Designers
Students designed their own papeleria floor plan. This was their own ideal school supply store, floor plan. I also had them, make a report about critical current events in Latin-America, straight from a Spanish newspaper article.
Mr. Hernandez
Wall of Fame
Students changed the wall of fame board, with new projects. They put up some cool, self designed Spanish menus. They also worked on translating current events from the Latino newspaper.
Mr. Hernandez
Lets travel
Students worked on learning more common phrases used in everyday conversation, especially when traveling, since the focus of the chapter for March was the airport and traveling.
Mr. Hernandez
Love
Students focused a bit on the attribute of love. The students worked on making Spanish cards for friends and family, expressing love. We also worked on learning the members in extended families.
Mr. Hernandez
What happened in Wittenberg?
We spent time learning about how the church began in Israel, then spread to Rome, then spread around the world, and why it needed to be reformed during the Renaissance. We learned about Martin Luther and his ninety-five complaints about church abuses. Students performed skits, pounding ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany (well, we had to use the classroom 301 door). We watched parts of the movie Luther with Joseph Feinnes, and students wrote letters to Pope Leo X, arguing for Luther’s side. Students also wrote letters to friends, pretending to be Martin Luther in hiding as he translated the Bible into German.
Miss Jensen
Famous Figures
Transitioning from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, when western culture was reborn, we studied important figures such as Johann Guttenberg, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Christopher Columbus. We looked at how better science led to better technology, which led to better ships, and more exploration. Students had to pretend to be a significant Renaissance figure in front of the class and be interviewed. Students then had to guess whom each person was based on their contribution to society.
Miss Jensen
Coat of Arms
During our session on the Middle Ages, student studies heraldry. Students had to learn about the meanings of colors, shapes, and symbols that knights would wear on their shields or display above their doors. Students had to create their own coats-of-arms using Middle Ages heraldry symbols. This gave students a way to express their personality and character, as well as learn about how people lived in medieval times.
Miss Jensen
Middle Ages
After studying the Roman Empire and its fall, we studied the Middle Ages; when much learning and wisdom was lost for a while. Some students made model castles, some made posters, and some did projects on Middle Ages legends, such as Robin Hood and King Arthur. A few students studies the medical practices of the Middle Ages, inspired by our overview of the Bubonic Plague. Students reported on health practices such as blood-letting, medicinal herbs, watching the stars and planets, using frogs as medicine, and many other intriguing methods.
Miss Jensen
Catacombs
Students studied the beginnings of democracy in ancient Greece and Rome, and how these two empires shaped our culture today. Students made projects on the Roman catacombs—underground passageways where Christians would hide during Emperor Nero’s persecution. Some students made posters, and some made model catacombs out of styrofoam or paper boxes. This project also gave the students insight into the religious differences between Christians and Roman pagans, since the catacombs were also underground burial grounds, and Romans were too afraid of dead bodies to go inside them.
Miss Jensen
Temple of Dandur
After studying Ancient Egypt, the 6th graders took a trip to Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to see their Egyptian wing. Students got to go inside parts of the Temple of Dandur, learn about how mummies were made, and learn about Ancient mythology. The students were able to ask (and answer!) questions about Egyptian religious beliefs, burial practices, and daily life.
Miss Jensen