We will start the year off learning about communities. This is a great opportunity to teach about the importance of working together, understanding different types of communites, and exploring your own community.
We will begin by discussing the three types of communities, rural, urban, and suburban. Your child will then take part in building a map that represents these three areas.
Along with communites, we will discuss character building incorporating songs and dance moves!
Our next social studies unit is colonial America. This is one of my favorite units, because the kids have the opportunity to research different characteristics of colonial life. During the next 5 weeks, your child will learn about how the pilgrims dressed, where they lived, the type of food they ate, jobs they had, how they entertained themselves, their education, and some laws. In class, we will make quill pens and blueberry ink, and the students will put together a pocket book of all the attributes of colonial life. On October 23, we will enjoy having a guest speaker come and tell us about colonial life. During this visit, we will be rotating classrooms where the kids will be able to experience hands on what it was like to be a child during this time period. Finally, the students will create a photo story displaying all of the information they have learned.
Maps and Globes
The title of this unit is fairly self explanatory. However, there is enough information and activities to fill five fun (educational of course) filled weeks. During these five weeks, your child will work in groups to construct a large map that displays a compass rose with cardinal directions, a map key with symbols, and a title. Your child will also make a passport that enables them to travel all over the world to different continents. At each stop, they will learn about that continent and enter their information into a travel brochure. Your child will finish the unit by constructing a paper mache globe.