1st Quarter
Spectrum 6/7: Paradise Island Crime Simulation
Although the chilly temperatures of fall have arrived and the torrential rains have
kept us inside our cozy hut, the students in Spectrum 6/7 have made the best of their
simulated vacation on Paradise Island. Our first adventure of the year had our Spectrum
students role-playing a variety of lively characters in a crime-scene simulation. The first
adventure of our island getaway had our tourists (students) on the move as one of three
teams: The Coconut Cove Crabbers, the Intelligent Island Ice-Makers, or the Hilarious
Happy Halibuts for our first-ever treasure island quest! Each team was given an island
map and clues in the form of riddles that took them through the hut (school) and out on the
island (school campus) in search of the team’s treasure. Once outside, each team combed
the green sand beach to locate the nearest Island Management Station, which was
graciously maintained by our wonderful parent volunteers. In this animated simulation,
the school represented our cozy hut on the island, and the crosswalk and the Kiss-and-Go
lane provided the perfect connection to the mainland. Our tourists were provided with
plenty of exercise as they had to walk the planks in order to make it safely to the mainland
and continue their quest for island treasure. Although some teams didn’t locate all the
treasures while on their quest, the reviews from parents and students were unanimous that
being able to get outside was an awesome idea.
The pictures from our island quest displayed around our classroom tell the tale of the
day’s events, and I think everyone would agree that providing students with creative, teambuilding activities that connect curriculum with the outdoors is a win-win for all. Look for
our island adventure slideshow on our school’s website, and I look forward to more outdoor
connections throughout the year in and around our newly-renovated Outdoor Classroom.
Thank You, Parent Volunteers!
Parents are always welcome in our classes, and I would like to extend a special thanks to
our parent volunteers for coming out, setting up, and enduring the unseasonable, island
temperatures for this outdoor activity. Although this was an addition to this unit, I believe
the students thoroughly enjoyed the assistance from Island Management during their
island quest, and I hope to see many for our next adventure. Our parent volunteers for the
Paradise Island Treasure Quest were: Mrs. Hollidge, Mrs. Eddinger, Mrs. Cassidy, Mrs.
Steigerwald, Mrs. Melton, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Washko, Mrs. McCabe, Mrs, Grossi, Mrs. Kidd,
Mr. Rhodes, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Tracy, Mrs. KinCannon, and Mr. Smyth.
Conclusion: Over the past few weeks, our super-sleuth detectives have been hot on the
trail investigating this unusual mystery, and our lively, animated tourists have been
thoroughly questioned by not only out detectives but other suspects in an effort to gather
evidence and solve this mystery. Although not everyone was accurate in their conclusions,
at last the truth behind this mysterious island crime has been solved, and each character
had the opportunity to share the facts. Students took time out to reflect (via essay writing)
on this unusual mystery, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their thoughts. Kudos to all our
students for their creative, engaging, and entertaining character portrayals. It was a job
well-done! Below are a few of the recipients nominated by their class for the Paradise
Island Character Award.
Throughout our crime-solving mystery, a few students portrayed their character is such a creative,
highly animated fashion, that the class nominated them to be the recipient of the Paradise Island
Character Award. Below are a few of our winners:
Spectrum Unit 2: American Sign Language (ASL)
In this hands-on unit, students begin to appreciate and understand the difficulties and
frustrations of the deaf culture when communicating to a hearing world. Through a
variety of mini-lessons and hands-on activities, students will learn basic signs for nearly
600 words over the course of this unit. Currently, students are learning signs
associated with Thanksgiving, and I encourage parents to visit and allow the students
to share their knowledge of ASL in class. Each class period, students will be introduced
to new words and their signs and practice signing with peers. Through continual
practice of these basic signs, students begin to master communicating simple
sentences through signing.
ASL Project: The final project requires students to work collaboratively with a partner
to write, practice, and present an original, skit completely in ASL. Each presentation will
be videotaped to include captions or voice interpretations. Once converted on the
computer, the presentations will be played at our Spectrum Spring Festival.
Field Trip News: Sadly, our field trip to Gallaudet has been cancelled, but I have booked
another field trip (see below) that correlates with one of our featured units for
Spectrum 6/7.
Where can you get up close to a real-life mummy? You could take a virtual tour online, but
there’s a better way! The mummies are here in a resting place not too far off in Baltimore,
Maryland! This trip is sure to have our students going back in time to experience the ancient
world in the present. This optional field trip is a great opportunity for our students to
see mummies from all over the world and an array of ancient relics and amazing
artifacts.
Our trip is scheduled for Friday, January 3, 2014, which is the first Friday back. Students
electing to attend this field trip in Spectrum 6/7 will travel to the Science Center in
Baltimore, Maryland. Students choosing not to attend the trip will be assigned to attend
resource for the class period.
The permission form and more specific information regarding the itinerary, the cost,
bagged lunches, and the number of chaperones needed will be forthcoming once we
return from the holiday break.