Dear Parents,
Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful spring break; It is certainly good to have the
children back!
children back!
The week leading up to spring break was a very busy week but we enjoyed Upper School
student Lexi Reekie’s talents and assistance in the room. She volunteered her time in our
classroom as part of her Winterim experience and the students enjoyed working with her.
student Lexi Reekie’s talents and assistance in the room. She volunteered her time in our
classroom as part of her Winterim experience and the students enjoyed working with her.
The Peace Game Alert!
Students were divided into three country groups and we will begin the much anticipated Peace
Game next week. Some of the issues presented at the fair overlap with problems that students
will have to solve in the Peace Game.
Game next week. Some of the issues presented at the fair overlap with problems that students
will have to solve in the Peace Game.
What is the Peace Game?
The idea for The Peace Game comes from a teacher, John Hunter, who teaches 4th graders in
Virginia. He did a version of this game in 1978, and if you watch the short video from the link
below, you can see how we were inspired to present it to our students. Although ours is
modeled after Mr. Hunter’s game, we developed the problems, rules, game pieces, and
individual ideas ourselves. This is our fifth year with the game and we are eager to begin.
The advantage kids have is that they have studied many of the problems presented, and will
therefore, have a much better handle on how to solve them.
Virginia. He did a version of this game in 1978, and if you watch the short video from the link
below, you can see how we were inspired to present it to our students. Although ours is
modeled after Mr. Hunter’s game, we developed the problems, rules, game pieces, and
individual ideas ourselves. This is our fifth year with the game and we are eager to begin.
The advantage kids have is that they have studied many of the problems presented, and will
therefore, have a much better handle on how to solve them.
Over the course of the next eight weeks, students will be introduced to 30 global problems
that need to be solved. They will be in three different groups, representing three countries.
They will be given some information, distributed randomly, and then the groups will create
their own nations, with geographic, political, and cultural information they will need to build
the countries on the game board. All three classrooms will have boards set up in their rooms,
and students in each classroom will solve the problems in their own way.
that need to be solved. They will be in three different groups, representing three countries.
They will be given some information, distributed randomly, and then the groups will create
their own nations, with geographic, political, and cultural information they will need to build
the countries on the game board. All three classrooms will have boards set up in their rooms,
and students in each classroom will solve the problems in their own way.
Next week, students will be introduced to different forms of government. They will need to
choose the form of government they want for their countries, and then decide on which jobs
they will all have. It is a cooperative game, of course, and all decisions must be made and
approved by the group. Students will find ways to learn more about how to deal with
challenges facing us all. We will start to explore the big ideas behind our exciting Peace
Game project. We'll consider how countries are formed and governments are created to
serve the people. We'll explore different types of government, refer to real world examples,
and begin to consider how we might work together to achieve the lofty goals of the game.
Some of the enduring understandings that we hope students will take away are:
choose the form of government they want for their countries, and then decide on which jobs
they will all have. It is a cooperative game, of course, and all decisions must be made and
approved by the group. Students will find ways to learn more about how to deal with
challenges facing us all. We will start to explore the big ideas behind our exciting Peace
Game project. We'll consider how countries are formed and governments are created to
serve the people. We'll explore different types of government, refer to real world examples,
and begin to consider how we might work together to achieve the lofty goals of the game.
Some of the enduring understandings that we hope students will take away are:
- That right or wrong is not an absolute.
- Problems in the world are complex and don’t have easy solutions.
- That multiple perspectives can and should co-exist.
- How to solve complex problems in a collaborative situation to the benefit of more than one party.
- The importance of empathy and compassion by looking beyond our own needs.
- The need to be open to multiple perspectives and withhold judgment.
The object of the game is to solve all of the world’s problems for 100% of humanity, in
the shortest possible time, through negotiation and peaceful means, without
environmental or ecological harm or the disadvantage of anyone. This sentence was
taken almost completely from Buckminster Fuller, creator of the geodesic dome, who came
up with the idea of a world game in the 1960’s, to solve world problems. Here is a link to that
page: http://bfi.org/about-fuller/big-ideas/world-game.
the shortest possible time, through negotiation and peaceful means, without
environmental or ecological harm or the disadvantage of anyone. This sentence was
taken almost completely from Buckminster Fuller, creator of the geodesic dome, who came
up with the idea of a world game in the 1960’s, to solve world problems. Here is a link to that
page: http://bfi.org/about-fuller/big-ideas/world-game.
Stay tuned for more news about the progress of the Peace Game, and please take a look at
this 20-minute presentation by John Hunter.
this 20-minute presentation by John Hunter.
Writing
April is National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world since 1996, with
tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary event
curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets, marking poetry’s important place in our
culture and our lives. We have begun writing and reading poems in our room this month;
students will compose a collection of poems through which they express their unique thoughts
and perspectives. We plan to explore poetry writing techniques in class during our writing time
as well as free-write.
tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary event
curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets, marking poetry’s important place in our
culture and our lives. We have begun writing and reading poems in our room this month;
students will compose a collection of poems through which they express their unique thoughts
and perspectives. We plan to explore poetry writing techniques in class during our writing time
as well as free-write.
- Apply a variety of craft strategies and structures to bring out meaning and emotions.
- Collaborate with an Upper School writing class on poetry writing.
- If you have a favorite poem, please send it along with your child to share with the class.
- Fourth Graders will be planning to share their poems and other work during our Learning
- Celebration on May 25 at 1:30 p.m. Please mark your calendars
Honoring Our Rivers:
participate in Honoring the Rivers which is a project of The Willamette Partnership that works
to connect young people in the Pacific Northwest with their rivers and watersheds through art
and writing. Each year, they publish an anthology of student writing and artwork related to
rivers and invite student submissions from kindergarten through college. Winning authors
are invited to read their poems to a real audience at Powells Bookstore. Students will be
preparing their submissions during class time. You can view the 2014-15 anthology
here. http://www.honoringourriver.org/2015_edition.pdf
If you would like to find out about this year’s Earth Day celebrations organized by
Honoring the Rivers, please visit:
Honoring the Rivers, please visit:
Earth Day Art & Poetry CelebrationSaturday, April 21, 2018
10:00 AM 12:00 PM
Location: 510 Museum and ARTspace, 510 1st St, Lake
Oswego, OR 97034) |
Join us in celebrating Earth
Day (and Poetry Month) with free poetry writing and recycled art-making activities for all ages at the 510 Museum & ARTspace in Lake Oswego. |
