The Adventures in Mrs. Ripp's Room

Fantasy Map

Now that you know the parts of a map, you need to create your own map!  This fantasy map needs to be a made up island with at least 10 different places or buildings on it.  It needs to be colorful and creative.  Spelling, capitalization and neatness counts.

Please remember to include:

• A Key/Legend
• 5 natural landmarks
• 5 man-made landmarks
• Compass Rose
• Scale of Miles
• Title and Labels

You will make a rough draft of your layout before you create the actual map.  The rough draft has to be approved by Mrs. Ripp.  Work time will be in school this week and perhaps part of next week, however, if time is not used wisely then it will become homework.

The maps will be put on display in the hallway.

On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, we will be having a “Cheese Tasting Party” as a culmination to our Wisconsin Dairy and Agriculture unit in Social Studies.  To make this activity a success, we need your help!

A note home listing the particular types of cheese needed will be sent home tomorrow. If you are able to contribute cheese for our party, please circle at least two choices you would be willing to supply.  Once I have received all the responses, I will send you a note back, letting you know which type of cheese you will be responsible for.

Then, on Tuesday the 26th, please send enough cheese, cut into bite-sized pieces, for each member of our class to sample.  We have 24 students.  I’ll supply the crackers.  If you have a particularly stinky kind of cheese, please make sure the pieces are cut into small pieces.  If you would rather donate small plates, napkins or toothpicks please indicate so on the sheet.  Also, if your child is lactose intolerant please let me know.

Please contact me if you have questions or concerns.

The third annual cheese tasting was a definite success thanks to all of the incredible support from parents.  Thank you so much for helping me provide this experience to the students.

The room was made to look like a restaurant, complete with bad lounge music playing in the background, and I am happy to say that most students certainly acted as if they were in a restaurant.  We tasted more than 20 cheeses and there were some deinite surpirse likes for the students such as goat cheese and queso fresco.  The winners of our taste tests are:

Best:  Pepperjack

Strangest: Limburger

Worst:  Limburger (more than 50% of the vote)

Have a great long weekend and maybe you will try a new cheese this weekend as well.

  The students have been asking amazingly specific Native American questions as we have learned about the early tribes in Wisconsin.  We therefore decided as a class that it would be more fun to do some form of a research project than to just read about it all.

  The students have therefore declared what they would most like to know about and how they are going to show me what they have learned.  Students will be researching their chosen topic all week in class and may also find research at home.  If students decide to build something as their project, they must supply all materials themselves.  We think this should take about 2 weeks to finish, so Monday, December 13th is our tentative deadline.

Some of the topics suggested for research by the students:

• Food traditions
• Housing
• Transportation
• Broad view of a tribe
• Evolution of tools
• Native American battles
• Hunting
• Origins of Tribes
• Crop Growing
• Rituals performed

Proposed Types of Projects:

• Models
• Skits/plays
• Venn diagrams with a written report
• Research paper
• Posterboard
• Glogsters
• Cooked food

Most of the work will be done here at school and students have chosen whether to work together or in a group.  I am very excited for the direction of this project and think it will be very valuable for all of the kids to get to choose their own topic.

Spicy popcorn, wigwams, tipis, corn bread, blueberry muffins, bow and arrow, Aztelan homes, sugared apricots, and many other things were all the results of the students taking control of the Native American research and project.  To say I am impressed doesn’t even cover the level of genuine excitement I have about what the students mastered today.

Coupled with these wonderful projects were the presentations that began today.  Students all have to present their research in some shape to their classmates, plus be able to answer questions and engage an audience.  We discussed what the difference is between listening and active listening and stopped when the students felt the audience was becoming unengaged.

From the moment we started this project, I knew this was a different way of learning and one that would either be wondrous or disastrous.  I should have trusted the students completely because they have once again blown me away with their commitment to their projects and their hard work.  This is definitely a form of project we will try again.  And don’t worry; pictures are coming soon!

Here is what the kids said after we finished our simulation today:

Antony thought it was fun and loved the salt dough.

Abby thought it was hard to leave for home.

Hannah said that she liked the skit and how we got to pick our own projects.

Karina liked that they got to make the crafts and it was hard to decide who had to leave for Prophetstown.

Erik war surprised that Tenskatawa didn’t wait a month to attack.

Anna thought the projects were sometimes ahrd and sometimes easy, but her favorite was the clay pots, and it was hard to choose who had to leave.

Aidan really liked carving the weapons out of soap.

Nathan liked that they got to yell “attack” and get their land back.

Jordan liked making the salt dough pots.

Sarah liked yelling “attack.”

Andrew really liked convincing and talking to the different tribes.

Caitlynn liked making the deer clothing and going to Prophetstown.

Tess loved making the deerskin clothing and wants to be a shopping bag for Halloween.

Lewis liked being Tenskatawa.

The Heritage Fair

 
It is time to introduce one of the highlights of 4th grade here at our school: the Heritage Fair!  This project, detailed below, is mostly done at home with a due date of Monday, March 28th.  The actual big event, The 2nd Annual Heritage Fair, will be held in the multipurpose room Tuesday, March 29th at 1:00 PM.

Details:
This project is a chance for students to research the first person in their family that came to Wisconsin from another country.  For some students this may mean a recent immigration, for some it might be Native American roots, and for others it may be several generations ago.  The focus should be on one person or one side of the family.  

The information should be presented on a tri-fold poster board (the ones that can stand by themselves), and a culture craft should be brought in for the fair.

Immigration Project Frequently Asked Questions:

• What should students hand in after spring break?
  • After spring break, so Monday March 28th, students should hand in their finished poster-board and a filled-out culture craft sheet (to be provided).
• On Tuesday, March 29th students should be ready to present their information as well as show off their culture craft.
• What is a culture craft?
  • A culture craft is something the student will create to represent their culture, these will be showcased at the heritage fair.
  • Ideas for culture crafts include (but are not limited to):
    • Make an ethnic food specific to your country.
    • Create traditional artwork specific to your country.
    • Construct a toy or craft used in your country.
    • Bring in or wear traditional clothing worn in your country.
• How much work will be done in school?
  • Very little!  We do not have access to the information about your heritage, so students will mostly work on this at home.
  • There will be several check-ins starting in March to answer questions and ensure everyone is on the right track.
• So what is the goal of this assignment?
  • For students to learn more about their heritage and what brought their families to Wisconsin.  
• What if one ancestor came to America and another came to Wisconsin?
  • Put them both on the poster!  The more information the better, but even if you are not completely sure of the specifics it doesn’t hurt to add it.
• I have a great idea for a culture craft, may I do it?
  • Speak to Mrs. Ripp and I am sure we can approve it.

• What should be on the finished poster?
  • The country your heritage is from
  • The world map showing your country (will be provided) or you may make/print your own.
  • The flag of your country
  • Bullets or facts about your family’s heritage such as when did they come to America, who came over, where did they land in America, how did they get here, why did they come to America, when did your family come to Wisconsin and why?
  • The more information you put on your poster the better it will look.  You are aiming for an informational poster that is neat and fun to look at.  Spelling counts!
• How big should my poster be?
  • This has to be on a tri-fold poster since it will have to stand by itself behind the student as they present.  If you cannot get a poster, please speak to Mrs. Ripp.
• My family does not have any traditions that stem from our heritage, what shall I do?
  • Just state on your poster what some traditions are from the country and then say that your family does not maintain any of these traditions, no big deal.
• My family has mixed heritage, what do I focus on?
  • Focus on the person that first came to Wisconsin.
  • If it was a couple or family that came together then write about them all.  
  • This should be about your family, their history and where they come from - not the country that they came from.
• My family does not know a lot about its heritage, what do I do?
  • Put on there what you know!  
• When is the Heritage Fair and who may come?
  • The Heritage Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 29th at 1:15 PM.
  • Parents, grandparents, siblings are, of course, invited.