Williamsburg Call and Response Songs

          Below you will find the call and response songs written and performed by students to the tune of an African-American slave song called "Juba."  I asked the students to create and perform these songs to show the different aspects of colonial Williamsburg during the 1700's.  These turned out great!  I was so impressed with their creativity and their rhythm!

This first video is about the Governor's Palace and government in colonial Williamsburg.

The Dame School and the education of girls in colonial times.

Life as a craftsman, specifically a shoemaker in Williamsburg.

Church life in colonial Williamsburg

Life as a student at the College of William and Mary which wasn't really a college at all, but a school for boys.



Week of December 12-16

Upcoming Test:
Social Studies Test over Williamsburg (chapter 9) on Wednesday
Please encourage your child to take the online to tutorial.

Sing-a-Long
We are having our annual holiday sing-a-long on Thursday.  Our class will be joining Mrs. Stump's class in a round of "Feliz Navidad," so I am requesting that students bring in sunglasses and a scarf to go with our dance moves.  Please send these items tomorrow if possible so we can have a "dress rehearsal."

Holiday Party
Our holiday party will be on Friday at 1:00pm!  Mrs. Purdy and Mrs. Lossin are working hard to make it a blast and I can't wait to see what we end up doing!

Winter Break
Enjoy two weeks at home with your kiddos after Friday!  I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here’s what we’re learning this week!
Social Studies:  We are wrapping up our unit on colonial Williamsburg.
Math:  We are beginning our annual holiday shopping spree this week!  This is a fun, realistic way to have the kids do pretend shopping on a budget.  They will learn to calculate tax, make economic decisions, and determine what percentage of their money was spent on each person.
Word Study:  Some of the kids are still confused about possessives so we are doing some review over these rules.
Writing:  We are continuing to write genre pieces and we are beginning to draft them on the computer this week.
Reading:  The kids will be having their final lit. circle meetings, working on literature circle projects and presenting them later this week.  :o)

Week of December 5-9

Husky Helping House Reminder:
Please send in any purchased items for Husky Helping House no later than this Friday, December 9th.  Once again, I'd like to thank you all for your generosity!  Our child is going to have a wonderful Christmas!  If you happen to have any clothing boxes or unwanted wrapping paper at home, please send those in as well.  We are going to have a wrapping party with Ms. Poteet's kindergarten class next week.

Girls' Night Out:
This Friday is Girls' Night Out from 2:30-4:00pm.  If your daughter signed up to attend, we will be staying after Friday to paint nails, eat pizza, and make friendship bracelets!  It's going to be a lot of fun!  If you have not signed up, but would like to the cost is $25, as this was my Harmony Harvest auction item. 

Upcoming Tests:
Facts Quiz on Friday
Word Study Quiz over Possessive Nouns on Friday

Here's what we're learning this week!
Social Studies:  The kids will be given the opportunity this week to experience the daily life of a colonist in colonial Williamsburg by visiting stations that are set up around the room which require them to do activities colonial people would have actually participated in during the 1700's.
Math:  We are still plowing through fractions.  I am working hard to review each concept over and over as we go because this has been somewhat intimidating for the kiddos.  This week we will be delving into how to convert fractions to decimals and percents, which will set the stage for a fun project next week!
Word Study:  Our focus this week is on possessive nouns.
Writing:  Upon the completion of our recent open genre study, I have noticed that the kids need a lot of practice on paragraphing.  Therefore, we are going to do another genre study where we really focus on using paragraphs effectively.
Reading:  Literature cirlces are in their final stages and by the end of the week, each student will be assigned a literature circle project to complete to demonstrate their understanding of the novel they read.