Jamestown: A Horror Film

We have been studying Jamestown recently and have been having great discussion about the trials and hardships that were faced by the men who made the treacherous journey toward the official, first English settlement. 

In order to analyze the different experiences the men went through, I took the kids through an activity called "Keep it OR Junk it!" I discovered this phenomenal lesson on the Teaching Channel (if you have never checked their videos out, you are missing a FABULOUS resource!). Here is the original video of a class performing this activity (the activity could be used with any content, but this particular lesson happens to be on Jamestown - SCORE!) The activity works like this: 

First, the students read the passage alone. Then they reread the passage, circling or underlining words or short phrases that help them answer the focus question. My focus question was different then the one in the video. Our focus question was: What was life like during the early years of the Jamestown settlement? 

After they have done that, I had them pick their top ten words or phrases and write them on a sticky note. 

They they worked together as groups, seeing who had similar words. If two or more people in the group had the word then it went on their group paper. 

Once groups had gone through all their words, they choose two people from their group to perform the Keep it OR Junk it activity. The students then proceed down their list asking the whole class whether the words they have on their paper should be #1 KEPT #2 JUNKED #3 CLOUDED

The students in the room communicate with they through hand motions:
1 finger means KEEP 

2 fingeres mean JUNK 

A fist means CLOUD (which means that they are not sure and that we will come back to it) 

This activity went really well, and it was a great way to get the kids narrowed down and focused on what life was actually like in the early years of Jamestown using their own facts that they had discovered by determining importance (another reading skill integrated!) 

We have all decided that if today, one were to make an accurate video portraying the trials and hardships endured, it would easily be a first class horror film (that I quickly reminded that kids I WOULD NOT SEE. I do not do horrors - and I am quick to remind them, in my motherly fashion, neither should they!) 

Unfarmable swamp land, drought, famine, dirty drinking water, mosquitoes, diseases, inter fighting, blistering summer heat followed by an severe, icy winter, unfriendly local natives, shiploads of "gentlemen" who had never really worked a day in their life, and then there was the "Starving Time" (with even a couple of cases of cannibalism!) ... the statistics show just how forsaken and terrible it really was. By June 1610, of the possibly six hundred men left by Smith, only sixty survived... 

To demonstrate the vast difference between what the English were dreaming of when they set off for the "New World" paralleled with the reality they faced upon arrival, the kids created Jamestown Metaphors using the word and phrases we had discovered. We had been looking at figurative speech in reading so it fit in perfectly (whoo hoo integration!). I found this great anchor chart on pinterest which many of you have seen, however, I was especially excited because it goes PERFECTLY with my Jamestown metaphor because it has to do with weather and nature ... and that is what I chose my Jamestown metaphor to be as an example. 

I cannot find the original post for this chart ... only the picture pops up if I click on it. If you know where the original came from please let me know so I can give them credit!

My Jamestown Metaphor example

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Here are some of the kids metaphors - they turned out super cute and I feel that the kids really understood the concept! Some of them were really creative! {proud teacher heart}

This was one of my personal favorites! This kid paralleled Jamestown DREAM vs. REALITY with Minecraft - I loved the added touches of sticking the items down in the boxes as the "building items" 

I really enjoy showing history from a different perspective - I think that often were are taught history through rose colored glasses and forget to truly do justice to the people who lived. Many times our history books glaze over tragic stories, embarrassing moments, or areas of history we, as a nation, are not proud of. However, this kind of teaching is wrong. Not only is it disrespectful to the multitudes of people it affected, it gives kids a utopia picture that does not allow for the opportunity to truly do what history is intended to do - remind us of mistakes in the past, so that they will not be made again in the future! I'll get down off of my soapbox ;) All that to say, I love showing my kids appropriate (some content is too deep for younger students) Horrible Histories. A British based series that blends fact, reality, and morbid humor, as only the Brits can do! The kids absolutely ADORE them.
I just had to share the one I use for Jamestown.

Horrible Histories Colonisation from Rebeca Millam on Vimeo.
For more Colonial lessons and activities, visit the link below!

PLOTasaurus

I promised you a lesson on Plot and here it is!
Here is our PLOT DIAGRAM inspired by That Teaching Blog! If you have not checked this great ELA blog out, DO IT!

Notice the Plotasaurus Dino - he will come in later ...

I aspire, in each of my lessons, to utilize the I,WE,YOU model of teaching. Sometimes this occurs all together in one mini lesson with a brief teacher model, group practice, and independent work. Other times, this gradual release of responsibility occurs over the course of a few days. For this particular skill,  I opted for the "few days" since PLOT can be a tricky skill for students as well as the reading of books necessary for practice takes up a lot of additional time. 

     The first day, we reviewed the different elements of plot (4th grade standard). I had the students work together with their partner to create our plot diagram on their own using flash cards - don't forget to cover up the group chart during this activity!  

I also shared with the kids a fun way to remember that good plots are not always an even triangle (when you think about it, good books have a HUGE rising action section, strong climax, and a rather short falling action. This helps keep the reader engaged and satisfied).  Remember the Plotasaurus in the diagram? I found this cute way to remember it from a fun high school writer's blot The Epic, The Awesome, The Random. She gives some unique and inspiring "student" insight in her post "Not Your Teacher's Plot Diagram" (love it when kids think outside of the box!) 

The students also drew one in their NB as a reminder :) 

(I) The second day we read a story together - I read to them the Legend of the Hummingbird (A Mayan Legend) since we were studying early explorers and the South American Indians - I try to integrate SS and ELA as MUCH as possible! After reading the story, I modeled how to fill in the different sections of the plot using sticky notes.

(WE) The third day, I had the kids work with their partner and choose a preselected book to read together. Then they worked cooperatively to decide the different parts of plot and fill in the sticky notes, placing them on a poster board. STudents then shared these with the class. 

(YOU) The fourth day, students worked independently, choosing a book from the preselected picture books that they did NOT read already with their partner. They worked on their own smaller placemat chart which they filled in with mini sticky notes with the plot information. We then shared these with our partners.

Our reading work area - notice the kids character vs. conflict posters from my Conflict Post . Having these up and visible really helped with this lesson since the kids had to find the conflict of their stories in the plot and identify which type of conflict was occurring. 

(ASSESS) Our final day of our PLOT skills unit, I gave them a short story with the plot items listed below. After reading the story, they simply filled in the plot elements at the bottom of the page instead of the sticky notes. The kids did really good on this assessment! This last week (about 3 weeks after this actual Plot Unit - yes, I am that behind in blogging!) we reviewed elements of plot during one of our reading centers and they still have it so I am feeling good :) 

 Do you have any unique ways of teaching plot in your room? 

Characters in CONFLICT!

Finding the conflict/problem of a story can be tricky for kids and has always seemed to be a difficult concept to articulate to my kiddos ... but NOT ANY MORE!! 

Enter: That Teaching Blog and her FABULOUS sequence of lessons that teach all about they different types of conflict and plot. Gotta admit, my reading lesson plans for the week were basically just my print offs of her blog post!! The cool part about the whole situation was that she shares that she "stole" this lesson from another incredible teacher! That is definitely the neatest thing about being part of the blogging community - the willingness and desire to share so that through each other, we all become better teachers! So thank you both for your great minds and generous hearts! 

Got this from pinterest but ... I can't find out who I "borrowed" it from! 

The prep for this lesson was a little time consuming on my part - but it was nothing a little evening of Heart of Dixie couldn't turn into a relaxing couch activity! I cut out lots of pictures from magazines that demonstrated different "conflicts". At the beginning of the lesson, I handed each of my table groups a baggie with about 15 pictures inside. Their first task was to discuss and classify them together under the four types of character conflict. We also talked about conflict being  internal or external. 

 

Next, I assigned the groups a conflict type then had each student individually choose a picture and determine what type of conflict it was, whether it was internal or external conflict, and explain what clues the picture gave them to make them believe that. 

I am a HUGE fan of sentence frames/stems! Not only are the FAB{ULOUS} for struggling writers, they help give kids a framework to explain their thinking as well as offer a useful means of getting students up and running with academic language and vocabulary words and phrases in their language and in their writing.

 Then, as groups they made collages of they clippings and cards to hang on the wall. 

The kids really did a great job with this activity and were able to articulate the four types very well! The posters have been a great visual for us to remember what we’ve learned and use as quick reminders of the types. 

The Character Conflict Posters are from Beth Newingham's Website

Stay tuned for my upcoming post on our PLOT CHART and PLOTASAURUS!!! 

Columbian Exchange

Following early explorers, we have moved to the EFFECTS of the Old World interactions with the New World. Enter the Columbia Exchange, both an incredible advance for the modern world as well as one of the greatest destructions of cultures and societies known in mans history.

During this section of history I delve into issues with my kids that may seem "beyond" their 5th grade understanding. However, through the years I have found them to have not only greater insight to many of these sensitive subjects than I had perceived, I have found myself learning more from their innocent observations of a sometimes cruel humanity.
I believe that it is important for students to see all sides of events that we, as adults with our own biases and viewpoints, tend to see one sided.

We talk a lot about the exchanging of ideas, cultures, and products between the New World and Europe. I remind the kids about what we have learned about Europe and The Americas at this time. ..
16th Century Europe:

• Transitioning from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance 
• Due to religious upheaval in many European countries (Reformation) there are lots of wars and instability occurring 
• The Black Death has ravaged much of the Old World, disease is a constant friend and the average life expectancy is around 25-30 years old 
• People are hardened to wars, death, dying because of the frequency it occurs
• Because of their unity, Spain emerges as the country with the greatest investments in the New World and sends the most explorers 
• Wealth and power are determined by your belongings and your land holdings 
• New Technology is being developed: compass, astrolabe, improved transportation (particularly ships) improved weaponry
• Europe has good trade connections with Africa and Asia 
• Europe is becoming an advanced and modern continent and growing in wealth, comfort, and power ...

The New World: 

• Native tribes live spread out through the continent 
• Limited communication between the regional groups - unity is within the tribe or limited allies 
• Cultures between the different regional groups are varied and unique to their environments and beliefs
• Weapons and technology are still quite primitive compared to European standards 
• Natives are generally quite superstitious in their religious beliefs 
•  Beliefs about life center around the community and groups welfare not the individual 
• Wealth is determined by people: your family, friends, people you lead 
• Transportation is limited to canoes or small animals 
• Natives have never had contact with other continents and therefore have no immunities to outside disease 

Enter Africa: 

• Parts of Africa have made technological advances (particularly North Africa) but the majority of natives still live in isolated villages
• Major focus is on family - ancestral worship
• Have strong trade connections with Europe and parts of Asia 
• Inter-tribal wars between villages due to jealousy, fear, misunderstandings 
• Eastern Tribes have found more unity and have created larger kingdoms which impress European traders 
• Tribal wars produce captives which in turn become slaves 
• Slavery is not hereditary (children of slaves are free) and many slaves gain the opportunity to purchase their freedom or marry  
• Slave trade is already is occurring within the continent - slaves being traded among Africans East and West, with Europeans, and with Muslim traders from the East
• Gold is plentiful - salt becomes African "gold" 

These are all important things for kids to understand before diving into the clash of three worlds. It is not fair to simply give kids the impression: 

• Europeans were the only cruel and greedy people 
• Natives were always innocent and murdered by all Europeans 
• Europeans captured Africans (out of the blue) and made them slaves based on color, etc. 

The truth is, Europe came out on top because it happened to be the most powerful of the three continents due to a multitude of reasons. This phenomenon was not because they were inherently more cruel, greedier, or more evil than other cultures. The situation was economic and the reality is that if either of the opposite continents had had the same opportunities for power, we could very easily be seeing history flipped 180 degrees today. The issue here is humanity and, sadly, that ultimately greed and power destroy, no matter what culture it comes from. 

To demonstrate all of this, I take the kids through a Columbia Exchange simulation: 

I put them in three groups = Europe, The Americas both North and South, and Africa. I give each group a map of their continent and an envelop filled with natural resources as well as man made items from their continent and culture. 

I then have them categorize  these items in any way they want. 

 Next, I explain that these items both manufactured and natural resources are what they had to trade with other countries and have them sort them in order of trade value. Then, the groups walk around the other tables and talked about what they would want from the other continent's list of items. It was fun to listen to their conversations of what they thought they could trade the other continent for! "We could give them 2 horses for maybe 2 carts of pineapples, but they would have to give us the carts to make it fair"

Then, we start the Simulation:

I explain that many of the items they have traveled "accidently" between the continents and required no trading at all. These items included many livestock that the Europeans brought over Coronado brought over pigs and they multiplied in the wild exponentially!, plants, and diseases - most notably Small Pox. For a visual, we connect the "continents" with red string when items were traded. To demonstrate the severity of disease upon the native population I have a "European Explorer" from the Europe table trade a picture of copper pots with a native chief for a few natural items. As the cards are passed I explain that the European had small pox and that three of the "natives" died of it They have to go sit at the "Table of Death".  Next, the Europeans discovered how well tobacco, cotton, sugar cane, and coffee grew in the New World and sent men to farm it more students head from the Europe table to the Americas table. They "hire" and enslave Native Americans, but every time they "shake hands" the "Natives" die from disease or run away to other tribes now there are 5 kids lying on the carpet. The Europeans now don't have anyone to help them in their fields ... so they send a trader to Africa ... who it must be noted, already have slavery occurring on their continent.  I have the African "king" send some people to a remote "village" and gather slaves for the Europeans and sent them to the "New World" table. Because of all the new products particularly corn and potatoes which are coming from the New World, people in Europe are living longer and healthier lives. Students who have "died" now go to the "Europe Table" as babies that are now living into adulthood. I then had students look at the items they had acquired through the triangular trade and categorize them. They recognized that the Americas were trading natural resources or raw materials with Europe who was in turn trading back manufactured items. Africa was trading the Americas and Europe Slaves mostly for rum and weapons. 

Native American Chief bowing before the European "god" - they thought of and acted this section out themselves after using their knowledge of the Native American's perspective shared in Encounter. 

Colonial Farmer and his Slaves working on a planation 

African Chief and his much too happy slaves 

Caribbean Pirate giving a sailor the choice of death or piracy! 

We also discuss how THIS is the time of pirates that we think of- why? Because here were loads of ships carrying in essence "free merchandize." It opens up great discussion as to where they were located Pirates of the Caribbean the west Indies and how some countries particularly England, hired privateers to raid Spanish ships that were heading back loaded with gold.

Later, when we went to fill in our graphic organizer, the kids could articulate to me exactly what was happening to the cultures in the different continents after this activity. It was really cool! 

For more Explorer lessons and activities visit the link below!