Have a wonderful summer break!

Thank you students, parents, and volunteers for an amazing year! Take a look back at some of the highlights in this slideshow I created for the last day of school.

Colonial Storyline Unit and Colonial Day 2016!

Our Colonial Life Storyline Unit took place during April and May, culminating with Colonial Day on May 25th. It began with students developing their own character by taking on new Colonial-era names and writing a short bio of a person coming from Europe as an immigrant to the British colonies in the 1700s. Students described their character's reasons for coming to the New World, as well as his or her hopes and fears for what was to come.

We decided to settle in Pennsylvania because of the abundant natural resources and opportunity for religious freedom.  Group of students received plots of land and set out planning and creating their homesteads. Homes, outbuildings, gardens, and animals were added by students to the large map of our new Colonial town.

Next, students choose a Colonial-era occupation for their character, creating a business sign to represent their trade. As the story progressed, students faced other challenges, including the prospect of attacks by Native Americans, suspicions of witchcraft, and the issue of inequality for women and black people in education and voting rights. When British soldiers showed up in students' homes as a result of the Quartering Act, students debated the pros and cons of different actions their characters could take in response.

Each student selected a research topic related to Colonial Life, such as Law and Punishment or Health and Medicine, and wrote an essay compare and contrasting this aspect of life in the 1700s and today. Many also created posters to go with their topic which were displayed at Colonial Day.

 Along the way, the class experienced a taste of what entertainment, education, food, gardening, and work would have been like during Colonial times through a variety of hands-on activities. Many of these activities became our stations at Colonial Day, including leather-stamping, cross-stitching, butter-making, and playing games like hoop and stick.

Overall, myself and the students really enjoyed this unit and learned so much! Thanks to parents, staff, and especially Mark Doyle for your help and support!