So, apologies for the lack of blogging, but since our heat is on the mend, our computer felt it necessary to fill the void left by our now-working heat and pooped out on us. Options: pay a bunch of money to get it fixed (and still have a behind-the-times computer) or save a little more and get an entirely new one. We have chosen the latter, and are therefore computer-less currently.
Anyhow... I had one of those "wow, they really are listening" moments today. We are delving into the Revolutionary War and are, of course, starting off with the causes of the colonists' revolt. We started our class today pretending to be the British parliament trying to solve their financial problems that resulted from the French and Indian War (if you are totally lost right now, I have one word for you: wikipedia). I'll tell you what, start talking to a room full of 5th graders in a British accent and I assure you their attention is yours. Our goal was to solve Britain's finance problems. I "gently guided" them in the direction of taxing the colonists on paper products and eventually ended up with the Stamp Act. Later on in class one of my students made a comment that gave me hope that they do hear what I say:
Student: "You know Mrs. DeLong, I never thought about it from both sides before. I just always thought England was the bad guy, but really they didn't have much of a choice. "
He had me beaming when he got to the words "I thought". I made a 5th grader think! My life is complete.
-Ang
My world
13 years ago
2 comments:
Austin just wants to know what kind of guns they used. It's all about the weapons, ya know. If it doesn't explode and/or draw blood, then what's the point really? If you spoke with a British accent while holding a musket, the boys might actually forget to breathe.
Random thought: why weren't the Three Musketeers called the Three Swordsmen or something? I don't think they even had guns. Probably something lost in translation. I'm sure Wikipedia will explain everything. :o)
We actually didn't have weapons in this specific reenactments, though we did have our own version of the Boston Massacre in which we wadded up pieces of paper, called them snowballs, and threw them at the British soldiers (then those kids died, bummer). As for the Musketeers, I have no clue. I just always wanted to know how you got a chocolate-covered nougart (sp?) candy bar from three French guys with swords.
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