Spotlight | Grade 2
Johnny Appleseed Tradition Continues
Every September, our Grade 2 students learn about a real man that lived named John Chapman, but you probably know him by his tall tale name “Johnny Appleseed.” Mrs. Duke incorporated the topic of Johnny Appleseed into every subject, and her students even put on a play for students, staff, and families about his life and how he came to be known as Johnny Appleseed.
If you’re familiar with our educational model, you know our students get hands-on learning from our Research, Produce, Present method. Mrs. Duke’s class used John Chapman’s life to help them learn the differences between folk tales, fairy tales, and nonfiction stories, and they wrote about his life. In Science, the students researched the life cycle of apples and the uses of apples.
“We discussed how Johnny Appleseed shared stories from the Bible and how God calls us to tell others about Jesus.”
They concluded their Johnny Appleseed unit by working on their presentation skills. They will continue working on all of these skills throughout the year as they work towards a final, end-of-year EXPO (or presentation) about a given topic they will research.
“This integrated approach creates a connection to the students, and they are able to actually retain the information. This is a unit students look forward to every year, and it’s one they don’t forget.”
Students worked on memorization and presentation skills to act out a play in front of multiple audiences.
