Bridges Blog Archive for Subject Integration

If you're preparing to teach Bridges Grade 3, Unit 8 on bridges, you might want to view the 15 Longest Bridges in the World. (Due to advertising on the page, preview before sharing with your class.) Students will find it hard to believe that bridges can be over 100 miles long! Pose some questions:

On the Flip Flop Math blog (April 26, 2013), Colorado teacher Cindy Pray recently wrote "Problem Solving with Farmer Bob." The entry includes many examples of student work in which students must find the sum of legs for collections of farm animals.

When I saw A Learning Journey's blog entry on "Batty Measurements: A Wingspan Comparison," I immediately thought of Bridges Grade 4, Unit 8, "Wingspans: Measurement & Data Analysis." Although the featured student is younger, Bridges fourth graders would enjoy visiting the blog to see the immense diversity in the wingspans of anothe

When Bridges students from Shaw Island School saw a post here in January, they had to keep a secret. The blog entry, Mystery Class: Tracking Sunlight to Solve a Mystery, described an eleven week hunt in which students from around the world attempt to find mystery classes based on the changing amount of sunlight in each location.

If you've been around any third grade Bridges students lately, you may find budding enthusiasm for...what else...BRIDGES!

Early in my teaching career, our school librarian modeled what it meant to know and love both kids and books. She always had a title in mind for each child, covering every imaginable topic. With the growth in math-related children's books, educators are now able to help children make connections to all kinds of mathematical concepts. For some children, a book invites math exploration, or makes ideas more approachable.

Third grade students will soon begin Unit 8 and the study of bridges. Bridge building can be serious stuff; so serious that when the Broolyn Bridge opened in 1883, many residents feared to cross. Folks had never seen such a massive structure. Was it safe? Could it hold a significant amount of weight? In order to test the bridge, P.T. Barnum's elephants--all 21 of them--paraded across. Two picture books, Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing and Twenty-One Elephants, tell the fascinating tale. Students may wish to compare & contrast the two stories of this historic event.

A recent reader contribution features the creative extensions that might result from this unit. Although the arch bridge lessons suggest a paper arch bridge, one third grader decided to make an arch with household items: legos and playdough. His labeled photo is shown at left, complete with alligator.