Sunday, November 10, 2013

Living History, Guests, Brain Breaks & My Thoughts

History
Our Ypsilanti timeline is just about complete.  We have practiced reading our event and we have also discussed changes to Ypsilanti over time.  The grades for this assignment have been posted as well.  I will share our "talking timeline" presentation as soon as we collect the baby pictures from all who want to share.

On Monday, I will share the homework that the students completed about other communities in the area: Canton, Plymouth, Belleville, and Westland, etc.

Did you know...

  • The name Peking and LeRoy were also considered as names for Plymouth?  
  • Canton is named in part because of trade with China in the 1800s?
  • Westland was once part of one of the largest townships in the world?
Thank you for helping them inform, persuade, and entertain one another as we all learn history of the surrounding areas.

Special Guest
We had a special guest on Friday. The grandfather of one of our students visited. We had a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about him. Thank you Mr. Pahal!


Brain Breaks
Students and teachers take part in at least one, often two or three brain breaks a day.  We mix it up by using Brain Gym, Adventure to Fitness, and kid-friendly dance videos.  Adventure to Fitness (shown in the picture below) uses historical backdrops to get us moving.  Sometimes we pretend to toss tea into the Boston Harbor, other times we run from buffalo in the wild west.  We have also ran away from polar bears in the Arctic.  It's a pretty neat way to learn while we move.  When we return to our seats, our work is much more focused.  It is amazing what two minutes of movement can do for our minds. You can join Adventure to Fitness or you can find some of the videos online on youtube.com by searching for "Adventure to Fitness."  Brain breaks work for homework too!

My thoughts exactly

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