In fourth grade, students study Jamestown and Williamsburg as part of the Virginia Studies Curriculum. Most students find it very interesting because it is the first time they have looked deeply into American history. Due to interest in the topic, fourth grade teachers have found several ways to tie Jamestown into cross-curricular activities and projects. Students have been working on two projects recently. First, using the coding application, Scratch, they are creating a game or cartoon that represents something they learned about the Jamestown colony. The project has been a great opportunity for students to synthesize the information they have learned into something personally meaningful that they can share with others. While using Scratch, students work with several mathematical concepts including: angles, degrees, and coordinates. They must also problem solve on a consistent basis during the process of coding. Second, in language arts, they are writing a historical fiction Jamestown letter from the voice of an English settler or Native American who would have been present at the location of the fort during its establishment. When finished, students will use methods to age the letters to make them look authentic.
Over the past two weeks, students have gotten to see the school's three dimensional printer create the Native American artifacts they created on 123 Design. They were ecstatic to be able to hold an object they had actually created on a computer! Overall, the maker project allowed students to develop an even deeper understanding of the Eastern Woodland Indians. Since the end of this project, some students have embarked on personal 123 design projects. The 123 Design application and printer are now resources students can use during their daily creative time.
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Brian A. Valentine
This blog will serve as a visual representation for the exciting events that occur in fifth grade throughout the 2016-2017 school year. Archives
December 2017
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