Science: In science class I made a poster on an African animal I was given. I got the Serval which is a type of feline. The poster had to include a labeled drawing of our animal, a map of where in Africa it is found, a multi-faceted food chain, 3 paragraphs on our animal, and a few other things. The multi –faceted food chain included a drawing of our animal, its predators, and its prey. O the back, we had three paragraphs on our animal’s adaptations to the environment, its status which is if it is endangered or not, and its scientific name meaning. We also included a glossary of ten words, and a work cited page. These posters had a lot of work put into them, in the end, they all turned out great!

Language Arts: In Language Arts, we wrote our very own African Folktale. First, we read through different types of folktales like Myths, Fairy Tales, Tall tales, and Fables. Then, we got to choose the type that we wanted to write. I choose a Myth. After that, we made a graphic organizer and planed out our story. Next, we wrote a rough draft. With the requirements on the rubric we were given, and with a lot of editing and revising, we had our final draft. A perfect folktale!

Math: In Math class, we made our very own African patterns and designs. At first, we were introduced to African patterns on modern day things such as cloth and furniture. After we had an idea of the different shapes and colors we were allowed to include, we could start a rough draft on a plain piece of centimeter graph paper. We also had to include three different transformations of shapes. Translations—sliding, rotations—spinning—and reflections—flipping. When we got approval from Mr. Scogin that our rough drafts looked ok, we could start the final on a larger piece of paper. We had to make interactive transformations out of paper. It was difficult to put them together, but they all turned out great.

Social Studies: In social studies class we were given an African country to work. We are taking an imaginary trip to the country. We have a budget and a checkbook that also ties into math. It is hard to stay within the budget while having to buy food and other mandatory needs. We have to travel to at least 2 countries and there is a maximum of four. For each country, we take notes and make a travel brochure, a detailed map, and a picture of our flag. The trip is a month long so in between days we write journal entries about the trip.

Technology Education: In Technology Education, we are making traditional African instruments called M'biras: an African thumb instrument. They make a wonderful sound produced by pressing down and then releasing on flat nails over wood. We also got to wood burn a pattern into the bottom. I can't wait to finish mine.

Music: In music class, we have been learning about music in countries all over Africa. I really enjoy learning the different types of African music. We have mostly been learning about Australia and Jamaica. We have used the drums we have in class to try copying the beats we hear in the music. We even add our own words to them. We recently learned about Bob Marley and his combination of reggae and ska music. Right now, we are all making an African instrument that we will play later this year. We had a choice or a drum, shakerae, paper maché maracas, a didgeridoo, and a few others.

Art: In art class we all made clay whistles. We were given a good sized piece of clay and a wide variety of sculpting tools to use. Mrs. Vitali had an example she had already made herself. She painted a zebra striped pattern on it. First, we had to form our piece of clay into an oval shape. When we gave it to Mrs. Vitali, he cut it in half with a sharp wire, and then she showed us how hollow it out. Next, we gave the whistle to her so she could bake it in the oven at a hot temperature. We will later paint our African patterns from math class onto these whistles.