3rd Graders Have Busy Learning Day

Whitehall Elementary third-graders had a busy day on February 5th. In the morning, they were presented with their dictionary/reference books from the Whitehall Rotary Club. Rotary has been providing these books to third graders at Whitehall, Cardwell, and Harrison for more than 15 years.

Besides words, students can read about the 50 states, the continents, clouds, presidents, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, sign language, and a number of science topics.

In the afternoon, the two third-grade classes each visited the Jefferson Valley Museum. The mild weather made the walk from the school to the museum and back a fun field trip. At the museum, they learned about Henry Ford and had their photos taken with the 1928 Ford car. Two hands-on lessons helped the students learn teamwork and observation skills. Museum volunteers helped the students experience what an assembly line was like by building a Lego vehicle. This helped them to understand the assembly line concept developed by Henry Ford that allowed vehicles to be produced faster and at a lower cost. The second lesson was making an accordion-fold paper history timeline from Henry Ford's vehicle to the mid-1920s gas station here in Whitehall. Museum volunteers were Ron Hunt, Diane Jensen (who developed the lessons), Arcylle Shaw, Arlene Weber, and Laurie Rathe. The students visit the museum three times during the school year. This cooperative program between the third-grade teachers and the museum has become a popular outing and learning opportunity for the students.