Peasants and Monarch Simulation

Written by Alexander H. and Blake M.

Nowadays, everyone wants us to “treat others the way we want to be treated,” which is what we should be doing, but it wasn’t always like that. In Europe in the 1500’s, it was a very unfair and dirty life for the peasants while the King or Queen, the nobles, and the church had a lot of things.

This activity was about experiencing how unfair life was like in Europe in the 1500’s.

By doing this activity, it helped us understand what the peasants' life was like in the 1500’s. We learned that it was very, very unfair. Not all of us liked this activity, in fact, most of us didn’t. Everyone who was a peasant was very mad that the “queen” and the “noble” got to have fun and do whatever they wanted.

• “It was terrible activity. It was the worst activity in the world, and I never want to do it AGAIN!” - Alex M.

• “I hated it.” - Iliana

• “I liked nothing about this activity because everything was unfair. I was very happy when it was over.” - Aaron

• “I know that I didn’t like this activity because it was super unfair for the peasants, but I’m sure the 'queen' loved it because she was spoiled." - Sophia

In most students' opinion, it was not fun but other people's opinion was different because their experiences were different.

• “I think that being a peasant was horrible, even though I was just a peasant for five minutes. When I was a knight, it was much more luxurious. I got to eat candy and play videogames, but I still respected the peasants.” - Leo

• “It was fun because I got to play on the iPads, eat candy, and listen to music.” - Bailey (a noble)

So even though many people thought this activity was unfair, the peasants and monarch activity was a powerful way to learn about what life was like in Europe in the 1500’s.

Gabi called the activity, "Terrible. Unfair. Unforgiving." But she went on to say, “I learned how bad life was back then if you were a peasant.”

Pumpkin Carving Challenge

Halloween is Tuesday, October 31st. Many people in the United States celebrate the holiday, but not everyone. Whether or not you celebrate Halloween, carving pumpkins in the fall can be a very fun (and slimy) activity.

If you carve a pumpkin (with adult supervision, of course), please consider sending me a picture of your creation (either through Google Drive or email) so we can make a slideshow and post it on our blog.

We will also have an online vote for students who want to enter their carving into an optional contest for best creation! The winner will get to choose from a variety of prizes from Mr. Salsich's treasure trove... (fake mustaches, mustache coasters, Nerf shots, candy corn, an authentic 2018 model paper clip, etc.)

Here is an interesting video to give you different ideas for pumpkin carving:

Have fun carving!

"Habits of Mind" Team Challenge

Written by Sam L.

Today we’ll be talking about our Habits of Mind Team Challenge. In our challenge, we had five challenges. The first challenge was to build a human pyramid with our group, the second was to write a group narrative on what would happen if Mr. Keith sat down in one of our classroom beach chairs (heh, heh, heh), the third challenge was to teach someone or master our class handshake, the fourth was to identify and sequence the plot events in a narrative, and the fifth was to watch and record notes of a “Habits of Mind" video.

Below is a slideshow of pictures from the challenge:

Here are what some students from both classes thought about the Habits of Mind challenge:

• “I really like it because we worked as a team and we got to make a human tower. It is important because we are classmates and we need to learn how to work with them." - Seamus 

• “I liked that we got to be active and work together. I think we did the challenge so we could figure out that when you use teamwork and cooperation and all the habits of mind you have fun and get things done. It is important to learn how to use habits of mind because when you get a job you will have to use them." - Palmer

• “The 'Habits of Mind' team challenge was very fun. To me, the best part of it was building the human pyramid. My group had to use cooperation, creativity, and reflection the most. Overall, the "Habits of Mind" team challenge was a very good idea because it did teach us the habits of mind. It is important to learn about habits of mind because you need them in life, no matter what." - Blake

• “I really liked it because we got to do fun activities. I think we did it so we could work together and learn at the same time." - Taya

I think this challenge was really important for all of us because it taught us the Habits of Mind and how to work as a team and cooperate, while at the same time still having fun. I think my favorite was when we built the human pyramid because it let us interact with some sixth-grade students.

The "Habits of Mind"

"Yum!" - Optional Cooking Challenge

For the next optional learning challenge, we are focusing on baking and cooking. The challenge is to prepare a tasty dessert following the guidelines listed below:

• The dessert must be nut-free.
• It can include a cookie or cookies, but cannot be just cookies.
• You can only bring in one serving (the judges will share - too many plates of desserts cause chaos in a 5th-grade classroom...)
• It needs to be made primarily by the student (assistance can be provided, but the majority of the work should be done independently.)
• Adult supervision is required.
• It doesn't have to be made entirely "from scratch," but it cannot be made from a single box kit.
• The process must be documented through either photographs or videos shared to Mr. Salsich through Google Drive. (Here is a tutorial for uploading and sharing media on Google Drive from a desktop and here is one for uploading and sharing through a mobile device.) 
• It must be delicious!
• Please include an index card or similarly sized slip of paper with the name of your dessert on it. (But not your name.)
• Presentation will be factored into the judging
• Entries are due Monday, November 6th

The entries will be judged (anonymously) by Mr. Keith, Mrs. Brucoli, and/or Ms. Selinger. They will determine a winning dessert and a runner-up based on presentation and taste.

The winner will get to pick one of these boxes of "food" from Japan and the runner-up will receive the other box.

Sushi in a box? Hamburgers in a box? What in the world...

Bon appetit!

The Hershey Bar Challenge (written by Blake and Sophia)

On Google Classroom, Mr. Salsich gave the class a project to work on. The project was optional, but most people did it because they wanted the Hershey Bar. Whoever answered the question properly, and first, got the giant Hershey Bar.

The question was, where did the Hershey Bar come from?

After submitting one answer, Mr. Salsich gave us more clues to try to get the answer right. To get it right, you had to point out all of the places where the ingredients come from on a Google Slide or on a globe in class. Take a look at the places we had to show Mr. Salsich.

We did this activity to enhance our knowledge of where the ingredients in our food come from. We also did this project to learn persistence and to be able to reflect on the multiple parts of the project.

We learned where the ingredients in the average milk chocolate Hershey Bar come from. By learning where those ingredients come from, we also learned about how the countries farmed those ingredients.

Did we find out where all of the ingredients in the Hershey Bar come from, or is there a secret ingredient that only the workers who make the chocolate know about?