Middle school can be tough. Socially, emotionally, and academically, there can be lots of challenges for students in the early teen years. My students are learning English and adapting to a new culture while navigating these difficult years, and this creates an extra layer of challenge.
My English language learner students are resilient, resourceful, and caring young teens.
Many of my students this year recently arrived refugees from Africa and the Middle East. They tackle problems cheerfully and with gusto, but they also experience significant adjustment challenges. These students have been through a great deal beyond their control in their short lives, but they use multiple talents and strengths to overcome current obstacles.
My Project
My students are currently about one-fourth of the way toward completion of a 1,000 piece puzzle of a coral reef. I brought this puzzle into our classroom as a fun activity just before the winter break. We were just finishing off our unit on the destructive impact of the invasive Red Lionfish on coral reefs in the Atlantic.
Many common strategies for assembling a puzzle---finding the corner pieces, separating and assembling all the edge pieces, sorting the pieces by color, even beginning by turning the pieces over to see the picture---are completely new to my students as they have no previous experience with jigsaw puzzles.
It has been fun to watch students learn how to work together on assembling the puzzle. They were excited when they first identified the coloration of a Red Lionfish on some pieces and were able to successfully put those first few pieces together. There was a good bit of grumbling at the start, but once they began working together as a team, they started making progress.
Jigsaw puzzles are not part of our academic curriculum, but they are fun. I'm requesting several 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles which connect to artists my students have learned about in class along with a folding card table on which to assemble a puzzle. I am also requesting some puzzle-like language match-ups to help students learn common synonyms, plurals, and positional words. These items will help us incorporate into our classroom puzzles and the important social skills they teach.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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