Community Bus Tour

Each year, the second graders take a bus tour through the community. The bus tour helps the students identify important buildings and businesses found in the community. This year, the students were lucky enough to also find out what type of technology is used in the community.

The first stop on our bus tour was the fire station. Here, we were taken on a tour of the station, and shown some of the technology that helps keep fire fighters safe when rescuing people. The first thing we saw was some of the gear that fire fighters use to help them breathe: a gas mask and an air tank. The students learned that technology is anything that helps to make a persons life easier. An air tank helps a person breathe when they enter a smoke filled home. Another piece of technology that fire fighters use is called a thermal imaging camera. This camera uses body heat to help fire fighters find people in a room that is too dark or too smoky. We also saw a room that housed computers, a fax machine, telephones and a map. All of these help fire fighters locate where people live who need help.

After the fire station, we drove past schools and important businesses that help make up our community. Our second stop was at another elementary school, Doherty Elementary, to see the Distance Learning Center. Here is where the Spanish classes are broadcast from. The teacher uses all types of technology to help teach the students Spanish. She uses an ELMO to read stories and play games. She uses Microsoft PowerPoint to to introduce concepts and songs. She uses cameras to show all the different classes that participate. Each student was given the chance to be on the camera that the teacher uses.

After leaving Doherty Elementary, the bus tour took us past other schools in the area, past more businesses, and through subdivisions. Each place that we passed by, we pointed out to the students and talked a little bit about it.

The teachers and adults brought the digital cameras and digital video camera with them to capture this wonderful experience. Once we returned to the classroom, the pictures were inserted into a PowerPoint presentation to be revisited later on the Smart Board. The pictures were also printed out so that the students could use them to create digital picture books.

Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation created by the second graders.