A Very Special Field Trip
This week, third graders embarked on an exciting trip to the International African American Museum. Students explored the galleries and learned about artifacts, Gullah Geechee culture, African American changemakers, and life in different parts of Africa. They were especially interested in learning more about Gullah culture and noticing the ways we can still see its influence in our daily lives. One highlight of the trip was visiting a replica of a praise house from River Road on Johns Island and learning how these places of worship and community played an important role in the survival and growth of Gullah culture. We loved seeing the connections between our classroom studies and this powerful museum experience come to life.
We could not be prouder of our amazing poets after this week’s annual Pass It On event. These brave third graders blew us away with their beautiful poetry readings and their confidence on stage. We have watched students write, edit, revise, and practice these poems for months, so seeing them proudly share their work was incredibly rewarding. We hope these young poets feel proud of themselves and all of the care they put into their writing. During the event, we also collected supplies for Wings for Kids. If your child forgot to bring in a donation item, they are welcome to drop it off at school next week.
Our writers continue to push themselves as they incorporate many of their writing skills into their fractured fairy tales. Students are finishing the second drafts of their stories and revising to include descriptive language, stronger action words in dialogue, sentence variety, and even poetry techniques to add expression and creativity to their books. They are creating lively fantasy worlds filled with imaginative characters like talking peppermints, a bunch of little phoenixes, and even a “Big Bad Sprinkler.” As students wrap up their drafts, we are excited to see how they will bring these creative stories to life through illustrations in their final published books.
This week, third graders began their study of economics by exploring how people make choices when they have unlimited wants but limited resources. Students learned that economics helps us think about how people decide what they need, what they want, and how to use the resources they have. We talked about producers and consumers, goods and services, scarcity, and the beginning ideas of supply and demand, including how the amount of something available and the number of people who want it can affect choices. To bring these ideas to life, we began creating our own classroom economy, where students will help design businesses, products, services, jobs, and systems that allow our classroom community to function. This hands-on project will help students see economics as a connected system, where producers and consumers make choices that affect one another.
Important Dates:
May 22nd – Teacher Work Day (No School)
May 25th – Memorial Day (No School)
May 28th – 8th Grade Graduation (11:30am Dismissal)
May 29th – Field Day/Last Day of School (11:30am Dismissal)
