Dear Journal,
It was supposed to be an easy assignment! After reading the story "Thanksgiving on Thursday" by Mary Osborne with my second graders, I gave them the task of writing a few sentences about what we talked about in the story. I wanted to create a class book that everyone could share afterwards. I had imagined the students taking pride in creating a project of this kind and having a finished product to go with it. I did not imagine that this project, which looked great on my lesson plan sheet would be the cause of such great stress and anxiety for my students.
I realized a few weeks ago that my students were a lot more complex than I first imagined. They were advanced in some areas and delayed in other areas which presented a challenge for me. I had to work on the areas that were difficult for them at the same time highlighting their talents in their preferred subjects. Another challenge for me was that they were all delayed in different areas which meant that I had to create lesson plans that would address four different needs in a short period of time. The class project was an assignment that I felt could address their needs on various levels and still be fun for the students. Boy, was I wrong! The students did not feel that this project was fun because it required them to create an idea and write it down on paper. Their anxieties grew and before long I had a student hiding under a table and another one pulling at her hair. Time for a break!
After the break, I quickly realize that one of my students loved to draw. So I decided to let her draw a picture and then have her tell me about it. So I asked her if she could draw a picture of the Mayflower, the ship that the pilgrims had sailed to America on. When I check on her a few minutes later, she had drawn a picture of a May flower, a pretty blossom that she loved in the spring time. I was stunned for a bit and then I smiled warmly at her. She was proud of her product and so I included it in the class book.
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