Summer School might be the most dreaded words in a child’s life.
When I heard the students would be without an arts or music elective option for summer school (especially after finally returning to in-person learning) I knew I needed to take matters into my own hands. This upcoming year is so vital for our students learning how to bond and communicate with each other again in person. My 8th grade students had not been in the building since the 6th grade! Can you imaging the amount of lost social emotional development? Taking deep focus on ice breakers & team building as the students entered my space and my classroom culture set became a priority for introducing my curriculums.
Lucky for me I was able to be the only teacher on the second floor of our building. Knowing that “marshmallow towers” might not be AS big a hit with my 8th graders as they were with my 6th graders….I came up with the idea of “Survival Island”.
The PLOT: We have been on a plane and suddenly an engine failure begins! The plane goes down and down and down….suddenly we wake up and we find ourselves on a deserted island. The sun is beginning to set & we need to make shelter. We scavenge some materials and begin to get working. We have a sandy ground (aka hall floor), Palm trees (aka lockers & doors of classrooms) & a great view of the ocean (aka blue walls).
The kids had an ABSOLUTE blast communicating in groups, exploring their materials and racing against the time of the “sunsetting” and the unleashing of “island night monsters”
Check out some detail shots of their hard work :)
