Explorer Academy Learning Expedition Overview
Expedition Title: Character / Topic: Habits of SuccessGrade Level- 2 / Time Frame: Week 1: first 6 weeks of school
Date created: August 2015 / Authors & Email of main contact
Created by Grades 1-2 Loop Teachers
School: Explorer Academy
2901 Saltwell Drive
Huntington, WV 25705
Learning Expedition Summary
The staff of Explorer Academy grappled on what 6 character traits we wanted our students to establish so they can become successful crew membersthrough out the school day and lifelong learners. We call these six character traits our habits of success and they are the following: cooperation, respect, trustworthiness, curiosity, compassion, and craftsmanship. This character expedition will be implemented the first six weeks of the school year during our crew morning meetings. The anchor charts created during these lessons and displayed in the classrooms will provide the students a constant reminder of our habits of success for the remainder of the year.
Guiding Questions
What is cooperation?
Why is it important to "get along" with others?
What is a community?
What does it take to have a safe and caring school for all?
Long-Term Learning Target
I can manage my actions and build relationships in order to be an active member of a productive and kindclassroom.
Case Studies
1.Topic: Cooperation / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
How can I be a cooperative member of my crew and community?
2.Topic: Respect / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
3.Topic: Trustworthiness / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
4.Topic:Curiosity / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
5.Topic: Compassion / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
6.Topic: Craftsmanship / Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
Connections to the Community and the Larger World
Expedition Kickoff / EVAC Helicopter Crew "Cooperating Together" visit
Expedition Culmination / Huntington Police Officer bringinghis twoK9 officers (Cooper and Duke) for our first and second grade crews to make connections of our habits of success to the real world.
Standards
Social Skills / ELP.SS.1.1.2 Begin to independently and collaboratively approach tasks and activities with flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.
ELP.SS.1.1.4 engage in cooperative group play and work collaboratively
ELP.SS.2.2.1 Interact with community members under the facilitation of an adult
ELP.SS.2.2.3 identify and begin using expected dispositions, skills, and behaviors in school (attendance, punctuality, communication, relationships, attitudes, perseverance, collaboration, critical thinking and leadership)
ELP.SS.3.3.1 express needs, wants and feelings appropriately
ELP.SS.3.1.2 develop positive relationships with children and adults
ELP.SS.4.1.2 demonstrate increasing capacity to follow rules and routines ad use materials purposefully and respectfully
ELP.SS.4.2.2 assume leadership roles in collaborative tasks within the classroom
R/LA/W / ELA.3.R.C1.2 recount stories, including fables, folk tales and myths from diverse cultures determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in a literary text
ELA.2.SL.C13.1 participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
ELA.2.SL.C13.2 recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
ELA.2.L.C17.1 determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
- use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Instructional Strategies: (Completed Daily at the beginning of crew morning meeting.)
Greeting: Galaxy Greeting (99 Activities and Greetings p. 117)
Have the students walk around the room like an astronaut and tell them when they hear thebell to stop and greet a crew member that's close using one of the following greetings: Greetings Earthlings, Live Long and Prosperous, or Peace in the Universe.
Initiative (team building activity): Boppity Bop Bop Bop (The Morning Meeting Book p. 181)
Day 1
Y-Chart on Cooperation-Discuss with students and create a Y Chart for what cooperation feels like, looks like, and sounds like. Display in classroom for students to refer back to in the future.
Read Aloud Anchor Text: Starring Me and You by Genevieve Côte
First Read: Read aloud for Key Ideas and Details of the Story
Think Pair Share Protocol: "What is the main idea or gist of this story?"
Day 2
Second Read: Select a section about cooperation for students to reread for vocabulary words. (examples might be: shy, fake, eager, freeze, duet, grumble, pout)
Students will discuss meaning of words and then clarify with their own definitions.
Use Sticky Notes to add vocabulary selections to Y chart.
Day 3
Third Read: Partner read or read aloud the selection of text from yesterday.
Think Pair Share- "What words could the bunny and the pig use to resolve their problem another way?" Record responses as a shared writing.
Students will draw their own illustration of the situation and add the word captions from the shared writing.
Day 4
Final Read: Read aloud the whole book.
Place students in cooperative groups around the classroom to discuss the gist statement of the story. Students will use the Round Robin Talk Protocol to discuss their ideas for a one sentence gist and teacher/recorder will write them down.
Day 5
Students will share their gist statements thatthey discussed yesterday with their cooperative groups with the class.
Read aloud anduse the Back to Back Face to Face protocol to discuss the meaning of the following selection found on the last page of the text-
Whatever we are, whatever we do, the stage is always big enough for me and you.
Resources for Teachers
Starring Me and You by Genevieve Côte
Chart paper, markers, etc.
post-it notes / Resources for Students
response papers