Every year the sixth-grade students at Albert T. Lawson Intermediate School in Essex Junction, Vermont, build an igloo. It is part of a multidisciplinary study of polar regions in Mr. Gustafson’s class, a tradition for 30 years. Last year, there was so little snow that the students missed out on this beloved tradition. But, this year, the snows came, and here is the igloo. Students will remember this forever!
What does your school do to create joy and great memories for your students?
As we head deep into the winter season, we need to think of all the good things around us, the little miracles that we witness and take part in.
Please share.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I probably won’t make myself popular, but I have to say it: that is not an igloo, it’s a snow hill with a hole in it. I’m sorry to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s this sort of thing that gives progressive education a bad name. If they want to let the kids have a day (or even many days) to play in the snow, have at, I’m all for it. But if you’re going to turn it into a learning experience and claim that kids built an “igloo”, then build a darn igloo. Spend time researching how they’re made from the ice blocks to the domed construction, the entryway, ventilation, etc., then use that knowledge to plan and construct something reasonably authentic and functional.
BTW, if Mother Nature doesn’t provide enough snow for real ice blocks, gallon milk jugs and a hot glue gun can make a decent approximation. At least the students would get a taste for the architecture of making the dome.
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I believe such a structure is technically called a quinzee.
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My former school (I’m now retired) was rich with this type of activity, always developed as a culminating activity after deep and broad learning on a topic, at every grade level. These are, indeed, the things that anchored the learning and stayed with the kids even decades later, often mentioned by students coming back to “visit” the school and teachers they loved. Sad to say, these activities and most field trips (always content connected) have disappeared since the onset of NCLB. After four decades teaching I wasn’t ready to leave until the distortion of “teaching” left me wondering if anyone would ever bother to come back again.
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Every year our students at LP Quinn Elementary in Tupper Lake, NY hold a fundraiser for High Peaks Hospice on the Hospice Radio Day in the Tri-Lakes (Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid).
Each of the past few years we’ve raised over $10,000 for hospice on Radio Day ,which is pretty amazing for a K-6 school with around 475 kids. Each grade does it’s own thing. Kindergarteners may bring in pennies, other grades raffle off quilts or Adirondack chairs that are donated and some grades hold raffles.
It’s a source of pride for our school, our students and our community. Pretty cool stuff.
Here’s a link to our 2011 Radio Day. http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/524921/Raising-money-for-Hospice-on-Radio-Day.html?nav=5049
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Uh Oh…Will the kids still continue to make this igloo now that Common Core is here?
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I retired in June 2012 but, It is with geat joy to share the many activities I did with my third grade students at Sheldon Elementary School in rural Varysburg, New York. The one rule of thumb I always used is the activity had to be educational and part of the curriculum.
Every year we had an Amaryllis Contest. The class was divided into teams and each team had an amayllis bulb. The bulb was planted, named, and the contest began! Each team made predictions as to the height, the number of flowers, and the date of the first blossom. Each day, the teams measured their plant, recorded their results (in metric as well as in the US Customary System) in a journal. Poems and stories about the plant were also recorded in the journal.
Every year, the class had a class mascot, a stuffed animal. The mascot was named and became a member of the class. Each mascot had a journal and each evening a student would take home the mascot and journal. They would write in the journal about their activities with their friend (the stuffed animal). The journals ended up having pictures of their activities, theater receipts, doctor signatures, etc. This mascot spent times in Emergency Rooms, basketball games, traveling to Washington DC (during vacation times), etc. A mascot was never lost! At the end of the school year, the mascot and the journal was retired. Then when the students graduated from high school, I went to the graduation ceremony and gave back the mascot to the students in my class. I was always amazed that my former students always remembered the mascot and were always so excited to have their old friend.
Every fall, my students would go in their backyards and look for Monarch Caterpillars. The caterpillars were brought into school and we named each one and created a habitat for them. We watched the caterpillars go through their various stages until they became beautiful Monarch Butterflies. Then working with Monarch Watch (an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas), we tagged each butterfly and sent them on their way. (In the Spring, we could go on the Monarch Watch Website to see if our butterflies were located in Mexico.) Yes, one year we raised 42 caterpillars! One year, NASA sent Monarch Caterpillars to the International Space Station and were asking classes to participate in simulating raising the butterflies on Earth. We participated in this program and pictures of our caterpillars were on their website.
Speaking of NASA, my class was the third class in the country to have a direct contact with the astronauts on the International Space Station as they were traveling at 17,500 mph and 250 miles above Earth. Along with six wonderful Ham Radio Operators, I had Ham Radio equipment set up in my classroom. The equipment remained in my room for two weeks and we ended up talking with people all over the world. We had our own QSL card…Kids To Space. We addressed over 500 QSL cards to people all over the world and received back cards from all over the world. (By the way, when these students were in 4th grade and there was a reading on the ELA state tests about Ham Radio, they had no problem answering because of their experiences!)
Every year, we had Space Camp in my classroom too! The students participated in many different activities, simulating many space skills.
Every Spring, my class planted a garden in our school’s backyard. The garden was around 15′ by 25′. Then in the fall, my next year’s class would harvest the garden and at the school’s opening picnic, my class would have a Farmer’s Market selling their harvested vegetables. The money would then be used to purchase something for the school.
One year, we had two large ‘spider plants’. We separated, repotted and cared for the plants throughout the year. Then sold them at the communities sidewalk sales. The students made $130 and purchased two Maple Trees and an engraved stone (Class of 2012) for the school. To this day, the students can go back to the school and see their trees.!
I could go on, but think I should stop. Bringing the real world into the clasroom is so important. I believe all of these activities enhanced my entire educational program, as well as created many wonderful memories for third graders at Sheldon Elementary School.
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Before I retired from my resource room position in an elementary school, a 5th grade teacher, who was a travel partner, invited me into her room in December and we had fun hosting “Where in the world are my teachers going on Christmas vacation.” . Every Friday afternoon , I would arrive with “the clue of the week” for the upcoming mystery destination. We would initially start by giving broad clues ( For example, we are traveling to a city in a country in the northern and eastern hemispheres) and the kids would then spend time researching and discussing possibiities, before submiting their individual written guesses. Each week the clues became more specific, and we would enjoy watching the kids explore the globe, internet, social studies books and classroom maps before submitting their weekly decision. The following week we would explain why certain answers were incorrect, so wrong guesses were not repeated. Right before Christmas break, the student with the highest number of correct guesses was crowned the winner and was told to anticipate a surprise from the city we were to visit. The kids loved the activity, and had fun and practice using their geography skills as they were introduced to Paris, Rome and Barcelona. After viewing the travel pictures in January and enjoyng the gift presentation party, the classroom teacher always had the kids write thank you notes to me for my visits to their classroom All part of the learning process, but my personal greatest joy was being stopped in the hall by her students, as they asked questions, eager to learn more about geography and travel. I hope we not only taught these wonderful kids geography, but that they will always remember sharing a travel journey with their teachers, and one day will seek trave on their own, and then we too, will travel with them.
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Oops! I do know how to spell the following: great, amaryllis, classroom.
Another correction… the mascot and the journal were retired….
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Writing this on my lunch break just minutes after collecting 66 case briefs and decisions my U.S. govt students rendered on Supreme Court cases on the docket this term (66=two classes worth)…essentially after studying their cases they are issuing decisions ahead of the high Court itself. We spent class time with students presenting their cases, describing the facts and constitional/questions of law at issue, and finally explaining the precedent and legal reasoning of their rulings (with questions coming from their peers). Incredible work on display today.
Thanks for this opportunity to share.
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Our NC elementary school has a musical performance with every grade level. I am a very busy music teacher and I love it. Every child is featured in some way–they help with props, they sing solos–sometimes we make our own instruments. Our programs revolve around a theme (based on my training in Integrated Thematic Instruction) and we tie in learning at every turn as we prepare the program. They take great pride in the programs and we have great parent turnout in our very diverse school (which is implementing a dual language program next year). Our 4th graders sing NC songs with each class playing recorder on one song and they have a special song written just for them featuring every class on a different instrument (several of which they made). They dance and they sing and we smile and we adults cry because we are touched at their performances. I have taught in five states, coming back to my roots in NC a few years ago. From Kansas City, MO; Ft Leavenworth, Kansas; Hollywood, Florida–I see the same yearning to learn and please in almost every child and am tickled to have the chance to give the children an outlet through music and performance.
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My large (2200, large for my area) high school has several fundraisers for our community throughout the year. This year, so far, our students have donated several hundred pounds of non-perishables for our regional food bank, raised over $1K for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through penny wars, won a community service challenge with our local NBA team,donated hundreds of toys to our local “Santa’s closet” and in March, we will be having our annual “Wish Week” where the school partners with the Make-A-Wish foundation. Different student organizations compete to raise the most money to help fund the wishes of local children through MAW. Last year, our school funded three little girls’ wishes to go on Disney cruises and to go to Disney World.
Prior to this school, I worked in an inner-city, high poverty school of 800, where students raised over $4K for a teacher who was diagnosed with leukemia. The students sold handcrafted items and purchased snack items to raise this money. They also donated hundreds of pounds of food to the regional food bank.
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My high school uses a day to give seniors an opportunity to showcase their best work to business people, parents, administration, teachers, and others during what we refer to as the Senior Exit Interview. Seniors build a portfolio of work over their 4 years in school and choose a single exhibit which they feel best showcases their talents, interests, and growth. While many of the seniors dread that day (they do not have to participate, but can get out of finals if they do and do it well), almost every single one glows while they present as they realize the things they hold dear really are important as they present it to others.
It is a very long, but quite moving day. I feel like I learn more about our students during that 15 minute presentation/interview than we do in a year in a regular classroom setting. It is truly amazing.
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The Effect of Small Goals on Student Success
Last year my community college asked me and several other of our adjuncts to teach college success strategies to ninth graders in a new Early College High School. This was a low performing high school (not a charter school) which had been considered for closure. These were non-college ready students who had recently graduated from several low performing middle schools and most of the students came from families who were experiencing poverty. (This does not mean that I think poverty does not negatively impact learning and I do not advocate a no excuses philosophy.)
Several researchers including Dr. Joseph Durlak and Dr. James Heckman have found that there is a high correlation between non-cognitive skills and student success. Dr. Durlak has found when students are taught non-cognitive skills which increase emotional and social intelligence their standardized test scores increase by 11 percentile points.
We were asked to teach the 9th graders a variety of non-cognitive skills including goal setting and time management.
One of the activities we taught students was the power of setting and achieving small and very short goals. At first we had students discuss the similarities and differences between wishes and goals. They began to understand that goals involve a specific plan with measurable goals and deadlines. Then we took a look at and discussed the concept of Kaizen which is the Japanese term for small steps for continuous improvement.
Students were asked to brainstorm several goals they would be interested in achieving that had to be completed within the next 1-5 days. Then we gave each student a 3 by 5 card. They were asked to choose one of the small goals that they brainstormed and to write it on one side of the card. They were asked to choose a goal that was challenging, but achievable. With younger students it is usually necessary to share and have them discuss several examples. Students chose a variety of goals such as: Overcoming a habit of procrastination by turning in a paper on time, making a minimum and stated grade on an upcoming test, cleaning a cluttered room at home, saving a certain amount of money, making an improvement related to sports, etc.
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After writing their goal on one side, they were asked to list three steps on the other side of their card which was be needed to accomplish their goal. They were also asked to write a self-reflection essay after doing their goal activity. In their paper they were asked to state the goal, steps taken, obstacles overcome, outcome and lessons learned. I require a minimum of a half page typed paper for all of my college students. With my ninth graders I gave them a choice of writing a half page typed or one page handwritten paper. This was because some students did not have computer access at home and many of my ninth graders were bussed home right after classes ended. I also created a template for my 9th graders that they could fill-in and use to help them write their essay.
*Example Essay from a Ninth Grader (with student permission)*
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*My Goal Paper*
*By Sugey Zavala*
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“My short and small goal that I achieved was to at least pass my biology test on Friday. To achieve this goal, for the first time I worked really hard and I did everything I could to pass my test. All of my hard work at the end paid off because I got an outstanding grade on my biology test.
The steps that I took to achieve my goal were a little difficult because I couldn’t do other things that I like to do. One step was staying after school almost every day of the week so I could understand everything clearly. Also in my free time, I would study everything we learned that day in class to make sure I understood it. That week I paid extra attention to the teacher, because I didn’t wanted to miss anything we were learning each day.
While doing these steps to achieve my goal, I had to overcome some obstacles too. One obstacle was not play my favorite sport, soccer, like always because I stayed after school for about two hours almost every day. Another obstacle was that in my free time I couldn’t go out with my mom to the stores because I stayed home studying really hard to achieve my goal.
Finally, it was Friday and I was doing my biology test that I worked so hard to at least pass. My surprise was the test was very easy and I was the first one to finish. When everybody was finished, the teacher gave us back our tests already graded and I was very happy because I had gotten my first hundred in biology and I was the only one that got a hundred in my class. At that moment I was so happy because I had not only achieved my goal but I went passed it with the best grade in my class.
From working on this short and small goal I learned that when you work on something really hard, you can achieve or overcome anything you want. In order to achieve my goal I had to overcome some obstacles, but at the end everything was worth it.”
Sugey told me that this small goal activity completely changed her perception of the student she was capable of becoming. She worked hard just to pass the test and was shocked to make a hundred. She realized the power of setting short goals and gained the insight that little goals can become like steppingstones to the achievement of her larger and long range goals.
Even when student’s goals have to do with skateboarding or some non-academic goal, they usually understand how to apply this goal setting process to school and to their life. Many of the other 9th grade students also achieved their goal and benefitted from the activity.
In my opinion, both effective strategies and a success mindset are important for success to occur. What I like about this simple goal activity is that it gives students strategies for setting goals, helps them realize that much can be accomplished with small steps and changes their mindset about what they can accomplish.
Raymond Gerson
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There are great things happening in our school all the time. 8th graders, as part of their weekly Practicum program, organized a school community blood drive, a soup fundraiser to coincide with the Super Bowl, devised a flag safety system for crosswalks in town and will have a mock trial reenacting the Rosenberg Trial this Wednesday night. 5th graders are busy writing the original opera they will perform later this year based on the book “George Vs. George.” 1st graders did their play about American heroes last week and high school students are busy with a variety of projects and activities.
All this sounds great and it is, but the best part is that our school is a community of involved students, staff and parents and the question “is this what’s best for kids?” is always at the forefront of decisions made. Our school is a charter school and I know what many here think about charter schools, but you should know that like anything else, not all charters are the same and I would challenge anyone to not come see our school and recognize that it is a model for what can be right with education, even in a time where testing and standards try to take over.
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My 7th graders just finished The Hobbit , which was especially fun to read after a class trip to see the movie. At the end (after the obligatory essay, of course), they made a cool grade class mural– here’s the link! ( http://tinyurl.com/a3vr74p ). Sure, it’s frivolous–but it’ll probably be the activity they all remember a few years from now!
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I’m extremely proud of my students. Together, we have created a community of “Writers”, that has had such an impact that my students greet me around campus with enthusiastic assertions that “I’m a Writer!”, complete with our special “Writer” sign. This year, 100+ of my 7th and 8th grade students signed up for National Novel Writing Month, and thirty-three of them “won” by meeting their word count goals and are soon to be officially published novelists. We are not an elite private school, but an ethnically and economically diverse Title I public school. I am extremely proud to have the honor of being their teacher.
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We have our special activities during the year, but every day I try to add humor to what we are doing. Second-graders love corny jokes and they have become a part of our culture. I want my children to see that work is important, but I also want them to laugh and live. On their birthdays, I take out a magnifying glass and check them for gray hair and wrinkles. They think this is the funniest thing in the world. I may never play Vegas, but I have an appreciative audience in my classroom.
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The most important question is this “How will these students use these activities to tell the story of their school?” These types of events are key to marketing public schools. One of the reasons that charter schools and elite schools grow enrollments is due to their marketing efforts.
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