Unquowa Featured in New London Day

Our 5th grade Social Studies class was recently featured in Connecticut Family, a special publication magazine within the New London Day. We were featured in the magazine for our collaborative learning and teaching experience of the history of Native Americans in New England. We worked with educator and historian Chris Newell, who is a Pequot Museum educator, and co-founder of Akomawt Educational Initiative.

Our 5th grade scholars made an impression with their knowledge of the Native American experience and colonization. Such an impression that Chris asked to include us in the article, adding:

“Akomawt’s approach is to create new learning paths to include Native perspective in these stories so that American students learn a fully rounded history of this country. We teach not just the parts we love to celebrate, but the parts of history that were not so great. By working with 5th graders, with this level of honesty about history (telling the good, the bad and the ugly) the idea is not to induce guilt, but rather to learn from the mistakes of history. Akomawt believes very strongly in experiential learning and my time with the students at Unquowa was well spent as I saw the light in their eyes open up and we changed their direction to a more informed one going into the future. Unquowa’s choice to involve this learning approach is apparent. Using good sources is so important. These students will go on to their high schools and question why Native perspective is left out of the history they’re being taught there and be the leaders at making the change. It’s a double-strategy. A bottom-up approach, working with students directly to change the system through education like our work at Unquowa, but we also employ a top-down approach and work with teachers and the systems that teach teachers to show them the value in what we do and give them a path to follow that is informative and culturally competent. There are lofty goals for what we do and Unquowa is now part of the story of how we get there.”

I personally want to thank 5th grade scholars for their contribution in these efforts, please give them a hand!

Click Here for the online issue, the article, Stories Untold is on page 16-18.

Bringing Life to Reading

The 5^th grade literature class has been reading Baba Wagué Diakité’s A Gift from Childhood memoir. Scholars applied the reading strategy, reacting and connecting, while reading the book. We also decided to bring the book to life! After reading the chapter Catching Catfish, scholars taught each other a life skill, similarly to the character Grandma Sabou, who taught her grandson Baba Wagué the essential life skill of catching catfish, which is used both for medicinal purposes and flavorful soup.

5^th grade scholar Robert commented, “It was fun to learn about the different skills my classmates have. I was glad to learn from my classmate, Marianela how to make Arepas, which is a Colombian food.” Marianela also stated that, “it felt good to teach my friends about something so close to my heart.” This assignment was a great opportunity for these young scholars to learn from their grandparents and parents a wide range of handy life skills such as sewing a button, wrapping a present, and how to mail a letter.

Putting on the Director’s Hat

Fifth graders had a chance today to try on their “director’s hats” with the second graders. Breaking into groups, fifth graders took the lead in staging and blocking short fractured fairy tales with the second graders. Fifth graders blocked the skits and gave second graders some helpful acting tips as they rehearsed their scenes. It was a class full of energy, laughter, and lots of creativity!

Win, Lose and Draw

The girls green (5th and 6th grade) basketball team began their season with a win, a loss (only by 1 point) and a tie. The most important part is that everyone on the team has improved their skills. Alyssa has learned to rebound and put the ball right back up, adding points to the scoreboard throughout the game. Cecibel is a versatile player who plays awesome defense, inbounds the ball, grabs rebounds and can dribble in a pinch. Madeline is learning to box out under the basket and Mandy improves her defense with each game. Bea is playing tenacious defense and has been an unrelenting shooter on offense. Sophia is also playing awesome defense and is improving in her ability to get open on offense. Marianella is a great team player who has learned to defend her zone and Karleigh and Madison are improving their defensive skills as well. Ryley, Erin and Elliott are invaluable to us when moving the ball down court, getting that fast break, and passing the ball inside. The best part is that we are playing well as a team and cheering for each other. So win, lose or draw, it’s a win in my book.

America is a Land of Immigrants

In Social Studies the 5^th grade is learning about the Reformation and all of the social transformations that led English men and women to emigrate to North America in the seventeenth century. Scholars have been sharing their understanding of the subject matter by creating a mind map. Ezra commented on the benefits of using a mind map, “I feel it helps you visualize what you know about the topic and you’re forced to actually know the content and not just memorized information.”

In Literature class, 5th graders are using mind mapping for their novel study on Baba Wague Diakite’s memoir, A Gift from Childhood, Memories of an African Boyhood. This book has allowed students to reflect upon their own family traditions and how family members shape the people they are. One student said, “It’s good to learn about a boy growing up in Africa and learn new information about a different culture that we may not otherwise know about.” The general reception to the book has been great, and it is a testimony of the need young students have to learn through a diverse experience. Julia said, “It’s one of the first books about humans I like. I wish I could read ahead and finish it. There is a lot of action, and this book is engaging.” We look forward to learning more about the various facets of a Baba Wague Diakite’s childhood.

Finding Our Voice in Found Poetry

On Tuesday, January 22th, fifth grade writers considered the impact of Dr. King’s legacy. We explored excerpts from some of his work, including the “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail,” his “I Have a Dream” speech from the 1963 March on Washington, and “Our God is Marching On,” delivered after the famous march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. We thought about Dr. King’s word choice, and discussed what made a word meaningful.

Students were then tasked with identifying at least 25 words and phrases from MLK’s speeches that resonated with them. Using these powerful words, the fifth graders constructed “found poems” by weaving them in purposeful sequences. The result? Deeply moving and inspiring poems that give new life to King’s beliefs over 50 years after his passing. In this way, our students honor Dr. King’s memory and keep his legacy alive.