Langston Hughes Academy 3rd Grade, Social Studies & Theatre Ms. King & Ms. Christmas

3rd Grade is learning about some of the Native American Tribes of Louisiana. We got into groups and became these Native American tribes- The Choctaw, The Houma, The Natchez, and The Caddo.

Each tribe member has a job:

BIG CHIEF

·       This person is in charge of making sure that the tribe members are working well together. If tribe members have differences, the Big Chief listens to their problems, and tries to give them council. The primary concern of the Big Chief is that their members are healthy, happy, and productive.

SPEAR KEEPER

Hunting/Fishing

·       This person knows everything about how their tribe gets animal food. They know what tools are used to hunt and fish, and they know what animals and fish this tribe finds in their region. They come up with recipes for their tribe.

SEED KEEPER

Planting

·       This person knows everything about how their tribe gets plant food. They know what tools are used to grow crops, what crops they grow, and what wild plant foods they find in their region. They come up with recipes for their tribe.

COVER KEEPER

Housing/Clothing  

·       This person knows everything about what kind of materials are used to make their tribe’s homes. They know what materials are used to make clothing, and how clothing choices are made to go with the seasons or rituals.

THRIVE KEEPER

Safety/Health

·       This person knows everything about how their tribe stays safe. They know what tools are used to protect their tribe. They also know what natural remedies or rituals are used to heal people when they are sick.

TONGUE KEEPER

Communications/Storytelling

·       This person knows the history of their tribe, and the legends that explain the mysteries of the universe. They also help with body language communication between tribes during trading so that ideas are communicated clearly.

WILD MAN

Festivals/Games/Rituals

·       This person knows everything about their tribe’s rituals and games. They follow the calendar, and let the tribe know when it’s time to honor certain seasons. They judge friendly competitions between tribes, and lead songs and dances during festivals.

 On this day we were creating Identity Medallions that depicted the tribal names we gave ourselves. The names were comprised of an adjective that described one of our characteristics, and our favorite element in nature.

We then created silent greetings for our tribes by combining gestures that matched a characteristic of each tribe member.

We say hello to each other with these tribal greetings before every class.

Langston Hughes Academy 1st Grade, Theatre & ELA Ms. King /  Ms. Miles

Ms. Miles’ 1st graders are learning how certain animals behave and finding key details in the texts they read. 

We read Seahorse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea. Our narrators retold parts of the story in their own words. The actors created the illustrations in the book with their bodies and brought them to life using pantomime.

ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy 7th Grade ELA + Theatre Ms. King / Ms. Shanteler

Ms. Shanteler’s students are reading The Giver in ELA, and thinking about the elements that make up a community. We decided to develop a mock community, and have been exploring communication and listening skills, conflict management, team-building, and self-care. We are practicing these things in order to gather strategies for creating a community that reflects our shared values, and strives to be a place where our motto “Enough For All” is in place.

Here, the students brainstormed ideal values or challenges they wanted to address in the categories of Education, Jobs, Housing, Health Care, Civic Duties, and Laws. They then did a gallery walk of each other’s ideas, and either checked ideas they agreed with, or asked further questions about the ideas that needed clarification.

ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy 5th Grade Theatre / ELA Ms. King & Ms. Vails

Ms. Vails’ students are working on their prediction, inference, and writing skills.

Using pictures from the book they are reading, Wonderstruck”, students got into groups and discussed what they saw, thought, and wondered about their pictures. They used their imaginations and collaboratively came up with a narrative that made sense for the picture.