school projects

Blue Ridge Elementary
Family Night with Wayne Henderson

Introduction

Imaginative narrative

Journal entries

Family trees

Graphs of attendance

Writing innovations

Word problems

Cedar Ridge Elementary
Breaking Up Christmas

Central Elementary
Dulcimer Residency and Family Night

New Hope Elementary
Quilting and the Badgett Sisters

Shoals & Westfield Elementary
Square Dancing

At Blue Ridge Elementary's Family Night, everyone enjoyed the square dance. Sisters taught brothers…

...fathers danced with daughters...

...and classmates swung each other 'round.

Wayne Henderson, a talented guitar player and instrument maker, visited students at Blue Ridge Elementary School. He brought his tools and materials with him and demonstrated the process of making a guitar. Students asked Wayne questions about his experiences as a musician and about his childhood.
      Wayne returned with his friends Helen White, Trish Kilby, and Lucas Paisley for Family Night at the school. An "old time" dinner complete with cornbread and pinto beans was served. Afterwards, in the tradition of the community, the furniture was pushed aside for a family square dance hosted by caller Arvill Scott.
      Prior to the event, students worked to research and document their family trees. During the square dance, students collected data on the attendees. Later, they analyzed their data, reflected on the experience in their "Music Matters" journals, and created imaginative narratives.
      To learn more about the history of their region, students read the book When I Was Young in the Mountains, by Cynthia Rylant, and wrote new pages ("innovations") for the book.
      Finally, using a variety of mathematics objectives, teachers created word problems for students to solve based on their Family Night experience.