School News

Since there is still a link to this blog from the Bois Forte web site/youth section, I want to include some news from school! We are finishing up our year in the library with a unit study on communication. I am very excited about this unit and look forward to including this long term. 3rd gr. - morse code; 4th gr.-sign language; 5th gr.-Ojibway pictographs; and 6th gr.-braille. We will spend 2 class periods on research. Due to time constraints, I researched from my library web page to Info Bits, etc.. and printed off what each group needed. Also pulled relevant books from the shelves of the library. Students will finish reading and filling out their study guides by next week. The final phase of our unit involves practical use of each communication method. 3rd graders will compose a message, translate it to morse code, and then go to a morse code web site. On that site, we can type in a message, click "translate" and hear the message in morse code. We will also practice using morse code with flashlights in a dark room. 4th gr. will hear from an aide for a hearing impaired student. Their project will culminate with the students in a common school situation and allowed to communicate with sign language only. 5th gr. will be writing a short description of a happening in their life. This will be translated to pictographs using actual pictographs from Ojibway/Sioux peoples. They will then etch their story on birchbark. 6th gr. will be making a name plate in braille. After translating their "label", they will use a blunt nail and hammer to make their sign on some flashing.
This looks to be a fun, informative unit. I'll know more in 3 weeks!