Learning to Play The Ukuleles

Fourth and fifth grade students in Miss Caitlyn Stratman’s music class have been working very hard to learn how to play the ukulele. This is the first year Bancroft Elementary School has introduced ukuleles in the music curriculum, and it has been a hit with the students. So far the students have mastered playing the open strings and are now beginning to learn basic chords. Soon, the students will be using these chords to play pop songs such as “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons in class!

students playing the ukulele

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Mrs. Sara Bender’s Class Celebrates Earth Day

Mrs. Sara Bender’s class celebrated Earth Day on Monday, April 22nd.  The day’s activities were focused around the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and what each important word means. A video helped the students to make real life connections to how each of them can reduce, reuse, and recycle. The student created hats that they wore home to help their families remember the three Rs and they wrote Earth Day pledges promising to do their part to help.

Mrs. Bender’s class hopes that these choices to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle don’t just happen on Earth Day, but EVERYDAY!

students in front of boardhand painted green on paper plateposter with the three R'shand prints on paper plates

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Designing Jackets for Spring

Mrs. Stacey Hoernig’s first grade students are excited about Spring! After reading the story The Jacket I Wear in The Snow, the students used describing words to write about jackets they would design to wear in the Spring.

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Second Grade Class Uses Visualization Strategy

Mrs. Kelly Pin’s second grade class excitedly prepared for its Enchantment Theater presentation through visualization, a reading strategy that helps students make pictures in their mind to aid in the understanding of a story. First, students heard the title, The Brave Little Tailor, and drew what they thought the story would be about. Next, the students heard the story and drew the movie they saw in their head. Finally, students drew the ending, mixed and mingled, and shared out how they saw the story. This activity was not only helpful in creating an understanding of the story, but it created a mindful and peaceful moment for the class as well. Mrs. Pin and her students are looking forward to using visualization again this year!

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