Social Studies

Week 12: April 18th - April 22nd

Student began their new unit on Ancient Greece! We learned about the Geography of Greece and its natural resources, as well as investigated the many Greek Gods.

Week 11: April 11th - April 14th

We continued our work on Ancient China by creating commercials for well-known ancient inventions. Students used Flipgrid to digitally produce their work and share their knowledge. At the end of the week, a visitor from the Milwaukee Public Museum came in to present about mummies in Egypt!

Week 10: April 4th - April 8th

To refresh our memories, students created posters in groups on the topics we covered before Spring Break. Posters features titles such as the Geography of Ancient China and the Religions of Ancient China. We also learned about the achievements of this time period like the Great Wall of China and the Silk Road.

Week 9: March 21st- March 25th

We shifted our focus from Egypt to China this week. We began our unit by sharing out what we already knew about Ancient China as well as our wonderings. In addition, students learned about the four major religions of Ancient China: Buddhism, Taoism, Legalism, and Confucianism through a station activity.

Week 8: March 14th - March 17th

Our focus this week was on developing our project: Save the Exhibit. Students were tasked with the challenge of deciding which Egyptian exhibit would be the most important if our museum only had the budget for one. Students presented their proposals to the class with topics ranging from an exhibit on King Tut to the Egyptian gods. We ended our week with reflecting on what we had learned in our KWL chart.

Week 7: March 7th - March 11th

Students learned about daily life in Egypt from jobs, to clothing and even food. They wrote their names in hieroglyphics, applied for Ancient Egyptians with a mock job application, as well as compared and contrast the lives of the rich and poor.

Week 6: February 28th- March 4th

This week our class made a mummy apple. We learned how Egyptians used natron to dehyrdrate the body, so it could be preserved. Next week, we will see if it worked on our mummy apple. In addition, students learned more about how the pyramids were built and why.

Week 5: February 21st- February 25th

It is all about Egypt this week! We launched into our new unit by learning about Ancient Egyptian relgion, mummies, and the geography of Egypt. Students wrote down questions they had to spark our learning moving forward.

Week 4: February 14th- February 18th

Students learned more about early technology and other human advancements. To end the week, they presented their presentations.

Week 3: February 7th- February 10th

Students learned about early humans, hominids, and how we progressed and survived. From fire to stone tools, students were intrigued to learn about early life. On Thursday, they were introduced to our project: Postcard from the Past.

Week 2: January 31st- February 4th

This week we learned about GRAPES: Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics and Social Structures, and how these elements make up a civilization. We also created timelines about our lives to practice how to read a timeline, and use it as evidence to deepen our knowledge of the past.

Week 1: January 24th - January 27th

Welcome to Social Studies! Students learned about archeology and how historians use evidence to understand the past.

SEMESTER 2

Week 16: December 13th - December 17th

Students created trading cards for the various Greek Gods and presented their work in front of the class. To end our week, we reflected on our learning of Ancient Greece by completing our KWL charts.

Week 15: December 6th - December 9th

This week we continued learning about Ancient Greece, specifically Greek Mythology. Students split into groups of 4-5 and created a skit based on their assigned myth. We performed this Readers Theatre in front of the class, too!

Week 14: November 39th - December 3rd

We enjoyed a virtual visit from Milwaukee Public Museum this week! They taught us about mummies via Zoom. This was a great experience to connect with our community and showcase the awesome learning going on inside our class. Additionally, we began our new unit: Ancient Greece.

Week 13: November 20th - 22nd

During our short week, we watched Mulan and compared the movie to our own studies. Students answered short response questoins during and after the movie to reflect and assess their understanding.

Week 12: November 15th - 18th

We learned about the daily lives of individuals in Ancient China by comparing their social structure, to another ancient civilization that we know: Ancient Egypt! Students recognized that much of what they were learning reflected the storyline in Mulan. We learned about "the myth of Mulan" and read the story.

Week 11: November 8th - 12th

This week we continued learning about Ancient China. We gained insights into Ancient Chinese inventions like gun powder, porcelain. umbrellas, paper, and dominos. Our class even took a virtual tour of the Great Wall of China. To end our week, students presented their projects on Ancient Chinese inventions via FlipGrid.

Week 10: November 1st - 5th

Students began learning about Ancient China this week. We researched different religions in China, the geography of China, and more! We divided into groups to better understand the main religions of this civilization too: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Our groups presented their findings to the class, too!

Week 9: October 25th - 28th

Students finished their unit on Ancient Egypt this week by presenting their project: Save Our Exhibit. Topics included mummification, the Nile River, the pyramids and other inventions of the Egyptians.

Week 8: October 18th - 22nd

This week students learned about the social classes in Egypt, and the role of the pharaoh. They even completed job applications to apply for Ancient Egyptian jobs, after learning about how people worked and lived. Not to mention, we revisited our class mummy (an apple) and analyzed how the apple dried out.

Week 7: October 4th-8th

We continued exploring Ancient Egypt in class by learning to write our names in hieroglyphics. Students learned about other Egyptian inventions too, like the pyramids, papyrus paper, and the calendar. We discussed how ancient inventions impacted life back then and even shapes modern life as we know it.

Week 6: October 4th-8th

This week we began investigating Ancient Egypt. We learned about the geography of Egypt by identifying terms such as delta and desert. Students watched a mummification demo, as we created a class mummy with an apple, and researched how ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Of course, we had to enjoy some awesome Egyptian-themed music and dancing.

Week 5: September 27th-October 1st

Students continued work on their first project of the year: Postcards from Ancient Civilizations. We even had the opportunity to share our hard work with our peers by presenting our final products. Check out some of the postcards below! Also, students learned about the New Age and the inventions that came with more advanced human societies.

Week 4: September 20th-23rd

This week we tested our knowledge of GRAPES (Geography, Religion, Arts/Achievement, Politics, Economics, and Social Structure) with a competitive classroom competition. Take a look at that teamwork! We also learned about Polynesian navigators, and worked on our Unit Project: Postcards from Ancient Civilizations.

Week 2: September 7th-10th

Students learned about archaeologists, maps, and timelines to build a strong set of foundational Social Studies skills. On Friday, we also learned about 9/11 and reflected on how the past impacts our lives today.