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Teachers bring creative learning to St. Stephen School

Underground Railroad Quilt

Underground Railroad Quilt by St. Stephen 2nd Grade Students

The Underground Railroad was the Social Studies topic and inspiration for 2nd grade students at St. Stephen School in Saginaw. Teachers Cameron Hafner and Trisha Olmsted combined their students’ efforts to create a special quilt for a class project while learning about the Underground Railroad. Each student cut fabric for the quilt, created designs, and assisted with sewing the pieces on a sewing machine.

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. Escaped slaves would move along the route from one way station to the next, steadily making their way north. The Underground Railroad was its height between 1850 and 1860. It is estimated that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the “Railroad.”

The students plan to donate the quilt to Saginaw’s Underground Railroad. Underground Railroad, Inc. serves all residents of Saginaw County who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.  In operation since 1977, Underground Railroad, Inc. is the only provider of emergency shelter, services, leadership and programs to end domestic and sexual violence in the community. Underground Railroad, Inc. provides shelter for over 500 women and children annually, and over 4,000 families in Saginaw County access one or more of their services. For more information, visit their website at www.undergroundrailroadinc.org.

 

Put on your “thinking cap”

St. Stephen 2nd Grade Thinking Hats

St. Stephen 2nd Grade Students and their thinking hats
Cameron Hafner literally puts on her “thinking hats” to help her 2nd grade students get in the creative writing mood. While her students have their own creativity inspiring hats, Hafner sports one of four different hats, each representing the different stages of the writing process.

The first white hat is called the “Brainstorming Hat,” and is for pre-writing. Next is the pink hat to signal the time for writing that first draft. Hafner will then don the brown rev-eyes (revise) hat, which is covered with little googly-eyes, for the revision stage. Lastly is the wide-brimmed straw “Publishing Hat” to complete the writing process.

Students created their own colorful hats that they wear when it’s time to write. According to Hafner, the hats help the students keep their focus on writing and inspire creativity.

 

It’s all about the weather

St. Stephen students and their weather scrapbooks

First year teachers Erika Leppien and Kristi Miller have brought their own fresh ideas to the classroom. As part of the curriculum for weather, students learn about weather safety, the seasons, weather vocabulary, and the water cycle. Leppien and Miller had their first grade students create 5-day weather scrapbooks that included pictures, graphs, the average temperature for that day, and descriptions of how they were dressed according to the weather.

 

 

 

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