Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Thank You, National Geographic!

Last month, we were asked to help National Geographic film a two minute promotional video for their fabulous Giant Traveling Map program.  It was an exciting experience, and we were honored to be asked!







Erica and Kristen helped keep everything moving on schedule. 


The crew brought a lot of sound and video equipment. 






They even set up our classroom with a special camera and lighting. Here is where Erica, the interviewer,  conducted interviews about the giant maps. The crew is waiting for the next interviewee.  An interviewer is a person who interviews. An interviewee is the person being interviewed. 

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 


It was fun to have the Giant Traveling Map of Africa to explore! There are lots of games and activities included with the rental. 




 Here we are exploring with our reading buddies. Some students are in the northern hemisphere. Others are in the southern hemisphere. Ms. Cuevas is on the equator




Our music teacher, Mrs. Adler, taught some terrific African music lessons on the map while they filmed.  

Photo by Dan S.

Photo by Kristen


 Sitting in the Sahara Desert in northern Africa. That's the largest desert in the world! 

Photo by Dan S. 






Our principal and superintendent joined the learning. Each contributed their thoughts about geography and the giant map during an interview session. 




On the last day, Erica shared some stories and photos about her trip to Africa. She met the Masai people while filming in Africa. 




This week, we got a lovely thank you gift from National Geographic! We can't wait to read all the books you sent and continue our learning adventure!







The video will be available soon! 

What was your favorite part about the experience?

What have you learned so far from reading the gift books and looking at the cards?





8 comments:

  1. Dear Yollis class--
    Wow! The giant map sure is big. It looks like so much fun to wander around on. I love to travel, so I love to look at maps. Our family has a great big world map on a wall in our family room. Every time we hear about a new or unfamiliar place, we can go look at it on the map.
    This past summer, when Lily and the rest of us went to Costa Rica, we spent lots of time looking at the map imagining the route our plane would take. We went from Los Angeles to Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica.
    If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? I think I'd like to go to New Zealand. It looks beautiful but is very far away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

    I saw that you have a giant map of Africa. WOW! The continent's name comes from a Greek expression meaning {without cold} .YOU sure must know how that feels living in California during the summer months.

    I'm going to send a picture to Mrs. Yollis. It is of two Masai women. They wove it on cloth. They are from Kenya.
    Have fun walking on Africa.

    Nana Hannah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thia Lizzy (Kostaki's Aunt)November 15, 2015 at 12:36 PM

      Hi Mrs. Yollis' Class!

      This sure does look like a lot of fun! I love reading the National Geographic magazine. Theo Ryan and I love to travel. We would love to go to Africa one day!

      How exciting that you were able to participate in a video that will be around forever! That is so cool!

      What did you learn about being on camera and about National Geographic?

      Love,
      Thia Lizzy (Kostaki's Aunt)


      Delete
  3. Dear Mrs. Yollis,
    I thought the National Geographic team coming to film us was awesome and really fun. I was really looking forward to it. When we were actually filming, like when we were running down the stairs, we had to film it about seven times, and it got a bit monotonous because we kept filming it over and over. Monotonous means dull and boring. People kept falling down, and no one wants to see kids wiping out so we had to keep doing it over and over. I also made sure I wore pretty socks because they were filming our feet walking and playing on the map. Also, if you didn't wear socks, you couldn't go on the map! My favorite part was when we were lying down on the map and singing with Mrs. Adler (our music teacher). I got to play on one of the drums. We were singing "Funga Alafia" and one other song I can't remember. I got picked to lay across the map to see how many 3rd graders it would take to go across the length of the map. I also got picked to lay across the width of the map.I think it was six and five 3rd graders.

    Did you like filming? What was your favorite part of the day?

    Your student,
    Abigail

    ReplyDelete
  4. Minnie (Stella's aunt)November 17, 2015 at 6:00 PM

    Hi Mrs. Yollis and class,

    What a phenomenal way to connect everyone together! Thanks for sharing all the great pictures and your experience with National Geographic. One of my favorite channels to watch!

    Some fun facts and trivia for all:

    1) My name is Minnie and I am Stella's aunt. Yes, just like Minnie Mouse from Disneyland.
    What other characters can you name from Disney?

    2) I live in the popular city of San Francisco, California which is in the Bay Area. Here we call it "The City" and one of the greatest things to see is the Golden Gate Bridge. Do you know of any other historic landmarks in San Francisco?

    3) I was born in the city of Kuala Lumpur but raised in New Orleans. Can you guess where these cities are?

    Happy learning!

    Yours truly,
    Minnie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Minnie,
    Thank you for posting. To answer your questions, these are my answers.
    1. Other characters from Disney include Buzz, Woody, Elsa, Pluto, Mickey, Goofy and Donald.
    2. The prison Alcatraz is also a famous landmark.
    3. I am guessing that Kuala Lumpur is in Asia and that New Orleans is in America. Am I right?

    Love,
    Abigail

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Abigail,
      I like your comment on Disney people. My favorite Disney character is Foghornleghorn. What is your favorite Disney character.

      From,
      Will

      Delete
    2. Hi Will,
      Who is Foghornleghorn!? Please tell me! I don't really have a favorite Disney character anymore, but I guess if I had to pick one, I'd pick Evie from Descendants.

      Your classmate,
      Abigail

      Delete

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