We're some of the 5th and 6th graders at Miquon!

"In fifth and sixth grade, they can have full conversations with me
and they're not too tall . . ."
-- author Eoin Colfer, commenting on his teaching experience

NOTE: We are in transition, gradually changing our group's web site over from last year's completed work to this year's emerging activities. Check back often for updates.
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This site will help you get to know our group and follow us through the year. You can learn about ongoing activities through FYI, our newsletter (see menu above). Although short homework assignments are not listed here, ones that span several weeks can be found in Long-Term Assignments.

Another useful link is on the menu at the top, titled "Supplemental Pages." There are many links to it embedded at this site, but it's worth checking it directly from time to time.

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Social studies provide the unifying basis for much of our classroom work. This year, we have four major topics in culture and history that are at least partially connected with each other through their common geographical location over time, trade relationships with each other, linkage through conquest and expansion, and influence on our world today.

Two are relatively unfamiliar, and they will begin and end our study: the ancient Celtic world (c. 800 BCE - 1000 CE) and the three medieval kingdoms of the western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai). One of our essential questions asks why some groups and events get into our history books and some don't. After learning about the Celts, we will explore the Roman world as it grew from a simple settlement on a few hills to a complex empire that ringed the Mediterranean and reached into the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and much of Europe (c. 700 BCE - 476 CE). One of our essential questions for this unit is What made Rome so successful, and what led to its collapse? Our third unit of study is the foundation and rise of Islam (c. 500 CE - 1200 CE). The contributions of the Muslims to science, mathematics, medicine, architecture, art, and more are too numerous to list. We'll learn about the Muslim world as it expanded through trade and conquest and see its connection with and influence on the three rich kingdoms of the western Sudan that will end our year.

Throughout the year, we will begin each section with stories from the time and place. From them, we can start to learn what a culture valued, feared, admired, and believed. It gives us a narrative framework in which to place facts, events, and individuals as we encounter them further on. We'll do activities that include drama, art, music, food, and games to add depth to our explorations. We'll look for ways to connect these topics with our work in mathematics and language arts, and we'll invite our specialists to integrate some of this into their own curricula.

And, of course, we'll be keeping up with current events. Who knows where in the world that will take us?

An overview of our entire planned curriculum will soon be available here. In the meantime, you may want to read last year's document (which is available through the link below).