Theresa Dardanell
Sabillasville Elementary School (SES) students created boats to help the gingerbread man cross the river without being eaten by the fox, and assembled parachutes to help Jack float down from the beanstalk and escape from the giant. It was all part of an activity that combined literacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) on March 29, 2018.
Jeanne Read and Shelba Bollinger from the Thurmont Regional Library read the fairy tales to the children and then encouraged them to create the boats and parachutes, using a variety of everyday objects. The students could choose items like foam boards, straws, corks, and construction paper for the boats, along with plastic bags, tissue paper, coffee filters, and string for the parachutes.
Second grade student Sophie Wagaman was one of the first to get her boat to float across the river (a tub of water). In another classroom, a tall construction paper beanstalk was the scene of the parachute trials. A toy “Jack” was attached to each parachute. Parents were on hand to reach up high and release the parachutes while the students watched Jack float down safely.
Many of the SES staff members were on hand to serve pizza before the activities began. They were also available in the media center and the computer lab to help with the other literacy activities. In the computer lab, parents had the opportunity to use some of the online literacy resources with their children. After completing an activity in the media center, every student had the opportunity to choose a book to keep. The books were donated by a very generous community member.
Joey and ILO Blentlinger and Robbie Koontz create parachutes to help “Jack” escape from the giant.
