Welcome!

Welcome to our 5th and 6th grade classroom's homepage. My name is Joan Thomas and I am one of five, fifth and sixth grade teachers at Willow Bend. I have been teaching at Willow Bend for three years. My assistant's name is Toni Ryan. There are 23 students in room 207. This year we are covering three thematic units including "Everything Matters," "Exploring the Past," and "Our Fragile Planet."

Themes

The fifth and sixth graders just began a new and exciting thematic unit called Exploring the Past. In this unit, the students will be learning about Ancient Civilizations. We will be covering Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, The Aztec Culture, The Inca Culture, and the Maya Culture. Before beginning their journey to the far past, the students learned about their own past. Using the Internet, the students found out what has been going on in the world during their short lifetimes (1992-2003). They organized their research under the following categories; World politics, U.S. politics, entertainment, science and technology, and sports. The students were astounded to find out so much has happened in the past 10-12 years; There was the Gulf War, Princess Diana passed away, the World Wide Web was introduced, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty, and scientists cloned a sheep. Incredible! Now that the students have learned about their own pasts, they are ready to learn about the great civilizations that came before us. The students will learn about their geography, government, economy, people, religion, communication, conflicts and cooperation and the innovations of these civilizations. They will learn about the legacy they have each left behind. Throughout the unit, students will be encouraged to ponder how these factors contributed to the rise and fall of each of these civilizations and if these same factors could contribute to the rise and fall of today's civilization.