Barefoot Island

Students in 3K have been busy in social studies learning all about mapping skills. In the activity, Barefoot Island, students created a map key and then used those symbols on their island. They then generated questions that focused on cardinal directions, the map scale, and key. 

A student generating questions related to his Barefoot Island

A look at the final draft of the island and map key

Snowflake Banners

Step 1: Trace various circles of different sizes

Step 2: Cut out all the circles

Step 3: Create snowflakes

Step 4: Add glitter glue for decoration

Step 5: Step back and enjoy the falling snow!

Junior Achievement

3K recently participated in Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the work place. We were fortunate to have two great JA volunteers from Wells Fargo in Sioux Falls!

Holiday Party

Buddy, Our Elf on the Shelf

                       

Our class wrote a request to jolly ol' St. Nick, 

to send us a scout elf and send it real quick.

We needed someone to watch us throughout the day, 

and report back to Santa with what we do and say. 

After reading the enclosed book and naming our elf,

Buddy found a quiet spot in the room and kept to himself.

He then had some spare time while the kids were at home,

so he listened to reading before deciding to roam. 

Elfis Christmas Concert

Continents and Oceans

Continents and Oceans

We are currently in the middle of our geography unit in Social Studies. Students are learning about the continents, oceans, and basic mapping skills. Below is the video we created in class to help us remember the 7 continents and 4 oceans.  

Students can practice singing and pointing along to their continent song with the map below:

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Animoto Video

3K Animoto

student-created video using Animoto

Diamante Animal Poem

3K Students,

        Now that you're done with your rough draft for your Diamante animal poem, click HERE and type your final draft. Then, capture your writing and the heading (command + shift + 4), find a picture of your animal from clipart, and drag everything into a blank Power Point document. When you're finished, raise your hand to get the okay before printing. Your final project should follow the same format as mine below.

                                                                                                  Good luck, 

                                                                                                  Mr. Knips

Chess Club Showdown

Chess Club Showdown 

This past week the Freedom Chess Club invited teachers to participate in our Wednesday session. Chess Club members paired up with teachers and then helped coach them through a game of chess against an opponent. I think the 28 students and 8 participating teachers had a great time!

Autobiography

Third graders will soon be writing their own autobiography. This six-week project will be quite the undertaking, but I think they're up for the challenge! Parents, please check out the Autobiography tab for more information and a completed example. 

Switch Zoo

Click on the picture above to visit Switch Zoo

These last few weeks third graders have been learning all about animals in science. We'll continue our study this week as students create their own Crazy Creature by combining different parts of animals. They will then write a descriptive paragraph about their creature, including diet, appearance, habitat, and any fascinating facts.

Crazy Creature Example

Weekly Writer #1

Please check out the Step-Up-To-Writing tab for more information about our first Weekly Writer assignment, which is due Friday, Nov. 16.

Freedom Giving Tree

The Freedom Student Council is sponsoring a Giving Tree. The tree is placed in the Freedom office and will be out in the commons during conferences. If you are interested in giving toward this project, please stop by the tree and take an ornament off the tree in which you would like to donate.  Items need to be new and in their original package. Please do not gift-wrap any item but you may donate gift-wrap as well. If you would like to recommend a family who would benefit from this project or feel your students are in higher need please contact Andrea Junker, Freedom School Counselor.  Donations will be accepted in the office until December 17^th. Thank you for your continued support!

In conjunction with the Giving Tree, each grade level will be sponsoring their own project of giving. The student council will be delivering the donated items to our Local Food Bank/ Local Charities/ Local Families. There will be boxes with the different grade levels marked on them placed in the foyer for the students wishing to participate.

Kindergarten - Macaroni & Cheese/Spaghettios/Ravioli

1st Grade - Canned Goods

2nd Grade - Toilet paper, Tissues, Napkins/Paper Towels

3rd Grade - Body wash or Soap/Body Lotion/Deodorant

4th Grade - Toothpaste/Toothbrush/Mouthwash

5th Grade - Shampoo/Conditioner/Hair-Gel/Hair Spray

Freedom Mock Election

This year students at Freedom Elementary school joined nearly 1 million other kids from across the state and nation to hold a mock presidential election on October 30th. Studies Weekly put on the event and compiled all the information below. This will be the third Studies Weekly election. The previous two times the students correctly chose the next president. I encourage everyone to do their civic duty and vote next Tuesday, November 6th!

M&M Pumpkins

3K's Pumpkin Project

Thank you to those that offered ideas for decorating our class pumpkin! 

 

3K boys paint the first coat on our peanut M&M.

3K girls do the same with their regular M&M.

Our finished M&M's. I think they turned out pretty well! 

3K posing with our finished M&M's. 

Mount Everest

Where in the World is 3K Today?

Mount Everest

We stopped for a quick picture at our second base camp before ascending to the summit. 

Did you know...

--Mount Everest was formed nearly 60 million years ago.

--It is the highest mountain in the world at 29,035 feet.

--Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top on May 19, 1953. 

--Over 2,000 people have reached the top of Everest so far. 

--The youngest person to reach the summit was 13 and the oldest was 70.