Native Pride Dancers

Last week, we had an awesome opportunity to dance to the beat of the drum with Larry Yazzie, Rueben Crow Feather, and Mikayla Schaaf.  These three people are Native Americans from some local tribes in Minnesota. We were able to meet with all of them in our classroom during the morning and talk about Native American cultures and traditions as well as identifying some of our own cultures.  As part of our PAINT program we have been blogging about our experiences and sharing our ideas and deep thinking comments and questions with each other.

Star of the Week

We have had three star of the weeks! This is Adrian Anderson. He enjoys spending time with his family and playing hockey. 

This is McKenzie Romer.  She is active in basketball and dancing.  She has three brothers and always busy with friends!

Brandon Colby is a star or room 119 too.  Brandon also enjoys planning hockey, being outside, and playing with friends.

                             All of these three students are Shining Stars in Room 119. 

Game Night Recap

Here are some pictures from game night.

Native American Children of Today

Students have been comparing and contrasting their culture to Native American culture. One project that the students completed was reading a book about Native American Children of today and comparing the traditions that might be similar or different from their own. Students then created a poster showing the Native American tribe and the drawing the symbols that represent that tribe and the region from where they originated. See the examples below:

FUN NIGHT REMINDER

Fun Night Reminder

Hope you can join us on

Friday, February 7th

 6-8 pm at Sibley Elementary School for a dazzling red carpet event!

Prairie Fire Theatre

We had 12 students from my class participate in the play Beauty and the Beast on Friday and Saturday.  Everyone did such a great job in their performances. 

PAINT Unit

On Friday was our first day of our PAINT unit.  PAINT stands for Perpich teaching in and through the arts. This is a grant that we received to teach integrated arts and social studies to all fourth graders.

We had a presentation from Darlene St. Claire, she is a professor at St. Cloud State, and teaches native studies.  She talked with the students about indigenous people, culture, and the different tribes that are native to Minnesota. 

Next week we will be reading Shannon, which is a non fiction text about a an Ojibway dancer.  We will also be reading Children of Native America Today.  This text includes some of the Native America culture groups living in the US.  This text describes about their heritage, traditions, art, and cultures.

We will be having Larry Yazzie come and talk about his native culture.  He will be story telling, dancing, and explaining his background information.  Students will be creating a dance after his presentation.

More pictures to come!