California missions
Rose Drive Elementary School’s fourth grade “Pepperdine Group” is in the final stages of compiling their Spanish mission depth and complexity research posters. Working in pairs, students were assigned two California missions for which they had to research important facts, complete a hand-drawn image of their mission, create a timeline, and generate Venn diagrams comparing and contrasting one mission with another. From there, they researched and wrote essays to important questions. They also developed interview questions to ask the missionaries and Native Americans regarding their experience on the missions. As a follow up, students were also asked to evaluate and justify the treatment of the Native Americans by the Spanish. The poster is the final product of their research and hard work.
Third graders prepare for school garden
Mrs. Fast and Mrs. Thorp’s third graders are busy watching seeds sprout and learning about plants. After weeks of care and close observation, students will participate in transplanting the seedlings to a new school-wide outdoor garden, where they will continue to care for the growing plants as an ongoing class project.
Finch robotics
Thanks to the development of a simple and inexpensive “Finch” robot, robotics and computer programming is now something every Rose Drive fifth grade student can enjoy. Working in pairs, students work tirelessly to provide one command after another in the hopes that their robot will successfully carry out each action exactly as programmed. The highlight is the look of pride and wonder on the face of each team member after a particularly challenging set of commands results in the Finch’s successful completion of the action. One can’t help but share in the student’s enthusiasm!
WOW! Look at all the fun things you are learning!