News

Second Graders Make The Map!

Over the past couple of weeks, the second graders have been learning all about maps! Students are studying continents, oceans, countries, all the way down to the state of South Carolina. The concept of learning about a map can be tricky for a child due to the visual-spatial skills involved.

Students need to understand that a certain spot on the map represents another spot in the real world. A great way to make this a little easier is to create their own maps!

Starting with a tortilla, the students traced the outline of the state of South Carolina onto the "map." Students used blue icing for the Atlantic Ocean, green icing for South Carolina, and white icing to mark neighboring states. Candy placed on the icing marked cities, islands, and forests. The maps had chocolate mountains and shoestring licorice for rivers and highways. 

Students were so excited to see South Carolina come to life before their eyes! A special thanks to Mrs. Welch, second grade teacher, for allowing a little mess for a lot of learning!

Charleston's History on Display

After the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, on Monday, December 2nd, the third graders headed over the Ravenel Bridge for a fun and educational field trip! First stop was the South Carolina
Historical Society Museum on Meeting Street. An architectural treasure in its own right, the Museum is housed in a National Historic Landmark building and features interactive exhibits on the people, places, and movements that shaped our state and nation. The children were able to see maps, manuscripts, and artifacts illuminating moments in our state's past. A shared discussion was given also highlighting the Lowcountry's Cash Crops in 1800's, such as indigo, rice, peanuts, cotton, and tea. The children also discussed the history of the museum, how it housed documents, and ways it protected important city records from numerous natural disasters.

After a cool, sunny picnic in Washington Park, located next to the museum, the children walked the cobblestone roads to the Old Slave Mart Museum on Chalmers Street. The Mart was built in 1859, and this was where 35 to 40% of the slaves entered the United States. The Old Slave Mart Museum is considered the last surviving slave auction gallery in the state. It was used only briefly before the Civil War. The children used large informative graphics on the walls to answer scavenger hunt questions, and then they were able to have their questions answered by museum employees. Living in a town rich with culture and history, we feel honored to have such wonderfully informative field trips right over the Cooper! Thank you Mrs. Adkins, Mrs. Andrews, and Ms. Jones for planning such a wonderful learning experience.