Past projects 2
When Life Hands You Color - Learn With It!
Funded Aug 19, 2022Since receiving our new classroom supplies, the organization and consistency in our classroom has improved! Through color coordinating, my students are more independent and easily keep track of their center rotations and supplies. When we first received the materials my students were so excited! The supplies arrived in several boxes and each time we opened a new box they cheered. I am blessed to teach students who derive from low socio-economic households and when we receive new items for our classroom - my students value and cherish the experience! We are currently using the color organization system for center rotations 3 days per week. Additionally, I purchased spiral notebooks in matching colors and this has made keeping their daily journals nice and organized, also.
Thank you so much for enriching the lives of my students and our classroom environment!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In at 1322 W. Broadway.Diverse Books for a Diverse Classroom!
Funded Feb 4, 2022After receiving our new books and flexible seating through the grant provided by the OSDE, my students have been so intrigued by the diverse cultures that are represented in the classroom literature. Two of the books our classroom received through the grant are, "Born on the Water: The 1619 Project" and "Except When They Don't".
Due to the pandemic, students currently in second grade have not experienced what one would cal a traditional school year. Subsequently, there is a push to focus on reading and math, but I believe the key to teach the Oklahoma ELA standards requires reflective literature that provides students with opportunities to relate their lives to those illustrated within the writing. In doing so, their reading materials rise up to meet them where they are academically, socially, and emotionally.
When reading, "Born on the Water: The 1619 Project" we read the book during whole group instruction. After reading the book, I asked students what questions they had. This provided an optimal opportunity to link all of the historical black figures discussed through the month to their heritage. The students enjoyed the illustrations, and used higher-level thinking strategies to infer, compare and contrast, and identify the theme of the book.
"Except When They Don't" served as an exceptional tool for teaching Social Emotional Learning, Acceptance, and Homophones! I must pontificate the book's diverse positive representation and how students can use the literature to understand their surrounding world. The melodic rhyming reminds me of narrative verse poetry from the Romance era; as the iambic meters continue in syllables of seven throughout the book, they are interrupted by a single declarative thought, "Except when they don't." The book's rhyming verse is consistent in its iambic heptameters throughout, and as the story's thematic statement grows more profound, the poetic verse seems to swell with it, eviscerating the need for its single thematic statement. My students deciphered the meaning of the book within the homophone use, "Except When They Don't" could just as easily be, "Accept When They Don't". One student even stated, "Parents shouldn't try to change what we like - they should just ACCEPT it - even if it isn't what boys or girls are "supposed to do".
Which means, ultimately, their understanding of the author's purpose is profound and engaging their meta-cognitive reasoning.In my classroom, reading takes place throughout the day and is integrated in an inter-disciplinary manner which promotes their education in all areas.
My students of color, particularly students of color who see themselves represented in the literature enjoy reading the new books. Many of them read the book to themselves, and then explain it to a peer. This ignites interest throughout the classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by Oklahoma State Department of Education.