This summer, excitement buzzed in a Sunnyslope Elementary class as students cheered on their peers racing model sailboats. Participants blew through straws to push their sailboats across the tub of water to the finish line.
The activity was inspired by
Where the Wild Things Are, one of many classic stories studied in the “Storybook Creations” LEAP (Learning Engages All Possibilities) class. Itzel Alanis’ first and second-graders recreated elements from those tales to give them a new perspective on the message. “The goal is just to get them to explore and be creative,” Ms. Alanis said about her class.
The class assumed they would create a monster after reading Maurice Sendak’s classic story. Instead, they each built their own functioning model sailboat out of toothpicks and pool noodle pieces to float in a tub of water. They placed themselves in the book to gain a new outlook on what their boat needed in order to sail away to the fictional island. Students tested their design’s strength to float and modified it to create their perfect sailboat. “They get really engaged with the activities that come with [the book],” Ms. Alanis said.
While the “Storybook Creations” class used STEM activities to help students better comprehend the stories, Mira Loma Middle’s “STEAM into Stories” used STEM-inspired team-building activities to prepare them to write. Elizabeth Wells’ LEAP class reinforced students’ ideas of teamwork and communication to help them think critically and use technology to support their reading and writing.
Every morning, the class read a story together, completed a team-building activity, and then started on their daily writing assignment. At first, students were distant, did not cooperate with each other, and would give up on the activity. By the second week, they learned they needed to communicate and work together to succeed and complete the challenges. Starting the class with a triumphant activity made it easier for students to focus on their writing alongside each other. Jesse Mesina, a seventh grader, attributes his improvement in writing and grammar to the daily team-building activities.
A “Create Your Own Adventure” writing assignment allowed students to express their creativity. Ethan Rodriguez-Parra, an eighth grader, prompted readers with different choices in a situation where a rollercoaster derails. “I was imagining myself on a roller coaster trying to survive,” Ethan said. He said his own adventures at a local amusement park inspired his story.
The confidence students gained prepared them for middle school’s writing standards, said Ms. Wells. “I wanted to help preserve some of that growth [in writing],” she explained. “[Students can] continue with that momentum into the new school year.”
