Freedom Quilt

After reading several picture books about the Freedom Quilts that the slaves used to make, we learned that each quilt pattern was a secret message for the slaves that were planning to escape.

The quilt patterns, used in a certain order, told the slaves when to leave, where to go, and which paths to take. The quilts were hung over fences and out of windows. Because they looked like an "ordinary" quilt, the slave owners didn't know what the patterns really meant.

We each created our own quilt square following one of the patterns we learned about. Our class quilt turned out beautiful!

Rosa Parks

One of the famous black Americans we learned about was Rosa Parks. We learned that in 1955 she was a seamstress, and was taking the bus home after a long day of work. She refused to give her seat to a white man, and this started the historic event called the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It's hard to believe now, that people could've been treated so unfairly. We're lucky to be in this time, and in this place!

Bald Eagles

We have continued to learn about some of the United States' most famous symbols. This week it was the Bald Eagle. After reading several books about the eagle, (and discovering all of the places where we can find this symbol!) we created our own bald eagles. They turned out so great!

Statue of Liberty

We started our Social Studies unit by looking at some of the famous landmarks around the world. Now, we're zooming in a little closer to home...we have been studying the famous landmarks around the United States. Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was actually put together from 300 parts? It's just like a puzzle! We also learned that it was a gift from France, it's made of copper, and it's located in New York.

Ben's Dream

We have been reading and comparing many of Chris Van Allsburg's books. It all started with the book, "Ben's Dream".

In the story a boy (Ben) falls asleep while studying for his geography test, and begins to dream. In his dream Ben floats by several famous landmarks across the world. We created a process grid with the landmarks, why it was special, and why it was built.

From there, groups worked together to create a flowchart - a map - showing the places Ben traveled in the story.

Now that we're familiar with many of the landmarks, it seems that we see them everywhere!