Third graders in Noele Mead’s classroom at McKay Creek Elementary recently worked on a project combining reading, writing, and a little bit of science. The students had to choose an animal to read about and research and then write about the animal.

On the wall outside Mead’s classroom are the resulting reports created by her students, with animals ranging from a koala to a Gila Monster to ocean creatures.

Third grader Gwen said she read and wrote about the Blue Marlin, one of the largest, fastest, and most recognizable fish in the world due to the long bill that grows from the front of its head. Gwen said she chose the marlin because her teacher said to pick an animal, probably nobody else would, so she searched in the fish category. Gwen discovered a Blue Marlin could weigh over 1,800 pounds and live in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.

A main part of the assignment was to research adaptations of the animal you chose. Andrew, a third grader, said, “An adaptation is one of their special body parts that helps them survive.”

The sharp, spear-like nose on the Blue Marlin is an adaptation that helps it catch its prey, and it’s also a very fast swimmer, Gwen said.

Andrew chose to report on the King Cobra since he likes snakes. He said he learned that the hood of the snake, an expansion of their neck skin, makes it look threatening, and the snake’s bite can kill an elephant. It lives in forests and deserts and eats rats, squirrels, and frogs. The King Cobra’s adaptation is its threatening hood, and one type of cobra can spit venom into a predator’s eyes.

Both students explained that after reading about their animals, they completed pre-writes of their report, which their teacher reviewed and edited to be ready for publishing. Mead, their teacher, said the process of reading a variety of information, in addition to incorporating what they already know, helps them determine the most important items to include in the report. “This is a skill students need to develop that will help them be successful for future third grade lessons, but also as they progress through school,” Mead said.

In addition to their own animals, Andrew said he liked fellow student Noah’s report on the beaver, because he is a big Oregon State University Beavers fan and he also liked the Glass Frog. Gwen said she liked the report on the Gila Monster.

“In this project, I liked learning more about the Blue Marlin,” Gwen said. Would she want to see one in the ocean? Yes, she said, but “I would like to have a safe distance from it.”

 

Learning Fun in December at McKay Creek Elementary

During December, several McKay students’ classes embarked on fun learning units and projects to celebrate the holiday season and winter.

The two 1^st Grade classes worked on creating a calendar to give to their parents – each calendar featured 12 pieces of amazing art (one for each month) created by the individual student. Wendy Phillips, 1^st Grade Teacher, said, “Our Christmas Calendar project is 12 months of amazing art wrapped into one special gift. This has been a traditional project at McKay for many years, and it’s been great this year to continue this tradition.”

First graders also began their Reindeer Unit. Phillips said some of the interesting things they have learned together are:

• Caribou means “snow shoveler”
• Arctic Tundra has permafrost; the climate is never warm enough to melt the frozen ground
• Moss, lichen, shrubs, and short grasses grow in the tundra
• One animal adaptation there is hollow fur to help them float
• Animals have huge nostrils to warm air before breathing
• Cow, bull, and calf communicate through snorts and grunts

Second graders in Shelby Spriet’s classroom were busy with their “Around the World” unit during December. Spriet said the class “flew” to Australia, England, France, China, and Israel. They also will be going to Germany and Russia.

To make the world traveler experience as authentic as possible, Spriet dresses up as a pilot, and the class watches a video of an airplane taking off. Then they go to “baggage claim” each day to grab their “luggage,” and they have passports where students place country stamps each time they travel to a new country.

“The kids love it! When we go to each country, we learn about the holidays they celebrate this time of year and how they celebrate. We learn the foods they eat and the traditions they have,” Spriet said.

McKay’s two fifth-grade classes, taught by Linzie Noble and Cathy Walters, got into the holiday spirit by creating multimedia pictures of tree boughs with watercolor ornaments.