Explorer Academy Learning Expedition Overview
Expedition Title: Character
Topic: Habits of Success
Grade Level- 2
Time Frame: Week 1: first 6 weeks of school
Date created: August 2015
Authors & Email of main contact
Created by Grades 1-2 Loop Teachers
[email protected]
[email protected]
School: Explorer Academy
2901 Saltwell Drive
Huntington, WV 25705
Learning Expedition Summary
The staff of Explorer Academy grappled on what 6 character
traits we wanted our students to establish so they can become
successful crew members through out the school day and lifelong
learners. We call these six character traits our habits of success
and they are the following: cooperation, respect, trustworthiness,
curiosity, compassion, and craftsmanship. This character expedition
will be implemented the first six weeks of the school year during
our crew morning meetings. The anchor charts created during these
lessons and displayed in the classrooms will provide the students a
constant reminder of our habits of success for the remainder of the
year.
Guiding Questions
What is cooperation?
Why is it important to "get along" with others?
What is a community?
What does it take to have a safe and caring school for all?
Long-Term Learning Target
I can manage my actions and build relationships in order to be
an active member of a productive and kind classroom.
Case Studies
1.Topic: Cooperation
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
How can I be a cooperative member of my crew and community?
2.Topic: Respect
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
3.Topic: Trustworthiness
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
4.Topic: Curiosity
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
5.Topic: Compassion
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
6.Topic: Craftsmanship
Big Ideas/Broader Concepts
Connections to the Community and the Larger World
Expedition Kickoff
EVAC Helicopter Crew "Cooperating Together" visit
Expedition Culmination
Huntington Police Officer bringing his two K9 officers (Cooper
and Duke) for our first and second grade crews to make connections
of our habits of success to the real world.
Standards
Social Skills
ELP.SS.1.1.2 Begin to independently and collaboratively approach
tasks and activities with flexibility, imagination, and
inventiveness.
ELP.SS.1.1.4 engage in cooperative group play and work
collaboratively
ELP.SS.2.2.1 Interact with community members under the
facilitation of an adult
ELP.SS.2.2.3 identify and begin using expected dispositions,
skills, and behaviors in school (attendance, punctuality,
communication, relationships, attitudes, perseverance,
collaboration, critical thinking and leadership)
ELP.SS.3.3.1 express needs, wants and feelings appropriately
ELP.SS.3.1.2 develop positive relationships with children and
adults
ELP.SS.4.1.2 demonstrate increasing capacity to follow rules and
routines ad use materials purposefully and respectfully
ELP.SS.4.2.2 assume leadership roles in collaborative tasks
within the classroom
R/LA/W
ELA.3.R.C1.2 recount stories, including fables, folk tales and
myths from diverse cultures determine the central message, lesson
or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in a
literary text
ELA.2.SL.C13.1 participate in collaborative conversations with
diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and
adults in small and larger groups.
ELA.2.SL.C13.2 recount or describe key ideas or details from a
text read aloud or information presented orally or through other
media.
ELA.2.L.C17.1 determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or
phrase.
Instructional Strategies: (Completed Daily at the beginning of
crew morning meeting.)
Greeting: Galaxy Greeting (99 Activities and Greetings p.
117)
Have the students walk around the room like an astronaut and
tell them when they hear the bell to stop and greet a crew member
that's close using one of the following greetings: Greetings
Earthlings, Live Long and Prosperous, or Peace in the Universe.
Initiative (team building activity): Boppity Bop Bop Bop (The
Morning Meeting Book p. 181)
Day 1
Y-Chart on Cooperation- Discuss with students and create a Y
Chart for what cooperation feels like, looks like, and sounds like.
Display in classroom for students to refer back to in the
future.
Read Aloud Anchor Text: Starring Me and You by Genevieve Cte
First Read: Read aloud for Key Ideas and Details of the
Story
Think Pair Share Protocol: "What is the main idea or gist of
this story?"
Day 2
Second Read: Select a section about cooperation for students to
reread for vocabulary words. (examples might be: shy, fake, eager,
freeze, duet, grumble, pout)
Students will discuss meaning of words and then clarify with
their own definitions.
Use Sticky Notes to add vocabulary selections to Y chart.
Day 3
Third Read: Partner read or read aloud the selection of text
from yesterday.
Think Pair Share- "What words could the bunny and the pig use to
resolve their problem another way?" Record responses as a shared
writing.
Students will draw their own illustration of the situation and
add the word captions from the shared writing.
Day 4
Final Read: Read aloud the whole book.
Place students in cooperative groups around the classroom to
discuss the gist statement of the story. Students will use the
Round Robin Talk Protocol to discuss their ideas for a one sentence
gist and teacher/recorder will write them down.
Day 5
Students will share their gist statements that they discussed
yesterday with their cooperative groups with the class.
Read aloud and use the Back to Back Face to Face protocol to
discuss the meaning of the following selection found on the last
page of the text-
Whatever we are, whatever we do, the stage is always big enough
for me and you.
Resources for Teachers
Starring Me and You by Genevieve Cte
Chart paper, markers, etc.
post-it notes
Resources for Students
response papers
