Students at Greenwood Elementary took a trip around the world at their own school on Monday, December 15th. Second Grade Teacher Haley Halcom organized the Holidays Around the World event for the school.
Halcom said the teachers initiated the project in the staff room during lunch time. “We got to talking about fun projects that we all do independently and that spiraled into seeing the learning progression of projects. From there, the idea of a K-5 project quickly took shape,” she said.
The event was a school-wide jigsaw project. All grades participated in some way, either presenting about a country or visiting another class that was presenting. The teachers decided on a country to study, and each grade level presented information in four categories: the country’s flag, their holiday figure, holiday foods, and interesting facts.
Halcom said each grade level completed the project a little differently and put their own spins on it. Some presented as a whole group, others had small student-led groups, and Kindergarten and Rising Stars paired together to perform a skit. A few grade levels were even able to incorporate a treat or food type from their country for the visiting classes to try!
Watching students take ownership of their learning and present with such pride was very rewarding, Halcom said, because students not only learned about how holidays are celebrated around the world, but also stepped into leadership roles while teaching their peers.
“Holidays Around the World was so much fun! We had a great time planning and putting it together. It is not an annual event yet, but based on teacher responses, student excitement and engagement, and the overall success, we will definitely be continuing it in the future.”
