The World in Just One Classroom

If you remember, there's a big geography project going on in (and right outside) Ms. Meadow's room. Since people from all around the world are taking an interest in us by visiting our blog, these third graders are returning the favor. They are researching the countries that have shown up on our visitors list and writing down an amazing fact about each one.


They have learned some impressive things. Here is something Raymond learned about Japan:















It's an amazing fact, but also an amazing looking creature!



Talking about spiky things, Andrea found out about a medical use for needles besides giving shots:














What does that look like? Well, check it out. In China, doctors sometimes use acupuncture instead of drugs when patients have an operation. The needles block the pain completely.

















Meanwhile Molly went to the other side of the world to learn about the country of Brazil. It's a huge country, with a huge and long river called the Amazon. Here is one of the things that interested Molly the most:
















And, why not? Look at this guy!

Our International Readers

A while ago, we posted about a geography project taking place in Ms. Meadow's third grade class. The kids are learning about the different countries that have come to read our blog. There have been a lot of them too.

Yesterday, for example, most of the people who clicked onto the blog were from the United States. Nevertheless, we also had visitors from Columbia, Kuwait, Germany, and India.




Where are these places? What are they like? What and who lives there? These are the kind of things this third grade class is beginning to find out.

They haven't researched yesterday's countries yet. Here are some amazing facts they have discovered:






















































Just in case you were curious about what that Russian blue cat looks like, here it is!









What will the kids learn about next?

The World in Mrs. Meadow's Class

We're doing it again!

Mrs. Meadows has found a new fun way to teach her third graders geography. She tried it last year and liked it so much that she's trying it again.

Our blog has many readers in Boston, the United States, even all over the world. Mrs. Meadow's has decided to teach her students something about the people who are learning about us. The kids will all be assigned the countries our visitors come from, learn where they are and what continent they're in. Then they will write up some of the most interesting facts they have found. Last year, for example, some of the kids on the project discovered that some people in Japan grow miniature trees called bonsai and that Serbia is the raspberry capital of the world!

What will this year bring? Who knows. One thing we do know is that the kids will be working hard. Last year they had a list of 38 visiting countries to learn about. At the beginning of the project this year, there were forty-three!

And little does Mrs. Meadows know--this morning number 44, Latvia, came to look at our site!

Our Visitors Map is Done!

As you know, Ms. Meadows' third grade class has been tracking the foreign countries that our blog visitors come from. They have learned so much about geography and foreign cultures as a result.


And, now our map is done--for this year, at least. So far, people from 38 countries (not including the United States) have visited us: Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Mexico, Germany, India, Iran, Australia, Malaysia, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand, Norway, Lithuania, Slovenia, Lebanon, Serbia, Aruba, Columbia, Egypt, Turkey, Singapore, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Slovakia, Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Mongolia.

The kids have located every one and learned fascinating facts about them.



Nomar, for example, learned that Norway was called the "Land of the Midnight Sun." It is so far up North, near the Arctic Circle, that the sun never sets during the summer.








Gisselle discovered that the people of Japan practiced a very interesting type of gardening called bonsai. They grow miniature trees! As the years go on, these trees take on very interesting shapes.



We don't have room to list all the facts the kids learned but here are a few more cards they made on some of the countries.







Serbia, the raspberry capital of the world? Who knew!

Tracking Our Visitors: Another Geography Lesson

Here's the map again--the one that identifies where in the world our blog visitors come from. Perhaps you remember that the kids from Ms. Meadows' third grade class are researching each one of these countries and some of the amazing things that happen in them.



Georgia, for example, learned that the world's largest insect egg comes from this Malaysian stick bug. The egg is about the size of a peanut!





Angel learned that Spain has a national holiday on October 12th because it was the date that Christopher Columbus landed in the New World.






What other cool things have the kids learned about the world? Check it out!
(And remember to click on the pictures to make them bigger.)







And don't think this is the last post about this project. There are a lot more countries to go! By now, people in 33 countries around the world have checked out the Michael J. Perkins School Blog. How amazing is that?

Tracking our Visitors: An Adventure in Geography

If you remember, on April 14th, Ms. Meadow's third grade class started a project: The World in Ms. Meadows' Class. They are locating all the different countries that have visited the blog, and learning a little bit about them in the bargain.



Work began just before school vacation. Kids are looking up a country and listing three interesting facts about it. They already know:

*Canada is the second largest country in the world.

*England used to rule Boston!!!

*The famous Eiffel Tower is a landmark in France.

What are they going to find out about Lebanon, Slovenia, and Norway?

Stay tuned!