atlanta as you know it today.

Feel free to talk about your overall impressions of the book here.  Did you like it? Was the ending satisfying? Do you think another class would enjoy this next year?

Thanks for your wonderful feedback and thoughtful responses!

Mrs. C

This morning, our class participated in a wonderful activity requiring cooperation and teamwork from every student–as well as great attention to detail!  Here’s a breakdown of the game:

Parcoes was designed enabling students to experience real world situations that occur in the production of a specific product.  While participating in this activity, students should have fun as well as generate viable questions about a few social and economic concepts.  As a model of economic organization, the activity can be used effectively to initiate inquiry into the way man works and lives. Each classroom will have 3 companies, a bank, and 2 adults.  The market will be in the hallway outside the classrooms, manned by 2-3 adults. 
The students worked diligently trying to make as many certified Parcoes as possible, a 3″x5″ white paper with a 1 ” blue margin on the left and a 1″x1″ red square attached to its top right corner with a paperclip.

Here are my questions for the Fifth Grade students:

**Thank you for answering these questions in complete sentences.**

Please tell us your group number and the first names of your group members.

Did you enjoy this activity?

Which method of production worked best for your company?

Did the elected president work at including all the members, or did new leaders emerge?

What was the hardest part about making a Parcoe?

Was your group successful? Explain why or why not?

What would you do differently next time if asked to make Parcoes in a group?

During Black History Month, we read Mississippi Bridge,a novel that gives great insight into Mississippi rural life during the Great Depression, segregation, racism, and morals.  A quick summary comes from teacherlink.edu:

“A young white boy in the rural south circa 1931, grapples with racial issues. He observes racial discrimination against blacks when they are forced to leave a bus because a group of whites boarded at the last minute and demanded their seats. The bus begins to cross a river and is swept off of the side of the bridge. One of the young men who was forced off of the bus jumps into the water to save those lives that had just moments before refused to let him ride the bus.”
Our class really enjoyed reading this suspenseful yet sad novel.  Take a moment and think about both civil rights and discrimination.  Then, please answer at least three of the questions below:

What is discrimination?
Are people made fun of simply by the way they look?
How would you feel towards Pa and the bus driver if you were Josiah?
How would you feel towards the people who took your place on the bus?
Do you think Josiah is a forgiving person? Why?
Do you think Jeremy loves his father even though he doesn’t seem to agree with him?

If you liked this book, Mildred Taylor wrote three other novels about the Logans, the black, land-owning family that Jeremy longed to be friends with throughout this story.  I’d love to help you read them!

Now that we have finished reading Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan, let's talk about our impressions, feelings, and take-aways from this fabulous book.

When I first read this novel three summers ago, I could not put it down. It is amazing in so many ways.  I appreciate Gloria Whelan's dedication to learning about a place she has never visited and a people she has never known, for I feel far more abreast of what is happening to the women in India.  I also appreciate the importance of religion in their society and how it impacts their lives every day--from their caste to their jobs to their spouse to their choice of burial grounds.

I want to hear about your thoughts.  Please take a moment to share them.  Here are some questions you could answer:

What might the author's purpose for writing this novel be, or why did Gloria Whelan write the book?

What themes are present in Homeless Bird?

Who is the "homeless bird" in the novel?

Why is there so much bird imagery?

Thanks for sharing your impressions with me! :)

-Mrs. C

http://www.thekingcenter.org/

After our Trinity Together Time on Friday, I have been thinking a great deal about Dr. King and his venerable philosophy.  I found some quotes that he is famous for saying during his life, and I want to share them with you.

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

“As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a billion dollars.”

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

“Like life, racial understanding is not something that we find but something that we must create.”

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up.”

Each of these quotes speaks to me.  Some are about peace, freedom, love, and community; while others are about justice and nonviolence.

One of my favorite quotes from above is about forgiveness.  Dr. King explains that forgiveness is not an occasional act; he believes that forgiveness is an attitude.  One of the best pieces of advice I have received is that you cannot control others’ attitudes–you must abide by your own.  I like to remember that a good attitude is something you choose to put on every day–like a sweater or a hat–and you can choose to carry it with you.  Just like an article of clothing, other people notice your attitude and it affects them, too.

So…please remember to brush your teeth, make your bed, and pick your attitude each morning.  You have the power to make others feel appreciated, happy, and accepted!

After two very exciting Nutcracker performances, a fun and yummy cast party, and then decorating my house for Christmas, I am in full-gear and dripping with the Christmas spirit!  This is a time when I sing in the shower, in my car, while I’m cooking, and even in my head when I’m practicing yoga.  The title of this post is always one of the first Christmas tunes that gets stuck in my head, but as the month progresses,  I turn to those classics that leave me giddy with holiday cheer.

I also begin thinking how special my friends and family are, and I am thankful for the people around me every day.  Then as we study adjectives, the focus gets clearer, and every child writes positive adjectives about classmates and teachers.  I anonymously write all of the adjectives about each person on one snowflake, and then I hang these in the room for all to enjoy.  I have been taken aback this year by the diction and the degree of thought every student put into this activity.  Words like honorable, trustworthy, determined, gracious, extraordinary, enchanting, persevering, inspiring, and my favorite, dazzling, showed up on these lists.

There is a lot to be learned from our Fifth Graders’ kind hearts, diligence, and enthusiasm–whether you are a child or an adult.

Thinking about your book club meetings this afternoon, please tell about the discussion your group had. I want to learn more about what you enjoy, things about the book you have liked, and how your group works. Thanks for sharing!

Mrs. C

Today, our class visited the High Museum. It was a fun trip because we got to see a great deal of abstract paintings and sculptures.

In the exhibit we saw work from Picasso to Warhol, including Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Piet Mondrian, Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Giorgio De Chirico, Joan Miró, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Louise Bourgeois, and Jasper Johns.

As a huge fan of realism, i.e. landscapes and still life paintings, this was a wonderful exhibit to further my appreciation of other types of art.

One of the most mind-boggling exhibits had to be that of Marcel DuChamp, In Advance of the Broken Arm, August 1964 (fourth version, after lost original of November 1915), wood and galvanized-iron snow shovel. It was a snow shovel hanging from the ceiling.

My favorite of these artists was Andy Warhol, for I appreciate his assimilation of mass-media into art. The soups cans were as impressive as I had expected, but the self portrait and plastic surgery paintings blew my mind! I would love to meet Andy Warhol if he were still living. I imagine him to have a sense of humor that is somewhat cynical yet extremely funny and an extraordinarily unique perspective.

What did you enjoy most at the High? What is your favorite genre of art?