Where exactly are those wild things we keep talking about?!
In week two, students learned all about where they might actually be able to find some wild things: their backyard! Eastern Woodlans Indians settled all along the eastern coast and even here, in West Virginia. In an attempt to find out more about the Eastern Woodland Indians and the wild things in our own backyards, we set out on a camping trip!
Classroom environment: We wanted students to be excited about our lesson and we could think of no better way than to transform our classroom! With the help of a tent, campfire, and flashlights we were able to turn our boring, college classroom into a coloful West Virginia campsite. Setup in the back corner of the room was an exploration table and in the front was supply table. We put an extra-large poster of West Virginia on the wall with the counties outlined so students would have a visual representation. (There was also a huge movie poster of "Where the Wild Things Are"!!) Mr. Wolf and I also wore "Where the Wild Things Are" t-shirts for some added fun!
The entire hour was packed with activities for the students! We split our time with the students into an exploration, 4 stations, and a closure. We aimed to incorporate the Eastern Woodland Indian culture with the theme of "Where the Wild Things Are" in a fun, yet challenging learning environment. My partner and I knew that keeping our students' attention was going to be essential to our success as first-time teachers. Since students had already been sitting all day at school, we planned for very little inactive time in our lesson.
Station #1: In the folklore station, we turned out the lights and got into a huge tent while students listened to the "Big Chief" read a folklore legend of Seneca Rocks with the help of some handy flashlights! The students were very attentive during the story and surprised me with their previous knowledge of Seneca Rocks.
Station #3: In the housing station, students were given the opportunity to explore a real, live tipi (see picture below)! Students learned about the three tpes of housing that were associated with the Eastern Woodland Indians: tipis, wigwams, and longhouses and the evolution from a nomadic society to an agrarian society.
(See Mr. Wolfe's blog for Stations #2 and #4)
Other Activities: To stick with our Native American theme, we incorporated many small details into the lesson to give it an authentic feel. We used "Laws of the Council" as our classroom management plan. Students used the sign of the Woodraft and referred to their teachers as "Big Chief". During the exploration, students got a hands on look at animal tracks of some animals they might find in their backyard, such as a deer, fox, bear, etc. In pairs, students were challenged to match animal pictures with the corresponding animal tracks. Four stations later, students got the opportunity to have their faces painted like traditional Native American warriors during the conclusion!
A special thanks! Thanks so much to everyone who helped us with our lesson! It was a huge help to have everyone running last minute errands so we could keep things running smoothly with the students. I'm so thankful to have such supportive classmates! :)
More picures to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment