BMUFSD: Fourth Graders Take Multidisciplinary Approach To World Kindness Day

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

2021-11-15

Drawing on a range of disciplines, fourth graders in Christina Hurley’s class created a project in honor of World Kindness Day which took place on November 13.

The project involved creating a kindness poem as well as a mini poster using a quote and a selfie. Students used technology, SEL (social emotional learning) and poetry skills to complete the assignment.

“SEL is an integral part of my teaching and allows the students to learn new strategies which will stay with them for the rest of their lives,” Ms. Hurley said. “Celebrating World Kindness Day gave us an opportunity to focus on these skills and strategies and let the students truly see the value and benefit of being kind to others and to themselves.”

In the first part of the project, students learned about haiku, cinquain, and diamante poetry and discussed their similarities and differences. Next, they made a list of nouns, verbs and adjectives associated with the word “kindness.”

“Students each chose a type of poem that would allow them to best express their ideas and then they created a poem in that style,” Ms. Hurley said. “The final outcomes were beautiful representations of the creative minds in my class.”

For the second part of the project, students found a quote that resonated with them.

“We found kindness quotes on Safari,” said Remi.

Next, they turned the quote into a background, and used the Green Screen app on their school iPads to create a picture of themselves posing in front of their chosen quote. 

Already familiar with the app, students were able to easily create the artwork. They used their prior knowledge from younger grades and were able to utilize the more complex components of the app which they had not used before.

“We already know this program because we used it it in first and third grade,” explained Samantha.

The poems and photos were posted outside the classroom to share with the entire school.

“The students were very excited to share their final products not only with their classmates, but with the adults and students in Todd Elementary School,” Ms. Hurley said. 

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.