MR. Brewer
HUMANITIES - SOCIAL STUDIES/LANGUAGE ARTS
This week, on Wednesday June 12, students of grade 4 visited Heritage Park. Heritage Park is a living history museum located in southwest Calgary. The atmosphere and the genuine interactions with the staff at the park made many of the lessons we have learned in class come alive. Staff at the park dress as people would have done in the 1890s or earlier. The group of students I toured with asked many amazing questions at the First Nations teepee. We learned that the animal on the teepee was an otter. We also saw obsidian tools. It was amazing to discover that obsidian was traded all the way from the Yellowstone area of what is nowadays the United States all the way up to Alberta and that making obsidian tools took so much dexterity and skill. This extremely sharp volcanic rock was used to make scrapers for cleaning buffalo hides and weapons. The highlight of my visit to the park was simply listening to the many questions my students asked. When students got answers they asked follow up questions too. This impressed upon me the fact that so many students were actively listening in social studies class when we talked about the voyageurs, First Nations culture and early settlement of the prairies. I very much wish to thank parent volunteers who came along with our grade fours. The giving of your time is so appreciated! I really believe it was a wonderful day because the weather was so splendid and there was so much to see and do at Heritage Park!! The visit really gave our students an opportunity to learn more about the lifestyles of early settlers to Alberta and how this experience has contributed to and enriched Alberta’s history. In class we learned that soddies were made by early settlers from natural resources found in Alberta and that they were warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Students saw a soddy at Canada Heritage Park and estimated its size. During much of the week students continued to work on their Y.E.Ps (Year End Projects). This project is titled "The ABCs of Grade Four". It is an overall review of the year. In class we often alternated between doing this project and a country research project. We are having a Multicultural Festival for students to celebrate diversity and to familiarize students with many of the diverse groups of people who have arrived in Alberta during this century and the last century. The festival will be held on the morning of Friday, June 21st. Students in all grade 4 classes have been researching a country during humanities classes this week. They have found out various facts about the country they are researching such as the type of music popular in the country, its flag, its traditional clothing, religion, etc. Students have been working in class on a poster or tri-fold to display their information. All students will get an opportunity to see the work of their peers as well as showcase their own work. Along with the information and display, they have been asked to bring in something to represent the culture of their researched country like food, clothing or an artifact. This should be something authentic, like finding out about a recipe and making it to bring in to share, instead of drawing a picture of it. Students do not need to participate in bringing something in if they can’t find or make something, but will still need to present their learning at the Multicultural Festival. Pictures from Heritage Park:
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