2nd Grade FAIRY TALE PEN PAL PROJECT
Our 2nd grade class became pen pals with a 5th grade class in Fontana, CA. We had many fairy tales in our basal that year. We read each story and then wrote questions to the 5th graders to answer. The 5th graders chose a letter to answer "in character" -- to whom the letter was written. We photocopied our letters before we sent them and collected the answers too. They are all in binders. We also illustrated each story and a few of the best illustrations were collected for our final book which turned into 2 big volumes! Mrs. Schenkelberg dedicated our project to Mr. White who was the originator of the project. He had asked for a volunteer classroom of teachers in an internet chat room.
This is one of our stories we asked questions about and in which we got answers to our letters-- this is a sample letter and answer:
Before the end of the school year, we got to visit our pen pals who lived just 70 miles away. We met at Jurupa Hills Cultural Center. We went on the dinosaur trail and saw many lifesize, papier mache dinosaurs. At the top of the hill, we got to "collect" a dozen semi-precious stones and labeled our egg cartons with their names after identifying them from charts provided. While we were doing this, our 5th grade penpals were gold panning. We then met for lunch. We shared how we had each made our books, played games of Mancala together, ate lunch and visited. It was a wonderful experience to end a collaborative project between different age groups.
COLLABORATIVE STORIES
These are the three stories that our 4th grade class wrote with 4th grade pen pals from Tennessee.
READ ACROSS AMERICA
Every year I celebrate with my class "Read Across America" on the birthday of Dr. Suess. I allow the students to bring a blanket and pillow and get comfortable on the floor as they listen to stories read to them all day long. Parents, members of the school staff -- including administration -- and interested people from the community come to our class to read to the children. I always use multicultural books for this. If the reader does not have their own, I lend them one of mine to use for the occasion. We always include one or two books from Dr. Suess no matter what the grade. It is a wonderful celebration of reading around the world!
My Kindergarten class is comfortable and waiting to be read to by volunteers. Each is snuggling with a class bear.
A father reads to the Kindergarten class.
One of our Kindergarten Aides reads to the class.
Sometime during the day, the class "reads" their own book also.
A Kindergarten classmate reads to the class!
This Kindergarten student has the right techniques for shared reading!
Our aide reads to the class relaxing on the floor on blankets and pillows.
Parents actually take time off from work to participate!
Administration helps out too!
Another parent helps out too!
It was a fun day of relaxing and enjoying the variety of multicultural stories available to read today. During the afternoon we had a snack while we listened to yet more stories. The Vice Principal got called away unexpectedly that day so she did not get to read her story to us but the next day she made a special trip to our classroom to read it!
INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL
My co-chair and I sponsored an International Dance Festival in the spring. Not all the classes provided dancers but those that did were received with much enthusiasm. Many times the teacher danced along with their class to give them support. The last dance of the program, ten teachers dressed in Mexican skirts and blouses, danced "in" to appropriate music and were given a standing ovation by the 5th grade classes! Those brave souls (including me) then proceeded to dance "La Raspa," each with a 3rd grade student as their partner. It was a lot of fun and a great school spirit day! Below are pictures of the different classes and even some of the faculty:
This is part of my class doing the "Tarantella."
Scroll with page arrow to see the rest of the faculty in this photo. ===>