Fairy Tales

Students were treated today to fairy tale storytelling.  First, we caught the student's attention by having a black cauldron sitting on a "fire" on the front table along with a basket holding magic potions as they entered the classroom after their time with the music specialist. 

Then we had student volunteers come to the front to put magic potions into the cauldron. These magic potion bottles had colorful scarves inside them that were then put into the pot.  The scarves represented elements of a fairy tale.  As the potions were emptied into the cauldron, we discussed what each element meant and questioned the students for examples....setting, characters, problem, solution, special features such as the numbers 3 and 7.  


After that, we hung up the posters that I created ahead of time to reinforce the elements we just discussed. Each poster background matched the color of potion(scarf) we put into the cauldron.
We left them up to use as a point of reference when the students listened to us read the two fairy tales we chose for today.
Next, we turned off the lights and had the students join us around the campfire (used in a previous lesson) to listen to Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Before we read them to the students, I took some time to introduce my story telling blanket.  Melissa had encouraged us (the teachers) to set up our own personal storytelling character that we can use after she is gone.  I brought in a blanket that my great grandma had made for me and I explained to my students that I remember sitting by her and listening to her talk(tell me stories) so that is why I picked this blanket to use.  I also had a picture clue attached to it that I asked the students to look at and try to figure out which story I was going to tell.  I chose a bridge (troll bridge) as my clue.  They had fun trying to figure out which fairy tale I was going to do.  I read The Three Billy Goats Gruff and then we discussed with the students the essential elements of a fairy tale using this story.  Then Melissa read hers and we discussed it.  

That was the end of our time with Melissa for this day.  As an extension the next day, the students and I became writers by rewriting the familiar fairy tales.  I got out berets for each student so the students could get into character!  They loved wearing the berets and using their clipboards to begin their writing!  They spread out around the room....some sitting by friends and being inspired by each other, some choosing to snuggle up on their own and others wanting to write with me.  I am looking forward to having the students share their writing and illustrations after spring break!

Fairy Tales: The Beginning...

Melissa kicked off our Fairy Tale unit as a very special visitor. As our visiting storyteller, she wore a green hooded cape and brought a small basket that held many surprises. Melissa had packed small jars and tiny bottles that held the potions or essential elements for the story. She also packed a few other surprises like a bat or an antique shoe to keep the students guessing. 

Potions in bottles, Oh my!

Pouring in the purple potion.

Students watched and helped with the pouring of each magic potion (colored scarf) into the black cauldron. Each potion was represented by a different colored scarf that matched up with a teaching poster. As Melissa carefully stirred inside the pot, she withdrew a specific poster that matched up with the potion. The scarves and posters represented characters, setting, problem/solution, and other special features. The posters were hung up to provide students a visual reminder while listening to and writing about fairy tales.

Reading Goldilocks

Then, we traveled to the storytelling area. A special fire was set up as a "campfire" area during our storytelling session. Melissa read aloud Goldilocks and the Three Bears first and reviewed the important elements of her story with the students. Next, I read aloud Three Billy Goats Gruff and again reviewed the elements with students. 

Helpful posters on display

We chose two familiar tales to share with the class because we wanted students to have success recalling and summarizing one of the stories during writing. After choosing their story, students set off to write their summaries during our writing time. They spread out across the classroom and their writing time eventually spilled into the afternoon "Flashlight Friday" reading time too.  

Flashlight writing on a Friday afternoon:)

Students enjoyed illustrating and rewriting these stories. I was was surprised by the student's production. They were paying close attention to details in their writing and their drawings. Two students even asked to finish up over Spring Break!

School Board Presentation

     The Oaklawn 3rd grade team and students were invited to the school board meeting to share what we've been doing with the AIM Project. We shared what the AIM project is about and how we are integrating the arts into our curriculum. There were six students who showcased living portraits of historical figures and conversation poems with rhyming words and props. We also explained what a Tableau is and how we brought historical events to life using paintings from those events. The students used their background knowledge to read an image, write a dialogue and take on the emotion of the people in the paintings. The 3rd graders shared the following quotes to express how they feel about doing AIM in the classroom. "Mrs. Kneeland let us try new things on our own without a script.  It was fun and we got to use props!" "Doing the tableau was fun and a little bit hard because we had to think about what we thought that historical person might be saying. I liked being creative!" "It was exciting to be on stage at the Mabel Tainter with the bright lights shining on us." "Doing fun things with history helped me remember it."  "AIM has given me confidence to speak in front of people. I feel so comfortable now, it's just like sitting down and talking with my family."  "Being on stage made me feel like an actress! We are so thankful for the support for our School Board and Administration.

"Preheating the Grill" as Dave Burgess would do

As Elizabeth stated in her previous post, Melissa has been busy with directing Guys and Dolls, but that hasn't stopped us from planning with her and continuing to come up with new ideas.  When we planned together last week, we came up with the idea to have a fake campfire in our classroom to set the stage for storytelling.  It fit perfectly with our district's professional development as well.   Our staff had Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate, speak to us during a day of professional development. His messages were inspiring!  Just adding a simple prop to "heat the grill" (get the kids wondering what is coming up....what will we be learning about next) motivates students to want to keep coming back to our classrooms!   The students loved it!! 

After Hours and Between Lessons...

Mrs. Kneeland the Director

For the past two weeks the third grade team has been busy introducing students to traditional literature. Students are reading, listening and viewing folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales. Our final focus will be on the fairy tale with Melissa's help.

In the meantime, Melissa has been busy too. She has left several of our AIM planning meetings to head to the Mabel Tainter Theater. As director of  the musical, Guys and Dolls, Melissa switches her theatrical thinking cap from elementary students to adults after hours. The show runs for two weeks and will close this weekend on Sunday, March 6.

We are so proud of Melissa's debut and wish her the best with future musicals and plays! Way to go!