Friday, December 20th: Let the races begin! The kids had time to make final adjustments to their racecars before the timed runs began. We started by timing each car to figure out how to set up the brackets. Maybe it is because today is the last day of school before winter break, or they just loved the races, but either way... they went wild!!! The winner from each class meet at the end of the day to find out who would be the 2024 Bradford International Drag Strip Champion.
Class Winners
5P
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5B
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5L
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5th Grade Winner
The car #1 from Mr. Barry's class was the overall victor
Thursday, December 19th: How about engineering project? The kids were tasked with building a racecar while staying within a budget. They designed, built, tested, and went back to the drawing board multiple times. Tomorrow, they will have time to finish "tuning" their cars and then we race! The winner from each class will face off at the end of the day to find the 2024 Bradford Race Champion.
Wednesday, December 16th: We turned the clock back to a time when games were played on paper with dice. In our case, it was Settling the New World. The kids got to plan (as best they could) for a settlement. What to take? Who to take? Supplies? They found out that they could only control so much. The rest was left to fate. What did the kids think of this? They were wild! They hooted and hollered in excitement when something good happened or got angry when bad things like half of the settlers dying from cholera because they didn't bring a doctor. After the game was finished, we talked about the results. Did they match what we learned about the beginning of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth? my favorite question of the day... "Did you trick us into learning with the game?" Yes, I did!
Tuesday, December 15th: Test day with a side of Rube Goldberg. The kids learned about Rube Goldberg machines and created one after they finished the test. I will post examples tomorrow.
Monday, December 14th: The kids finished preparing to start their colony in the new world. They needed to figure out which ship they wanted, what type of people they wanted to bring, and what supplies. Tomorrow, we will have our test. It should take less than half the class time. The rest of the time, we will be playing our settlement game. The kids pick numbers and find out what events go with that number. It is like old-time die-driven role-playing games. It is as low-tech as they come... and the kids will go crazy playing it.
Friday, December 13th: We reviewed for our unit test next Tuesday. The kids had the opportunity to answer questions and write down anything they were unsure about. We did discuss each question pretty thoroughly. The test will be multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and a short essay. Everything will come from the information they have in their notebooks. We also worked on Thank You/Goodbye cards for Ms. A (Ms. Dezso). At the end of the day, Mr. Barry brought his class down to her room and I brought mine. It was a very loud and nice surprise. Ms. Cuppari will start this upcoming Monday.
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Thursday, December 12th: And that's a wrap on the Time of Exploration! Today, we finished with a lesson on Plymouth Colony. The kids got to see another English colony that followed the Jamestown model... make mistakes, show up unprepared, and half the settlers die. If not for the help of Samoset and Squanto, the other half would have probably died or ended up like the people of Roanoke.
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Wednesday, December 11th: We had our first glimpse of a successful English colony... Jamestown. Successful is a word I use lightly because more than half the people die in the first couple of years, known as the starving time. In 1619, they created a legislature called the House of Burgesses, which was also the year that the Black Mayflower arrived, bringing the first enslaved Africans. A war with the Powhattan in 1622 saw the loss of 1/3 of the colonists, but their fortunes changed now that they had more land to grow tobacco. Things went so well that King James decided to take back the colony. Thanks for all the hard work Virginia Company, but the king is the king.
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Tuesday, December 10th: Queen Elizabeth was ready to build her empire, so she allowed captains to rob Spanish treasure ships. They just have to share some of the treasure with her. The Sea Dog did well and the queen was ready to colonize North America. So far, they have primarily focused on fishing. I know, that seems weird, but Europe had fished its waters for so long the numbers were low. In North America, you can walk across the fish. Cape Cod. We looked at the first attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh that did not work out well. The first one gave up and got a ride back to England with Sir Francis Drake. The second one ??? That is the lost colony of Roanoke. The kids used all the skills we have been working on this year. One section was notes, another summarizing, and the last was answering questions.
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Friday, December 6th: The kids had a little more time to finish their summaries, and then we reviewed them together. We read the summary first and went to the reading to see if the summary gave us a brief account of the main points. A few secondary details still needed to be removed, and a central point here and there needed to be added, but overall, the summaries were well done.
Thursday, December 5th: New Spain is up and running, so we moved on to New France. The kids took another try at reading and summarizing. The twist... they had to work as a group... and they all had to work... under threat of more work. They worked quicker today, and most understood how to get this work done faster and better.
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Wednesday, December 4th: As a class, we reviewed each group's summaries. We started by reading the summary and then the pages together. We went back and forth to determine if anything important was missing or if there was anything included that was not a big idea. By the time we were done, we had summaries that I thought were great. I will combine all the summaries for each class and print them out tonight. The kids will get a copy to add to their notebooks.
The kids favorite new word is "coquina". It is a type stone made from broken seashells. The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine is made from this type of stone.
The kids favorite new word is "coquina". It is a type stone made from broken seashells. The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine is made from this type of stone.
Castillo de San Marcos
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This is coquina
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Tuesday, December 3rd: New Spain was tap for today. The kids broke up into groups, each with a different section. Each kid had to find the main idea and supporting details. From that, they created a summary. This was done together on Google Docs. Too many details were included, but they started to get the hang of it. The work will be printed out and taped into the kid's notebooks.
Monday, December 2nd: We paused social studies to start Book Chat. The kids did a great job in their chats and the parent volunteers were very much appreciated. Tomorrow, we will be back to learning about European settlement in the New World.
Tuesday, November 26th: And we are done. The kids finished their presentations today, and I was delighted with the progress from their last presentations. They were definitely more comfortable speaking to the class, and the class could hear them. I talked to the kids about Book Chat. We discussed how it will work and the books for this cycle. If you responded about helping out, I will hopefully contact you tonight if I can get you in your kid's group. I will also let you know if there no group for you this cycle, but there will be another one and I will make sure you get into that one. I do appreciate the volunteering. Click on the book if you want to learn more about it.
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Monday, November 25th: We shortened classes because of the Walkathon, but we are progressing well through all the explorers.
Friday, November 22nd: Now, it is time for the kids to teach. We started with Columbus thinking he reached India, and John Cabot thinking he reached China. Vespucci will prove them wrong with his maps and Balboa, who will cross the Isthmus of Panama and see the Pacific Ocean. Balboa establishes for a fact that these are two previously unknown continents to the Europeans. We closed out with Magellan circumnavigating the Earth (kind of... he was killed in the Philippines). More to follow next week.
Thursday, November 21st: Bartolomeu Dias made it around the tip of Africa. Now, the Portuguese are ready to make the trip all the way to India. Vasco da Gama left in July of 1497 and returned from India two years and two months later. What a success. Sure, only 55 of the original 170 sailors returned, but who is worried about ordinary people? The Portuguese now control the trade route, which makes them wealthy and powerful.
Wednesday, November 20th: We learned about Portugal's Prince Henry. His dad, King John I, wanted him to find a sea route to Asia. He brings together shipbuilders, sailors, and cartographers. They will improve the compass and astrolabe. They will also develop a better ship... caravel. It will take decades and 50 voyages, but Portugal will be the first around Africa and make it to India. Wealth and power come from these future trips.
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Tuesday, November 19th: The Silk Road and major trading centers were explored. All is good until 1453, when Constantinople falls to the Turks and the trade routes are closed. The Europeans can't live without their imported goods, so it is time to figure another way to get them... over water. First up is Prince Henry's Navigation School. The kids got to enjoy the timeless classic Istanbul (not Constantinople) and believe it or not... a few kids knew the song. Nice work parents!
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Monday, November 18th: We now have a good idea of where the world is in the 1400s. China has seen the world and decided they didn't need it and closed up shop. Others in Asia were on board with trading, including India, Japan, and Korea. African empires have been trading with Europe and Asia. Europeans have gotten a taste (literally - spices) of the rest of the world and want more. All is going well until... that is for later.
Friday, November 15th: I was out today, but the kids worked on completing their presentations.
Thursday, November 14th: The kids were randomly given the name of an explorer to research. They got right to work on their presentation and let me tell you... I was impressed by what they have gotten done so far. They got right to work researching, writing notes on index cards, and finding pictures to put on their slides. They remembered that the notes should not be on their Slides. They will have tomorrow to work on this and the presentations will be next week.
Wednesday, November 13th: The Age of Exploration is our topic for the next few weeks. Why did the European explorers explore? Before we get there, we need to understand what was happening around the world in the 1400s. Today, we examined what was happening in the Americas. We got to look at the Incas quipus (writing form), amazing stonework, road networks, Machu Picchu, and their 3,000-mile-long empire of 12 million people. We closed the class by looking at the most advanced civilization in the Americas, the Aztec empire encompassing 200,000 square miles (NJ is 6,000) and 5,000,000 people and their calendars, writings, buildings, temples, and government.
Machu Picchu (Inca)
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Aztec Calendar
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Wednesday, November 6th: The kids were intro to the Age or Exploration. We had a pre-assessment to get a feel for what the kids already know and to give them some insight into what awaits them. We then looked at the topics we will be covering over the next month. Science review is Monday and test on Tuesday.
Thursday, October 7th: We had beautiful weather for the MSU Field Day. The college students in the physical education program set up 9 stations for the kids to perform some type of activity. It is a win-win because the college students get firsthand experience while being observed by their teachers, and the Bradford students just plain love trying all the different stations.
Field Day is great for getting the kids out and moving around, but class time pays the price. We had to cut all the classes shorter, but we still got at least an hour of instruction time. Today, we transitioned from social studies to science. We started by going over The Land and Early People test on Wednesday. The kids did great, and the average grade was 88%. The kids taped their tests into their notebooks and were allowed to take them home to show you. They just need to make their way back before we start social studies again in a few weeks. The kids were introduced to our science topic, Matter, and set up their notebooks. We will begin using hands-on experiments to help us understand this topic tomorrow.
Field Day is great for getting the kids out and moving around, but class time pays the price. We had to cut all the classes shorter, but we still got at least an hour of instruction time. Today, we transitioned from social studies to science. We started by going over The Land and Early People test on Wednesday. The kids did great, and the average grade was 88%. The kids taped their tests into their notebooks and were allowed to take them home to show you. They just need to make their way back before we start social studies again in a few weeks. The kids were introduced to our science topic, Matter, and set up their notebooks. We will begin using hands-on experiments to help us understand this topic tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 2nd: The Land and Early People unit is now in our rear view mirror. The kids did not seem worried or panicked and I will post the class averages tomorrow or later today. When we return on Monday, we change gears and begin our unit in science about matter.
Tuesday, October 1st: We had a lively review for tomorrow's assessment and I think the kids are ready. They were allowed to bring their notebook home, but they need to bring them back tomorrow. They will use the notebooks for the assessment. The kids finished and turned in their Tribe Slide. It was a full day.
Monday, September 30th: The kids got the name of their tribe to research and got right to work. Today's class is shorter, but they will have the whole class to finish tomorrow. So far, so good. From what I am seeing, they are doing the right things. I will post some finished pieces tomorrow.
Friday, September 27th: The kids made a postcard. Step one... explain what a postcard is to the kids. They had a few different options from Mesa Verde to draw on the front of the postcard, and then they wrote a message to someone explaining what the picture was all about. They loved this. Maybe not the history as much, but they love art and being creative. Next, I asked the kids what they thought when I said, "What do you think of when I say Native Americans? and How have you heard the word native used before?" They picked one and wrote their thoughts on a Post-It Note. Those were stuck on a board in the room, and I will share responses with the kids next week. There were a few volunteers today, leading to the following question: Do Native Americans still live in the United States today? The kids shared their thoughts, which led to some good conversations about what had happened to the Original People. I talked to them about their next project at the end of class, so they will be ready to hit the ground running on Monday. More to follow on this project next week.
We will have an assessment next Wednesday. The kids are well aware (I bring it up every day), and there is no studying to do. All the questions come right from their notes, and they will use their notebooks for the assessment. Kids who miss a day are given copies of notes or worksheets. We also review each day. What I am getting at... they don't need to sweat this. I want them to understand why having good notes and keeping papers organized is essential.
We will have an assessment next Wednesday. The kids are well aware (I bring it up every day), and there is no studying to do. All the questions come right from their notes, and they will use their notebooks for the assessment. Kids who miss a day are given copies of notes or worksheets. We also review each day. What I am getting at... they don't need to sweat this. I want them to understand why having good notes and keeping papers organized is essential.
Sample of some of the kid's work
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Very funny explanation of what this kid saw at Mesa Verde
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Thursday, September 26th: We started the class by reviewing the four civilizations we learned about yesterday. The kids used their notes to answer a bunch of questions. I told the kids that this is practice for our assessment next week. Every question will come directly from their notebooks. We spent the majority of the class learning more about the Anasazi. Those were the people that lived in the Four Corners region of what is now the USA. They were long gone before Europeans came to the Americas, but they left clues to who they were, how they lived, and why they left.
Do you want to know more about them? Click on the book cover to read what your kid read today.
Do you want to know more about them? Click on the book cover to read what your kid read today.
Wednesday, September 25th: We closed our lesson on the Ancient People by looking at Early Civilizations. We started with the Olmecs, who developed a form of writing, a number system, and a calendar. That is pretty impressive. That is why they are known as the "Mother Civilization". The kids liked the Mayans' cities of stone, the Moundbuilders' Serpent Mound, and the Anasazi's "apartment buildings" built into the side of a cliff wall. Tomorrow, we will spend more time focusing on the Anasazi... stay tuned!
Tikal
(Mayan)
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Serpent Mound
(Mississippians)
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Anasazi
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Tuesday, September 24th: We finished our notes on Hunters and Gatherers and moved on to A Time of Change. The kids learned how the climate changing from warm and humid to cooler and drier affected the early people. The most significant effect was that large animals, mastodons, mammoths, camels, and horses all became extinct. This forced the early people to begin to fish and hunt smaller animals like deer and rabbits. This was also possible with new technologies like the bow and arrow. Farming came about 5,000 years ago, and people are leading less of a nomadic life. They are planting crops, settling in one place, building stronger houses, and villages.
The kids learned about technologies of these people and the one they liked the best was the atlatl (AHT-lah-tuhl) or spear thrower.
The kids learned about technologies of these people and the one they liked the best was the atlatl (AHT-lah-tuhl) or spear thrower.
Monday, September 23rd: Ancient Indians were our topic today. Why were there so many very large animals. How did the people hunt mammoths and mastodons? How did they use them? Stone technology was explored, and the kids had a hard time believing that a stone could be tech. True, it is not an iPhone, but like an iPhone, it allowed them to do something better. This is the kids' first introduction to taking notes using the Cornell method. The kids read and picked out the important details. I wrote them on the board, and the kids put them in their notebooks. We will continue to work together until the kids get a feel for taking notes. Then, they will be given a paragraph to read independently and take notes. We will then share their work to see how we are doing. Since this is a new skill, I have often told them not to worry about making a mistake and correct it going forward.
Friday, September 20th: The kids liked the land bridge theory until I started throwing in sites across the Americas that were older than the ice sheet melting. They worked through this as a class and came up with boats. That must have been how the earliest people got here. They decided that they should also include the idea of the land bridge. This is called the early arrival theory. The last theory we came up with... religion... the people were always here - the origin or creation theory. We read and discussed the origin story of the Blackfoot and its similarities to other religions. We closed out the class with a check for understanding with a worksheet.
Thursday, September 19th: We closed out our study of Our Country's Geography by using our notes taken from the presentations to answer a worksheet of questions. The kids got to work together in their groups. We reviewed it at the end of class to ensure the kids had the opportunity to get accurate answers.
We also started looking at the Earliest Americans. We began by seeing where humans came from and how they got around. The question to the kids was, "How did they get to the Americas?". As a class, we worked on coming up with theories. So far, they have come up with the Land Bridge Theory... They walked over from Asia through Alaska.
We also started looking at the Earliest Americans. We began by seeing where humans came from and how they got around. The question to the kids was, "How did they get to the Americas?". As a class, we worked on coming up with theories. So far, they have come up with the Land Bridge Theory... They walked over from Asia through Alaska.
Wednesday, September 18th: The last groups finished their presentations. The groups worked together to answer questions from each section presented. They were allowed to use the notes they took during the presentations. Yes, that made this a little more complicated, but we will review it tomorrow as a class.
Tuesday, September 17th: We almost got through all the presentations today. There was a range in the work presented, but it seems like time management is a common issue across the board. That is ok. We have our work cut out, and I am positive the kids will improve with each presentation. There will be a lot of them.
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Monday, September 16th: We started class by discussing Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th - October 15th) and why it is important for all of us to understand. We had limited time because of the extra gym class, but we learned about what Hispanics are and are not. We will continue to explore the topic for the next few weeks.
One group was able to present their topic today. The kids that went did some things well and some not so well. That is ok. I asked the whole class what could be done differently and I think that they got a better idea of what a good presentation should have... we will find out in the future if that is true. |
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Friday, September 13th: We were thrown a curveball today but made the most of our time. The district is trying a new way to test the kids on Accadience. The kids have done this reading assessment the last couple of years, so it is no big deal for them. They have one minute to read a passage out loud and then one minute to try and give as many details back to the person who is administering the assessment. That being said... two of the three classes were pulled from social studies. It worked out fine. It gave the kids more time to work on their presentation. If that was done... they could work on their beginning of the year math assessment. If that was done... they could read a book. Monday will be presentation day!
Thursday, September 12th: We started class with an overview of what a good presentation should look like. I assured the kids I did not expect their work to be perfect. Creating presentations and delivering them to an audience is not easy, but the more they do this... the better they will get. To their credit, the kids put in a full day of work, and their slides and note cards look good. We will have an extra 20-30 minutes tomorrow for any cleanup and practice. Come back on Friday to find out how the kids performed!
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Wednesday, September 11th: We started class with a discussion of 9/11. 9/11 is like Pearl Harbor to us. We understand the event's importance but are not emotionally attached. We looked at what was built at the site and why it is 1,776. We looked at even taller buildings worldwide and what will be the tallest... Jeddah Tower at 3,281 ft. This building had construction stop years ago, but is back on track as of May this year. It is scheduled to be completed in 2028 or 2029. We set up our notebooks for classwork and reviewed the kid's first project. Each group was assigned a lesson that they will figure out how to teach to the class.
One World Trade Center, USA
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Jeddah Tower, Saudi Arabia
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Tuesday, September 10th: The kids use the word history and social studies interchangeably (so do I sometimes) but learned that they are not the same and what social studies is... civics and government, history, economics, geography, and culture and society. We then had some excellent discussions of why history is essential to study. There was also an overview of the expectations for the notebooks, and we got to look at many examples.
Monday, September 9th: The kids joined the Social Studies Google Classroom and had their first assignment... a pre-assessment. I explained about 50 different ways that this was not a test and would not be something that would show up on their report card. They finally believed, relaxed, and made their way through the assessment. They will see this again at the end of the year, and we will see what they have learned. We also looked at maps. Ask your kid when every map they have ever seen stinks. Hopefully, they will tell you that we are trying to peel a sphere and lay it flat. I just doesnt work.
We discussed the importance of asking questions and looking for answers on the first day of school. At this point, your child might have told you that we vear off-topic occasionally. Most of the detours lead back to the work or expand on it. Some are just a thought, and we pulled on that string. I think it is important for kids to look at the world around them and wonder. Clary Anderson Arena came up yesterday, and I asked the kid to research why it was named that and report back today. He did! Clarence "Clary" Anderson was the high school football coach from 40-69 (missed a few years while in the Navy during WWII. He won 16 championships and left with a 0.878 winning percentage. Anderson was also the athletic director, baseball coach, and hockey coach. He also started our lacrosse program in 1964, which is why we have the 5th oldest program in NJ. Other things that came up during the day in the different classes...
We discussed the importance of asking questions and looking for answers on the first day of school. At this point, your child might have told you that we vear off-topic occasionally. Most of the detours lead back to the work or expand on it. Some are just a thought, and we pulled on that string. I think it is important for kids to look at the world around them and wonder. Clary Anderson Arena came up yesterday, and I asked the kid to research why it was named that and report back today. He did! Clarence "Clary" Anderson was the high school football coach from 40-69 (missed a few years while in the Navy during WWII. He won 16 championships and left with a 0.878 winning percentage. Anderson was also the athletic director, baseball coach, and hockey coach. He also started our lacrosse program in 1964, which is why we have the 5th oldest program in NJ. Other things that came up during the day in the different classes...
- The Four Corners out west
- Roman numerals which led to breaking down the back of the dollar bill
- The Gross Clinic painting. Sounds like a joke, but Dr. Gross was the first surgeon to save a compound fractured limb. Before that... saw it off!
- Band-Aid is a brand and the product is an adhesive bandage
- How women giving birth at a hospital had their lives saved by the simple idea of washing hands
- Frank Sinatra paying almost 100% in taxes in the 1950's
- Marco Polo
- and some more that I don't remember, but these are usually the things that the kids remember
