Fifth graders in the district are immersed in a persuasive writing unit, learning just what it takes to pen a convincing argument.

At Martin Avenue Elementary School, students in Elizabeth Gorman’s class did a social media project about endangered species. Their goal was to create mock Instagram or TikTok posts that would persuade others to help those animals, including amur leopards, black panthers, orangutans and sea turtles.

Ms. Gorman said that students first read “Can We Save the Tiger?” by Martin Jenkins as a mentor text. Students then did research on endangered species, selected an animal they would like to help, and created their posts.

In Melissa Mignoli’s class at Saw Mill Road Elementary School, students began an opinion writing unit by answering subjective multiple choice questions, and giving at least three reasons why they made their selections. Question topics included the most important quality in a friend, the most needed school supply and what they wanted for dinner.

The purpose of this activity, Ms. Mignoli explained, was to show students about the importance of backing up their arguments with evidence. This knowledge will help them as they move on to writing persuasive essays on topics of their choice. As part of their writing process, they will do online research to find factual information to support their opinions.

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Date Added: 2/2/2023

A few dozen cold-weather birds were found at Park Avenue Elementary School on Jan. 27. They may have been just kindergartners in disguise, as they youngsters celebrated Penguin Day, an annual winter tradition.

Students dressed in black and white to look like the birds found in the Southern Hemisphere. The kindergartners read books to learn various facts about penguins, and made miniature books to sum up their new knowledge. Wearing their special hats, children did a penguin dance, waddling along to music.

Date Added: 1/31/2023

A book inspired a building project in Ellen Tournour’s second grade class at John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District. Students read “How a House is Built,” then turned their attention to construction.

The book was part of a writing workshop author study of Gail Gibbons. Students explored nonfiction texts to learn techniques for writing informational stories. They noted her style of explaining the steps in a process.

After reading the book, students researched various types of homes. They worked in small groups to construct models of brick, clay, cinder block, glass, wood and tree houses, as well as an igloo and a log cabin. Ms. Tournour provided each group with a flat piece of cardboard as their plot of land. From there, it was up to students to find the necessary supplies to build their models. Just like real homebuilders, they first had to draw up a design and map out the steps for construction.

Once the models were complete, students presented the homes to their classmates, along with their research. The young architects had to determine the climate, region and natural resources used for their specific type of home.

Ms. Tournour said students gained valuable skills including research through technology, planning a project, gathering materials, problem-solving, collaborating with a partner and public speaking. She added that students enjoyed making connections to their reading through a hands-on project.

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Date Added: 1/27/2023

A new year meant it was time for new goals at Martin Avenue Elementary. Sixth graders in Stephanie Speciale’s class created 2023 vision boards with attainable objectives.

Students made their vision boards with Google Slides and selected pictures that would remind them of their goals. Ms. Speciale noted the importance of selecting goals that are challenging but achievable, and can be accomplished through their own hard work, determination and commitment.

Olivia Zukowski said she is looking to improve her softball skills so she can help her team as a pitcher and first basemen. The vision board, she said, will remind of this goal.

“It pushes me to work harder in what I want to do,” she said.

Dylan Hanovic has several ambitions, from academics to athletics to self-care. He wants to get good grades, read more, win a sports championship with one of his teams and spend less time playing video games and more time outdoors.

“It’s a checklist,” he said of his vision board. “Once in a while, I can look at it, see what I have to do, and do that.”

Ms. Speciale said that her students recently began using Google Classroom apps, so this project gave them an introduction to Google Slides, a popular presentation tool. They improved their technology skills while also setting a path to self-improvement.

“This was something they were very enthusiastic about and focused, because it was personal to them,” Ms. Speciale said. “It was centered around their new year so it was about new opportunities.”

Date Added: 1/24/2023