STAB 2019

Technology  refers to " the tools and knowledge that humans use to solve problems and make their lives easier. " During the first History Video, I asked you to think about which technology has had the most significant impact on people's lives, throughout all of human history. Today during class, we had a lively (and  provocative! ) discussion, during which you shared your opinions about the most influential technologies in human history.  Your answers included: Control of fire Spoken and written languages  Electricity and the lightbulb Refrigeration; air conditioning Computers; the internet; cloud storage of information Wheels and cars Engines that use fossil fuels Airplanes Telephones Devices that measure time, including clocks and calendars Wells; methods for purifying water; indoor plumbing Medicine Techniques for farming, including the domestication of animals Crossbows; g uns; other kinds of weapons Ropes and pulleys Levers

Today we examined prehistoric cave paintings from France and Spain. These paintings are the first known examples of art created by humans.  They are  beautiful . The students came up with lots of different theories about why these paintings were made... Meg : Animals may have been a sort of spiritual/sacred thing for the hunter-gatherers, because they gave them food and tools. Marin : The paintings were a way of respecting the animals that got killed, or maybe they were used to teach people what/how to hunt. Ryan : If the people discovered a new animal, they may have painted it in their cave. Sofia : Maybe they used these paintings to show which animals are easy to hunt, or safe to eat or get close to. ----------- At the end of class, however, Malcolm ,  Berra  and  Nicole  were still pondering why the paintings were made. They asked: Were the cave paintings meant for beauty, or were they symbols that represented something, or were they being used to tell...

Music is one of humanity's greatest inventions. I love listening to music: happy songs, sad songs, silly songs, serious songs. I love instrumental music and choral music. I love classical, rock, rap, country, blues, pop, folk, jazz, and reggae. I especially love when students introduce me to new musicians, songs, performances, and pieces. We begin each week of History class by watching a musical performance and then sharing our observations and responses. We got off to a great start today by listening to the beautiful Piano Concerto No. 1 of Frederic Chopin, as performed by Russian pianist Olga Scheps : Here is some of what the students noticed and felt: Alejandra : The pianist swayed to the song. She looked like she got lost in the music . Burke : The music is slow and lilting . It kind of makes you want to go to sleep. Malcolm : One of the beauties of music is that it inspires emotion. This pianist was very emotional, and you could tell that she poured her heart and soul into t...

Today we discussed the reasons people study history. The students came up with lots of great ideas: Studying the past teaches you about foreign cultures and about your own culture -- it helps you understand and appreciate the different ways that people live. Studying the past can be inspiring ... for example, when we learn about great achievements and inventions made in earlier times, it can cause us to want to change the world, in a positive way, too! Studying history helps us make better decisions . We learn about the reasons that certain mistakes were made, and this helps us avoid making similar mistakes in our own lives. Learning about history enables us to understand why things are the way they are . For example, we can learn why the United States operates its government as a democracy, instead of having a king or another system of government. And here are several great questions about the way that historians and archaeologists work: Austin : How do historians learn about ancie...

Today we learned that fossils show us that humans ( homo sapiens ) have existed for approximately 200,000 years. Early humans developed one of the greatest technologies of all time: spoken languages . Once they were able to communicate and cooperate in a more complex way, humans gained an advantage over other kinds of animals -- even fierce competitors like wooly mammoths! These early people had not yet invented written languages , so it can be a challenge to study their lives. Instead of studying written records, we rely on the artifacts that they left behind. Studying artifacts is the specialty of archaeologists; here is an explanation from tonight's homework reading: An important field that contributes much information about the past is archaeology. It is the study of the past based on what people left behind.  Archaeologists, or people who practice archaeology, explore places where people once lived, worked or fought. The things that people left in these places may include je...

On the first day of History class, we focused on the importance of asking questions. We talked about the way that asking questions helps people  grow  as readers, writers, and thinkers. In fact, asking a clever or inspiring question can be more important than answering the question! This is particularly true since many of the questions we will ask and discuss this year do not have a single “correct” answer. The students responded to our discussion by asking some terrific questions about Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting,  Lady with an Ermine . Here are a few examples: Jamez : What is Leonardo da Vinci trying to tell us, in this painting? Colby  and  Greer : Why is the woman holding an animal? Does the animal symbolize something?         Caroline : I think the animal symbolizes her being one with nature and having a free spirit. Rowen  and  Griffin : Who or what are the lady and the animal looking at? Why are they looking away from...

Which group of ancient people do you think lived in these mysterious caves? WELCOME TO 6TH GRADE HISTORY! I am very excited to get to know each of you. I think we are going to have an excellent year, learning about the world and its fascinating history. Do you know who this is? Our class blog is called Leonardo's Notebook . The blog is named in honor of Leonardo da Vinci, who was immensely  curious about the world. Throughout his life, he kept a series of notebooks in which he wrote down the questions that arose in his mind. Leonardo believed that keeping these notebooks, as a record of his questions and ideas, would enable him to think creatively about possible answers. He also believed that the process of asking questions brings meaning to a person's life . This blog will serve as a 21st century, digital version of Leonardo's Notebook -- for our class! OK MR. RICHMOND, BUT WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC WAYS THAT OUR CLASS WILL USE THE BLOG? First : I love photographs. I love m...