May 30-June 3

The 4th grade group viewed a 10-minute movie that both highlighted the  
discovery of Caral (America's oldest known civilization) and  
encapsulated much of the material that students had learned so far  
this year. It did so by identifying unifying themes among early  
civilizations. It also made clear historians' lack of definitive  
answers for the question of what had led to Early Man crossing the  
"Great Divide"(the leap between nomadic life and civilization). During  
the film, students had to track responses to four key questions.

After watching and analyzing the film 4th graders took In-Class #2, a  
fill-in-the-blank exercise which gave each student a role in the  
advent of Early American Civilizations.

Subsequently 4th graders took a breather from the textbook, completing  
a "Devil's Advocate" activity. Introducing the activity, the teacher  
stressed the importance of exploring the other side of a given belief,  
whether it concern a legal case or a historical "fact." After the  
teacher modeled a couple "Devil's Advocate" examples, students were  
split into four groups. Each group had to record on the whiteboard a  
list of five arguments of why either:

- brushing your teeth is bad;

- war is good;

- 4th graders should be allowed to drive; or

- beaches in Guanacaste are ugly.

The 4th grade class closed the week by reviewing for the following  
week's quiz on Early American Civilizations, for which most students  
appeared well-prepared.