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Second grade classes present multifaceted Solar System project at St. Anne’s Episcopal School
The children designed their elaborate costumes at home.
By Lisa Strong Chase, St. Anne’s School
Ever since St. Anne’s Episcopal School first opened, the second grade classes have studied the solar system and presented a spectacular solar system show. The brain child of Mrs. Denise Davis, second grade teacher, the project has grown to include unique systems such as the Asteroid Belt, Halley’s Comet, the Kuiper Belt, and significant individuals such as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, and 16th century astronomer Galileo Galilei.
From early January to early February, the children research their assigned planet, individual, or system, such as the Milky Way, write a detailed paper in class, and practice public speaking and performance skills. They design their elaborate costumes at home.
“The research format requires each student to research what makes their particular heavenly body or individual unique,” said Mrs. Beth Bell, second grade teacher. “The students go through several draft revisions.”
“The students learn a variety of important skills, including performance, public speaking, and of course, research and writing about a topic in their own unique voice,” said Mrs. Davis. “What the parents and other students witness in this presentation is more than the students’ understanding of the solar system. It is the result of weeks of questioning, observing, recording, discussing, experiencing, and enjoying science.”
The selection process of the planets and other heavenly bodies in the galaxy involves the teacher either assigning the planet to the child or each child pulling a name out of the hat. Each child chooses his or her own music to which they walk onto the stage to present their planet’s information. For the last several years, Mara Schmittinger, school trustee, parent, and volunteer extraordinaire, has put the music together for the shows.
The special finale of the show includes the students doing a representation of rotation and revolving as the elements do in space, in their appropriate placement.