India We finished our study of Asia with work on the subcontinent of India. We began by listening to the Diwali story of Lackshmi and the poor washerwomen. Once again, the students worked in groups, and gave presentations to the whole class. Our study groups worked on mapping, Hinduism, yoga, and the Dalai Lama. They learned about geography, myth, and culture as well as practicing research, organizing ideas, and public speaking. We also watched a short clip from BBC's Planet Earth with stunning images from the Himalayan mountains. Australia In the long ago Dreamtime, when the world was being made, there was no sun in the sky....
So began the aboriginal folktale, entitled "Emu and Eagle's Great Quarrel," that we read to introduce our study of Australia last week. After listening to the story, we talked about its wonderful descriptive language, and the foreshadowing employed in the introduction. Then, with a timer set for 5 minutes of silence, the students began their stories. Please encourage your student to finish and bring in his or her story to share with the class. Our children are growing in confidence as researchers, writers, teachers, and public speakers. After our writing work, we moved on to research. After choosing from a list of subjects, including Australian animals, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, and mapping, students selected appropriate books, developed a presentation, and shared it with the class. This week I will be asking them to commit to a subject for their final class presentations. Many of them already have good ideas! On Monday, we will study South America. Please send in any interesting books you may have about the fascinating animals and geography of that continent. Comments are closed.
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