2. Study of Culture and the Ancient Mediterranean for Fourth and Fifth Grade
The Randolph School
2012
Big Ideas:
I. Cultures develop to meet human needs, but different cultures meet these needs in different ways
depending on their environment. (Environment includes geographical and climate factors,
history, and interactions with other cultures.)
II. Cultures are influenced by previous cultures and our US/Western culture was greatly influenced
by Ancient Greece and other ancient cultures of the Mediterranean.
Subquestions.
I A How did the cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean develop in response to their environment and
human needs?
I B How did the cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean meet human needs?
IC How does our culture meet human needs?
IIA In what ways is our own culture similar to that of Ancient Greece?
Questions and Activites:
What are human needs and how do they go beyond just survival?
Students create a chart of human needs including food, water, shelter, spirituality/cosmology,
child rearing, and the arts. This chart is used as the basis for investigations into the ways cultures meet
needs.
How did the transition from the hunting and gathering lifestyle to the farming life style change the way
people lived and lead to the rise of cities?
hunter-gatherers to farmers
half the group takes the role of farmers and half hunter-gatherers
after reading some information about their role they write about the advantages
and disadvantages of each lifestyle then each side tries to convince the other that their
lifestyle is the best
afterward students write a paragraph about the transition to farming and how it changed
peoples' lives (more settled, communities, some people can do things other than get
food, you are dependent on the weather in your area, more stable and consistent food
supply) the beginnings of cities
3. Ancient Mesopotamia
What were some of the contributions of Sumerian civilization?
Cuneiform – Students make clay tablets and write cuneiform numbers with styluses
Students read about the Sumerian civilization and its contributions and answer questions
Students write a paragraph about Sumerian contributions
Students may choose to further investigate the Sumerian empire as part of their research.
Where was Mesopotamia? Where did people settle in the area and why?
Students are given a blank world map on which to circle the area surrounding the
Mediterranean Sea.
Students are given a blank outline map of the area known as the Fertile Crescent
and label the bodies of water and the major cities and civilizations in Mesopotamia by
referencing other maps.
Students are asked to identify the reasons people settled where they did. They
learn about the need for irrigation systems.
Students also receive a map with more detail of the Mesopotamian area and
locate the important city-states of Sumer.
What were the first civilizations that existed in the Mesopotamian area and what came after them?
Given a series of dates and events in the early history of Mesopotamia, students
place them on cards which are colored-coded according to the civilization
(Sumeria/Akkadian empire, Babylon, Assyria). They then place them in the appropriate
place on the timeline chart.
What were the important contributions of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires?
Students use reference books and articles and work together to create a chart of the
important contributions of these two empires.
Students listen to a small portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh. They are given an outline of
steps in the Hero's Journey and, using a synopsis of the story, fill in the key pieces of information about
the hero Gilgamesh.
Students may choose to investigate Babylonian and Assyrian contributions further as part of
their independent research.
Ancient Egypt
Students are given key dates in the history of Egypt and place them on a colored background then put
them up on the timeline. Then answer the question:
What other civilization existed in the rest of the Fertile crescent at the time that Egypt was growing?
Using the same blank outline map of the area known as the Fertile Crescent as earlier,
students label the bodies of water and the major cities in Egypt by referencing other
maps.
4. Students are asked to identify the reasons people settled where they did by
looking at the location of Egyptian settlement in relation to the Nile River.
What were some of the Ancient Egyptian ideas about the afterlife (spirituality)
Students have previous knowledge of the ancient Egyptian practice of mummification
and are asked to consider the reasons the Ancient Egyptians may have developed this practice.
Students view tomb art and artifacts on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. They
report back to the group on what they have found.
Ancient Greece
The Minoans and Mycenaeans
Students locate key areas of settlement on the Mediterranean and to the North and North East.
Students receive a blank outline map of the areas that became Greece and Rome and
locate the island of Crete as the home of the Minoans. Students label the Minoan cities of Knossos,
Mallia, Zakro, and Phaestos and the Mycenaean cities of Troy, Athens, Mycenae, Pylos, Sparta and
Knossos. They use two sheets of transparent paper, one on which to indicate Minoan cities, and one on
which to locate Mycenaean cities.
Students listen to a telling of the legend of King Minos and identify the key characters. (Including the
beginnings of the Minotaur)
Why might the Greeks have told this story? What is named for the princess Europa?
Students discuss ideas and identify the story of King Minos as a kind of creation story.
Is there a lesson in this story? If so, what is it?
Students view pictures of the Palace at Knossos both as the legendary home of the Minotaur and an
example of a Minoan palace. They write about what they found interesting about the palace. Since the
palace was a real place and the minotaur a legend, why might the tellers of the story have placed the
minotaurs maze there? Discussion.
Classical Greece
Students learn about Ancient Greece and how they solved human needs:
What came before Greece and what happened at the same time in nearby areas?
Students sort and place key events in the history of Ancient Greece on the existing
timeline. They relate these events to other civilizations in the Mediterranean area.
Where was ancient Greece?
Using another transparent overlay, student locate key Greek city-states and colonies on
the area map.
Students are then asked to relate Greece to Minos and Mycenaea in terms of location.
How do Homers tales the Illiad and the Odyssey relate to the dark age of Greece?
5. What happens in the Illiad and the Odyssey? Students read a brief synopsis of the tales or
adaptations of the Odyssey. Students use the same hero's journey format as they used for the
Gilgamesh story to identify key events of Odysseus' journeys.
How can stories help us learn history and what do we need to consider in using stories as a historical
reference?
Students who have read the Odyssey answer the following questions:
What parts of the story of Odysseus can we identify as mythology and legend (part of
spirituality and cosmology) and what parts might relate to actual historical events?
Given that Homer wrote the Odyssey in the 8th
century BCE and the events were supposed to
have taken 3 or 4 centuries earlier, how might Homer have come to know the story?
Do you think that Homer's work was written as a work of history?
What can we learn about Ancient Greece from these works?
Students share their work with the group.
How did Classical Greek culture meet human needs:
throughout this section, students keep a chart with the needs we discussed earlier:
Food
Water
Shelter
Clothing
Children -play and education
Spirituality/Cosmology
Roles and leadership
the Arts
They are given questions to help them recognize these aspects of society.
What kinds of food did people eat in ancient Greece?
Students prepare and serve some foods that would have been eaten in ancient Greece.
What kinds of homes did the Greeks live in?
What kinds of clothing was worn in Ancient Greece?
Students use the Ancient Greek paper dolls to learn about clothing.
Students make a chitons for themselves to be worn at our Ancient Greek Day.
What toys did children have?
Students research Ancient Greek toys and create several toys for our Ancient Greek day
Greeks myths and legends.
Each student learns the story of one Greek myth/legend and presents it to the group.
Roles and leadership
Students learn about the birth of democracy in Greece.
6. Hold an Ancient Greek day where we serve ancient Greek food, wear chitons, play ancient Greek
games and tell ancient Greek myths and legends. This could be done as part of our culminating
exhibition for parents/families or at another time.
Students research and write a paper about either one Ancient culture comparing it to our own culture
OR research and write a report about one aspect of life in Ancient times across three or more culures.
They do a five minute presentation for the group highlighting a particular aspect of what they have
learned and incorporating some kind of visual aid.
Together the group completes a chart with ways they have noticed our culture has been influenced by
ancient cultures, particularly Ancient Greece.
7. Philosophy of Elementary Mathematics Education
Developed at The Randolph School
2012
Here are some of my priorities as a math teacher
The school year is a journey that begins with children’s current knowledge, skills and concepts and
moves each student forward at a comfortable yet challenging pace. During the year student needs and
enthusiasms will emerge and be incorporated into the curriculum.
III. Ensure that all children have a firm foundation in the basics of mathematics including a strong
sense of number, a complete understanding of when and why to perform mathematical
processes, an awareness of math as a problem solving tool, and fluency with basic operations
and facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
IV. Children must be familiar with all the ways in which we use language to describe mathematics.
When we discuss mathematics as a group, we are able to uncover all the different ways in
which we use language in math.
V. What do children already know? How can we connect this to new knowledge?
By reminding them of what they already know, we move forward on more secure ground. In
effect we are telling the brain where to store this new knowledge so that it may be accessed
most efficiently.
VI. Real-world hands-on experiences should be intertwined with “pencil and paper” mathematics
We begin with a discussion of the project – what do we know, what do we need to know, how
can we find out. Once students understand what they move on to gathering data and performing
calculations A group discussion follows. Is this a situation where we need an exact answer or an
approximation? How will we know if our answers make sense? What will we do if our answers
don't make sense? Once we have completed our project, each student would summarize (in
writing and speech) how we figured it out. We are able to assess both individual and group
understanding.
VII. Students, parents and teachers need assessments of what is being learned and how much
progress is being made. Having this knowledge at the end of the year does little good. In order
for assessment to drive curriculum (as it should) we need on-going assessment. This can be
in the form of a write-up (as above), homework, or self-tests. Classroom discussions let teachers
examine student thinking about math.
VIII. There are a lot of ways to solve mathematical problems, and students can and do
develop their own methods, however, they still need to know the traditional methods.
IX. Memorization is only one method for making math facts automatic. Some students are better at
memorization than others. Some students need to understand the “why” before they understand
the “how”. Other students want to know the “how” and that helps them learn the “Why”.
Students are individuals and need to be taught in the way that works best for them.
As the year progresses we continue to practice what they know and move forward to more abstract and
complex mathematics.
One way to practice math facts and to let children recognize what they know is to hold periodic "Math
Facts Activity Times". These are held four or more times during the year and consist of "stations" as
follows:
8. 1. Dice Roll - Children work with a partner. They are given two dice which can be regular 1-6 dice or
any of the polyhedral dice that have numbers up to 100. The process to be used (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division) can either be specified ahead of time or another die can be used which
includes the above processes. One student rolls, the other solves the problem presented.
2. Paper and pencil math facts - Students have the same multi-page packet of arithmetic equations. On
the top there is a place for their name, the date, the number of problems completed and the number of
problems correct.
3. Card practice - Two children work together. They select an operation to practice then take turns using
a deck of cards in which they turn over two or more cards to determine the numbers they are to perform
the operation on. One child solves the equation, the other says correct or incorrect.
4. Any other type of manipulatives can be used to present the parts of the equation. this includes
computer programs which are set to the student's levels.
Children are given a set amount of time at each station. In the paper and pencil facts section, they write
the amount of time on top. When they have completed the time, they spend the next section correcting
their work and filling in the heading. This gives children ownership of their learning. They can
compare their results to their previous efforts to actually see their growth.
The use of dice, cards, and other manipulatives to determine the equations is motivating and allows an
element of chance which the children find exciting. The teacher sets the numbers on the dice and cards
depending on the children's needs.
9. Fall/Early Winter 2011 – Water and Weather Study
Developed at the Randolph School for Third, Fourth and Fifth Grades
note: this paper was originally presented to parents as a preview of the upcoming study. The activities were
located with each question, however, I have separated the activities and moved them to the end in order to make
it easier to read at a glance.
An integrated study starts with big, essential questions and incorporates all the curricular areas
(social studies, science, literacy, math, the arts, community building and social-emotional
learning). This curricular approach allows students to gain skills, knowledge and understanding
within a meaningful context. They build connections as they ask and answer questions such as,
“What do we know?” “What do we want to know?” “How do they know” “How do we know?”
“How do we find out?” “How do we communicate what we discover?” Our children are
learning to be researchers.
Essential Questions/Concepts
How do water and weather affect our world and the people in it?
How and why do people use, conserve, and waste water?
X. Understand that clean, fresh water is a limited natural resource.
Subtopics and Questions
1. Where does our water come from and how do we use water?
2. What are the differences among salt water, fresh water and clean (potable) water?
3. Why is water important? How do people use water?
4. What is the relationship between the water availability and the seasons and rainfall?
5. What is the difference between climate and weather?
6. How does climate affect the availability of food and water in different parts of the US and
world?
7. What causes big storms?
Planned activities under each question/topic
Please note: The following list of activities is by no means exhaustive. There will invariably be
additional activities and inquiries that blend with, lead to or follow from each of our
10. investigations. The outline is a map, allowing us to gauge progress and keep to our goals even
as we adapt to the needs and interests of the group and take advantage of learning opportunities
that may arise.
1. Origins and usage
XI.Families keep track of their water usage for three days and students combine
information from their households to create a picture of how we use water.
XII. Create water usage categories as a group.
XIII. Distinguish between using and wasting water. (Discussion, examples)
XIV. Discover the path water takes to our faucet. (Research - children find out where
the water in their house is from - ie. well water, municipal water and water supply
XV. The water cycle – create a water cycle game where the players are drops of water
moving through the water cycle.
XVI. Evaporate water, observe condensation, follow water through the states of matter.
XVII. What is a watershed? What is ground water? (Discussion?) Make a map, write a
story about a water “drop” that travels from the Atlantic to Hunter's Brook. (Groups
choose different ways to illustrate the water cycle.)
XVIII. Hike to Wappingers Creek to see the source of Hunter's Brook.
2. Salt water vs. fresh water
Beginning with distilled water, add different amounts of salt to create models of “brackish”
and salt water.
Evaporate salt water to see what remains.
• Using online resources, globes and maps, students consider how much fresh, clean water
is available in different parts of the world.
3. Water uses
• Create expanded list of uses of water.
• Experiment with plants – three identical plants water on a different schedule – track
growth – write lab reports. Tie to agriculture.
• Dehydration – compare dehydrated, re-hydrated and dried foods in terms of weight.
Why do people dehydrate food? What about transportation?
• Use maps and on-line resources to examine Earth's water - how much of it is salt water?
How much water is undrinkable due to sewage, industrial waste, run off from agricultur
• Why does the human body need water? Why do people need water? How much water do
we need?
• How is the world's water shared?
• Read about the challenges faced by people who do not have readily available potable
water. Report on organizations helping people get access to water.
11. 4. Water availability, seasons and weather
• Take daily measurements of water level and water temperature in Hunter's Brook.
• Record measurements, observations, and tidal and moon phase information in science
notebooks/journals.
• Gather data from other researchers (567s group) and combine with our data.
• Display information graphically.
• Draw conclusions about the relationship between air temperature, rainfall, tides and
water temperature and water level.
• Use annotated photography as a method of scientific record keeping.
• Present information and conclusions.
• Write and listen to poetry about creeks and woods.
4.5.6 Water, weather, climate around the US and world
• Where does weather come from?
• Compare climate and weather data by looking at historical records of weather for
different climates.
• Each student will select one world climate zone and report on the location, climate, flora
and fauna of the region.
• Use USDA zones and first and last frost dates to calculate the length of growing season
in areas of the US. Students pick a US location and report on growing season and major
agricultural products.
• Examine the climate zones of the earth, the seasons, and the movement of earth through
time/space.
• What causes hurricanes, tornadoes, nor'easters and other storms?
• How do they name, predict and track storms?
• Make “tornado tube” demonstrations models.
• Research historically significant storms and their impact.
• Brief presentations on particular storms.
Although this list is arranged by topics, questions and activities, one could equally arrange it by skills/
For example, scientific inquiry, research, writing, editing, presentation skills, map reading, listening
skills, arithmetic, graph creation and reading, analyzing data, etc. Focusing on activities and questions
makes the acquisition of skills a necessary part of achieving a goal. This helps motivate the children to
develop their own knowledge and skills. At the end, we help children recognize their learning through
portfolios of the year's work, comparisons of work at the beginning of the year with that at the end of
the year and by including time for reflection at the end of each project by each student. We ask - what
did you learn? What can you do now that you couldn't do before? We also help children identify their
strengths and interests.
We combine individual, small group and large group activities to help develop interpersonal skills and
individual self-reflection and to take advantage of social learning.
12.
13. During the course of the year, students write at least three research papers. They are also asked to select
important parts of their papers to present, either to the group or to families and guests at an exhibition.
Each study culminates with an exhibition of some type, These include "museums" where students act
as docents, dramatic productions and books.
During the course of each study, students are able to practice their presentation skills by teaching their
individual or small group topics to the larger group or to groups of younger or older children. Before
we do any presentations, we guide the children in the skill of providing appropriate feedback. Students
may also write short fictional pieces based upon their research or reading.
Students are given direct instruction on evaluating research. This includes finding sources,
documenting sources, taking notes, citing sources, using notes to write a report. Students are required
to use at least one print source of information. In addition, we brainstorm a list of possible resources
that the children can refer to as they work.
When writing, students are asked to either create an planning outline or to write a "rough-rough draft".
They are given a variety of methods for creating an outline including traditional and non-traditional
methods. Learning styles are taken into account.
Children are asked to edit and rewrite as many times as necessary to achieve a final draft. They are
given a rubric ahead of time that allows them to see what criteria will be used to judge the result.
In addition to these longer research projects, students have the opportunity to produce smaller
documents and presentations during the course of the study to help educate their classmates.
The following is an outline used early in the year to help students get started.
The introduction to an essay or paper should:
Reports are written in the third person. Which of these is an example of writing
in the third person?
XIX. I went to the National Museum of the American Indian which is in
New York City.
XX. The National Museum of the American Indian is in New York City.
XXI. Did you know that the Museum of the American Indian is in New
York City?
14. XXII. My class went to the National Museum of the American Indian.
Who is your audience?
How is a written report different from a spoken report?
What will you put in your introduction?
When you write a rough draft, should you worry about spelling?
