April 2006
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Welcome spring! Everyone is a bit giggly, squirmy, and eager to be outside in this great weather! The courtyard is alive with plants and animals and the library welcomes cool breezes, the sounds of chirping birds, the beauty of spring blooms -- nature's gifts for the taking. The second and third graders will complete their study of sea turtles -- 2nd grade -- and chimpanzees -- 3rd grade -- by the end of May. The 2nd graders illustrated the seven steps in the life cycle of a sea turtle. Their drawings -- and soon to be recorded podcasts - may be viewed and listened to in the Grandview Newspaper. Ask your child to share the Sea Turtle Graphic Organizer. The 3rd graders will learn about Jane Goodall through a wonderful book and video clips. The video clips are available in our Chimpanzee Graphic organizer. (Have your child retrieve her record and share!) The chimpanzee unit will culminate with the creation of "mind maps" which allow students to organize what they have learned and then write summaries. Samples of their work will be published in the GV Newspaper. The Kindergartners and 1st graders took their whale books home. We've started learning about reptiles. Now that your children are familiar with mammals (whales) they are able to compare the similarities and differences between reptiles and mammals. For example: whale babies are born alive and most reptiles hatch from eggs; mammals are warm-blooded and reptiles are cold-blooded; whales and most sea turtles are migratory. Finally, everyone had a great time traveling around the world with Google Earth. A free version can be downloaded and installed on your computer. Visit Google Earth to learn more. This is an amazing resource for teaching geography! As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions or thoughts about the library program here at Grandview. Warmly, |
