On parade

The dodo bird

The third and fourth graders recently completed a month long research project that culminated with a school-wide parade.  After selecting a topic that they found interesting, each student came up with some questions that they would research. They learned that all research begins with basic questions, and they were able to use their understanding of the Dewey Decimal System and note-taking to start their projects.

The Underground Railroad

The city of Oakwood

Snakes!

Walking sticks

Caecilians

Sharks

Giraffes

Annie Oakley

The Great Dayton Flood of 1913

Each student came up with a two paragraph essay outlining basic facts, life cycles and adaptations (the third graders looked into animals while the fourth graders focused on Ohio history). Some of the topics covered were caecilians, giraffes, walking sticks, snakes and sharks.  The fourth graders explored Ohio history and covered the Dayton Flood of 1913, Annie Oakley, the history of Oakwood, and the Underground Railroad.  




The students marched around the school while to Sousa's Washington Post March and presented their work to a very interested crowd.  The kindergarteners, first and second graders tested the older students' knowledge with intelligent questions.  

Springing into action

Our class has been very busy over the past month.  We have been grateful for pleasant weather; the third graders have enjoyed a few science classes outside as they explore forces of motion.  Here they are testing gravity with a few classroom objects.  They made predictions and recorded their results in a forces of motion journal they kept over the past few weeks.  This led into a discussion of simple machines where more explorations and experiments continued as the girls researched their own topic and presented their findings.

Recording our observations

Testing our hypotheses

Letting go

Testing friction and resistance

Figuring out how simple machines work

The fourth graders are motivated and continuing on with their extensive studies on Ohio history. Various trips to Carillon Park have further enriched their knowledge of their surroundings and a research project on a significant topic will be included in an Ohio scrapbook.  Look at the beautiful mural of Ohio they created!

The fourth graders took an interest in the creation of the Ohio seal and each came up with their own seal to represent themselves.  This led into a discussion on symbolism and why artists and writers use symbols in their work.  The fourth graders are now busy compiling their notes to create a scrapbook of Ohio history--they are well-versed on the subject and are happy to share their insights!

In science, the fourth graders explored states of matter and how physical and chemical changes can affect matter.  They compared mixtures and solutions and conducted an experiment that tested the density of certain liquids and how a chemical change can affect a solution.

Other activities in April have included a unit on research, including a trip to the Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood where the class used what they know on the Dewey Decimal System to look up books relevant to their research topics.  Photos will follow of their hard work on their floats they made for their Ohio history and animal parade.

Community of Clothes

While studying economics, the third graders decided to start up their own non-profit by creating a company called Community of Clothes. The class has been collecting clothes for children and have collected over 500 pieces of clothing so far! They are practicing basic economic concepts by dividing up the tasks (division of labor), using specialization by narrowing down one category to focus on, and have charted and kept count of all the clothing.  The six members of the group were divided into three departments--advertising, collections and communications.  The advertising department designed posters and fliers to send home with the students.  The collections department kept careful count of all of the clothes that came in and tracked the progress.  The communications department checked in daily with the other classes to raise awareness.

Sorting the clothes

Our collections department tallying up the clothes

Thank you to the Hillel families and community for supporting this worthy cause. The girls are proud of their work and there will be many families who will be positively affected by their good deed.

Enjoying Dr. Seuss

The third and fourth graders took time out of a busy Friday to focus on reading silently for twenty minutes. Read Across America is a national program celebrated by many school children across the country.  The event coincides with the birthday of the wonderfully inspiring Dr. Seuss. The girls recounted how they learned to read with many of Dr. Seuss's works and were excited to celebrate his life by reading his books.  

The importance of reading is stressed throughout the day at Hillel, and it was fun to focus on reading for pure enjoyment.  

Exploring Ohio's history

We are fortunate to be in such close proximity with Carillon Park, a wonderful resource for exploring Ohio history.  The fourth graders visited the park last week, and were very interested in learning more about Ohio history.  We spent most of our time exploring the outside structures including the one-room schoolhouse, the transportation center, the Wright Flyer III, and the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop.  It was interesting to see how much transportation has changed over the years and recognize Dayton's role in American history.


One student enjoyed her time at Carillon because she learned that the Wright Brothers had three jobs during their lives--making the first successful airplane, making bikes and running a print shop.  

 They also learned that the one room schoolhouse would include children of all ages, and the students would sit in the room according to their ages.  

One of the fourth graders wrote:


"At Carillon Park, I learned about the planes that the Wright Brothers made.  The guide explained that people from all over the world come to see this plane that is at the museum."


As we stepped into the log cabin, the girls could see how this particular house had many different functions over the years, including a tavern, jail and a living space. One fourth grader liked seeing the small ladder that was used for the children to climb up to the loft to sleep.




We hope to share our experiences and knowledge of Dayton and Ohio history with our twin school in Israel over the next few months with a possible video project.  I am impressed with the students' curiosity about this subject and we have been having fun with learning more about our surroundings.   






For more information on Carillon Park and Dayton history, please visit:
http://www.daytonhistory.org/destinations/carillon-park.htm

Geology rocks!

Last Thursday, we had a visit from Katie Schoenenberger, a geologist at the University of Dayton.  Katie explained that she not only studies rocks and minerals but the Earth's processes (natural disasters, glaciers, fossils, etc.). Since we have been discussing root words, the students understood that the word geology not only applies to rocks and minerals, but to the study of the Earth  (geo=Earth, soil).  We explored and discussed the different types of rocks and minerals, how we identify and classify them and how the rock cycle works.  

Placing sedimentary rocks in their proper place.

Using hand lenses and field notebooks, the girls observed and recorded their findings.  We used our senses as we came up with descriptions of each of the rocks that Katie brought in to the classroom.   The girls also experienced how metamorphic rocks form using heat and pressure from their hands to change the shape and form of Starburst candies.  She also left us with samples that we will continue to work with throughout this unit of study.  The girls enjoyed the presentation because we met with a real geologist and learned things by actually looking, feeling, and exploring actual rocks and minerals.  

Forming a hypothesis about how minerals form.

Using hand lenses to get a better look.

Forming metamorphic rocks using Starburst candies.

Explaining how crystals form.

Using heat and pressure to form "metamorphic rocks".

Writing about reading

The third and fourth graders have devoted a lot of time to reading different genres of literature and writing thoughtful responses using the writing process.  In early December, the girls read fiction that focused on a different culture or country.  They researched questions that they may have had while reading, and presented their findings in a short oral presentation that was videotaped.  Before giving their oral presentations, we watched several author talks online (Kevin Henkes and Kadir Nelson) to learn about their writing process and how they summarized their books.  We also watched examples of students from other schools present books so we could see what goes into a strong oral presentation.  

 A presentation on Meet Josefina by Valerie Tripp, a book about Mexican culture.

We read The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow by Ann Turner, a book about a Navajo girl who lived in New Mexico during the 400 mile Long Walk in 1864.

After the oral reports, we explored vintage travel posters from the 1920's. Each student came up with a travel poster advertising the country or culture that they explored through fiction.

Our representation of Virginia Hamilton's Zeely. 

 Johannesburg, South Africa was explored in Journey to Jo'Burg by Beverley Naidoo.

Italy was represented by a report on Kathryn Lasky's Hope in My Heart.