Good afternoon, bloggers!
Today is February 29. It is leap day! This day comes around only once every four years. Instead of having 365 days in 2012, we have 366! Watch the video below for a cool explanation of leap year.
What will you do with your extra day of February this year?!
Good morning, bloggers!
Over the last two months, we have been studying the novel Mr. Popper’s Penguins and researching penguins in the Antarctic. Time For Kids just released a news article about an Antarctic discovery!
Time For Kids wrote, “After two decades of start-and-stop drilling, Russian researchers have finally reached Lake Vostok. The lake is buried beneath ice that is two miles thick. The lake’s fresh water has remained untouched for the last 20 million years. One of roughly 400 lakes that rest under the ice on the continent, Lake Vostok is the largest. At 160 miles long and 30 miles wide, it is similar in size to Lake Ontario in North America.”
This research project has lead researchers to test new technologies that may even be used in space!
Time for Kids stated, “The drilling of Lake Vostok has made it possible for scientists to test technologies that could be used to study similar places in our solar system. “Conditions in lakes in Antarctica are the closest we can get to those where scientists expect to find extraterrestrial life,” said Valery Lukin, the head of Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. Researchers believe the conditions of Lake Vostok are similar to those found under the ice crust on Mars, on Jupiter’s moon Europa, and on a moon of Saturn. Studying the lake may help scientists determine which of those other icy worlds to target for exploration first.”
Click the link to read the entire article about this Antarctic discovery.
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/antarctic-discovery/29416
How do you think this research will help advance research in space?
Where else in the world do you think this research could be used?
-Ms. Safran
Hello third grade!
On Tuesday, we are receiving a new student and we are very excited! Her name is Isabella. I am certain that we will learn lots of information about her when she arrives. To welcome our new friend, we made her a video!
Do you have any advice or tips about Willowbrook School for Isabella?
Dear bloggers,
For homework tonight, you have to watch the video below. You must watch this video to be prepared for class on Tuesday! After you watched the video, please comment and answer the following question.
If you do not comment, it will be counted as a missing homework assignment.
Good morning, third graders!
We read a Time For Kids article about technology integration into the classroom. The students at Mineola Middle School in Mineola, New York are leaving an Ipad and tablet initiative and using them during the school day for all subjects! Technology can be an amazing tool for learning but it can also sometimes be a distraction if used inappropriately.
Do you think that Ipads and other modes of technology help or hurt students’ learning in the classroom? How has technology affected your learning?
-Ms. Safran
Good afternoon, bloggers!
Today, we went to the Chicago History Museum. We went to the museum to summarize and celebrate all of the things we learned about Chicago’s history during our Chicago Unit in Social Studies. At the museum, there was information about Fort Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire, and even the World’s Fairs! Some of us even got to be a hotdog 
What was your favorite part of the museum? What was the most fascinating thing you learned during the Chicago unit?
-Ms. Safran
Tommy and Geoffrey worked hard to create a penguin presentation for the class!
What have you learned about penguins from your research this week?
