Class #58--6th Age Geography

Monday, May 23, 2011, 10:55 A.M. 6th Age Geography Class. Class #58 on my “50 Classes or Bust!” quest. Unbelievably, we are starting our final five-day week of classes! Mrs. Strand’s twelve students are excited to use the SmartBoard in 6-E. A map of the United States (without state borders) is projected onto the SmartBoard. The students take turns sliding the Northeast states into their proper location on the map. If the student manipulates the state correctly, it pops into place on the map. These six-year olds clearly know where the states are located! After turns on both the SmartBoard and a traditional map, the students sit on the rug and listen to Mrs. Strand read aloud from several books about United States geography. One clever book is called United Tweets of America and focuses on the various state birds. Did you know that the black-capped chickadee is the state bird of Massachusetts? In the final ten minutes of class, the boys and girls work on a packet of state-related worksheets. For example, the Michigan page is about finding missing car parts, while the Colorado sheet is a downhill skiing maze. In addition to learning about United States geography, the Sixth Agers have “travelled” across the globe this year, as evidenced by their excellent class play last week, The Sixth Age Trip Around the World!