Spain Day Round Two

Today felt like Spain Day all over again. Between the arrival of our class Spain book and pen pal letters from Spain, it was all Spain all the time in our room today.

Yesterday afternoon the class book about Spain finally arrived. For several days/weeks now there have been inquiries of when the book would arrive, and low and behold here they are! Students anxiously awaiting their arrival were made very happy students. (Thanks Student Treasures!)

They didn’t arrive until after students had left for the day yesterday, which of course meant a big surprise for this morning. Each student who had purchased a copy of the book found one waiting for them on their desk. As student filed into the classroom it didn’t take long for a buzz of excitement to build. Students gathered round copies of the book to spot their writing or point out pictures they drew.

We spent the morning doing an authors share. Students came up and read the pages they contributed to the book, until we reached the end. You could see how proud students were of their work, smiles spread from ear to ear on each face. Students sat patiently, hanging on every word read aloud. When they weren’t reading aloud, students read along in their own copy, or a friend’s copy of the book. After we finished reading it was time for a little surprise.

I purchased some extra copies of the Spain book and shared with students what we would do with them. One would be for the classroom library, one for our school library, and one for our principal, Mrs. Prouty, who ran the trip. Together we concocted a story to tell Mrs. Prouty to get her to come down to the room so we could surprise her with her own copy of the book.

Students sat on the rug and were eager for Mrs. Prouty to open the box that contained her special gift when she came in. You could see the excitement and pride on each face as she took the time to read what each student wrote about. She thanked them profusely for such a thoughtful gift.

The Spanish theme for the day wasn’t over. Next on the schedule was to pass out pen pal letters from Spanish students. They had arrived late in the afternoon the day before and students couldn’t wait to see what they contained. I don’t know what students were more excited about, the Spain books or hearing from their new Spanish friends? It was the perfect way to wrap up our trip down memory lane of all the Spain learning we have done this year.

What a wonderful way to spend a morning!

Teachers, have you ever published a student created book or done pen pals with another class? What are your thoughts?

Katy