 No magic spells  No secret weapons  Just…how it’s worked for us

 508 students  Pre-K through 5 th grade  Open-space classrooms  Not departmentalized  45-50% Free and Reduced Lunch  Suburban school set in a small town  1 principal and 1 assistant principal  37 teachers  11 Instructional assistants

 Study Guides for every unit  Textbook- Our World Far & Wide  Interactive Notebooks › Locate key vocabulary words › Define key vocabulary words › Locate examples (past and present day) › Relate social studies to real life › Picture representation of important facts  My Ancient Greece Book › Student created take home book

Interactive Notebook Example

My Ancient Greece Book Page 1

My Ancient Greece Book Page 2

 Weslandia › Fiction  Hour of the Olympics – Magic Tree House › Fiction  Ancient Greece and the Olympics – Magic Tree House Research Guide › Nonfiction

 6 elements of a civilization › Food/water › Clothing › Language › Jobs › Shelter › Entertainment  Project Based Learning activity

 Look at the group folder for instructions.  Decide as a group how you will create a civilization, including the 6 elements needed for survival.  You will need to explain how you created each element.  For example: If you drink coconut milk, how did you get the coconuts? How did you get them open?  Be prepared to present your civilization to the group.

Letter Name 1. map 2. water 3 land 4. ocean 5. salt 6. key 7. globe 8. large 9. earth 10.grid Within Word 1. globe 2. ocean 3 north 4. south 5. east 6. west 7. ocean 8. compass 9. large 10.water Syllable Juncture 1. hemispher e 2. northern 3 southern 4. eatern 5. western 6. globe 7. compass 8. rose 9. direction 10.equator

 Tuesday – Choose 5 words and draw a picture to show the meaning of each word.  Wednesday – Choose 5 words (not the same words from Tuesday) and write a sentence that uses the word and shows the meaning.  Thursday – Choose 5 words and tell what you learned about each word in social studies.  Friday – Write all the words in ABC order. Practice cursive below.

 “Olympic” games › Javelin throw (pool noodles) › Toga race  Craft › Olive branch crowns › Decorate your own shield › Greek alphabet scrolls with their names  Food › Olives Grapes Wheat crackers › Baklava Feta cheese Mozzarella cheese › Olive oil pita breadHumus › Dates Apricots Variety of nuts

 Griot visit  Traveling History Box from the History Museum  Outreach activities from the History Museum  “My Ancient Mali Book” and “My Ancient Rome Book”

 Kindergarten- › Social Studies SOLs taught around alphabet letters and the calendar.  For example, famous presidents are taught in February. › TIME for Kids subscription  Great to read and discuss at school and then send home with each student.  1 st Grade- › Brainpopjr.com (GREAT site!!!)  A website that our school has purchased a license for and all grade levels use. It has short video clips along with quizzes, games, and activities. › Movies/TV shows to show the past › Content based books for reading  Citizenship books  No, David series to help teach government SOLs  Example: Economics Unit- Bunny Money and A Chair for My Mother  2 nd Grade- › Content based reading trade books (when possible) › Amazement Square field trip (Lynchburg, VA) › Hands-on projects  Examples- rice crispy maps, towns created from toys, Indian villages with natural resources, etc.