Social Studies

It’s the Final Countdown!!

We are in our final stretch and the students are rockstars! Students have worked hard to perfect their speeches in the classroom. We have practiced rehearsing with partners so they feel comfortable with the speeches. I recommended that they practice for short periods of time a few times a day over the weekend. Students may have index cards or their speech paper close by during their presentations. Students should not wear their costumes for in class presentations unless they will be absent from the actual wax museum date. I will also have written prompts on our back board. (Hello my name is, As a child, Some facts about me, I am famous for, I changed the world, Something that was hard for me, I died on, If you’d like to know more about me) Students must have their presentation boards completed on or before the date they are to present. You may see the 3rd grade website for rubrics as well as some examples. (in class presentation times are below) 

The Wax Museum Exhibit will be held on Thursday, February 12th from 8:30-10:45AM in the lunchroom. The students should come to school in their costumes and any props they want. We will take attendance and head down to the lunchroom for set up. The doors will open to families, friends, and our fellow SSM students/staff at 8:30AM. All are welcome and I encourage you to see not only your child’s presentation but others as well. After our last patron leaves, we will clean up and go back to the classroom for dismissal. Students will be dismissed from their classrooms at 11AM. 

I hope you and your child have enjoyed learning about someone new. I hope that this project has started some deep and meaningful conversations with your child and given you time to bond over learning. You have chosen to send your child to a school that wants your child to have a desire to learn not just in the classroom but in life. I hope that has overflowed into your homelife. I hope your child feels proud of the hard work he/she has done. I hope he/she feels strong and empowered to continue to do hard things and learn more.

Speeches and Boards

Hi Families!

We are entering into the next section of our project. This week students will work in the classroom to write speeches for their historical figure. These are brief 1minute speeches to showcase the most important/interesting facts students have learned about their historical figures. They will be written in first person. I will model and coach students in the classroom. Speeches can be typed, handwritten, or even written on flash cards. I will show examples in the classroom tomorrow. Speeches are due on the 23th (Friday) so I can have them graded and returned the following Monday. Students will continue reading their books and looking online throughout this week as well. 

Students will need to purchase a presentation board. The presentation boards should be a trifold about 36”x 48”. I will show examples with the grading rubric on Wednesday in the classroom. After the students and I go over these expectations and practice grading a few, I will send the rubric to you as well. 

What should be done at home? Keep reading with your child if they are not finished with their book. Talk with them about what they feel is their person’s greatest achievement. How did their historical figure help or inspire others? These are the most important questions to answer.

II. Read and Record

The next few weeks will be reading and recording facts in class. We will learn about reputable sources versus non reputable sources. We will practice sorting facts into categories to aid in organization of information. Students are to rewrite facts in their own words as best they can (we have talked about what plagiarism is and some consequences for plagiarism as they get older). 

Students should have a book and a folder for their wax museum. The folder has 4 sections to organize information. We will review the categories daily in class. If students are unsure what category to place a fact, I have recommended that they write the fact on a notecard and place it in their folder. If you are afraid of it falling out, put it in the bibliography envelope. I have also had students use their notecards as bookmarks until they are ready to sort.

Life: When/where HF was born/died/grew up, family life, hardships, etc

Contributions: Why is HF important/famous, what contributions did HF make to their field/society/the world, what would/could have happened if HF was never around

Fun Facts: interesting facts about HF that may not fit in contributions

Bibliography: Where did you find your information (book: title of book and author) (website: site name and searched words ie:duckster.com/louisarmstrong) One notecard per source. 

Below are some things students can look for. I am also attaching the template for the students’ speeches. We will have time to work on these in the classroom,  but I know some students like to work ahead. I will send out another newsletter next week about presentation boards. I want to show students some examples before they get to work on it. Right now I would like students to focus on reading, recording facts, and talking with you about their costumes. We still have plenty of time before the presentations and the presentation boards should really be complete after students have gathered all of the information they will be presenting. 

Checklist of information

• When was my person born?

• Where was my person born?

• What were my person’s parents’ names?

• Did my person have siblings?

• Did my person grow up rich or poor?

• What was my person’s childhood like? 

• Did my person go to school?

• What kind of school did my person attend?

• Was my person ever married?

• Did my person move when they were older?

• Did my person have children?

• What did my person do for a living?

• Did my person invent anything?

• How did that invention help others?

• When did they invent the invention?

• Did my person build anything for others?

• Did my person make any discoveries? 

• Did my person help the poor?

• Did my person spread the word of God?

• Does my person have a feast day/ national holiday?

• When and where did my person die?

• What made my person famous?

• Did my person make the world a better place? 

• How did my person die?

Is my person still alive today? Where do they live, what do they do with their time?

Did my person overcome hardships (money, bullying, illnesses)