(Pictured: Third graders at South Central Elementary with their Thanksgiving floats!)
Prior to building the balloons, the elementary students across the district learned the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. They read the book, “Balloons Over Broadway” and discussed Tony Sarg (features of a biography and character traits). According to Mrs. Reda, they then took a virtual field trip to the Macy’s Parade and their workshop to see how the balloons are designed, created, and inflated. They also talked about some chemical reactions and watched science experiments that showed how chemical reactions could inflate a balloon.
From there, students partnered up, one student from each classroom, to design and build a balloon. Students then began the parade in the classroom with the official Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade countdown. Then they paraded through each classroom sharing their creations. According to South Central Elementary teacher Mrs. Patragas they really enjoyed it,
"The kiddos really enjoyed reading the book and learning about the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!"
What a great way to work Thanksgiving into the third grade curriculum! Click through the photos below to see students working hard and some ideas they came up with! There's even some videos of the parades on our Instagram page!