This week, our Dialectic class started a three week unit on the Alamo and Texas. They learned about the history of Texas--how it has been controlled by the French, Spanish, Mexicans and Americans. And, even how it was an independent nation for a short period of time. They also learned about the pivotal battle in the war for Independence from Mexico: the battle at the Alamo. While the Americans were handily and thoroughly defeated at the Alamo, it became the event that spurred the young, wild Texans on to an eventual victory over Mexico. Davy Crockett was a key figure in the battle of the Alamo, and to celebrate his life and legacy, the kids started to make replicas of his famous coon skin cap! The Upper Grammar boys studied the life of Louis Braille, the blind man who developed a way of reading for the sight impaired. The kids made Braille writings out of puffy paints, played a game where they had to guide each other blindfolded and then played a guessing game, where they had to reach into bags and feel objects--guessing what they are by touch alone. The Lower Grammar gang learned about the Cherokee, their beliefs, customs and culture. They also studied the sad part of American history that we know as the Trail of Tears. With the Indian Removal Act signed into law, the Cherokee were moved by the US Government from their homeland in the Appalachian Mountains to Indian Territory--Oklahoma. The kids made beaded bracelets to help them remember the plight of the Cherokee. The Five in a Row bunch read the book, Jesse Bear's Birthday. They then had a birthday party just like Jesse's--they decorated cupcakes, made cute bear masks and played games!
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