American Revolution Touchstone Text

Our American Revolution study launched today, and we watched this short video which gave us a brief sense of what we'll be learning about over the course of the unit. We found it fascinating to watch the images AND to listen to the music, which we felt really reflected the tension and conflict during the American Revolution. We'll be coming back to this video again and again during our study.

What are your thoughts after seeing the images and listening to the music? What questions do you have about the American Revolution?

Patience Wright: Storytelling

Today we heard the story of Patience Wright, an American sculptor  who later became a spy during the Revolutionary War! Tonight, we'll each be storytelling her story to someone at home. We prepared for this work by meeting in Storytelling Clubs at school and practicing her story. Here are some snippets from our work at school!

Did you hear the story of Patience Wright? What did you learn about her life or about the lives of women in Colonial America? 

Valentine's Day Cupcake Service Project

Today, we participated in an exciting service project for Craig's Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Greenpoint. As members of the Dessert Corps, we decorated homemade cupcakes for a Valentine's Day meal at the soup kitchen. Katie dropped off the cupcakes after school today, and the group was so excited to learn that a school was taking part in their project. Listen to some of our thoughts behind why this was an important project to take part in!

Thank you so much to everyone who sent in supplies and who baked cupcakes! You truly made our service project a success!

The Thirteen Original Colonies: A Mini-Lecture!

Our study of Colonial America began last week! This week, we learned about the Thirteen Original Colonies, particularly about the different regions that the colonies were broken up into. The students gave each other mini-lectures about the colonies based on what they learned in class. Here, one student gives part of their mini-lecture (the introduction and the New England Colonies). Enjoy!

Ask a student from our class to give you their Thirteen Original Colonies mini-lecture! What did you learn about the different regions? 

Personal Essay Writing Celebration: Take Four

Here's a link to information about our Personal Essay Writing Celebration! Enjoy our last video where we share some of the comments we received!

Personal Essay Writing Celebration: Take Three

Here's a link to information about our Personal Essay Writing Celebration! Enjoy another video where we share some of the comments we received. 

Personal Essay Writing Celebration: Take Two

Here's a link to information about our Personal Essay Writing Celebration! Enjoy another video where we share some of the comments we received.

Personal Essay Writing Celebration

We celebrated our accomplishments during our personal essay unit as part of a writing celebration last Tuesday! We enthusiastically read and commented on our essays. Our essays included strong thesis statements, and we used varied types of evidence to support our thesis statements. We concluded our celebration by meeting to share some of the comments our classmates left for us. Enjoy our short video where we share some of the comments we received!

Plymouth Perspectives: A Teenage Boy

To learn more about our Plymouth study, click here! Here's a journal entry from the perspective of a teenager traveling on the Mayflower!

Plymouth Perspectives: An Adult Male

To learn more about our Plymouth study, click here! Here's a journal entry from the perspective on an adult male, one of the first travelers to depart the boat and explore the New World! 

Plymouth Perspectives: A Child

To learn more about our Plymouth study, click here! Here's a journal entry from the perspective of a child traveling on the Mayflower!

Plymouth Perspectives: The Wampanoag

To learn more about our Plymouth study, click here! Here's a journal entry from a member of the Wampanoag tribe!

Plymouth Perspectives: A Teenage Boy

As part of our American Colonization study, each student in the class has assumed the role of a real traveler on the Mayflower or a real member of the Wampanoag tribe.  Each student has a unique role on the journey. Some are men, and some are women. Some are adults, and some are children. Some are Saints, and some are Strangers. Some travel alone, and some travel with their families. Because each student has a different role, the diary entries they write about their experiences end up being quite different. We have several videos to share of us reading entries written from our unique perspective.

Enjoy this video from the perspective of a teenage male Stranger traveling on the Mayflower with his family!

Reading Partnership Celebration!

Today, we presented our award-show style speeches to thank our partners for all the support they have given us during our November Reading Partnership Unit! We learned so many things from working with our partners over the past month! Here are a few of our thank-you videos.

Are you and your partner planning to continue reading together? What is your plan for continuing your partnership? 

Official CD Release: 12/2/2010

After much anticipation, our CD of podcasts was officially released today! Enjoy listening to the tracks on your CD! Post comments here letting the writers know what you enjoyed about their podcast!

Also, enjoy a short video we filmed dancing once we had all our CDs!

Exploration and Discovery Project: Group Nine

Watch as our ninth and final group hosts a talk show where different famous explorers visit as guests!

What did you learn about exploration and discovery from watching this video? What did you notice that the group did particularly well? 

Exploration and Discovery Project: Group Eight

Our eighth group explored the true nature of Christopher Columbus through a talk show with various guest experts!

What did you learn about exploration and discovery from watching this video? What did you notice that the group did particularly well? 

Exploration and Discovery Project: Group Seven

Watch to see who really discovered America!

What did you learn about exploration and discovery from watching this video? What did you notice that the group did particularly well?

Exploration and Discovery Project: Group Six

Watch as Christopher Columbus and his crew prepare for their voyage and begin sailing!

What did you learn about exploration and discovery from watching this video? What did you notice that the group did particularly well? 

Exploration and Discovery Project: Group Five

Watch as our fifth group puts Christopher Columbus on trial and uses common picture books as evidence against him!

What did you learn about exploration and discovery from watching this video? What did you notice that the group did particularly well?