Third graders traveled halfway around the world and back - all in a day in TARGET! Last week, we took a "daycation" to ancient Greece and Rome, where students made passports, completed a travel guide to learn about each civilization, viewed an educational video, sampled Mediterranean cuisine, saw some authentic Greek "souvenirs" at the market, and even wrote postcards to friends and family back home! While making a timeline, we found that ancient Greece happened before ancient Rome, as students learned the meanings of B.C. and A.D. We also made relief maps and learned all about the continents and map skills.
This week, we began our Values and Beliefs unit with an introduction to Greek and Roman mythology. We learned that myths are creative, made-up stories created by ancient cultures to explain why things happened. After creating their own unique mythological characters and reading creation myths from various cultures, students created watercolor masterpieces of either the Greek creation story or their personal belief about creation. Next week, we will "meet" some interesting characters from Greek and Roman myths!
My 4th graders enjoyed using the laptop computer lab for the first time! They explored a very interesting art website, where they learned about color theory, explored the art of crime detection, and even created short videos! Check it out: http://www.alifetimeofcolor.com/ (Go to "Play") Students in 3rd and 4th grades will get an opportunity to use the laptop lab for an hour once every five weeks during morning work. We will also use it during other times of the day to create projects and explore educational websites and webquests. Learning with technology is so much fun!!!
