Mesopotamia and More
Anne Glanz and Sharon Packer
November 29, 2018
It was a packed 4-day week in 5th grade! In Language Arts, we worked on understanding the elements of a short story by working in a group to create an ending for a story called "Hide and Seek". Students were quite creative in their solutions to Gabe and Libby's problem! In Social Studies, we explored the elements of a civilization, learned about the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, and learned about two particular legacies of Mesopotamia, written language and Hammurabi's Code. Finally, we compared Hammurabi's Code to relevant pieces of the Torah. In particular, "an eye for an eye" idea appears in both, with a slightly different twist in each. A special treat this week was our Understanding Our Differences program on Wednesday where we learned about Autism Spectrum Disorders (a special thank you to our parent volunteers: Susan Wilk, Lisa Sussman, and Sarah Fleckner). Hearing from someone with an Autism Spectrum Disorder was the highlight of the morning for many students. They were so respectful, asked many thoughtful questions, and were able to articulate their important takeaways in a class meeting after the program.
Our fifth graders playing charades using words for emotions |
Our students putting together a puzzle without speaking or using any non-verbal communication. |