This week we started a trip westward...in the year 1853. With the wonderful help of my family and Mrs. Walker, we changed the room into a wagon train. For the next two weeks, the students will by immersed in a pioneer simulation. Think the Oregon Trail computer game crossed with Survivor.....except no one will die of dysentery or be voted off the island! Students are given a character role and family name as they travel in their wagon groups. Along the "trail" they are earning points through their research, reading, academic responsibilities, and group challenges.
In addition to academic tasks, students can earn extra points by dressing their part, packing a pioneer lunch, completing their chapter a night homework, doing extra pioneer research at home, and presenting research/artifacts to the class. I'm loving all the students that are going the extra mile and really getting into the subject. Students want all the points they can muster because life on the trail is very unpredictable. Each morning students have to pick a fate card. Fate cards can help or harm their point totals. For instance, you broke your arm, you lose 5 points. Or, you found a patch of delicious berries for your family, gain 5 points.
Additionally, we've sampled Johnny Cakes, learned to play marbles, made string dolls, and played the classic computer game Oregon Trail.
One of the best parts has been the group challenges. In the group challenges, students have to show knowledge of academic content, teamwork, and have a little bit of luck. The challenges can both win and lose points for the family groups. Our first challenge had the students packing their wagons. Each group was only allowed 2000 pounds and had to really think about what they needed most. Then, students had to participate in the multi-use challenge. The groups were given 4 items: rope, a pan, berries, and a blanket. Groups received points for every use they could think of for each item. They earned an additional five points for every use they thought of that no one else thought of...creativity points. The Bakers were the winners of the multi-use wagon packing challenge.
Next, was the fragile items egg drop challenge. It's a very bumpy ride in the wagon. Ma could not part with her dishes. The pioneers had to think of ways to pack fragile items with limited resources. Each family was given 2 paper towels, 2 pieces of copy paper, masking tape, a baggie, and a raw egg. The students had to design a way for the egg to withstand a five foot drop. They had 7 minutes to make their design and then we went outside to test. If the family's egg made the drop with out a crack the whole family got 10 points. If there were a few cracks in the egg, 8 points. Cracks with minor seepage got 5 points. A complete break was zero.
Thursday, we ran into some trouble on the trail. We came to a contaminated well. We had to conserve our water until we could travel to the next freshwater sources. For the water conservation challenge, we had a water ballon throwing contest. Students paired up and started standing three feet from each other. The partners had to throw and catch a water balloon. If they made the toss, then each student took a step back. The team successfully conserving their water for the greatest distance won the challenge and the extra points. This challenge was won by the Harris family.
The last challenge of the week was a River Crossing Bingo and just like crossing a river, nothing is as it seems. For this challenge students wrote short definitions that I gave them on a bingo board. Then, we read sentences with colorful pioneer language. Students had to use the context clues to figure out what the pioneer word or phrase meant. We learned words like hornwoggler, scuttlebutt, balderdash, and catawamptiously. When a student got a bingo, they got to pick a piece of candy. We played until everyone had a candy...little did the students know, the candy they chose determined their river crossing fate. For example, if they picked a Rolo candy they got stuck in the mud and lost 5 points but if they chose Smarties they got help and made it safely across for 5 points. I can't wait to see what our second week of pioneer school will bring.
