Seabury School claims to integrate subjects
across the curriculum.
Well, here's proof!
Be sure to read to the end to discover
if this type of learning really works!
Reading
We read the Magic Tree House book, Viking Ships at Sunrise, for an introduction to the study of exploration and specifically Vikings. We discussed the characters, the setting, the plot, the climax and the resolution and began to discover why explorers explore.
Writing
Using writing promps of situations the Vikings might have faced, we wrote our own Viking stories.
Here is an excerpt:
The Viking sailors went all the way to the North Pole. They were very cold. At least they brought a lot of shirts to stay warm. Later, they used them to make a sail. They found a polar bear. He chased them around. They repaired their sail using their extra shirts because they came across an ice storm. They ate a lot of fish.....
Science
How did the Vikings find their way at sea? By using a sun compass. Equipped with a water bottle, three rocks, a couple sticks and the light of the sun, we constructed our own sun compasses and discovered which way is north.
Math
The Navigators and the Gemstones had a Math Adventure to discover how many oarsmen were on a longship and how many swords, shields and spears the oarsmen had altogether. We learned the "draw a picture" strategy for problem solving and figured out how to do multiplication (some haven't been taught it yet!)
Technology
We played a game on the computer called Viking Quest, an "epic game of loot and legend." It is a choose your own adventure type of game and we had a great time learning how to discuss the various options in an open-minded way. The kids left school still discussing what to do next!
The next day we played the game with the 3rd and 4th grade Sphinxes and discovered the best ways to please the Chief!
Literature
We listened to the Scandinavian fairy tale called "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." There weren't pictures to go with the story so we imagined it in our minds.
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Art
This is a picture of the troll one student imagined in his mind as he listened to the story.
We also drew realistic pictures of Viking long ships.
Critical Thinking
What would we need to bring with us?
Our supply lists included such things as pillow, gamer, IPod, Mrs. Towne, Mrs. West, my dog, TV, water, books, Siri, orange, rope, IPhone, underwear, maps, math, mini fridge, toothbrush, compass, perfume, brush, comb, fishing pole, bucket, crowbar, shield, socks, swim suit, Captain America video game, hot chocolate, umbrella, towel, fan or air conditioning and Xbox.
(As you can tell, we are six and seven year olds and are still figuring out the concept of time and what it means that the Viking Age was over 1000 years ago.)
MakerSpace Collaborative Engineering
We then made our own Viking Ship using a big, long box. We divided into groups and made the sail, the front and back parts of the boat and the wooden slats that make up the boat.
Instead of making the usual cookie cutter helmets, we each made our own unique helmet using the available supplies in the MakerSpace. To get ideas, we looked in several books and discovered that the Vikings did not have horns on their helmets. Several opted to include horns on their designs since that is how we often depict Vikings.
We will be studying maps this year and just started our Map of The World project. Here is a sneak preview of how we will map the explorers of the world:
Just plain fun
For Grandparents and Special Friends Day we had a Viking Rune treasure hunt with a real treasure to find at the end!
Play Acting and the True Test
When our Viking long boat was ready and each student had their helmet, shield and oar, we had the opportunity to JUST PLAY. And what a fine, noisy, knowledgeable bunch of Vikings we were!
Here are some of the conversations that were overheard:
"We're landing on Iceland!"
"Here's Greenland. Wait, this looks like it should be called Iceland!"
"Hey everyone, this is Newfoundland."
"Here's Italy. And Greece."
"Let's get something to eat. How about this polar bear?"
"We brought some fishing poles. Let's use them."
"Let's get some land. We need land."
"Don't forget. The Vikings weren't always mean. They became nice."
Some students started cutting out "treasures" to collect.
"Here's some gold. That's what we came here for!"
"What are other treasures we can find?"
"I know, diamonds!"
"And gemstones."
"Here's a cool book."
"Yea, books can be treasures."
"Let's get some money!"
"Vikings didn't have our kind of money."
It works! Through integrated, project-based, hands-on, age-appropriate, engaging and fun learning, we are experiencing and learning what it meant to be a Viking explorer.
We rented some trunks from the Nordic Heritage Museum.
The chain mail and helmets were heavy!
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