In Room 604 recently, Class 4 students were seated at their desks, quietly practicing their cursive skills in their workbooks. “About five more minutes,” Humanities Teacher Noreen Keller said from the front of the room.
“Okay, grab your Humanities folder, a pencil and come join me on the rug!”
Seated around their teacher, the girls learned that they would be commencing their independent research project about ancient Egypt. After learning about the civilization, the girls selected an area of interest to further investigate.
“I know ‘research’ might sound boring,” Ms. Keller said, “But the 4th graders last year got really into it! You can use all different sources, like books and Brain Pop videos.” She also shared that the students would supplement their work with a visit to the Met Museum in the coming weeks.
The fourth graders began the year by learning about the first ancient civilization: Mesopotamia. After studying ancient Africa, the students will delve into ancient China.
Ms. Keller called on a student to pass out note-taking packets, which included assignment instructions as well as information about the project’s purpose and audience. Ultimately, the students will display all of their research through a tri-fold pamphlet they design, complete with a page-long narrative, vocabulary words and their definitions, and creative elements.
“On the second page you’ll see two columns,” Ms. Keller said, holding up a packet. “We’re going to work on this section today.”
In bold letters, the page read “What I Know” and “What I Wonder”. The topics the girls had previously selected included Gods/Goddesses, religion, Egyptian myths, King Tut, mummies, pharaohs and pyramids. Today, they would begin their research.
The students headed back to their desks ready to get started, some pausing to peruse the plethora of related books in the back corner of the classroom. “Remember to write the title and the author of the books you’re looking at,” Ms. Keller reminded them as she wrote the course’s textbook name (History Alive! The Ancient World) on the whiteboard.
“How many female pharaohs were there?” one student wrote under “What I Wonder.” Others questioned: Who was the pharaoh for the longest time? Who was the first pharaoh? What are Cleopatra’s birth and death date? What are the names of her children? Why was King Tut crowned at age 9?
As the class period came to an end, students returned their packets to the red humanities bucket and headed off to their next academic adventure.
