1-10-10 Telling The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza in Ms. Avist's first grade class
Friends:
This week, I started a new residency at Catherine Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. We are doing “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales.” Stories on Board is one of my books published with ABC Clio, Libraries Unlimited.
For the lower grades (pre-K through 2nd), I tell a story and then they play a board game based on that story. For the upper grades, they are assigned a story that turn into a board game. It’s a fun process and there are a lot of skills involved for all the grades.
My first class was Ms. Avist’s first grade class. I told the story of “The Little Red Hen” and following the story, they played a game I created based on the story.
1-10-10 Ms. Avist first grade students play The Little Red Hen's Pizza Party
After Ms. Avist’s class, I moved on to Ms. Giroir’s Pre-K class. Again, I told the story of “The Little Red Hen” and they played the game, “The Little Red Hen’s Pizza party.” Of course, because they are so young, they needed guidance and help. They played in groups of four and learned how to count game board spaces. There was also addition and subtraction involved so the little ones learned quite a bit.
1-10-10 Ms. Giroir's Pre-K students play Little Red Hen's Pizza Party
Next, I headed to Ms. Guidry’s third grade class. I went through my lesson plan, explaining the Stories on Board process. The students learned about perils and triumphs and how to apply them to a board game. After deconstructing the story, they began work on their game boards. They were assigned the story, “Sody Sallyraytus.”
1-10-10 Students in Ms. Guidry's third grade class work on their board game
Then it was on to Ms. Creecy’s third grade class. They were assigned the story, “The Gingerbread Man.” These students came up with some very creative titles such as “Granny Blast,” “The Running Man,” “The G-Man Jump,” and “The Kooky Cookie.” I loved their inventive ideas!!
1-10-11 A game in Ms. Creecy's third grade class called The Kooky Cookie, based on The Gingerbread Man
After Ms. Creecy class, I moved on to Ms. Vega’s fourth grade class. Once they settled down, they were intent on learning the process and creating their board game. They were assigned the story, “Goldie Locks.” Unfortunately, I was so involved in teaching and monitoring their progress that I neglected to take pictures! I will definitely snap some shots of their board games in progress as well as the finished product.
Ms. Landry’s fourth grade class was assigned the story of “The Little Red Hen.” They began work on their boards and came up with some great titles such as “Henopoly” (based on Monopoly) and “Chicken Path.” Again, I forgot to take pictures! I can’t wait to see the results of their creativity.
My last class was Ms. Johnson’s second grade class. They listened to the story of “The Little Red Hen” and then played “Little Red Hen’s Pizza Party.” They had a ton of fun and begged me to return to their class.
1-10-10 Students in Ms. Johnson's second grade class play Little Red Hen's Pizza Party
It was a great first day and I loved returning to Strehle. The teachers are so wonderful and welcoming. This is my fourth year at Strehle and I love working with the students at this school. It’s nice to come to a place where you feel like you are at home. Thank you, Strehle!
Until next time…
Warmly, Dianne
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