Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools November 2013 | Page 9

Students in Michelle Johnson’s 4th grade class work on their Netbooks during their landforms research.

Union Elementary students ‘rock and roll’ with landforms

Fourth graders in Michelle Johnson’s
class at Union Elementary have been
having fun learning all about the rock
cycle and the various landforms we have
on Earth.
“What started out as simply
observing various types of rocks soon
turned into an adventure all on its own,”
explained Johnson.
Students had to choose which type
of rock they would like to be: igneous,
metamorphic or sedimentary.
From there, they did a web quest on
that particular type of rock’s cycle and
created a comic strip representing what
their life would be like through each step
of the cycle.
“It was interesting to see how their
imaginations played out when they had
to become a lifeless character like a
rock,” Johnson said.
Besides creating a comic strip
and doing a web quest, Johnson’s
class has viewed many videos on
United Streaming and worked through several flipcharts to gain a better
understanding of the rocks and minerals in our everyday lives.
Students were surprised at the types of minerals found in the common
items of their household (clocks, lamps, bed rails, etc.)
“Several students have been so excited about rocks and minerals, that
they have gone on scavenger hunts at their houses and gathered samples to

bring in and show the class,” Johnson
said. “Our study of minerals and the
types of rocks found on Earth will
lead into investigations of the various
landforms we have.”
One investigation will focus
on erosion, deposition, slope and
topographical information, which will lead
to students getting their hands dirty. The
class will take powdered clay and mix it
with sand to form a base “landform.”
Students will set up drip cups so that
“rain” or “flood” water will run over the
landform they create, causing erosion
and deposition of the sand mixture.
“With all of the rain we have had over the
summer, the students should have a very
good background knowledge of what
real-life erosion and deposition looks
like.” Johnson said.
The class’ final, culminating project
will involve each student creating a slide
for a class Google Presentation about
rocks, minerals, and landforms.
“The students are very excited to get to use the laptops much more often,
so we will be putting them to good use through our presentations,” Johnson
said. “As you can tell, we have been ‘rocking’ it out and we are ‘rolling’ on
through our Landforms unit.”
Written by: Michelle Johnson, 4th Grade Teacher

Veterans visit Hemby Bridge Elementary
to teach flag protocol
Visitors to Hemby Bridge
Elementary School near arrival
and dismissal times may
notice fifth graders performing
an important task.
Fifth-grade students at
Hemby Bridge are charged
with the responsibility of
raising and lowering the
American flag.
To help students
understand this responsibility,
members of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars of Indian Trail
Post 2423 visited Hemby
Members of the Veterans of Foreign
Bridge Elementary on Sept.
Wars of Indian Trail Post 2423 teaching
13, 2013.
Hemby Bridge Elementary students
Members explained the
about the protocol and responsibility of
symbolism behind the flag,
raising and lower the American flag.
as well as the requirements
for caring for the flag respectfully.
“Our visiting veterans also shared the experiences they have had in
service of our country,” said Betsy Ziskind, Hemby Bridge AIG teacher.
Once students learned how to properly care for the flag, the first group
of students took on this solemn responsibility.
“It was more meaningful for me to learn about caring for the American
flag from a group of people who actually served our country,” said fifthgrade student Jackson Chew. “It meant a lot to me that they would take
their time to come out and teach us.”
Written by: Betsy Ziskind, AIG Teacher

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