PASSPORT TRAVELERS

117.32 Fine Arts, Grade 6 (2) Creative expression/performance. The student expresses ideas through original artwork, using a variety of media appropriate to his/her skill level. The student is expected to:
(A) express a variety of ideas based on personal experience and direct observations;
(C) demonstrate technical skills effectively, using a variety of art media and materials to produce designs, drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, photographic imagery, andelectronic media-generated art.

110.21 English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6 *(10) Reading/comprehension. (K) answer different types and levels of questions, such as open-ended, literal, and interpretative questions, as well as test–format questions, such as multiple choice, true-false, and short-answer questions.

Day 1: Students are introduced to the concept of a passport /. Students spend time creating passports for themselves. The first country students will be visiting is China. Students are given the geographical location of the country. Students learn about ancient Chinese dragons and their importance in the Chinese culture. (Go to http://china.mrdonn.org/index.html and select Free PowerPoint Presentation on Dragons.)

Day 2: Have students review the various dragons and their traits, discussed on Day 1. Each student will be given the opportunity to create his or her own dragon. For procedures, see http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/Files/dragon.htm.

Day 3: Students who completed the Chinese project should have their passports validated for China. The country for Day 3 is Egypt. Students are given the geographical location of the country and introduced to the geography and daily life of early Egyptians. Students are introduced to hieroglyphs and their cursive equivalents. Students will be given the opportunity to create a word in hieroglyphs. Compare and contrast this form of writing to modern writing. Students will be introduced to the ancient Pyramids and their significance in the Egyptian culture.

Day 4: Reintroduce pyramids. (Go over pyramid project.) For procedures, see http://www.kidzworld.com/article/5449-ideas-for-egypt-projects .

Day 5: Students participate in the “Amazing Race Across the World” scavenger hunt. Posters with learned information will be placed around the school (hallways or outside) and different “stations.” Divide students into groups of 2 or 3, hand out paper and pencils, and give guidelines as to what information they must find at each station—for example, traditional customs, food. Once a group finds the answer, they look for another poster. For extra points, some posters will have harder questions on them. Students read information on the poster to find the answer. Students will also find “roadblocks.” If there’s a staff member standing next to a poster, they will be given an extra assignment before moving to the next station—for example, a quiz with harder trivia questions regarding that country, or instructions to read a short article about that country and answer questions. Once the staff member has approved the answers, the group is given a clue to find the next poster. The first group to find all the posters and return “home” is the winner. They will be given a prize, and an extra prize may be given to those who correctly answered the bonus questions on the posters.

Note: Make a note of how many posters are placed around the school; give students a time frame for the activity.

Day 1: Materials for creating a passport
Construction paper, markers, tape, glue, and scissors
Each student should bring a picture of him- or herself.

Day 2: Materials for Chinese Dragon
See http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/Files/dragon.htm for materials.

Day 4: Materials for Egyptian Pyramids
Glue, flat board (use a cardboard box), paint, and brushes (yellow, brown, gold)
Box of sugar cubes (about 260 cubes per student)

Day 5: Materials for “Amazing Race Across the World”
Poster boards, tape, paper, pencils, printed material (information) about countries, extra trivia questions, and prizes