Gurney Elementary School in Chagrin Falls second grade teachers Ellen Jones and Ann Kehrier decided to incorporate the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi into their lesson plans this February. Their students researched the Winter Olympic sports and chose the one they were most interested in or thought was the best sport in the Olympics. Then they looked for athletes competing in that sport and chose one who is favored to do well or medal in the games. They researched some basic information about the athletes (how old they are, where they are from, how long they have been doing their sport).
“We have been working on writing opinions and persuasive paragraphs and letters in writer’s workshop, so the students planned and wrote an opinion piece about why the sport they chose is the best one in the Olympics,” said Kehrier.
The students also created a portrait of their athlete holding their country’s flag that are now hanging in the hall by the library. “We will be keeping track of the results and medal counts and awarding medals to our athlete’s portraits if they win,” said Kehrier. “This project is giving our kids an opportunity to connect with current events, use nonfiction reading skills, and work on opinion writing.”
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