Elementary Express: Community

Reading Together!

Working on Word Families in groups

This week, in social studies, and in everything, we focused a lot on being a positive and supportive community. We started out the week with a bang, or a boom, as we enjoyed having Ghanaian Sawah Mensah and his drumming ensemble from Macalester College come to our school and perform for us. We learned lots of new things about drumming and how the drums are made, and what dances are performed with the songs. What a phenomenal exhibition of art in the form of music and dance! The students were enthralled; there wasn't a dull moment. I would love to have taken pictures for the blog; however only the official photographer and videographer for our PCS weekly newscast were allowed to take pictures and videos. As the week continued, we learned more about measuring in both inches and in centimeters and meters. It was a hands-on experience, and the students really seemed to enjoy it. Probably our favorite part of the week, however, was our time learning about communities. Students partner-read a portion in their social studies books about communities, and then were challenged to come up with a rap, poem, or song that represented community. I videod the students and was hoping to put up the videos on this blog; however the files are too big. I hope to show you at conferences! I do have one example of pictures and a short poem about community from one pair of students. Finally, we learned more about Inauguration Day in Washington D.C. Students learned about the solemn oath that both the President and Vice-President Elect have to take, and learned about what their schedule on Inauguration Day looks like. We spent lots of work on flip books that contain lots of information about these important political positions. Hopefully we will have time to finish them next week! Well, we sure packed in a lot of learning for a short, 4-day week! Next week will be another 4-day week, as there is a Teacher Workshop on Friday, January 27th. Looking forward to another week filled with days of strong learning! Have a great weekend!