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What are Teachers Saying About the Schoolwide Enrichment Model
A 5th grade student was researching deer hunting using the II Model. He would come to class asking if he could take home some books on equipment used for deer hunting. This is a 5th grader who was reading 2 grade levels below his current grade. He was a struggling reader and never enjoyed reading. His motivation improved and he would get so excited about reading about deer.
We were working with fraction manipulatives in 3rd grade music and fitting eighths into quarters, quarters into halves and calculating how much space was taken up. One student was really excited to see that there was a relationship between the structures and that they could relate to musical notes.
The lesson on philanthropy has continued throughout the year with students noticing kind deeds they are doing as well as what others do for them. It has been very pleasant for me to hear their positive comments.
I have a student who is very bright, but doesn't always produce quality work. But he has learned to play chess. He went to a tournament over spring break and did very well. I suggested to him that he write about that in his journal. We wanted to know what happened! He took the suggestion and is on his 3rd page.
I talked to student's mom about his struggle with being "last" in running and feeling bad about that. However, I pointed out to the mother that the child was reading at a very high level in kindergarten. Soon after this discussion with the mother, he came to me with a resource book that he discovered on his own in our room with some cool facts about butterflies. He realized how much he does contribute to our class in his own unique way.
I have a group of girls that play "predator and prey" at recess ever since we did our IIM on skunks. The take turns being skunks and owls. They spray each other. My class was horrified when I said we were taking down our skunk bulletin board. They wanted to keep it up all year. They took real ownership of our skunk research.
The students have begun to think creatively when making projects and ask me for additional resources. I happily sifted through my closet of supplies to provide them the tools. It was great to be the "resource giver" while they thought of the ideas and supplies needed. They are starting to think outside the box.
One Thursday afternoon a student said to me, "I can't wait for tomorrow." When I asked her why that was she replied, "Because I get to do 3 fun things. I get to go out to eat, have a friend sleep over and I get to have E-Slot."
The day we returned from Spring Break, a student came into school and said, "Aren't you excited about Friday?" At first, I had no idea what she could be talking about. When I asked her, she said that she was so excited to go to the Enrichment Cluster showcase to share the volcano she created!
A student attended the same enrichment cluster 2 years in a row. It was his 1st choice. I was surprised because he didn't really seem that into it the first year. However, this year he was so excited about magic. He loved reading and exploring new magic tricks and was always asking for materials to try his new experiments. It was joy watching him grow into a leader.
One of my students last year completed an IIM project on the Pilgrims. I knew this child was a good student and bright. However, after seeing what she produced when she investigated something to do with history, I saw something in her that I had not seen before. I jumped at the chance to let her investigate Robert E. Lee when we studied biographies. I know now that she is a true history buff in the making.
A student is doing an IIM research project on the Fiji Islands. I wondered how she picked that topic and asked her about it (I guessed that she had been there because her family travels extensively). She told me that during the "Where is Zeek This Week?" enrichment cluster they looked at lots of maps and she saw the Fiji Islands on one. She became curious about the islands at that time and months later began her IIM project.
I loved seeing the "Art from the Heart" enrichment cluster experience a full circle moment. The students decided to send a banner to the troops in Iraq and never expected anything in return. When the soldiers sent a poster back to the cluster as a thank you, the students were so excited. They were able to see that their poster had made a difference. It was full circle moment that I hope they never forget.
One of my students has been working all year on IIM research about killer whales. She had an appointment over spring break to interview one of the caretakers of the killer whales at Sea World in San Antonio. It sounds like she had a terrific experience.
