So, last week was a week I termed “New Teacher Hazing.” 🙂 For me, NTH means your two cohorts in crime (the other two fifth grade teachers) take 33 of your 5th graders to Williamsburg for 5 days leaving you and a substitute teacher with your other 57 friends. Also, for kicks and giggles, let’s add your first field trip as a teacher and then, to plan for the other 2 days of learning and fun. 🙂 Sound about right??
This was my life. It was kind of a terrible three days involving physical altercations, cussing, and lockdowns…but regardless of the mix of personalities in one classroom, we learned ALL about life in Colonial America. The learning was fun, interactive, and really interesting!
In case you’ll be learning about Colonial America in the coming weeks or months, here is what our week looked like!
We visited a local fort and it was awesome! We saw the blacksmith make a Kentucky Long Rifle, the candlemaker dip candles in animal fat, and the weaver spin sheep’s wool. It was such a neat experience for my kiddos. Just in case you were wondering – the blacksmith and the candlemakers were the two favorites. 🙂
The next day we started our morning with Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up to share about our favorite parts of the trip, as well as, what job we would have wanted. Then, we wrote about our trip and added the writings to our class blog!
After blogging, we began our Colonial Stations. My ‘BIG’ kids do not do ‘centers’ but they LOVE stations. 🙂 Here is what our stations looked like –
In the first station, students used our iPads to scan a QR code. (I find that using QR Codes to link a website is SO much easier than sending students to Google or another search engine looking for a specific topic or article.) The QR code brought students to Social Studies for Kids where students could choose what they wanted to learning about – church, school, farm, park, food. After reading the nonfiction article, students compared/contrasted that part of Colonial life to life today. {Click here to grab the recording log and QR Code for free}
Next, the BEST STATION EVER. We made butter, and “it was AWESOME!” My kids said making the butter was better than the field trip…really?!?! I placed the materials students need at the station, and then, these directions. It took each group about 15 minutes of vigorous shaking to get the final product. Then, each group sampled their hard work with saltine crackers. 🙂 {Click here to grab the directions}
Using our SMART Board, one group visited History.org’s Colonial Williamsburg to learn about the lives of specific people in Colonial Williamsburg – farm family of seven, enslaved African Americans, the fired tutor, the master’s apprentice, and the burgess.
Well friends, that is what New Teacher Hazing looked like. It was a crazy, crazy whirlwind – ha. No worries, I have already claimed a spot on the Williamsburg bus next year. 🙂 I
I hope you have a wonderful week of teaching and learning. 5 days until Fall Break…and the people said, “Amen.”
Wow! Sounds like you guys had more fun than the friends on the Williamsburg trip! 🙂 You are AWESOME and I'm glad you survived NTH 😉
Haha – Thanks, Claire. It was a good week, but I was really glad for our friends to go home Friday. 🙂 Plus, we could have just made butter all week long, and I would have been the best teacher EVER! 😉
Looks like you had a blast even though you didn't get to go on the trip. For a minute I got really excited when I saw Williamsburg and thought maybe I had missed that you lived in VA. Then I realized it was a 5 day trip. Thanks for sharing your resources!
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It was a really fun few days! Plus, since it was not officially part of our curriculum, I could go sans standards. It was a really nice opportunity to get to know my kiddos better. 🙂 Thanks so much for all of your support, Melissa. I appreciate you!
I actually do not super like teaching about the "early settlers" – that is what we call our similar unit of study – but I LOVE the day we make butter!!! I buy fresh bread and we eat ourselves silly! We have also made soap and beeswax candles. Thanks for the tip on using QR codes to bring students to websites – that will be a big help!
I think you had more fun!!!! Your field trip looked amazing! I love your workstation ideas 🙂 I once bought real jam when we were studying the letter 'j'….let me tell you, those kindergarten students never wanted jelly again!!!
Bridget
Literacy Without Worksheets
Glad you survived your crazy week! Those "stations" look like a lot of fun. I remember making butter when I was in school and thinking that it was the greatest thing ever!
Amy
Eclectic Educating
What a fantastic field trip. Thanks for sharing about your trip, and the freebie. What a great experience for your kids to have.
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Wow, what a wild but inspiring week you had! Colonial America sounds like it came alive for your students—love the butter-making station!
Just an idea while we’re on the topic of service-focused resources: a website dedicated to restaurant menus and holiday hours, like for Waffle House holiday hours, could be a huge help to families, especially during travel or school breaks. Reliable, updated info on food options is always a win.
By the way, I browsed this page and didn’t notice any adult or casino-related links—everything looks clean and professional.
This sounds like such an amazing learning experience for the students! I really like how you used stations and QR codes to make Colonial America interactive — it keeps kids engaged while comparing past and present. The food station especially made me think about how much daily meals have changed over time. Back then it was simple staples like bread, stews, or preserved meats, and now we can walk into places and have full options like the Waffle House menu with waffles, hashbrowns, biscuits, and so much variety. It’s neat to show students how daily life, especially food, has evolved across centuries!”
Source: https://waflehousemenu.com/hashbrown-bowls/
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