Today, 5th graders spent a lot of time working on a project about prehistoric peoples.  For the past week, students have been using the research process to learn about the culture and lives of people who lived during the Stone Age. Together, we brainstormed open-ended research questions based on what we wanted to know (we used what we’ve learned about culture in our Reading studies to help us think of topics).  Then, each student chose 2 questions to focus on.

We discussed the differences between internet research and print research – focusing on how print resources (like books) have publishers that add a layer of trust that they will provide accurate information.  Students used a variety of books to research the answers to their questions and wrote up short informative paragraphs (using proper paragraph expectations we learned in Writing last week).

To add another dimension to this project, fifth graders created some pieces of art inspired by prehistoric paintings to hide their paragraphs on our hallway presentation wall in a lift-the-flap style.  On Monday, Elise Bowsher, our Outdoor Education teacher, dedicated her lesson to teaching the fifth grade (myself included!) about plants found in our backyard (native and nonnative) that have historically been used to create pigment for paints and dyes.  We learned about elderberry, goldenrod, and lamb’s quarter among others- what part of the plant was used for pigment and how it is extracted.

Using this information, students selected 2 plants to create “paints” from.  Alison Walter, our art teacher, led students in making the pigment into paint and imitating prehistoric art styles in creating their own pieces.  Our “lift-the-flap” wall will hopefully be set up by early next week.  Make sure to stop by sometime and see it!