to arrive at our architecture site.
Week of February 14th~February 20th, 2012
- We discussed Mayan law, four regional trading cultures and mayan society.
- We constructed indoor desktop digs and buried card containing products from each of the four trading cultures. We included coastal communities, dry thorn forests, lowland rainforest, and upland rainforest groups. We developed an archeological 'story' for each of four dig sites, then buried artifacts to show this story. We then kept these stories a secret and traded dig sites with other student groups. The other student groups then had to dig up the clues and reconstruct the 'story' through interpretation of artifacts. This activity encouraged a lot of logical thinking and mirrored the types of puzzles actual archeologists face each day.
- FIELD TRIP FORMS are due next week. About 90% of the students have turned in their forms. Thanks.
- We started our study of the Mayan culture and archeological locations. We discussed the Mayan number system, calendar, and artifacts that could be found at places like Tulum and Palenque. Our educational video series (Voyage of the MIMI 2) shows these locations and the ongoing archeological digs of the region.
- We designed Mayan pottery, then broke it and tried to reconstruct the designs.
- We added a second element to our powerpoint projects. We are comparing and contrasting Mayan archeology with Egyptian archeology.
- We completed our study of Egypt by playing the game SENET. These went home as a memory of the archeology unit. It's a very fun game and I appreciate parents for taking the time to learn and play this game with your child.
- We started our next segment of the archeology by studying the Mayan culture. We discussed Mayan glyphs and calendar names. Our video series, The Second Voyage of the MIMI, chronicles the adventures of a boy and his grandfather as they discover a lost Mayan city.
- We continue to go outside an complete practice digs when the weather cooperates. We have also constructed some indoor desk top digs. This week we are decorating pottery, then burying it for others to find. This is very fun and educational since there are so many variables. Students can write in Native American designs, Mayan glyphs, or Egyptian heiroglyphics.
- Field trip information is as follows:
- SPECIAL NOTE: We will be going to the Outdoor Learning Center on the morning of March 8th for an Archeological field trip. Permission slips and information about the trip will be coming home shortly.
- I would like to offer chaperone spots to parents that were not able to attend our Astronomy field trip. I will only need 10 parent chaperones for this trip. If you were not able to attend the Astronomy field trip and would like to go on this one, please email me at davidpetersen@katyisd.org
- If I do not get enough parents, I will send home more information later. Thanks. :-)
- We discussed seven different ways a civilization can end and how archeologists try to solve these puzzles based on artifacts. We used ancient Egypt as our example. We discussed everyday life of ancient Egyptians and the annual flooding of the Nile River.
- In computer lab, we added to our Archeology powerpoint and completed the Egyptian phase of this project. We start the Mayan portion next time.
- We completed another archeological dig. This time we added artifacts that needed some type of interpretation. We also used coins to determine the age of the 'civilization'.
- We made our SENET board games and some students had time to play one round. These will go home soon.
- SPECIAL NOTE: We will be going to the Outdoor Learning Center on the morning of March 8th for an Archeological field trip. Permission slips and information about the trip will be coming home shortly.
- I would like to offer chaperone spots to parents that were not able to attend our Astronomy field trip. I will only need about 10 parent chaperones for this trip. If you were not able to attend the Astronomy field trip and would like to go on this one, please email me at davidpetersen@katyisd.org
- If I do not get enough parents, I will send home more information later. Thanks. :-)
Week of January 16th~ January 20th, 2012
- We discussed the Eight different categories of artifacts we could find at any archeological dig. We focused on Egypt and reconstructed life in that civilization 3,500 years ago. We looked at pictures of artifacts of Egyptian toys and games and compared these to our modern styles of play. We also discussed heiroglyphs that depicted foods from that culture. We practiced writing in heiroglyphs.
- SPECIAL NOTE: We will be going to the Outdoor Learning Center on the morning of March 8th for an Archeological field trip. Permission slips and information about the trip will be coming home shortly.
- I would like to offer chaperone spots to parents that were not able to attend our Astronomy field trip. I will only need about 10 parent chaperones for this trip. If you were not able to attend the Astronomy field trip and would like to go on this one, please email me at davidpetersen@katyisd.org
- If I do not get enough parents, I will send home more information later. Thanks. :-)
- We discussed ancient tools and spearpoints. We were delighted to have a guest speaker on this subject. Mr. Fife shared his time with each and every grade level. We used a guide to find 10 different types of points and students matched them with photos. We learned about Native American tools found in this area and some of the methods Mr. Fife uses to locate these artifacts. His collection included artifacts valued at over $6,000 each and students were able to touch many of them. We appreciate his time and expertise on this topic. What an honor to have him in our class.
- We read about stone age people in Europe and discussed some of the artifacts they may have left behind. We set up our first dig outdoors and developed methods of organizing our discoveries.
Our class dig site. We will use this site as weather permits.
We completed presenting our classroom reports on the Space Unit.
Some classes started the Archeology Unit. See the Week of December 12-16 for details.
Week of December 5th-December 9th, 2011.
We completed our wonderful field trip to the Challenger Learning Center and George Observatory. All students participated in a mission simulation to the Moon and beyond. Mission tasks included hands-on work in the following categories: Communications, Medical , Isolation Chamber, Life Support, DATA entry, Navigation, Space Probe Deployment, and Remote work with Robotic Arms. Students also enjoyed a classroom lesson and a visit to the telescopes. Thanks to all the parents who joined us a chaperones. Your help and support were ESSENTIAL in making this field trip a success. :-)
Week of December 12th~ 16th, 2011
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHEOLOGY
This week we:
- set up our unit folders
- viewed artifacts from Plymouth Colony to determine what each item was made from. Then we predicted how long each would last buried outdoors. We determined that some artifacts would last for a few months, a few years, and some hundreds of years.
- explored the question of how to reconstruct the life of a group of people from artifacts and how artifacts give only a partial picture of what really happened
- we wrote letters and pretended to be children from Plymouth Colony, Roanoke, and Jamestown. We then buried the letters and dug them up later. We used tools to clean them.
- we discussed life in ancient Egypt and started our biographical fiction projects
- Voyage of the MIMI 2: This is an excellent series about a boy and his grandfather on an archeological dig in Mexico. We will see a new episode each week.
- HOMEWORK: BRING A LARGE PAPER GROCERY BAG FOR THIS UNIT
- HOMEWORK: BRING A SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED SHOEBOX AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. EACH STUDENT WILL NEED ONE IN THE COMING WEEKS.
