SHALER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT haler area school district SHALER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
30 SHALER AREA
Active Brains, Active Bodies
Students at Burchfield Primary School exercised their minds and bodies to prepare for a strong showing in the PSSAs. Burchfield physical education teacher Mr. Brough and thirdgrade teacher Ms. Dugan recognized that combining movement with memory would help students retain and recall information. Dugan shares,“ we incorporate kinesthetic learning to help reinforce the math skills that have been taught throughout the year to prepare for the PSSAs. I asked the staff from Fit 4 Boxing Club to help demonstrate fitness movements and drills based around our math concepts. This is a fantastic way to promote muscle memory!” As students rotated through four activity stations in the parking lot, they completed math problems and boxing moves at each station!
Positive Pen Pals
Students in our primary schools have had a unique opportunity to connect with peers from another school. As part of their authentic assessment in English Language Arts, Grade 2 students have been corresponding with samegrade peers from several states, including students from New Hyde Park Long Island, NY. This experience is the culmination of their year-long exploration of the essential question:“ How do stories help me connect to the world as an observer, communicator, and listener?” Reading letters from their pen pals brought delight to the classroom!
Design to Make a Difference
Sixth-grade students at Shaler Area Elementary School are leveraging their imaginations to make the world a better place. Students were tasked with taking a board game and adapting it in a way to support making it easier for an individual with a disability or difficulties with their fine motor skills.
Students turned their ideas into realities, using 3D software to design and create prototypes in the school’ s MakerSpace with their science teacher Mrs. Weber and math teacher Mrs. Gurekovich. Students modified a Sorry! board to support a person with vision limitations and modified Connect Four to support an easier method to picking up game pieces. Students worked in ELA classes with Mrs. Miller to create boards advertising their product and then entered their prototypes in the regional Design to Make a Difference competition.