It's Mystery Skype Time!

Where in the USA is Mrs. Crawford's Class?

 

Third graders have been waiting patiently this week for Friday morning.  Specifically Friday morning at 9:30 when our computer rang in with a Skype call from another classroom somewhere in the United States!

Today we participated in our first Mystery Skype.  We prepared for this event by writing ten clues about the state of Iowa and then practicing researching clues.  Despite a few technical difficulties (technology is great when it is working well!) we were able to connect with Mrs. Crawford's class.  The students from both classes did a great job sharing their clues and working hard to find answers.  A few of the clues shared with us included their state was home to a very large Nascar race track, the apple blossom was their state flower, and they were a Great Lakes state in the midwest.  We shared clues about our state symbols, visitor's attractions, and famous people from Iowa including Dan Gable, Kurt Warner, Henry Wallace, and Norman Borlaug.

Students were assigned jobs throughout the Skype experience.  We had videographers, photographers, map experts, clue recorders, clue readers, and research experts in our room.  At the end of the 10 clues, our class accurately guessed that their class was from Michigan and they guessed we were Iowans.  It was a lot of fun, and our students thought it was like a game show (without a prize!).  We hope to participate in a few more Mystery Skype lessons this year.

Enjoy the pictures below that were taken by our class photographer during today's Mystery Skype event. 

Students share clues with Mrs. Crawford's Class.

Research and map experts use clues to determine the class' location.

Students use "Skype Manners' by introducing themselves and talking clearly and loudly.

Clue recorders keep track of the clues we were given for reference.

Mystery Skype in Progress

Map experts use USA maps and electronic maps to find the location. 

At the end of the Skype we shared information about our town and school with 

Mrs. Crawford's class.  It is also interesting to compare and contrast different areas.

Farm to School- Nutrition Lessons

This year we are lucky to be partnering with ISU Extension to bring the "Farm to School" program to grades 1st through 3rd grade at Lime Springs/Chester Elementary.  Michael Schwab of the Howard County office will be visiting once a month for a "tasty" lesson.  The goal of these lessons is to teach children about locally grown foods, nutrition concepts, and provide food tasting to encourage the trying of new foods.  Today's lesson centered around apples.  Students learned that apples are full of fiber to help with digestion and lots of vitamins to keep us healthy.  Students were also introduced to "My Plate" and good eating habits.  Finally students taste tested four different varieties of local apples and described how they tasted and felt.  Below are some pictures from our first "tasting lesson."  We look forward to our next lesson in December.  Thanks, Michael!

Fall Fitness Celebration!

Today students enjoyed an afternoon of fun and exercise at the local roller rink for all their hard work and "Cadet Character" during the first few months of school.  This activity was sponsored by our local PATT Group (Parents and Teachers Together).  Lime Springs/Chester Elementary Kindergarten through fifth grade student attended and had a blast, lots of laughs, and a great afternoon of exercise (perhaps coming home with a few bruises also!).  PATT rented the rink for the afternoon, provided snacks, and door prizes as students enjoyed music and skating.  As teachers we were so proud of the students as expert skaters helped inexperienced skaters.  It was great to see how caring our school community is!  Thanks PATT and all the parents that volunteered to help this afternoon!  Enjoy some pictures from the afternoon.......

It is November!

It has been another busy week!  I enjoyed visiting with everyone at conferences this week.  Thanks for taking an active interest in your child's education.  Remember if you ever have any questions- just let me know!  Here are a few photographs from the first full week in November.  Enjoy!

We began the study of force and motion this month.  Students are learning about friction below and using a lubricant to decrease the amount of friction.  

In math we are studying measurement.  We love practicing our skills!  We are measuring in both inches (to the half and quarter) and centimeters (to the half).  We are also learning to figure out the area and perimeter of a polygon.  

Students presented their inquiry projects this week.  Each student picked a living thing (plant or animal), researched it, and created a slideshow about its life cycle to present to the class.

We finished reading our Global Read Aloud Book- Marty McGuire this week and have enjoyed blogging about it and reading comments from our virtual classmates all over the world. It is great to have other 3rd graders to share our thoughts and ideas with.

On Friday we attended the play "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" put on by the Lime Springs Children' Theatre Troupe.  Several of our classmates were stars in the show.  They were awesome!