The third-grade class enjoyed starting our new block on Shelters Around the World this past week. Beginning with a well-known shelter from the Hebrew Creation stories, we shared the story of Noah’s ark. The students were amazed to learn it is estimated to have taken Noah and his family 52 years to build the ark! They drew the ark and copied a verse from the book of Genesis as we talked together about the most widely read book in the world, the Bible. Our next story centered around the Tower of Babel, not just the building itself, but how, according to the Hebrew people, we lost the use of a common language for communication, thus changing how people were able to relate to one another. We then began our journey to different regions of the world. Looking out our own window, we could connect what we saw and better understand why Laura Ingalls’ father had built a log cabin from the forests around him as we remembered the story of The Little House on the Prairie from last year. It helps to center us as we discuss how people around the world historically used the materials they found around them to build their shelters. After revisiting the log cabin, we then moved to the Arctic region, learning more about the Inuit people’s culture and the amazing way they made warm shelters from snow and ice as well as using the skins of the animals they hunted around them for their summer shelters.
Our Shelters block also includes a traditional third-grade project! In class, each student will choose a shelter and then build a small replica of it at home during our mid-Winter break. They will also be asked to write a summary about how the shelter was originally built and include details about the region. Their structure might be a log house, tipi, adobe dwelling, longhouse, house on stilts, yurt, tupiq,or other structure that they have chosen through in-class discussions. By the end of this week, each student will know which shelter they will be building and researching and will bring home further instructions. If you have ideas for them, please talk with your child at home so they can ask about it in class this week. The students are very excited about this first project! Please be ready to support them as they enter into this new experience. :) Shelters will be due back at school by Monday, February 22nd.
With gratitude,
Melissa
