Day 86: Denise Estep, 3rd Grade Teacher at Hilliard Horizon Elementary

Connecting the Community to the Classroom

3rd graders at Hilliard Horizon participated in a Community Fair on Friday, October 11th. Our goal was to reach out to our community members and ask them to come into our classrooms to show the kids what impact they have on our local Hilliard/Columbus community.  

Although we didn't have quite the turn-out we had originally thought, it was an extremely powerful event for all involved. We had a local nurse, 

a local firefighter (who is stationed right on Feder Rd.), 

2 cancer researchers from the OSU James Cancer Hospital, 

a local Hilliard police officer, 

a Boy Scout troop leader from Horizon, 

and a post office worker from the Hilliard Post Office. 

This event was extremely hands-on with the kids being allowed to use a microscope to see how cancer cells are studied, holding & even trying on a bullet proof vest (and much more), touching a firefighters helmet, asking questions and having great dialogue among all community members. 

Now that we are unable to take field trips, it is so important to bring the "trips" to us. We are so very appreciative of all people who volunteered their time, our third graders learned so much about what makes a strong community and it includes all of our great volunteers.

Denis Estep is a 3rd Grade Teacher at Hilliard Horizon Elementary.

Day 72: Mrs. Hall's 3rd Grade Writers

Persuasive 3rd Graders

Recently, students in Mrs. Hall's class worked with our Literacy Coach, Mrs. Wendt, and explored the genre of persuasive writing.  Students learned that there can be power in words, especially in a well-written persuasive writing piece.

Here are a few new understandings Mrs. Hall's students have learned:

• "There's a lot of steps, like revising your work."
• "You have to use good words to get people to read it."
• "You need to use words like 'finally', 'first', 'second', 'third' and 'in conclusion'."
• "The conclusion is important and you need to use the word 'should' in your conclusion."
• "You need at least three ideas to support what you think."
• "You need to get your reader's attention by having a strong opening."

Check out the hall display outside of Mrs. Hall's room for more persuasive writing!

Day 68: 3rd Grade QR Code Book Reviews

Scan and Review

Mrs. Bates' 3rd grade students just completed a project that involved book reviews and QR Codes.  QR stands for "quick response" code and can be read with most smart phones with a QR code reader app.

Take a look at some of the book reviews that are displayed out in the hallway at Hilliard Horizon.  You can scan the QR code with your smart phone if you are using another device to read this post.  

Enjoy!

  

Day 51: J.J., 3rd Grade Student

Saved by a Book

Many of us can think of the one book that changed us as readers -- the book that saved our reading life.  Before reading that book, we didn't really take an interest in reading.  However, after reading that one book, our reading life was saved and we became life-long readers in that moment.

J.J., a 3rd grade student at Hilliard Horizon, recently came across a book that has saved many students' reading life: Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  In the video below, J.J. talks with Mrs. Showalter, one of Hilliard Horizon's ELL teachers, about how his reading life has changed.

Day 43: 3rd Grade Instrumentalists

The Sound of Learning

For a few weeks, 5 third grade students have met with Mrs. Romine, Hilliard Horizon's music teacher, twice a week to work together on a song for the upcoming choir concert.

The girls are using hand chimes to create a sound that will accompany a song the choir will sing during the performance.

The girls shared how challenging it was at first.  They had to learn when to play and when to rest.  They admit that they have come a long way and they are excited to share their hard work.

Take a moment to listen in on one of their practice sessions with Mrs. Romine: