Cooleemee Elementary  kindergarten students studied Veterans Day.  They read stories, sang songs, drew pictures and wrote about this special day. Kindergarteners performed for the school and veterans on Nov. 9. Students continue to study letters using Letter Land curriculum, learning about F-Firefighter Fred and B-Bouncy Ben. This interactive curriculum helps kindergarteners to be enthusiastic and engaged while learning letters and letter sounds.

First graders have been learning about true and false statements in math. As the holidays are approaching, students are learning facts about turkeys, the first Thanksgiving, and the Mayflower. They are preparing for a first grade Thanksgiving skit that will be performed for family and friends.

Second grade has been learning to regroup in math. Students learned to decompose numbers to add. Students have been working on using key details in reading groups to answer written questions about their stories. In social studies, students have been learning about Veteran’s Day and the traditions behind the holiday. Students made cards for veterans and wrote about their personal heroes.

Fourth graders in Mrs. Nichols’ science class learned about animal adaptations. Students viewed a PowerPoint on species of birds and how their beaks and talons help them to survive. For example, students compared a pelican’s beak to an owl’s beak. They were able to see how each beak was helpful for each bird’s hunting technique.

Students have been hard at work in the art room.

Kindergarten will be learning about diversity through a color-mixing project. First grade is finishing a clay turtle project as well as a Veterans Day project in which they drew the American flag, stitching around the outside edge with yarn, and writing a thank you to a veteran for all they have done. Second grade is making a bat painting at twilight.

Third grade will be creating an autumn landscape using markers and water. This project uses symmetry. Through a printing technique, their autumn landscapes will become a reflection in a lake or pond. Fourth grade is finishing up a sugar scull painting and will soon be creating stained glass inspired autumn trees. Fifth grade is making leaf dishes out of clay. They will be using color burst glazes to get some really pretty fall colors.

Fifth graders recently went to the NC Zoo. They visited the natural habitats of Africa, North America, and even an aviary. One of the main attractions was getting to feed the giraffes.