Aztec vs. Spanish Points of View

In reading, we have been focusing heavily on Point of View (first person, second person, third person-objective, limited, omniscient). I am always trying to integrate social studies into every subject and this particular standard blends perfectly! 

ELA: RL. 5.6 Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

Social Studies (MI): 5: 4.1 Describes the convergence of Europeans and American Indians in the Americas after 1492 from the perspective of each group. 

After learning about the reading skill through our reading program, we read two different accounts on the early interactions of Cortez and the Aztec empire. Using the pronouns, students identified whether the accounts were first, second, third (objective, limited, omniscient). 

If you are interested in trying this activity out with your kiddos, pick it up FOR FREE HERE!

We than did a CLOSE reading on an article that shared the misconceptions and cultural differences between the two groups. Students shared their thinking notes that they had jotted down with their table groups. 

Next, they worked on creating three different points of view from either an Aztec or a Spaniard. I required them to write a minimum of two sentences per point of view. Since fifth grade really only needs to know first and third person, I added a bonus where they could practice second person and third person limited - some did! 

Finally, they added their sentences to our class chart depending on who's POV they chose. 

 First Person POV - Spaniards

 Third Person limited POV - Spaniard

 Third Person Omniscient POV - Aztec and Spaniard perspective

In the end, it was really good for them to actually write in the different points of view and it really helped them be able to articulate "How a narrators point of view change how events are described." If you are interested in trying this activity out with your kiddos, pick it up FOR FREE HERE!

Hero or Villain: Perspectives on Columbus

Our reading program focuses on author's purpose and how that can changed the tone of a story. I like to take it a bit further and talk to the kiddos about Perspective. We also touch on biased text vs. unbiased text. This can also really help kids pick out facts vs. opinions as well as Point of View (first, second, third person). 

SO MANY BIRDS WITH ONE STONE! 

Right now, we are studying early european exploration, beginning in 1492 with Christopher Columbus (obviously he wasn't the first... Vikings and all...) There are SO many opinions and perspectives on Columbus that this works well with analyzing perspectives.
Using our reading program to catalyst the skill, we than watched three short videos sharing different perspectives on Columbus. 

If you are interested in trying this activity out with your kiddos, pick it up  HERE!

Students acted as movie critics and analyzed whether they were biased or unbiased toward the topic.
Below are the clips I used:

Biased - negative opinion toward Columbus 

Unbiased facts - History Channel

Biased - positive opinions toward Columbus

It is interesting when discussing perspectives and biases how often people (kids and adults) want to call something they agree with unbiased. Even if something is true, the way in which an author shares the information can still be biased either positively or negatively. 
Many people in 2016 agree with the portrayal provided by video one, however, the verbiage utilized causes the video to be biased negatively because they are trying to convince you that he was not the hero we thought he was ("Here is what really happened", "unleashed terror", "he was no hero") 
The second film shares facts and details but removes adjectives and phrases that show us how the narrator feels about the subject. We talk a lot about why a text book writer (which unfortunately can sometimes can have biases) or the history channel would want to share only the facts and not opinions (because they want us to create our own opinions on the subject).
The third film always shocks the kiddos due to its stereotypes, strange focus on skin color, exaggerations on Columbus, and of course, its complete removal of any issues between Columbus and the Natives. 

What I also really like about this lesson is that it helps students see the difference between hard facts and opinions which can totally change one's perspective. 

Finally, we applied our skill to literature by reading three different accounts of Columbus's journey. At this point I added the Point of View skill to our literature critic sheet. 

We did a CLOSE reading on a non-fiction article from our History Alive text book. We agreed that this was unbiased. It shared some shocking information but did not share the author's opinions or use adjectives that tried to persuade the reader to think one way or another. 

We then read the children's poetry book 1492. In this there are many positive adjectives and no reference to any native mistreatment. 

Last, we read Jane Yolan's Encounter - such a powerful book from the 1st person perspective of a Taino Boy biased against Columbus. Such incredible description and voice in this book! 

If you are interested in trying this activity out with your kiddos, pick it up  HERE!

At the end, students respond to the guiding question "How can the Point of View that the author chooses change the tone of a story?

Quadrant Craft

While studying explorers, we have been looking at many of the different pieces of technology that helped them navigate across 
oceans. One of these pieces of technology includes the Astrolabe. Originally invented by the Greeks, the Astrolabe measured the altitude of objects, determined the elevation of the Sun and stars, and also give the time and date. 

The quadrant,  a contemporary of the earlier "Astrolabe," utilized it's location components and helped determine one's position using longitude and latitude degrees. The sexton was yet another, even more modern, version of the astrolabe, utilizing the component of altitude and elevation readings making it popular among aviators during WWII. Here is a great teacher resource sharing the history of these difference technologies along with an classroom activity. 

We have been walking through our winter wonderland listening to the WALKING CLASSROOM's Explorer podcasts which have talked about them using "tools" to navigate. After one particular walk, we created our own "astrolabe/quadrants" using THIS template. Then, went outside to test them out yet another great excuse to get some fresh air.  We used them to determine the altitude of a myriad of objects including church steeples, playground equipment, trees, and even each other's heads :) 

The craft and activity went well with our previous longitude and latitude project, found HERE, where we plotted the coordinates of Early Explorer's Routes. 

Here are more Explorer Activities: 

Longitude, Latitude, and Exploration!

Before I explain what we did and how AMAZING this project was,  I must give a MAJOR shout out to Stephanie over at Teaching in Room 6 for this incredible idea! I know that she has inspired many and I have seen this particular lesson all over pinterest, so understand that I simply utilized this awesome lesson and was awed by the learning results. 

Longitude (y axis) and latitude (x axis) are extremely similar to a coordinate grid, so this lesson works great during an Exploration unit. I did a small pre lesson on plotting points which just happens to be a fifth grade math standard! What, WHAT! before diving into our major activity. After some quick teaching, we played the classic game of battleship (which I found HERE on TPT) to help reinforce the new skill. 

 After an evening of plotting while I watched the great new history channel mini-series "Sons of Liberty" a must watch, I created my own estimated plot points for the particular Explorer's travels. These I put on individual cards and placed in envelops for partner groups. Partners then had to plot the coordinates on their blank world map, found HERE, changing the colors for each coordinate set. You can purchase the coordinate cards from my TPT HERE. 

The coolest part of the whole learning project was the day we matched the Explorers to their coordinates. Partners worked together to identify which Explorer matched the coordinates by reading short biographies which are available as a freebie HERE. They then matched the correct Explorer with their travel route and color. This part was FULL of independent learning discovery! Students were utilizing so many resources including maps, globes, and their own knowledge to identify and locate countries, continents, oceans, directions, and exact locations. It was definitely one of those awesome teacher moments as I watched my kiddos focused and independently learning all around me! 

Finally, students used the information from the biography cards to write non-fiction summaries of the Explorer's travels making sure to include who, what, where, when, why, and how. 

 FINAL RESULT! 

I was so impressed with their final products! This is definitely a project that I will do again! 

Here are more Explorer Activities: 

WHY did People Explore?

I have done a lot of different activities to introduce the motives for early exploration, however, this year I really wanted to incorporate some Close reading, note taking, and summary. My theory is that if I sneak reading and writing skills into social studies I can get away with teaching it more ;0) 

 I always try to have some sort of hands-on, tangible item for the kiddos to feel, smell, use, etc. to help them stimulate their thinking. I kept those items the same which included a flag, a Bible, spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin), gold pieces, and a question mark.

This time though, I added different informational paragraphs that I found here and there that share the reasons for exploration. With a partner, the kids shared the packet of articles and used the clue item at their table to figure out which motive it matched. For example: the flag represented lands to conquer. Spices represented their desire to acquire spices and other trade items from Asia. A Bible represented the push to spread Christianity. The gold pieces represented the quest for gold and riches. Finally, I couldn't really think of an object for "adventure" so I just had a question mark - it worked :) 

Once partners had identified their object and its importance to the reason for Exploration, they then had to work on highlighting key words that answered summary questions including who, what, where, when, why, and how. These five words also were to show their evidence on why they matched their item to that reason. 

I was so impressed with how engaged and focused they all were! It definitely helped instill the 5 reasons as well as give great practice at summary, note taking, partner agreement, and reading fluency/comprehension of more challenging text. 

Here are more Explorer Activities: 

WHO were the Explorers?

We have jumped into the Age of Exploration with both feet! In the three days we have been in school thus far since Christmas break, yes, you read that right - we have had THREE snow days since getting back on the 5th!  we have gone back in time to Europe during the time of the Renaissance! 

We review that at this time in history, Native Americans are continuing to live their unique lifestyles as previously studied having no idea of what is to come. However, before discussing this eventual collision between the Old World and the New, it is important for students to understand what life in Renaissance Europe was like at this time. WHO were these men that came to the New World? This will help us understand (NOT EXCUSE!) their motives, their beliefs, and regretfully, their actions toward many Native American cultures.

I give the kids a Renaissance name and character bio card which are available on my TPT HERE. Students then study their character and practice name pronunciations ;0) before sharing the bios with the class. 

Characters include Soldiers, Noblemen and women, peasant workers, tradesmen, merchants, traders, cartographers, craftsmen, sailors, captains, wives, mothers, youngest and oldest sons, Bishops, monks, nuns, Christians, Muslims, and more! 

Very quickly, we notice a pattern among our characters. Life was NOT the same as it is today! Plague and diseases ran rampant due to lack of hygiene and knowledge of germs. Women lived with fear of childbirth and men and children often lost wives and mothers. Noblemen owned and inherited lands (well, oldest sons that is) which poor peasant families worked. The majority of the population was uneducated, there were no hospitals or homeless shelters. Practicing other religions was punishable by death - even reading the Bible was illegal in many parts of Europe. Women had little to say about their lives and were often used through marriage to increase their family's wealth and influence. Many people were burned for their beliefs and hundreds of Muslim and Jewish people were persecuted and kicked out of Spain and other European countries. If you somehow managed to make it through all of this, warring between European countries to acquire more land affected almost every group of people.  

All of this we experienced through our characters and charted on our graphs. Our discovery is that most people experienced death in a very personal way, some died, and a few were extremely against groups of people they did not like or felt were not as good.

What does this mean for the Native Americans? These were HARD men, accustomed to poverty, death, war, prejudices, and persecution. Their number one goal = survival. and nothing is going to stand in the way of what they want...

Here are more Explorer Activities: