Happy Veteran's Day!

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On November 11, America celebrates Veterans Day. It is the day we honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces. Veterans Day is a national holiday! 

Photo by Mrs. Yollis

Veterans: Men and women who have served in the armed forces.

Soldiers: Men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces.

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Here is a link to a wonderful BrainPop video entitled
Armed Forces. 

What did you learn about the 

army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard.

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To help us learn about Veterans Day and the men and women who serve,  I asked my students if any of their family members are in the military or were in the military. Meet our family of service members!  

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Meet our district superintendent, Dr. Stepenosky. As you can see, he served in the Navy. He served from 1990 to 1994 on the USS Chancellorsville which was guided by a missile cruiser. The Chancellorsville weighed 9,000 tons and had a crew of 330 people. 

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Here are Grant's two grandfathers. They both served in the military. Grant's "Papa Bill" served in the Army and was stationed in Germany. 

Grant's "Popi" served in the Navy and was stationed on the battleship USS Wisconsin. 

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This is Sam's dad, David.
 He served as an Air Force Pilot. He was on active duty in Oklahoma from 1990-1997. Then, he served in the Air National Guard part time, in Louisiana from 1997-2003.

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Keira's uncle, Greg, is in the Army. He is a Colonel. He is on active duty of the U.S. Army currently assigned to Westpoint, NY.


 

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This is Alberto's uncle, Alexander. He served in the Army. He also received the honor of Soldier of the Year for the Army, and then received the rank of Sergeant. He served in the 1st Infantry Division, the Charlie Company 1st Battalion 18th Infantry from 2000-2003.  He was deployed to Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria during his service. 

To this day, Alexander goes to the airport once or twice a month to welcome soldiers coming back or going on tour of duty in the special zone where soldiers can rest while waiting for a flight at JFK airport in New York, NY.

His family is incredibly proud and honored by his service. 

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 Samantha's grandfather, Elzie  Jr. was in the US Army. He was in the 101st airborne branch known as the Screaming Eagles. He was based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was a Chief Master Sargent (E-6). He served in Subic Bay in the Philippines, in Okanawa, Japan, and in England.

Elzie was drafted during WWll and he served bravely in multiple areas of combat during the war. He continued to be enlisted and serve after the war.

He spent most of the 20s in Europe and then came home at the age of 30.

He continued to be active with the US government  his retirement in the 70s.

He returned home to the family farm and lived the remainder of his life.

 

 

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Today, we had a fabulous Veterans Day assembly. Students wore red, white, and blue, and we had some very distinguished guests. Fiveveterans came to our school and were honoredwith a presentation and a guitar solo of the Star Spangled Banner. 

The assembly started with the pledge. Notice the veterans who saluted, while others placed their right hand over their hearts. 

 

One of the veterans was a non·a·ge·nar·i·an(nän ə jəˈnə rē ən). A nonagenarian is a person who is between 90-99 years old. He is a WW II veteran. 

Everyone wanted to thank the veterans for their service to America! 

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Are any of your relatives or friends veterans?

Please tell us about them and thank them for their service to America!

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November is Family Blogging Month

Ms. Tulbure and her students ♥ to share what they are learning and experiencing. In an effort to include more family members in our online community, we are proclaiming: 

November is Family Blogging Month!

Each student made a list of their family members. After looking through the archive, students selected specific posts tailored to the interest of a particular relative. 

We're inviting everyone to comment: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, and cousins. 

We welcome friends, too!

Students will be inviting their family and friends to participate in a conversation! 
Maybe we'll get some 2-point comments! 

(We frequently evaluate the comments that our blog has received. In order to earn the 2-points, a comment must be error-free and add something to the post.   Many of Ms. Tulbure's third graders have already met the challenge!)

If you don't know what to say, here is a video made by Mrs. Yollis' third graders. 

Learn FIVE tips for writing a quality comment! 

If you don't know How to leave a comment, here is a video tutorial about HOW to leave a comment on our blog.

Here is the key we will use for  Family Blogging Month.

 

What do you think of our idea?

Who are you inviting to be a part of our online community?

Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!

National Geographic Giant Map of ....North America!

Ms. Tulbure is passionate about geography. 
I was very excited when for the last two weeks our school had the National Geographic Giant Traveling Map of North America! 

Each Giant Map comes with a trunk full of resources!

Photo by Mrs Yollis

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We looked closely at the compass rose. Then we practiced traveling north, south, east or west. Knowing direction is important on a map! 

Photo by Mrs. Yollis

The class first explored the map by walking the lines of latitude and longitude. 

All photos by Ms. Tulbure

 Next, the class swam in the Atlantic Ocean

Students then found landforms all over North America (rivers, lakes, mountains, bays, etc.)

Here is the Mississippi River!

 

Brr it's cold on our toes!

We walked on Central America.

We felt at the top of the world in Canada.

  Next, we played a team game. The object of the game: jump between lines of latitude and longitude, using the compass rose, the number rolled on the dice. Teams can knock out a player by completing their last step in the same square (similar to chess). 

The team with the most players still standing on the map is the winner. 

What fun we had on the map!

What was your favorite activity on the Giant Map of North America?

What was something new you learned about?

What would you like to know more about in geography?