PRE Monday: March 2016

Monday, March 21, 2016

Jones Gap Preparation

Third graders embark the week after spring break on our mountain trip to Jones Gap State Park. We spent today preparing by doing some vocabulary review. Students can continue to practice the must-know terms at this link. We also looked at water quality test we will conduct at the park, layers of the forest, and life cycles of some of the macro-invertebrates we hope to find. Students did a great job researching and composing their expert cards highlighting one of the many living organisms that calls Jones Gap home.

Gabe Expert Card

Elijah Expert Card

Jared Expert Card

Cameron Expert Card

Ariana Expert Card

Alyssa Expert Card

Carter Expert Card

Monday, March 14, 2016

Acid Rain

Today students looked at acid rain as the possible culprit in the case of the dying fish of Gray Area. They tested the acidity of the Gray Area rain and also that of of the different bodies of water in the region. We found some interesting results. Next week we will learn more about acid rain and consult with the our next suspect, the owner of the toy factory, to try to make sense of our findings.

We also continued our novel study of Listening to Crickets, began some research on the student selected plants and animals of Jones Gap to prepare our expert cards for the field study, and heard some more systems project presentations.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Richland County Judicial Center Field Study

We had a fantastic time observing the trial of Mr. Sticky Fingers and the case of the stolen cell phone. Students got to hear opening statements, observe evidence and witness testimonies from both the prosecution and defense, and take part in the the final verdict. The beautiful day and outdoor lunch were a hit as well!

Jury duty.

The judge and courtroom clerk.

The prosecutor addressing the jury.

The Defense answers student questions.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Second Grade Math Bingo

We were flying solo today with our third graders on field study this week. We took the opportunity to wrap up our first math topic on organizing data. Students completed a choice menu to review finding median, mode, and range, and then showed their progress on a topic check-up.