Third Grade Celebrates Famous Women

On May 20, the Third Grade honored notable women by presenting their annual Famous Women Courtyard Conclave.

As a culmination to their studies on Biographies, the girls were asked to choose a Famous Woman in history, and learn about that woman’s life – enough to be able to have a short conversation in Villa’s courtyard with a gathering of parents.

In class, the girls created books reports and research reports about their famous woman, and then wrote a summary of their woman’s life and why she became famous. For the technology component of their project, using the app Chatterpix, the girls uploaded images of their famous woman and recorded themselves reading the summaries they wrote. They then created QR codes in class that linked to their Chatterpix photos and added the QR codes to their portrait pictures outside their classroom. The second and first graders visited the third grade wing with their QR Readers on iPads to learn more about the famous women.

It was a cross-curricular project. Mrs. Connelly, Villa’s Librarian, assisted the girls in helping them gather books for the choosing of their “Famous Woman” for their project. Mrs. Sturm, Villa’s Art Teacher, assisted the girls with creating their portraits. And Miss Connors, Villa’s Music Teacher, assisted the girls with learning their song to sing before their conclave.

Then on Friday, the girls came dressed as their famous woman and held a conclave in the courtyard for parents and friends. “It was a meet and greet,” said third grade teacher Miss Thomas. Guests were able to go up to each girl and ask them questions about their famous woman’s life, and the girls could then have a conversation with them instead of reciting lines in front of an audience. “It allows them to be more independent and confident in who they have chosen to be,” said third grade teacher Mrs. Hannigan. “We’re very proud of them.”

Congratulations to the girls and their teachers! And thank you to the parents for their help and support in preparing the girls!