Themed classrooms create fun, hands-on learning opportunities

Sept. 25, 2024 / Gilchrist School teachers put their creativity to work on Monday, creating themed classrooms with curriculum-specific activities that added new energy to every day learning.

The school is participating in Rock Your School, an annual educational initiative hosted by Get Your Teach On that encourages teachers to create innovative learning experiences for their students. For more photos, go to the KCSD Facebook page.

Gilchrist teachers have embraced the Rock Your School philosophy, said Principal JP Richards.

“It really challenges the teachers to think outside the box to create an engaging experience where they’re using their curriculum to be able to instruct in a creative way,” he said. “This is a for our teachers to step outside their box and comfort zone and be creative.”

That’s exactly what they did.

First-graders used math skills to design, build, and operate a lemonade stand. Kindergarteners and preschoolers learned about farming and had a chance to peel apples. Second-graders walked into a camping themed classroom, sitting in a tent for small-group learning, growing “crystal” trees in science, and practicing the writing by creating the steps for making S’mores and then indulging in the snack around their classroom’s “campfire.”

In Ryan Hoying’s fourth-grade class, students used boarding passes to get into class on Monday, sitting in seats labeled as if they were on an airplane. Mr. Hoying was dressed as Maverick and he carried the theme throughout the day. For one lesson, students followed specific instructions to create three different paper airplanes, using the scientific method to gather data on three different wing styles.

Just down the hall, third-graders learned their math, science, and reading lessons with pumpkins, measuring diameters and circumferences among other pumpkin-possible activities.

Meanwhile, fifth-graders focused on math fluency in robot-themed classroom. For one lesson, they teamed up to create a rap song using skip numbers. Sixth-graders learned lessons through a sports-themed lens.

At the high school level, students in Senior Seminar, a class that focuses on career planning and what seniors need to do to be successful after high school, seniors participated in a career-focused scavenger hunt and charade game as part of the Rock Your School effort.

Gilchrist Elementary Vice Principal Heather Bond said the teachers really enjoyed creating lessons around their themes.

“We are hoping to continue to engage students in these types of hands-on learning activities throughout the school year,” she said. “With a central-themed day, students had more buy-in and participation in their learning.”