Here We Come (Social Studies): Fourth graders explore the rich cultural diversity of our nation through a study of immigration. They begin by exploring their own cultural backgrounds, culminating in poetic and artistic expressions of their diverse heritages. A look at United States immigration history through Ellis and Angel Islands brings multiple voices into the classroom and helps prepare students to conduct interviews and write oral histories of immigrants in their community. Throughout the expedition, students listen to music and perform dances from diverse immigrant communities and explore how music migrates and evolves when people leave their homelands to make new lives in the United States.
What’s Up There? (Science): Fourth graders engage with the questions of the universe! Beginning with an in-depth look at the Earth and its moon, the expedition takes students on a tour of the solar system. Each night for a month, students observe the shape, size, and color of the moon and record their observations in a Moon Journal. The music of John Williams (“Star Trek”) and Gustav Holst provide the soundtrack for the expedition. Each lesson includes a listening experience in which students respond to music from science fiction films, as well as Holst’s’ “The Planets,” an orchestral suite with seven movements, each named after a planet. Students synthesize their research about the planets in a dramatic, educational performance featuring Holst’s suite.
Rhythm & Blues (Music/ELA): This expedition takes an in-depth look at the connection between rhythm and poetry through the blues. Students explore the conventions of poetry and the blues, discovering the connections between the two. They complete a study of a Harlem Renaissance poet, musician, or artist, creating a portrait and biography. Students compose and perform their own blues song. The expedition culminates in a Rhythm and Blues performance for the community including poetry recitations, blues performances, and a student-run art gallery.