UNITARIAN CHURCH IN CHARLESTON SUPPORT ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS AT MITCHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
When Dirk Bedford took over the reins as principal of Mitchell Elementary School in the Fall of 2007 he was not particularly surprised that academic test scores were far below the state average; after all essentially 100% of Mitchell students come from families living below the poverty line. He was startled, however, when he learned about how isolated from the larger Charleston community his students actually were. He discovered for instance that some the children at Mitchell had never even tasted a strawberry! Deciding that something had to be done and soon, Dirk took steps to make Mitchell a Community Learning Center, with some kind of school activity taking place from 6 a.m. into the evening. He asked our Social Justice Committee to help, and through our Congregation's generosity we sponsored a series of science enrichment classes at Mithcell's after-school program last spring. This year Dirk spoke at Forum and at the Service in September. He thanked us for our support last year asked us to support a series of science oriented field trips to enhance an understanding and appreciation of science but also to provide the children of Mitchell Elementary a rare and unique opportunity to experience the world outside the limited confines of the Charleston peninsula.
The field trips involve all 264 students at Mitchell (as opposed to the 80 attending the after-school program) including kindergarten through the 6th grade. Visits to Caw-Caw to gather flora and fauna of a distinct ecosystem, to Cypress Gardens to learn about the life cycle of butterflies and to Folly Beach to catch crabs, fish, jellies and other sea life are just a sample of the field trips being conducted under this program. The content of the trips is being designed and administered by dedicated teachers on the Mitchell staff and is integrated with the science curriculum.
These activities are being sponsored by our congregation through donations at Christmas and funds raised by the Coffeehouse series.
THE FOLLOWING OUTLINES THE DETAILS OF
THE ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR THE SECOND QUARTER AT MITCHELL
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP ESCORT THE CHILDREN ON ANY OF THE FIELD TRIPS: Call or e-mail Kim Wickstrom at 724-7262 or KIMBERLY_WICKSTROM@charleston.k12.sc.us
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES -SECOND QUARTER
KINDERGARTEN TO PIGGLY WIGGLY TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
K-3.1 Identify the distinct structures in the human body that are for walking, holding, touching, seeing, smelling, hearing, talking, and tasting.
K-3.2 Identify the functions of the sensory organs ( eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin).
JANUARY 14 BY BUS*
FIRST GRADE HEAR “DIAMOND DEL” TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
1-4.1 Recognize the composition of Earth (including rocks, sand, soil, and water).
1-4.2 Classify rocks and sand by their physical appearance
JANUARY 16 IN SCHOOL
SECOND GRADE WITH “MAD SCIENCE” TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
2-5.1 Use magnets to make an object move without being touched.
2-5.2 Explain how the poles of magnets affect each other (that is, they attract and repel one another).
2-5.3 Compare the effect of magnets on various materials.
2-5.4 Identify everyday uses of magnets.
DECEMBER 18 IN SCHOOL
THIRD GRADE TO COC GEOLOGY LAB TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
3-3.1 Classify rocks (including sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic) and soils (including humus, clay, sand, and silt) on the basis of their properties.
3-3.2 Identify common minerals on the basis of their properties by using a minerals identification key.
3-3.3 Recognize types of fossils (including molds, casts, and preserved parts of plants and animals).
3-3.4 Infer ideas about Earth’s early environments from fossils of plants and animals.
WEEK OF JANUARY 12 BY BUS*
FOURTH GRADE WITH MAD SCIENCE TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
4-5.5 Explain how electricity, as a form of energy, can be transformed into other forms of energy (including light, heat, and sound).
4-5.6 Summarize the functions of the components of complete circuits (including wire, switch, battery, and light bulb).
4-5.7 Illustrate the path of electric current in series and parallel circuits.
4-5.8 Classify materials as either conductors or insulators of electricity.
4-5.9 Summarize the properties of magnets and electromagnets (including polarity, attraction/repulsion, and strength).
4-5.10 Summarize the factors that affect the strength of an electromagnet.
DECEMBER 18 IN SCHOOL
FIFTH GRADE TO COC CHEMISTRY LAB TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
Recall that matter is made up of particles too small to be seen.
5-4.2 Compare the physical properties of the states of matter (including volume, shape, and the movement and spacing of particles).
5-4.3 Summarize the characteristics of a mixture, recognizing a solution as a kind of mixture.
5-4.4 Use the processes of filtration, sifting, magnetic attraction, evaporation, chromatography, and floatation to separate mixtures.
5-4.5 Explain how the solute and the solvent in a solution determine the concentration.
5-4.6 Explain how temperature change, particle size, and stirring affect the rate of dissolving.
WEEK OF JANUARY 8 OR 12 BY BUS*
SIXTH GRADE TO COC BIOLOGY LAB TO STUDY FOLLOWING STANDARDS
6-2.1 Recognize the hierarchical structure of the classification (taxonomy) of organisms (including the seven major levels or categories of living things—namely, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species).
6-2.2 Compare the characteristic structures of invertebrate animals (including sponges, segmented worms, echinoderms, mollusks, and arthropods) and vertebrate animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals).
JANUARY 7 BY BUS*
CULTURAL ENRICHMENT FIELD TRIPS-SECOND QUARTER
THIRD GRADE TO CHARLESTOWN LANDING DECEMBER 16 BY BUS*
FOURTH GRADE TO DRAYTON HALL JANUARY 9 BY BUS*
* VOLUNTEERS MAY BE NEEDED: Call or e-mail Kim Wickstrom at 724-7262 or KIMBERLY_WICKSTROM@charleston.k12.sc.us