Historical Movement
In the spring of 2022 we did an in depth study of the Civil War. Students were asked to consider the events of the time period from multiple perspectives. We read about the Battle of Gettysburg, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Take a look at what we created along the way…
Essential Questions:
Essential Questions:
- How can we use dance and movement to tell the story of important events in American history?
- How can we use the dance/movement of non-white groups to share their perspectives of historic events?
- Why is it important to study history from multiple perspectives?
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This video shows our progress after only a few days of work. The fourth grade teachers and students had the pleasure of working with Mr. Wilfred, a professional choreographer who was instrumental in our progress on the performance stage. In these videos our fourth graders are dancing the Virginia Reel, a barn dance that was a popular way for soldiers to pass the time during the winter months when weather conditions made it impossible to fight. This video shows our final project which we delivered in a theater where 400 excited friends and family members enjoyed our efforts.
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We learned about Harriet Tubman and her influence on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, runaway slaves used quilt pieces to tell the story of their journey North to freedom. Often times these quilt pieces contained messages and clues to help warn fellow slaves of the challenges they would face on the run. Our students recreated common quilt pieces from the era and proudly displayed them in our classroom window for other grades to enjoy.
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Fourth graders were asked to write a perspective letter intended to tell a loved one what their life was like during the Civil War. They could write as a soldier, a nurse, a farmer or anyone else who might have contributed to the war effort. They also had to explain their perspective as a resident of either the North or South.
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Project in the works...
Next year I’d like to design a project centered around community gardening. I first developed an interest in this while watching students during the school lunch hour. I’ve noticed that at every grade level kids casually throw away perfectly good food with little regard for the consequences. I’d love to find parents and family members in our community who can help us at every level of this project from building food planters, helping us garden and preparing a meal with the food we produce. Essential questions will include:
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