Ancient Egypt PBL Winners

 In an attempt to make learning fun in the time of Covid, I did my first PBL (Project Based Learning). Students were given a packet at the beginning of the Ancient Egypt unit that they needed to be working on all throughout the unit. The goal was for students to pretend to be a museum curator. Their job was to find a way to encourage people to visit their museum. Their final product was a commercial that a real museum curator from the Ross County Historical Society judged. The winners are below! 

Book Tasting

 Covid did not stop us from having a fun time while learning! Here the students are enjoying the nice ambiance of Bishop F's Bistro. They enjoyed a four course menu of 4 different books to "taste". This book tasting helped students decide on their final class novel. This time around I decided to do book clubs instead of having the class read the same novel. Students chose their novel and were placed in their book club based on their choice. They then met every Friday to discuss the book.

Socially Distanced Hammurabi's Court

 Another socially distanced activity was the Hammurabi's Court activity.  After learning about Hammurabi's Code, students were assigned court case scenarios that would have happened during Ancient Mesopotamia. They then had to help the judges (me and the aid in my classroom) make a decision including punishment if necessary. Here we are with the judges in their judge robes. So much fun!

Socially Distanced Skit

 During the second school year of Covid, we were able to be face to face from the start of school. Unfortunately that meant we had to be socially distanced the entire time. I wanted to get the kids involved as much as possible in their learning so here is one of our socially distanced activities! A skit the students wrote for their religion class! 

Prek

 The first year I taught at Flaget, I taught Prek. I had a blast and the kids did too. Here are some of the fun things we did! Unfortunately this year was the beginning of the shutdown. We had to do virtual learning for the rest of the year and have our Prek graduation ceremony through Zoom. We made the best of it though!

The rules we made together.

Stem! They had to build their tree and see how many "apples" could fit on it.

We wanted to see if blubber really helps keep cold animals warm!

Building a shelter for our arctic animals.

Building a bridge over water.

Field trip to the Jones Farm pumpkin patch!

Trying to build the tallest tower!

Trying to build the tallest tower again! We loved working together!

Teacher Evaluation

Teachers are evaluated often in my school. Here is a wonderful evaluation I received that I am very proud of.

Winter Time!!!

Teachers were asked to decorate their door for the Christmas season. Here is my door!

Math Activity: Tiny House

I found this really great resource, that was completely FREE! Students designed and created their own tiny houses, in the process, found the area and perimeter of their Tiny House as well as all the objects inside. This was a fantastic project, and the kids loved it!

Math Activity: Finding Perimeter

In my math class, I like to do as many projects as possible. One of the projects I did this year was a scoot activity. Students were paired up and went around the room finding the perimeter of various objects I had set out. Each object was labeled with a number. Students worked with their partners to find the perimeter, using a ruler, for each object.

Classroom Management

My teacher team created a point system where students earn points throughout the day that equal to a Grizzly Buck. Grizzly Bucks can be spent once a quarter. Students can also receive negative points, resulting in detention if they receive 5 or more. Now that we are at the end of the second quarter, and students know the expectations and rules, the number of negative checks have decreased to 4.

In my classroom, students can earn the VIP seat, where the student with the most points at the end of the day can earn the seat. They get to use special supplies and sit separately from everyone else. They also have their name written on the VIP board for every class to see. The students seem to really enjoy it. Asking at the end of the day, who has earned it for the next school day.

Ancient Egypt

I LOVE teaching about ancient Egypt! This year has been a little different because we did a "Wonder" project. Students came up with a topic, brainstormed an idea and implemented how they wanted to express their learning to their parents in our annual Spring Celebration!

I've been trying to find a fun way to explore ancient Egypt without spending all our time reading the textbook. One thing I found was this Virtual Field Trip! It has multiple interactive links that is super fun and interesting!

Classroom elements

Changes to a Self Sufficient Morning

I have recently implemented a few changes in classroom, mainly making it self sufficient. I have also begun using bell ringers in the morning, these are places in a certain location every morning, it is up to the student to get it in the morning when they get to school and follow the directions. These bell ringers are completely done by the students, this gives me a chance to get other things done in the morning. Students work on their bell ringer every day, then I ask that they get on the laptop to do either Newsela or Typing Club. Newsela is nonfictional texts that students can read at their reading level, then take a quiz on it. Typing Club is a website that teaches students how to type. Since we do alot of stuff on the laptops and we have no computer class I thought this would be a great way to get some technology into the classroom that allows us to use our time more efficiently by typing faster. Typing Club allows you to set up your class on their website and monitor students progress. The kids love it!

Newsela.com

typingclub.com

Some other changes I have implemented for a self sufficient classroom is through the use of jobs! I have added a few new jobs today to help me out in the morning. They are Reading Log checker, Bell Ringer Checker, and Sweeper. This is the first year I have asked students to read at home and have some sort of organization to it. We created reading logs that must be signed every night, the Reading Log Checker goes around in the morning to see if their reading log has been properly filled out with parent signature. Then I will check the weeks reading log Friday and enter it into the grade book. The second job I created this week, Bell Ringer Checker, goes around and checks the bell ringers and initials my name on it. I will then check these on Friday as well to be added to the grade book. I modeled both jobs the first two weeks of school so students knew what I expected. The last job is sweeper, I just got a new little vacuum that is adorable! I am having one student vacuum the class at the end of the day after everyone has picked up. We discussed how to properly take care of it and put it away.

I am feeling so much better about this year!

Helpful Resounces

newsela.com

Typingclub.com

frontrowed.com

gmail

edmodo.com

quill.org

great website that has a ton of resources for middle school reading

website I am using for a very low student

The social studies website I have been using for 6th grade. It is all online but can be printed.

curriculum for 5th and 6th grade ELA. FREE!!!

Medieval Feast

Today is our medieval feast! The kids helped decorate the classroom with hanging "tapestries" (table clothes) and a tower next to our door. The students are bringing historically accurate food for the feast, from ham and cheese, to sparkling grape juice and fruit. Earlier this week we learned about table manners of medieval Europe, what medieval Europeans ate as well as how they dressed. Some of the resources I used are posted below. The kids chose a king and queen as well as other, lesser roles, such as lords, ladies, princesses, and princes, we even have a few serfs. The students chose their roles. The roles they have chosen will determine where they sit at our feast, with the king and queen sitting directly in the middle. During the feast we will be using silver plates, cups and spoons (no forks!). We will also enjoy some medieval music by The Kings Singers who made music for the enjoyment of King Henry VIII.

Medieval Feasting: Hands on History

The Kings Singers

An Evening With the Tudors. A How-To

End of the Year Medieval Dinner Party

I would love love LOVE to throw a Medieval Dinner Party during the last week of school as a way to celebrate the year as well as end the unit on Europe in the Middle Ages with a bang.

I am currently brainstorming what I would like this party to look like.  I have found costume ideas, food, and a lesson on manners during the middle ages found on TPT. I have been thinking about maybe having games as well, that will depend on how long the dinner takes.

I would like to make this a sort of end of the year project, where students have to research how each social class lived, including how they dressed, where they lived, and what they ate. I was thinking of sectioning the students off into each social class, but we will see. I am so excited! I feel like my mind is going a mile a minute! I LOVE learning about the Middle Ages and I am so excited to share my love of it with my students. I want to make this something the kids will never forget!

Other useful resources:
Fonts to use for invitations.

Design your own crest. (for classroom decorations)

Some books to read as a class.

Coat of Arms; meaning of colors and symbols

Illuminated Letters

presentation of medieval art, music, and coat of arms

Types of Government Project

Before we start the economics project, I have decided to take a week and focus on types of government. I have placed the students into groups and have allowed them to choose their government type (if there was a dispute they paper, rock, scissored for it). I gave them a rubric and an overview on the first day, then they got to work brain storming. The projects they are coming up with are fantastic! One group is going to do a mock election for democracy. Another group is going to dress as a queen and princess to present monarchy.

Types of Government Project

Name______________________________________     Date_____

Members of Group_________________________________________________________________________

Type of Government _________________________

Overview

You will be placed in a group of 6 students to work on a project to further our understanding on different types of government. We have learned about four types; monarchy, dictatorship, democracy and theocracy. Each student in the group must participate in the project or their grade will be harmed. The rubric below states everything needed to get full credit. Everyday you will explain to me what your group worked on in order for me to give you participation points for that day. You must be sure to complete the daily progress sheet and turn it into the tray to get the credit.

Rubric

**** Bonus**** 3 extra points for dressing up

_____  /5 Include name of government.

_____  /5 Who rules in your type of government?

_____ /5  How do they get their authority?

____   /5  What are the limits on governmental authority and the rights of citizens?

____  /5   Give an example of your type of government.

____  /25 Points

** Bonus 3 points if you dress up**

Because this is a group project, and has a lot of independent work, I figured it would be a good idea to find a way to keep track of their progress each day. I decided to use a daily progress sheet for the students to fill out before the end of the class, this way I can see who is working and who isn't as well as what they have done and what they need to do.

Daily Progress    ***MUST TURN IN FOR PARTICIPATION CREDIT DAILY***

Name_______________________     Date__________

What did you do today?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What did your group members do today?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What do you still need to do?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am so excited to see the end product!!!

Some of the students work.

Weo

I just discovered a wonderful online tool that I am very interested in using. I have not done much with it yet, but I wanted to save it for later. It seems fairly user friendly, and you are able to post assignments that will be automatically graded! You are also able to connect to other educators, which I find very useful and interesting. I am excited to play with it more and see if I can incorporate it into my classroom, I will probably end up choosing one of my classes to be the guinea pig for this website. I am currently looking into whether or not they have an app.

Weo


*** I could not find an app:( ***

End of the Year

                                                     


As the year is winding down, I have decided to do less tests and more projects. The 6th grade has already taken their end of the year test so we will be going more in depth in subjects they struggled with. One of those subjects is economics. I have found some really great resources to do some in depth projects to better understand the topic. This is an entire unit on economics, where they will choose their occupation, home, and vehicle. These choices will help students understand the benefits and consequences of our financial choices.  The link takes you to TPT page, where it is $8.00.
STEM Economy Simulation Unit
I also found some fun easy activity pages for students to do during down time. This link is also from TPT and it is $3.00.
Economics Activity Combo Pack

In 7th grade we are currently learning about Ancient China. I found a great resources that has everything you would need for a project on Ancient China. It includes the steps needed to be taken in order to be successful, key words that would help with research, as well as websites students could use to find the research.  This resources is FREE!
Ancient China Project
Another great resource from TPT, is an interactive notebook for Ancient China. Unfortunately its $4.50, but it has a lot of great interactive activities for the students to learn more in depth about the subject.
Ancient China Interactive Notebook

***Note***

Students loved the STEM Economy Simulation Unit! They said it was their favorite project of the year. Here are some pictures.

Group Projects

Today I introduced my concept for a group project I want to try out with my 7th graders. It is an open-ended project, where students can basically do what ever they would like for the project. The past two weeks we have been studying Chapter 12,  Early Civilizations of the Americas. The civilizations get a little confusing, therefore I have decided on projects. First I made a list of what they could do the projects on:

The people of the Northwest Coast

Iroquois

Plains Indians

Peubloans

Mississippians

Hopewell

The Adena

Aztecs

Maya

Inca

Next I allowed them to form their own groups, maximum of 4 students. After they formed their groups, I ripped up some paper with the numbers written on them, 1-10. I went around and had each group choose a number (the numbers were face down), this will be the order in which they will get to choose from the list above.

This is an open-ended project, so I will allow students time to brain storm what they would like to do for their project. Some examples are: make a totem pole for the Northwest Coast people, do a research project, make a poster, create a slide show, build a tipi for the Plains Indians, draw a trade route from the Hopewell to Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, build a replica of Serpent Mound, draw or recreate the legend of the Aztecs, recreate the Mayan game, or build a replica of Machu Pichu.

I have never done an open-ended project before, so I am a little apprehensive as to how this will go. I am excited and hopeful that the students will come up with something creative and thoughtful.

This is the rubric I made.

Rubric for Early Civilizations of the Americas

Project Title:

_______________________________________________

Members of Group:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject of Project:

The People of the Northwest Coast _______       Iroquois ________        Plains Indians ________

Puebloans ______          Mississippians _______        Hopewell _______         The Adena ______

Aztecs ______          Mayas ______          Inca  ______

Member Evaluation:

1. Did everyone work equally as hard? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What responsibility did each member have in this project? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why did you choose to do this project? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why did you choose to do this civilization? ________________________________________________________________________

Rubric

	5 Point Answers	3 Point Answers	1 Point Answers
Name of the Civilization	Include name and location of civilization	Include name only	Include location only
Where they lived	Include where they lived, and what they lived in. I.e. next to a river, in pueblos	Include where they lived only	Include what they lived in only
What they ate	Include what they ate and how they got their food. I.e. They ate corn because they grew it, then preserved it.	Include what they ate only	Include how they got their food only
Explain relevance of project to course of study	5 Sentences, capitalization, punctuation, spelling and grammar all correct	3 Sentences, capitalization, and punctuation all correct, some spelling and or grammar errors	1 Sentence with poor grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization
Front page of this Rubric Filled Out	All questions are answered with thoughtful responses	All questions are answered with generic responses	Not all questions are answered

Comments:

/25 Points