Third-graders learn about Chinese New Year, precipitation

In celebration of the recent Lunar New Year, third grade students in Adrianna Nelson’s class at the Delaware Valley Elementary School explored the meaning and pronunciation of their names in Mandarin. They also discovered the significance of their names in Chinese culture. To embrace the festive spirit, the students used red construction paper and black paint to write their names in Chinese characters, along with their pronunciations, and English names. Red, a color symbolizing good luck in Chinese tradition, added to the fun and excitement of the activity.

The flowing week, the class learned about the water cycle. To deepen their understanding, they conducted a hands-on experiment to observe how precipitation falls to the ground. Using water, shaving cream, and colored water, the students created their own “clouds” and watched as the colored water slowly seeped through, mimicking the process of precipitation reaching the Earth’s surface (the ocean). They even used pipettes, adding an extra layer of hands-on engagement and giving them a true science lab experience. After the colorful experiment, the students recorded and illustrated their observations.