CIVIL WAR DAY A SUCCESS!

This was perhaps our best Civil War Day yet.  We had a morning full of authentic learning and an afternoon learning how reanactors authentically celebrate the lives of those who sacrificed for what they believed in.  The pics below take you through the day.  Make sure to enjoy journalist Clara's interviews and sketch artist Elizabeth's sketches.  Thank you to all the parents who helped out!
Click here to see the article from the Columbia Daily Tribune.

This week we will focus on our health units, dream house projects, and a condensed TIME magazine. Students have until Wednesday to turn in their Civil War letters, which serve as an assessment of their learning.  We will have a class discussion about what we want to focus on these last 3 weeks.  With Hannibal on Tuesday, Field Day in June, and other end of the year activities we only have about 10 days of instructional time left!  The kids will not be surprised of my expectation we will learn till the last day!

CIVIL WAR DAY:

Here are a couple fun class photos:

In the morning, kids went through various learning stations such as Camp Life, CW music, CW medicine, a Ft. Sumter station, CW writing, and a station to learn about the Centralia Massacre.

A typical CW soldier tent set up at the Camp Life station.

CW authentic supplies.

CW authentic supplies.

CW authentic supplies.

Sword demonstration.

This reenactor demonstrated a 9 step
processfor shooting this antique technology!

CW music performance.

A CW song for freedom.

CW tools at the medical station.

CW medicines at the medical station.

This marker tells about the Centralia Massacre.

These are names who soldiers who died
at this battle on Sept. 27, 1864.

This memorial is to recognize
those who lost their lives.


                                                                             

During down time, students ate and played games around the campfire:

 

 


Next it was time for training for soldiers, nurses and journalists:

 

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Nurses and surgeons were very helpful after the battle:

 

The day was also remembered with drawings and interviews:

From Elizabeth's drawings:

 

 

From Clara's interviews:

Wyatt

Confederate Officer

Age: 25

What made you decide to be on the confederate side?

I was born in sc and my family has slaves.

Were you ever in the army before the war?

Yes, I went to West Point but this is the first war I fought in as an officer.

Have you ever been injured in battle?

In my leg, but never anything potentially fatal.

Isaac 

Union Officer

Age:39

What made you decide to be on the Union side?

I believe slavery is wrong because slaves are people.

When did you join the army?

5 years ago.

Do your family and friends believe the same thing you do?

Not really because they didn't want me to be a soldier.

Halee

Confederate Surgeon,

Age:18

Have you always been interested in medicine?

Yes.

Why the confederates?

My mother and father have slaves.

What is the most common disease you see?

Small pox and people that need their tonsils take out. 

Samaranjay

Union Surgeon

Age:19

Were you always interested in medicine?

Yes, many of my family members are or were doctors and surgeons.

Why did you choose to be on the Union side?

The nation should be one and the confederates did many wrong things.

What are the most common diseases you see?

Infections and getting shot, not the best medicine.

Abraham Lincoln

Why do you where your top hat?

It makes me more distinguished.

We're you very disappointed about Emancipation Proclamation?

Yes .

How long do you believe it will be until the war is over?

Early next spring.

Christina

Nurse

23

How long have you been interested in meds?

4 years.

Common disease:

Small pox

ANOTHER GREAT DAY!

Today we hiked a prairie watershed at Prairie Forks Conservation Area.  On the prairie hike we learned about how tall the grasses can grow and how their roots are 3 times longer below ground!  We saw a few organisms, even a white tailed deer.  The highlight of the hike was a guest crayfish scientist who talked to us about the Grassland Crayfish.  It is a bit different and more specialized than the crayfish we have seen in the streams. We also had a chance to talk about man made ponds and the endangered black nose shiner which lives in only a few creeks in Missouri. After lunch, we played a macro invertebrate matching maze game and did our best at identifying pond organisms. Enjoy the pics below.

Tonight there is information about Civil War day coming home. This info will help kids prepare for this Friday. On Wednesday, I will send home info about the trip to Hannibal next week.  However, I just wanted to say we all finished our book shares on time to go and families have donated enough money to take the coach bus.  Way to go kids (and parents)!

PICS FROM PRAIRIE FORK CA:

After dipnetting in the pond, we shared our results from this healthy ecosystem.

Mr. Nies caught this bluegill with his rod.  The bluegill are nesting right now so we stayed out of their area by the bank. 

Catlin the crayfish scientist told us A LOT about crayfish.

The Grassland Crayfish we saw live underground by the water tables and make burrows!

Field Sparrows freshly hatched!

TOO BUSY TO BLOG!

Spring has brought lots of great activities for our All-Stars, including Mr. Nies.  Last week, besides our usually Ecoschoolhouse activities, I also attended 7th grade camp at Lake Ozark State Park.  This will be a trip our kids will enjoy next year as 6th graders and I got to tell them a little bit about it.  With regard to our busy week, highlights included another great field trip, working on dream houses with our preschool friends, Ms. Sweeny's last day, a very wet Eco Club hike, and the 1st place Grant Generals take the championship!  I will add photos from each event throughout the day as I gather them!

Next week, we start with a field trip on Monday to Prairie Forks Conservation Area.  On this trip, we will see the habitat of an endangered shiner, hear from a crayfish expert, and locate pond organisms.  I have shortened this field trip to end about 1:15 so we can make it back before afternoon weather.  If any extreme weather is forecasted we will cancel this trip and we also have the option to end at lunchtime.  Students know to dress for the weather and bring their own lunch.

Academically, we will focus on our condensed TIME magazine, continue our dream house project, finish our water cycle learning, start our nutrition/endocrine health unit, and finish the our Civil War learning.  Our Civil War learning will finish with our field trip to the Centralia Battlefield on Friday.  There will be a lot of information and reminders coming home to get kids ready for that trip.

Enjoy these pics of our fun-filled learning week:

Good bye Ms Sweeny, thank you!

At Rock Bridge we started at the Grasslands Trailhead, the top of the watershed.

We hiked to a pond to observe and learn about many pond organisms like tadpoles (with legs) and damselflies.

We observed this salamander which will leave the pond as a newt and return again to reproduce as a salamander.

Then it was time for some spelunking in Conner's Cave.

This in an amphlapod, a very sensitive cave organism.

We saw many tri colored bats in the cave and discussed White Nose Bat Syndrome and how bats are important to ecosystems.

After lunch, it was down to Gans Creek at the bottom of the watershed.  We viewed thousands of organisms from tadpoles to crayfish to snakes!  Many more than the amount of organisms we saw at Flat Branch.

This baby snapper was a highlight...

as was this beautifully colored pickerel frog.

On Friday, we visited preschool friends to help inspire our dream house designs. 

 

 

Master Bedroom

These architects added a catapult and other security feartures!

A castle with fighting lions and tigers!

A spider web ceiling!

Walls and patios!

A Candy house!

A Princess house!

These towers also included a lot of security features!

THESE ARE A FEW 5TH GRADE DESIGN PLANS:

 


GO GRANT SCHOOL GENERALS: