Do you know the major landforms that make New York State unique? The St. Anselm Catholic Academy 3rd graders can not only name them, they can show you—on their hand-made topographical maps. During their STEM class sessions in February, the students rolled up their sleeves for their culminating activity, which combined mapmaking, science, reading, and social studies, and used salt dough to fill in an outline of New York State and the mountains, islands, plateau, and river valley that “shape” our Empire State.
Once the dough dried, the students painted and labeled the different landforms, titled their map, created a legend denoting each landform, and, of course, included the mapmaker’s names. This activity spurred more learning as well. When one student remarked that his grandparents live in Rochester, the group located it on their reference map and then labeled the city on their map.
We thank STEM Coordinator Christine Deem and 3rd Grade Science Teacher Angelica Capotorto for this educational and fun-filled hands-on activity to show children the natural beauty of our state with its: Adirondack, Appalachian, Catskill, and Taconic Mountains; Long, Manhattan, and Staten Islands, the Allegheny Plateau, and the Hudson River Valley that “shape” our great State!
All the best,
The St. Anselm Publicity Committee