Garrett Morgan- Traffic Light Paper Circuit

As part of our economics unit study, my son and I are learning about different jobs he is interested in. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up, so we went down a little rabbit trail as he learned about who and what an engineer is. 

We read Saving The Day, a story about Garrett Morgan who invented the traffic signal. This led us to make our own paper traffic signal circuit. 

Material 

1. LED Lights

2. Copper Tape

3. Large Paper Clip

4. Traffic Light printable

5. CR2032 3V Battery 

This was a really fun activity my son really enjoyed. I love it when our lessons take us on an adventure. 

When The Earth Dragon Awakes- Figurative Language

During our novel study "The Earth Dragon Awakes" we concentrated on figurative language. This book has a lot of personification and similes. As we read, the boys and I wrote down any figurative language we came across and identified them. At the end of the novel, we made a cute dragon breathing out 'figurative language examples.' 

My boys read these two books. 

My 10-year-old decided to focus on personification and drew a dragon in his notebook with all the examples. 

Resources

1. Figurative Language Lesson PowerPoint Presentation (her resources are amazing! She has so many PowerPoint lessons and crafts)

2. Dragon Printable 

3. Dragon Directed Drawing

Examples From the Book

There are so many examples but here are just some of the ones the boys found during our reading.

My Stomach is as solid as the earth (pg. 2)

Street lamps glitter like jewels (pg. 12)

The Chest of drawers dances a jig (pg. 20)

His bed and all his furniture circle in a slow waltz around the room (pg. 20)

The tenement creaks and groans like an old giant (pg. 23)

Their bed and bureau prowl like a hungry animal (pg. 23)

They look as if they are peering over someone's shoulder (pg. 31-32)

But fear twists inside Chin like a snake (pg. 33)

Suddenly a breeze brushes his face like a soft hand (pg. 34)

You can't judge a book by its cover (pg. 37)

Flames wag out of the windows like salamander tongues (pg. 42)

The heavy machine rests on its side like a sleeping animal (pg. 43)

The Ham and Egg fire stretches one arm east and the other south. It will join its brothers (pg. 61)

The flames peer hungrily down at Henry (pg. 63-64)

Burning embers drift in the hot winds like angry butterflies (pg. 64)

It slithers across San Francisco like a dragon with red spines (pg. 71)

A tongue of fire dances on his shoulder (pg. 48)

Dust rises in ribbons like tiny ghosts (pg. 40)

Islamic Art

During our Middle East study, we learned a lot about Islamic Art. As Muslims, we don't draw people, so much of our art consists of geometric shapes, patterns, and nature. 

These are the two main books we used as references. 

Discovering Islamic Art 

DK The Arts A Visual Encyclopedia 

The first lesson we started with was learning about symmetry. The boys used pattern blocks to make designs and the others copied the design on the opposite side. 

After the boys understood that Islamic Art is all about symmetry they got to work on making their own geometric patterns and designs. 

We watched this short video

This study was part of our Iran country study and bridge lesson. Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, Iran has the most beautiful arches and ceramic tile art. The boys and I did a unit study on this bridge. If your interested you can grab this unit study from my TPT store. Click on the image below. 

Khaju Bridge - Unit Study

During our bridge study, we came across Khaju Bridge which is the oldest bridge in Iran. The boys were so fascinated by it that we decided to turn it into a unit study. 

The boys and I watched videos and read some articles online about this bridge. Some of its amazing features include:

1. Ceramic Tiles

2. A hidden candle image

3. A dam

4. 23 Arches

5. Stone steps for sitting and watching the beautiful views

6. Tea shop

7. A special pavilion that was used by the Shah of Iran

8. Two stone lions

The boys put together a research poster all about what they learned. 

Arches are in a lot of Islamic designs, so the boys and I learned about them and made our own booklet. 

Each arch is decorated with beautiful ceramic tiles. The boys and I made

geometric designs and learned all about this art form. 

Khaju Bridge is an arch bridge. We learned all about arch bridges and made one out of Popsicle sticks. 

You can grab this fun unit study from my TPT store. You can use this during a country study of Iran or a STEM activity about bridges. Click on the image below to grab this unit study. 

Adhan Craft

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
(said four times)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.

(said two times)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
[said two times]

La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God

My preschooler and I worked on a fun craft while we were learning about the Adhaan. For Islamic Studies I read to him from the book Migo and Ali A-Z of Islam. 

We made a 'microphone' to help him practice saying the Adhaan. 

Material Needed

1. Toilet Paper Roll

2. Paint (We made our microphone gold)

3. Stickers for decorating 

Paint the toilet paper roll your color of choice, and allow it to dry. While you wait practice calling the Adhaan. After it dries add the stickers to make your 'microphone' even more special. When the Muadhin calls the Adhan, he uses his best voice and says it nice and loud so everyone can hear and join in the prayer. 

This is a simple and fun activity to do with your little ones. All the materials required are easy to find around the house. 

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind- Plot Diagram

We recently completed our novel study The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind using Lightning Literature. For our final book project, my son made a windmill diagraming the plot of the book. 

Material:

1. Straws

2. note cards

3. a cup

4. Skewer sticks or long popsicle sticks

5. Brass fastener

We made a rough copy of our plot diagram on the whiteboard. Once we took out unnecessary information my son copied it onto the note cards. 

We assembled the windmill and added the flag of Malawi to the cup. 

You can also use this project to summarize the picture book version for younger students. 

Somebody

Wanted to

So 

But 

Then

You can also do a character trait study on William, the main character. Write one trait per card and add the evidence from the text. 

Lewis and Clark Salt Dough Map

During our Lewis and Clark unit study we completed a salt dough map tracking their journey west. We are using Little School Smiths unit study for our lesson plans. All the instructions and labels are part of the lesson. We read What was the Lewis and Clark Expedition as our main book. 

Along with the salt dough map the boys wrote a paragraph about the Louisiana Purchase. 

We also learned about Thomas Jefferson and his role during the Louisiana Purchase and Expedition West. 

We like tying our history and language arts lessons together. We covered Cause and Effect during one of our English lessons. 

The map was helpful during our reading. It allowed the boys to visualize the main events and where they took place. 

We were also able to review map symbols and directions during this activity. 

Nez Perce

We recently did a unit study on the Nez Perce using Little School of Smiths American Girl history lessons. 

The Nez Percé are a Native American people who traditionally lived along the Snake River. The area where they lived is now Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Their name is French and means “pierced nose.” Nose piercing was not common among the Nez Percé, however.

After reading and watching videos the boys put together their notebooking page. 

We watched this video, which goes through the type of clothing, food, shelter, and location of this tribe. 

To complete this unit study the boys made tipis. Instructions for this activity are part of the lesson plans. This was their favorite part of the lesson. 

Suratul-Balad Activitie

Suratul Balad is all about hardship. Our birth and growth are hard, and the path to Jannah is hard. But, if we listen to what Allah tells us to do, then all the hardship will end in Jannah; we will live in ease forever!

For our Tafseer study, we used the Mini Tafseer Book Series

In Surah Balad we learn about the two paths. The Path of Jannah is full of trails and tests, and the Path to Jahannam is full of ease. There are five good deeds we can do to help us on the path to Jannah. My son painted the path and added the five good deeds using our label maker and toothpicks. 

1. Freeing the Slave

2. Feeding the poor/hungry/ and orphans

3. Being a Muslim

4. Being Patient

5. Being Kind

We also added some houses. Under each house is a question related to the surah 

Each surah in this series comes with a list of vocabulary words. We practiced the words through a matching game I made for my son. 

I wrote the Arabic on one side and the English on the opposite side. I cut out some long pieces of paper. My son connected the Arabic to the English. Making a path. 

That is all the activities we did for Surah Balad. We always memorize and read the tafseer book and then I added activities wherever possible.