Written by Heather Beume, Teacher of the Deaf, Elementary
Over the past few weeks, the School for the Deaf Elementary has been focusing on learning all about America and some of our famous Presidents! We have read about President’s Day; famous President speeches and the laws. We read one especially fun book called “Laws for Kids” where we read and discussed laws kids had to follow and how they were important. We also discussed voting and how to vote on laws and take polls. Students were able to create their own “voters’ registration” cards. We then took a practice poll in class where students voted on their favorite animals.
Next, our class began working on our “America” projects, where students created their mini-display boards to highlight all of their newfound knowledge. Students wrote about and discussed various things such as: what continent is America on, what the flag looks like, what habitats can be found within the country, what are some cultural elements, facts about America and their favorite fact that they have learned. Students then also took their knowledge of laws and applied it to their own creative thinking by designing their own law.
Once the projects/writing were completed, we gathered the rest of Elementary, as well as some fellow staff members, for our class to do a fun presentation! Students were encouraged to share their display boards with everyone, then present facts about America and the Presidents about which they had learned. I prompted a few questions and students were eager to share the various facts they had learned. Students then also shared what law they would create if they were to become President. Once these presentations were done, we returned to our classroom where students used their “voters registration cards” to vote on which of their peers’ presentations were the best, the winner being nominated “Class President”!
