Grade 3: New Guinea!

Third grade learned more about the terrain, people, and features of Papua, New Guinea.  It was surprising to learn that the island of New Guinea itself is only slightly bigger than our state of California yet there are around 850 spoken languages there.  We discussed why learning English as a second language would be so important to people while working, at school, or traveling through the country.  A strong part of tribal life is the importance of the different masks used in everyday life.  We learned that masks celebrate many things in the tribe, bring good luck to the clan or even ward off evil or enemies!  We are making our own masks and symbolizing decorations to celebrate a milestone in our own lives or to bring a certain good luck to our clan (family).