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Spanish Version

1715: España es muy fuerte y poderosa. Tiene muchos territorios. Pero el rey quiere más control. El rey se llama Felipe. El rey Felipe es impaciente. Él dice, “¡Quiero mi tesoro! ¡Ahora mismo!” Por eso (that’s why), los marineros van a la isla de Cuba.

En Cuba, la gente baila mucho. La salsa es un baile (una danza) importante. Hoy en día (nowadays), Cuba es muy famoso por sus coches. El rey Felipe quiere su tesoro, pero este es un problema. ¿Por qué? Porque es la temporada de huracanes (hurricane season). 

Hay un huracán terrible–está lloviendo y hay una brisa muy fuerte en el Océano Atlántico. La flota española (un grupo de 12 barcos) se hunde en la tormenta. Y el tesoro desaparece (disappears)… hasta 2017. Ahora, el tesoro está en un museo de historia.

CAPÍTULO 2: Un día, Cubby está en su apartamento (en la impresora). ¿Cubby está leyendo o jugando? Correcto, Cubby está jugando un videojuego. El videojuego se llama MarioKart/ MarioGolf. De repente (suddenly), Cubby recibe un mensaje secreto.

Un cuervo lo deja caer en su sofá. Cubby lo mira. ¿Qué dice el mensaje secreto? No sé. El mensaje secreto es invisible. Cubby usa un secador de pelo y PUF, aparece el mensaje secreto. El mensaje secreto dice que… hay un mapa… y un cofre de tesoro!!! ¡¡NO ME DIGAS!!

Class Story + 1715 Shipwreck

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English Version

1715: Spain is very strong and powerful. It has a lot of territories. But the king wants more control. The king is named Phillip. King Phillip is impatient. He says, “I want my treasure! Now!” That’s why the sailors go to the island of Cuba.

In Cuba, the people dance a lot. Salsa is an important dance. Nowadays, Cuba is very famous for its cars. King Phillip wants his treasure, but this is a problem. Why? Because it’s hurricane season.

There is a terrible hurricane–it’s raining, and there is a very strong breeze in the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish Fleet (a group of 12 boats) sinks in the storm. And the treasure disappears… until 2017. Now, the treasure is in a history museum.

CHAPTER 2: One day, Cubby is in his apartment (in the printer). Is Cubby reading or playing? Correct, Cubby is playing a videogame. The videogame is called MarioKart/ MarioGolf. Suddenly, Cubby receives a secret message.

A crow drops it on his couch. Cubby looks at it. What the secret message say? I don’t know. The secret message is invisible. Cubby uses a hairdryer and POOF, the secret message appears. The secret message says that there is a map… and a treasure chest! No way!

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BACKSTORY: This semester, students in third grade began by helping the rest of Lower School build an impressive 3-D model of part of Chichen Itza out of colorful paper cubes (Mexico). One particular cube managed to attach itself to a Popsicle stick and grow a face—and thus was borne Cubby el cubo cubano (Cubby the Cuban Cube). In order to tell the story of present-day Cubby, however, it was necessary to travel back in time; through role-playing, third graders learned about the lost treasure and Spanish Fleet of 1715, and then used this story (nonfiction) as a point of origin for their own original story (fiction).

Their adventure involved intimidating bodyguards, good and evil forces (e.g., the girl who poured a milkshake on Cubby, the paper cube!), the fact that Cubby lives in a printer and therefore could photocopy and clone himself, and a ridiculous and messy finale of soap and marshmallows that expanded in the (yes, real) microwave. Later, students went on another historical voyage to learn about endangered languages and how creoles/languages are formed, and as an extension, worked to create their own languages. Knuffle Bunny added some good food for thought here—is thinking language, pre-language, or merely wordless emotional stuff? Lastly, third graders chose class (food) nicknames; had a ‘masculine and feminine nouns’ competition; learned about Cinco de Mayo, and began their final class story of the year. Gracias for a fabulous year.

Quarter Summary, 2015-16