As part of their first grade unit, Alissa Alteri Shea’s students studied black bears, polar bears, panda bears and brown bears learning about their features, habitats, and eating habits. Students were divided into groups to become experts on one bear. A particular focus this year was on adaptations for survival. Each group then decided which “superpowers” their bear had in order to adapt for survival and we created a fun movie about adaptations. The students then presented their research to family members, guests and students. Excellent job, Grade 1!

Bear Adaptations from Karin Gravina on Vimeo.

Amanda King’s kindergarten class celebrates the end of their Chinese New Year unit with homemade dumplings, lai see envelopes and a dragon parade with their fifth grade reading buddies. One of their favorite books to read is The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Dawn Casey. The students created their own retelling of the story by illustrating pictures in KidPix and writing their own version of the story. Below is their finished product.

The Great Race from Karin Gravina on Vimeo.