American Studies   Primary OSP

Week 12

Today was our last day of class! We celebrated with Kris Kringle gifts from our classmates. We also played hangman and did a United States puzzle to get an idea for all the places we have been exploring through tales.

Enjoy Christmas Break!!!

Week 11

This week we talked about James Coode and the Calverts in Maryland. We learned how there were two persecutions of Catholics in Maryland and we discussed how the Marylanders dealt with each. We also discussed the plots of the infamous William Claiborn and the pirate Richard Ingle.

HW - Bring your Kris Kringle gifts to our next class!

Week 10

This week we talked about the Dutch settlers again. We listened to the tale of Rip van Winkle. We then talked about the history of Henry Hudson and the Heave Mean, their voyages and their terrible winter iced in on Hudson Bay.  We learned about the mutiny onboard the Heave Mean in the spring and how Henry Hudson, his son, and five sailors were marooned in Hudson bay. We learned that it is these five sailors who reappear as the little Dutch men playing ninepins in the mountains according to local legend. We then talked about the different theories, according to Indian tales and pertinent archeology, as to what actually happened to Henry Hudson and the others who were set adrift. We then discussed the first thanksgiving and the strange american food they made. We discussed the character of gratitude which almost always appears at feasts and celebrations and how the modern age has forgotten how to be grateful and how to celebrate. Quite possibly these two phenomena are intimately related. We then worked on a word search and enjoyed the nut brittle that the teacher brought in honor of the great Tony Beaver, inventor of peanut brittle.

HW - pgs. 53-57 in Easy Grammar. 

Week 9

Today in class we switched gears. After following the Jesuit fathers and explorers from New York, through the region of the great lakes, and down the Mississippi river to indiana; we moved to the carolina, west virginia, kentucky area. We heard two tales from this area, the tale of Tony Beaver and the tale of Daniel Boone. We talked about Daniel Boone for a while. Then we united our American studies and Science classes, learning how the migration of buffalo through the Appalachians enabled the exploration of Kentucky. Then we talked about the yearly migration of passenger pigeons through the USA and how it would have been experienced in the Kentucky of Daniel Boone's day.

HW - pgs. 48-51 in Easy Grammar

Week 8

This week we followed Father Marquette down river to Indiana and Ohio and to learn about Johnny Appleseed. We read a poem about his life. We discussed the extent of his travel and other historical facts about him. We talked about why he decided to bring the apple tree to the settlers moving west, and the development of trees as a symbol of America. This led us to cover the place trees hold in the early American consciousness. Finally we talked about some legendary or not tales of Johnny Appleseed and discussed the danger of making a caricature of oral tradition.

HW - pgs. 44-47 in Easy Grammar 

Week 7

As the children were covering the Dutch colonies in history and we were also celebrating All Saints day as a school, we talked about St Nickolas in this class. We listened to a tall tale from New Amsterdam about a memorable eve of St Nicolas. We talked about certain miracles and tales of St. Nicholas, including his right hook for the honor of Christ at the council of Nicea. Then we talked about St Nickolas day traditions. 

HW - HW: pgs. 39-43 in Easy Grammar. 

Week 6 

This week we learned about Father Marquette and the founding of the St Ignace mission. We discussed its history and the loss of Father Marquette's grave, along with the original mission site, and its rediscovery in 1855's. We also learned about the incredible exploits of Bishop Baraga also known very fittingly as the Snowshoe Priest. Toward the end of class we listened to the story of St Kateri Tekakwith and her incredible journey to Christ.

HW - pgs. 33-36 in Easy Grammar. 

Dear All,

as Joan noticed there was a misprint in all the Primary syllabi. I am resending the American Studies syllabus below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17FoFqxn5Ko0EoHmbzebRjslcBfX6Tj6uUbBNjbc5DE8/edit?usp=sharing 

Week 5

Today  we talked about Michigan!!! We traced the footsteps of Champlain and Cartier to the great lakes region. Once there we discussed the Michigan flag and its unique historical background. We finished by talking about the history of seamanship on the great lakes and learned about the stirring battle of lake Erie.

HW - No homework this week. Enjoy your break!

Week 4

Today in history class the children learned about Coronado, Cortez, the Aztec empire etc. In literature class we followed the travels of Coronado from Mexico to south west America and heard two tales associated with both locations.  We listened to the tale of Tia Miseria, and the tale of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola.

HW - Complete pg. 19-23 in Easy Grammer

Week 3

This week we learned about Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadelupe, patroness of the Americas. We started class by singing the hymn to Guadelupe. We then talked about symbolism in the tilma image and reviewed the story itself. We also decorated and colored images of Our lady of Guadelupe to pray before.

HW - Compleat pg. 16-18 in Easy Grammar.

Week 2 

Last week we had a substitute teacher for class. You all learned about Cristopher Columbus with Dr. Russell!

HW - Complete pg. 10-14 in Easy Grammar.

Week 1

Hello All, 

Last week we learned about St. Brendan and his voyage to the America's

HW - Complete the assigned easy grammar sheets. For those who did not have the book I made photo copies of the pages. However, I was not able to print the last two pages, and the assignment was therefore changed from pages 1-7 to pages 1-5. We also issued ourselves the challenge of working on/learning to write in cursive.