Civilization Madness

There's a whole lot of learning going on in my classroom but I'm really glad that we have a three day weekend because there may be learning but there's not a lot of grading!!! So, what have we done since we got back from our fabulous, snow filled, extended vacation?

• Hammurabi Plays: So we finally got to perform the Hammurabi plays the kiddos wrote. We didn't get to use the stage in the caf, but my classroom is a music room so we watched them amphitheater style.

He's stealing corn:)

She was a bush!

OMG..... These skits were so funny I thought I was going to pee my pants! Academically they were amazing but I was a little amazed at how hysterical so many of them were. This project will totally remain in my repertoire. If you are interested in the project and the activities that led up to it, click here.

• We had some fun working with main idea this week. After reading an article on the Articles of Confederation, we worked on main ideas. First I had the kids write four main ideas on stickies. Then they worked as a group, shared their stickies and chose the best four best. This activity was great for modeling well written main ideas to my struggling readers.

• Lastly, we finished the six civilizations of Mesopotamia and I had read recently about using a March Madness bracket system for comparison, claim and evidence. Today I launched the activity and when they walked in I wanted to evoke the feeling of walking into an arena before the game. So first I played this...

Then I explained the bracket system and showed this.....

Then we set the matches for the first round. They looooooooved it!  When I posted this on Twitter, Dave Burgess, author of the absolutely, positively must read book, Teach Like a Pirate, said this.

On a side note, since I left my old school district, I have been accepting friend requests on Facebook for students over the age of 22.  I got this the other night and got a little teary eyed.

This is why we do it!  We teach because grown men who are married with kids still giggle when they think about your class.  I'm just fortunate enough to get a glimpse of this every now and then: )

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