TAMMS (WSIL) -- The WSIL Weather Academy arrived in Tamms just as some students at Egyptian School started learning about weather.
"The reading series we have right now is all about weather, so we talked about hurricanes this morning, we've talked about tornadoes, and we've talked about wind," said first grade teacher Donna McCain.
Teachers said the demonstrations helped visualize the concepts they were teaching.
"It just made it real. A lot of the concepts that we're teaching in class, it made it real for our students, and they get to see it. And again, the hands on is always great," explained McCain.
Hands-on learning is something that fifth grade teacher Callie Jackson prioritizes.
"We actually do a science fair in third through fifth grade. We built our own solar ovens earlier in the year. We tried to make smores, it didn't always work out," said Jackson.
Jackson said having students work with their hands keeps their minds busy. "In class they're more engaged. They're more focused on what they're doing. Instead of talking about other things, they're wanting to focus on the project that we're doing."
Students at Egyptian School are taught to become lifelong learners, in addition to their career goals.
Aniyah and Rachel, students at Egyptian School, want to be doctors when they grow up.
Jackson said hands-on activity is a tool she uses to foster a love for learning. "Because they should want to spend their life learning new things, so it's important to stress that early on."
In the coming weeks, our Storm Track 3 team will be bringing you the experiments they've been teaching students through the school year.
Next week, they will teach us how to make frost.
