Week 13 Reflection

The week of November 12-16 was not only the final week before Thanksgiving recess, but it was also the week of our Thanksgiving Celebration. For the last two weeks, the class has been practicing a Thanksgiving play and a few Thanksgiving songs to perform in front of their parents. Students drew parts out of a hat, including pilgrims, Indians, and one turkey.

As the date of the performance grew closer, I began to have some apprehension about how the students would do. Clearly there were those students who had taken the time to practice their part with their mother or father and knew what to do. But I could tell that a number of students had not done so and some were simply absent and did not get the chance to practice with the rest of the class. Since rehearsing the play was in large part my responsibility at this point, I tried to make it a point to incorporate a lot of practice time in the lessons for this week – practically all of our 45 minute art block was spent rehearsing our lines, movements, and songs.

Everything seemed to come together on Thursday, the day of our performance. The students required a bit of coaching during the final production but did an excellent job. I was very impressed by the number of parents and family members who showed up for the celebration as well – every student had at least one family member, some had two.

Now that the play has past and I have a chance to reflect on it, I think it was an incredibly worthwhile experience. I couldn’t help but laugh at a couple of the students who were glad that they’d never have to practice their lines again, but I think in doing so, the students were able to get a better idea of what Pilgrim or Indian life may have been at the time. Also, I think it’s incredibly valuable to have the parents come into the classroom and see what you’ve been doing with the students. Having the parents show up and be a member of the school community with an active interest in the activities their child is doing is a great step towards extending the classroom learning into the home.