Emily Trenney’s third grade students are writing informational books. Books about topics they selected, based on subjects in which they regard themselves as experts. Half of her students chose specific sports and were in need of more information, so she reached across Mt. Vernon Highway and contacted Coach Joanna Kay, Athletic Department Coordinator for help coordinating with the US student athletes and teachers.
Shortly thereafter, six US student athletes joined the third grade writers workshop. Each athlete paired up with a third grader to share information, answer questions, and assist with the revision/editing stage of their writing. “As a result,” Ms. Trenney says, “their books have more information than ever thanks to their new US friends. My students were so pleased to have these external experts — professionals, as they called them– in our classroom.”
A few students pulled out their recess footballs and asked the US football players to sign them. Ms. Trenney’s class hopes to venture to the US after Thanksgiving to share their published informational books with their US friends.
Thoughts from Third Grade:
– Kennedy worked with Helen Hudgens, an US softball player. Kennedy liked that Helen shared her knowledge of softball rules and helped her write that chapter for her informational book.
– Colin worked with Jay Middleton, an US baseball player. Colin learned more about the catcher position and how to know when you call a ball or a strike.
– Jack and Reiner worked with Jordan Taylor and Ben Martin, two US football players. “They taught us about the penalties and the special teams positions. They are professionals in football so they were able to tell us what we didn’t know. They also helped us revise and edit our work to make it the best it could be.”
– Lauren worked with Caroline Corley, an US cheerleader. “She gave me a lot of advice about my jumping chapter. She taught me the jumps and showed me how to do them. Caroline helped me fill the gaps of information that I didn’t know on my own.”
– Elle worked with Winston Fox, an US soccer player. “I liked that he was giving me lots of information about my topic. We were having fun while we were working. He asked me what I was learning about in math and shared with me how I will use multiplication in Upper School. He even showed me a problem that was on his assessment that morning. It looked so hard!”
