Our fall book fair was very successful, despite the snow day! Thanks to all for your amazing support. Our profits allowed us to add $700 in free books to our library and $300 in cash to purchase new series titles. THANKS to everyone and please continue your support for our library during our Spring Scholastic Book Fair!
Sarah Jean loves Scholastic Book Fairs!
Everyone enjoys the variety of books offered during the book fair.
Ellie and Ayiana love reading and shopping at our book fair!
Though it might seem odd to think about pairing Spanish with technology, we’ve been doing just that in our Spanish special this year!
Recently, our fourth-sixth grade students used Keynote to create a culminating project for our “las profesiones” unit. Basically, the students used three key Spanish phrases from our unit, as well as lots of Spanish vocabulary from previous units. These upper el. students also learned how to use www.wordreference.com as a translating tool, and they practiced using Google Images to search for appropriate Clipart.
The kids did a super job practicing independence and exploring Keynote. Even more impressive, though, was their use of Spanish! They were able to explain what they want to be when they’re older, as well as what they want to have, completely in español!!!
We continue to be impressed with our Pinewood students’ energy, enthusiasm, effort, and brainpower in our Spanish special, and we are so thankful that we can take their language learning one step further with the awesome technology available at JPS! ¡¡¡Hurra!!!
We extended our learning of Michigan History with a visit to the Outdoor Discovery Center in Holland. The students had a great time throwing Native American hatchets, trying to start a fire with a stick and some frayed rope for tinder, using an atl-atl to throw spears farther, and investigating Indian artifacts. We also pretended to be French voyageurs that came to Michigan for the fur trade.
Our third graders had a wonderful opportunity to learn about art and incorporate what they were learning into their writing. On Wednesday, November 5, the third graders visited the Grand Rapids Art Museum. While they were there, they went to a variety of exhibits and did some writing activities for each one.
As students learned the stories behind the paintings and sculptures and some of the techniques the artists used, they also wrote about the exhibits using such skills and techniques such as compare and contrast, problem/solution, and using sensory details and strong verbs.
After the field trip, the learning and writing continue! Ashley Hankamp, our Art teacher, is working with the third grade classes on a unique art project, in which they create a new creature out of two familiar ones, and put that creature into a habitat they create. When they are finished with their own art project, they will use these writing techniques that we are working on in class and that were shared at the Grand Rapids Art Museum to write stories about each of our own projects.
All the third graders are very excited about their project, and are already thinking of the great stories they can tell!
Second graders have been learning all about animals, including their habitats, physical characteristics, and adaptations for survival. To present their learning, they conducted research on an animal of choice and put their findings into an animal report. They also made clay models and colorful habitat backgrounds and shared them among the two classes. Fun was had by all.
