Krewes and Doubloons...Thursday Throwdown

Laissez les bons temps rouler...it's Thursday Throwdown

time with my favorite Saints fan and friend, Erin, 

from I'm Lovin' Lit.

What have I been doin' to make learnin' more interactive?

On Fat Tuesday one of my super sweet parents came in

to do some hands-on activities to celebrate Mardi Gras.

I can't take the credit because she actually did the activities.

I'll take the credit for allowin' guest speakers to 

come in the class. 

Let's face it...kids like to hear a different voice sometimes.

Most of the boys and girls in my class have been together since
before Kindergarten.  They have grown attached
to one another.  Next year is goin' to be difficult
for many of them because they may be goin' to
a different middle school than the rest of their friends.
Basically, the kids will need to form new "crews"
in middle school.
Since it's Mardi Gras, my sweet volunteer
had the students form their own "krewes"
to practice before they move off to middle school.
They were given beads and doubloons.

The kids got to choose:
 1) which members would be in each krewe
2) why their krewe was formed
3) what their krewe would stand for
4) which design they would use for their doubloon
5) how they would present the information to the other krewes

I present to you...the 5th Grade Krewes:

Krewe of Rosettes was formed
because they share a love of all things Ms. Rose and
care about friendship.
Of course Queen Rosie was super excited
to be a member of this krewe!

The Krewe of Tomahawk Nation was formed
to irritate their precious teacher because she
is a Miami Hurricanes fan and they
love the Florida State Seminoles.
They forget I am the one who enters the grades
into the computer.
I kid, I kid!

The Krewe of Royal Turtles joined together to discuss turtles.
They like turtles.

Krewe of Money Boys just want money...all of it...

any way they can get it. 

 

Krewe of Loomies came together because of their passion 

for all things Rainbow Loom.

Ye Old/Olde Krewe of Technology is organized with
tech gurus.

This activity was student-led, but monitored by
the Krewe Coordinator and me.
Of course it was only appropriate that we
celebrate with King Cake afterwards.
Formin' krewes is a tough job,
but it was an extremely valuable lesson
and one I hope my students will remember
as they join their new "krewes" in middle school,
yet never forgettin' their old krewe.

Last year we did a narrative writin' piece from the
perspective of:
1) Beads bein' thrown from a float
2) A float in the parade at Mardi Gras
3) Mask on someone's face durin' the parade
Of course we went all out and decorated our
papers with glitter, feathers, sequins, etc.
The more bling, bling...the better!

Happy Thursday, friends!