Popular children’s characters were recently found in a second-grade classroom at Northwest Elementary School in the Amityville Union Free School District during fairy tale Reader’s Theater.

Students in Jenny Smith’s class performed “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Little Red Riding Hood” for their parents. The children dressed up as the characters and even used props such as a picnic basket and paper beanstalk. 

Ms. Smith said that Reader’s Theater helps students improve their fluency, their ability to read with expression and their confidence in reading and public speaking. One of the skills practiced in class is re-reading books to improve comprehension and word recognition, and the scripts proved to be the perfect motivator to get students to read and read again. 

After writing poems for six weeks, second-graders at Northwest Elementary School were given a forum to share their work. Teacher Franca Adams recently welcomed parents to the Adams Family Poetry Café. To simulate a real-life poetry reading, the room was illuminated with battery-powered candles and guests were encouraged to snap their fingers instead of applauding.

After a group poetry reading, children came up one-by-one to read a piece. Ms. Adams said that each student wrote about two dozen poems during the poetry unit using various techniques. Everyone selected a favorite piece to share at the poetry café with topics ranging from watermelons to dogs to monster trucks.

Legos are the newest educational tool in Margaret Brooks’ first-grade class at Northwest Elementary School. Twice a week, her students use the popular building blocks to participate in STEM activities, reinforcing skills in science, technology engineering and math.

Each student has his or her own Lego kit complete with dozens of blocks in different sizes and colors. The children are tasked with building projects from the LearnToLearn Lego Education curriculum pack. So far, they have made bridges, wheelchairs and machines.

After the children were introduced to the kits, they earned their building licenses. They learned that in order to successfully complete each project, they must follow the engineering process: plan and design, construct and test.

Ms. Brooks said that the students are developing their problem-solving skills and learning how to work together through engaging, hands-on activities.

Eight students from Amityville Memorial High School got to experience the classroom from the other side, as they spent a day as teachers at Northwest Elementary School.

Split into teams of four, one group worked with a first-grade class and the other with a second-grade class. They were trained through Junior Achievement, a volunteer-delivered program to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy.

The young teachers led literacy and math activities through Junior Achievement’s curriculum that focused on communities, families and careers. Elementary students got to explore the business world by starting their own pretend company and learn about democracy by participating in a mock vote.

Karen Gross, the transition coordinator for the Amityville Union Free School District, said the high school students who took part in the program are interested in careers working with children. This opportunity provided them with needed organization and leadership skills while teaching them how to be prepared for the workplace such as dressing professionally. In a program that focused on citizenship, they demonstrated for Northwest students just how to be good citizens.

“This was a good experience,” added junior Annastassia Baines. “We set an example for the younger kids so they can be role models in the future.”