Pictured: Fourth grader Khloe Lanning added dominoes to create a heart, as part of a science exploration on the transfer of energy.
Photos courtesy of the Massapequa School District
Valentine’s Day provided a spark for learning at Birch Lane Elementary School in the Massapequa School District, both for academics and character education.
Young scientists in James Day’s fourth grade class have been studying potential and kinetic energy in science. On a heart-shaped tape outline on the floor, students put down red, white and pink dominoes, then set them off to explore the transfer of energy caused by a chain reaction. Each student was responsible for placing at least 10 of the 219 dominoes it took to complete the heart.
Third graders, from left, Laila Borovina, Adriana Santacroce and Sofia Edelbach matched up rhyming words.
Jessica Gill’s third graders kicked off a geometry unit in math by using congruent triangles to make a heart. Students worked in small groups and were challenged to make the biggest heart possible with the pink paper triangles. The young mathematicians were thoughtful in their endeavor, following a “plan, create, reflect” process.
Declan McAuley, left, and Jax Steck used congruent paper triangles to make the biggest heart possible on Valentine’s Day.
Language skills were the focus in Meagan Vazquez’s third grade class. Students have been studying R-controlled vowels in their phonics-to-reading program. Each group received a set of hearts with words and had to match the words that rhymed. Every word had an “R” after a vowel. Ms. Vazquez said the goal of the activity was to help students understand spelling patterns.
Third graders participated in a digital activity about spreading kindness to others.
In Kelly Verity and Kristen Costa’s third grade class, students participated in a kindness-themed technology project. Using Google Slides, students had to fill out digital sticky notes with ways they can show kindness. Each note had a different prompt, such as ways to show kindness in school, and home, and to their family and friends.
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