Category: Instruction

Register Now for Maine Solutionaries Project, a No-cost, Micro-credential Program with Stipend

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction Team is partnering with the Institute for Human Education to bring the Maine Solutionaries Project to educators interested in supporting students in applying their learning.

This exciting project will provide an opportunity for educators in Maine to take a custom version of the Solutionary Micro-credential Program and participate in state-wide educator cohorts that focus on climate change, water quality, plastics pollution, human rights and equity, or another topic of interest. Not only will educators be able to participate at no cost, but they will also be eligible to receive a $1000.00 stipend upon completion of the program.

Spots are filling quickly, so to learn more about this collaboration, view an informational webinar, or register for the project, visit the Maine Solutionaries Project website.

Sphero Robots Support Playful Learning in RSU 40

RSU 40 staff are finding ways to use robotic technology, funded by the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE)  Maine Teaches CS Initiative, to support interdisciplinary learning across grade levels. The school’s acquisition of Sphero Bolts and Indi cars is making learning experiences playful and engaging for both students and educators.

Holly Doe, Director of Technology for RSU 40, applied for the grant last school year to foster experiential learning through technology for even the youngest students. Sphero Indi cars introduce coding at the simplest level using color tiles to tell the robot what to do. While this is an ideal tool for younger students, it is also great for older students when the goal is not coding itself but supporting other learning outcomes.

By leveraging robotic technology, students in RSU 40 are exploring new ways to retell—or tell—stories.

Students in grades 1-3 used Sphero Indi cars to retell stories they had read in class while seniors in Spanish IV wrote their own stories in the foreign language and crafted narrated films using the Indi cars.

In the elementary classrooms, the robots foster natural collaboration as pairs of students work together to plan a path of color tiles that represent their story summary. Crafting a simple costume for the Indi car and scenery or other characters to be placed along the car’s path engages students’ creativity and requires students to consider symbolic representations. The simple, flexible lesson quickly adapts to accommodate students’ and teachers’ needs.

At the high school, the ease of using the Indi cars allows students to combine story mapping with other technology. Students film the cars in front of a green screen and use Canva’s AI image generator to create backgrounds for their movies which they then narrate in Spanish.

Recently, Heather Webster, RSU 40’s technology instructional coach, shared her experiences using Sphero Indi robots in elementary ELA classrooms and high school Spanish classrooms at the Maine Council for English Language Arts spring conference. Participants were introduced to Indi cars, watched video clips of RSU 40 students engaging in the lessons, and then had the opportunity to try the activity themselves, working collaboratively with their tablemates to retell a familiar story. They left the conference session with a concrete example of how technology like the Sphero robots can support cross-curricular lessons and boost the playful spirit in a classroom.

(Maine Council for English Language Arts spring conference photos curtesy of Katie Kelley Photography)

The Computer Science Mobile Labs Grant has enabled RSU 40 to uniquely support playful learning. Robotic technology has enhanced students’ collaborative skills and their understanding of symbolic representation. Encouraging a playful approach to learning, this technology has increased student engagement and has inspired educators to rethink traditional teaching methods. The immersive learning experiences enabled by Sphero Indi and Bolt robots are set to shape the educational landscape at RSU 40 for years to come. Maine leads the nation in providing interdisciplinary computer science education to all Maine schools at all grade levels.

This story was provided by RSU 40. If you would like to submit good news from your school, fill out our good news submission form.)

Educational Resources for Earth Day Participation

This year, Earth Day recognition falls on the first day back from April vacation. Embrace the energy of the return to school by having students participate in an Earth Day activity in your classroom, school, or community.

The Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction team has created an Earth Day 2024 website with curated resources for incorporating Earth Day activities and lessons into the classroom.

If you want more information, a specific resource, or a thought partner, please contact Erik Wade at erik.wade@maine.gov.

Hancock Grammar School Hosts a Literacy Night at Sea

“How will you top this next year?” one family asked as they left the Hancock Grammar School’s Family Literacy Night recently.

On March 27th, Title 1 staff from Hancock Grammar School (HGS), Renee Clark and Yasmin Beal,  hosted an over-the-top (under-the-sea) literacy event that gathered 400 students, family members, and community members. Considering HGS has about 170 students, that is a pretty good haul!

The day began with Alexandra Hinrichs, an award-winning author from Bangor, visiting the school to read her book The Lobster Lady.  The book tells the story of Virginia Oliver, who is still lobstering at 103 years old.  Oliver was featured in a Boston Globe story that quickly became a meme. One student said, “I have never met a published author.”  By meeting published authors, students can see that writing and telling their essential stories is a future path for them.

After reading her book, Hinrichs spent the day helping students write their own stories from special memories and dreams of becoming future authors.  Another student shared, “I enjoyed learning how you became an author!” Later, during the Literacy Night event, the Briar Patch Bookstore in Bangor brought several copies of Hinrichs’ book.  Ms. Hinichs generously stayed for the event to sign them and talk with families.  The Briar Patch also donated several copies of the book to students who could not attend the after-school event.

Background knowledge is a critical component of good literacy instruction. With that in mind, the Title 1 team organized several events to support and engage their budding readers and authors.  In addition to talking with the author, the community showed up in a big way to teach students about lobstering and ocean life.

As a sternwomen, Virginia Oliver bands and measures lobsters. She also figures out which ones are bearing or females laying eggs and determines which lobsters to throw back and which are keepers.  This is how the lobstering community works to make their industry sustainable.  To give the students that experience, the school got a few lobsters.  Lobsterman Cameron Hardison brought a trap and equipment to band and measure lobsters. He taught students how to measure lobsters and figure out if the lobsters were male or female.  Students were even able to practice measuring and banding lobsters!  One student commented, “I enjoyed the lobster education and learning how to band and measure lobsters.”

literacy night

When Virginia Oliver hauls a trap, she sees a lot of other sea life. The Downeast Institute, based on Beals Island, showed up with an incredible touch tank. Students could touch and learn about lobsters, seaweed, starfish, and crabs.  The Downeast Institute even brought a very rare blue lobster!  HGS teachers were on hand to help students handle the creatures with care and provide support for those students who needed a little extra encouragement. As always, the teachers go the extra mile for their students!

The Family Literacy Night was extra special for the Thomas family. Pete Thomas, the great-grandfather of one of the students, loves to do woodworking. He made wooden lobster boat ornaments for students to take home as a souvenir. On display, Mr. Thomas brought a blue ribbon small wooden lobster boat that he made. There were three generations of the Thomas family participating that night, which is pretty amazing!

literacy night

Once students looked at mini-versions of lobster boats, it was time to get aboard the real deal. Roger and Lance Kennedy and Jenna Colby came with their lobster boat, the F/V Break N’ Even. Students learned important vocabulary like F/V, which stands for Fishing Vessel.  Students went over the boat from stem to stern. The Kennedys and Colby showed students the different parts of a trap, their buoys, and how to haul traps from the ocean.  It gave the students a real sense of Virginia’s job.

Virginia isn’t the only person famous for lobstering. Jacob Knowles is a fifth-generation lobsterman and social media celebrity who has about 1.6 million followers on YouTube.  That’s as many followers as the entire population of Maine! Jacob came to family literacy night to meet with families and share some of his fishing knowledge with everyone.  Students commented “It was an epic night!!”

After such an amazing night of literacy, learning, and lobster, it was time to head home.

One family shared, “I love all the fun new things you all are doing at school! Sounds so engaging and fun for the students and staff.”

Another family said, “Thank you for a great evening. The boys had a good time. We ended our evening with books from the book fair and a book from the author! The Black Sheep food truck, thanks for the grub was nice to not make supper!”

Everyone agreed this Family Literacy Night was a keeper!

Earn Contact Hours from Internationally Recognized, Innovative Educators

The Maine Department of Education is thrilled to offer a limited-time, self-directed course that includes three keynotes and three workshops from John Spencer, Katie Novak, and Lynn Cuccaro, world-class leaders in innovative education!  

The rich professional learning opportunities were recorded at the InnovatED: Igniting Innovation in Education Day held by the Maine DOE MOOSE and Interdisciplinary Instruction Teams. All sessions provided actionable elements that can be applied immediately in your classroom to boost innovative learning (and decrease stress in the process). Topics included Universal Design for Learning, Designing for Equity, Cultivating Curiosity, Pedagogical Documentation, Design Thinking, and Project-Based Learning.

Check out the InnovatED: Igniting Innovation in Education webpage on the Maine DOE website for more information on enrolling and receiving contact hours before the course expires on June 30th.  

Webinar: Great Books for Maine Classrooms

Teachers love books and this webinar is designed to highlight books found to have great value in Maine classrooms.

Hosted by Maine DOE Maine DOE Humanities Teacher Fellowship Team – James St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp, this webinar will offer book suggestions for a variety of content covering all grade levels. Topics will include elementary books and authors, middle-grade series, high-interest writers from Maine, books written by women with female protagonists, books by black and brown authors, graphic novels, nonfiction titles, and many more.

We encourage you to bring your own suggestions and hope you can join us!

For further information, reach our to Maine DOE Humanities Teacher Fellowship Team – James St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp at James.St.Pierre.@maine.gov and Dorie.Tripp@maine.gov

How Williams Elementary School is Teaching and Preparing Students for the Solar Eclipse

Two weeks before the solar eclipse on April 8th, Williams Elementary School in RSU 18 principal Melanie Smith visited all classrooms to read aloud the book A Few Beautiful Minutes Experiencing a Solar Eclipse, written by Kate Allen Fox. During her visits, Principal Smith also shared a video with students that explained the difference between solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

A Few Beautiful Minutes Experiencing a Solar Eclipse, written by Kate Allen Fox
A Few Beautiful Minutes Experiencing a Solar Eclipse, written by Kate Allen Fox

Maps of the path of totality across the United States and our state of Maine were also shown and discussed with students.

In addition to the academic presentations and discussions happening at school, the Williams Elementary School community collected cardboard tubes during the month of March in preparation for a special solar eclipse project. The week before the solar eclipse, art teacher David Clark and 3rd-grade teacher Brynn Charest helped students create their own eclipse viewers out of the collected recycled materials. The self-created handheld eclipse viewers will allow students to view the solar eclipse indirectly. All students in RSU 18 were also provided solar glasses to be distributed to students on Monday, April 8th.

Students working on their solar eclipse viewers:

In addition, Williams Elementary teachers used eclipse resources provided by the Maine Department of Education to educate students about the upcoming solar eclipse.

“We wanted to ensure that our children had background knowledge about a total solar eclipse so that they would understand what was happening on April 8th and know how to view the solar eclipse safely,” said Principal Smith.

For more information, resources, and safety advice for schools regarding the 2024 Social Eclipse, please visit the Maine DOE Eclipse Resource page.

This story was submitted to the Maine DOE by Williams Elementary School. To submit a story about your school, please fill out our Good News Submission form.

Webinar: Gamifying Your Classroom

In this discussion-based webinar, Maine Department of Education (DOE) Maine Humanities Teacher Leader Fellows Jim St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp host an exchange among teachers who are gamifying their curriculums or who want to learn more about gamification to improve student engagement.

This relatively new approach to teaching is gaining momentum but there are few resources available for anyone seeking to understand more about it. This webinar hopes to address these shortcomings by bringing together interested practitioners to exchange ideas and methods. We hope you join us and we look forward to exchanging ideas.

Continuing Education credits will be offered.

Webinar: Gamifying Your Classroom

For further information, reach our to Maine DOE Humanities Teacher Fellowship Team – James St. Pierre and Dorie Tripp at James.St.Pierre.@maine.gov and Dorie.Tripp@maine.gov

Windsor Elementary School Explores Maine Seaweeds with a Little ‘Kelp’ From Their Friends

Windsor Elementary School educators Kristel Anuszewski and Jana Diket recently collaborated with Maine Sea Grant, Chef Andrew Wilkinson from North Coast Seafoods, and other Maine businesses to bring seaweed to the classroom and cafeteria.

Since the fall of 2023, both educators have been engaged in professional learning and other efforts to bring the sea inland to their community. Why seaweed? Seaweed farming and harvesting is considered to be “regenerative” and “sustainable” as it requires zero input for growth, no chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides are needed–only providing benefits for the ecosystem and human health. It plays an important role in combating climate change by dampening wave energy and protecting coastal shorelines, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing the effects of ocean acidification by raising the PH, and supplying oxygen to ocean waters. Seaweed is also locally sourced, delicious, and one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.

Seaweed farming and wild harvest also help diversify Maine’s marine economy. It’s a great opportunity and source of income for fishermen and others during the winter season, enabling year-round employment opportunities.

On January 16th, 2024, Windsor Elementary students explored and identified a variety of seaweeds that grow in the Gulf of Maine, and engaged in pressing and other art-related activities. These activities were followed by culinary arts on January 18th with Chef Andrew and his delicious “Seaweed-ish Meat(less)balls,” containing sugar kelp from Maine’s waters. Students also explored a variety of products like seaweed salad and kelp burgers, donated by Atlantic Sea Farms (Biddeford, Maine), as well as a variety of “wild” harvested seaweed products like kelp crunch, seaweed tea, seasonings, generously donated by Maine Coast Sea Vegetables (Hancock, Maine).

Soon after trying the meatballs with Chef Andrew in the morning, Isaiah, an initially skeptical 6th-grader, raised his hand and shared “I didn’t think I would like them, but I really do; may I change my choice for lunch?!”

Chef Andrew shares the story of his recipe–an innovation for seaweed–the Seaweed-ish Meatball with students in the Windsor Learning Commons.
Chef Andrew prepares his meatball recipe.
A seaweed identification station
Keri Kaczor arrives with seaweed buckets at WES.
Keri Kaczor and Jaclyn (Jax) Robidoux from Maine Sea Grant instruct grade 7 and 8 students on how to press seaweed

Although this event primarily engaged 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, all students were offered this option for lunch on January 18th. Windsor School Chefs Missy Parsons and Kara Bailey served up Seaweed-ish Meatballs with pasta and marinara. Chef Ron Adams of Maine Farm and Sea Cooperative, and Chef Mike Flynn, the Director of Student Nutrition Services, Somerville, Maine, stopped in with some Maine marinara with tomatoes sourced from Maine growers– delicious! There was also a special meal option, a kelp burger, served to faculty.

Principal Heather Wilson (left) and Kristel Anuszewski (right) enjoy Chef’s Seaweed-ish Meatball recipe.
Missy Parsons (WES school head cook), Chef Andrew Wilkinson (guest seaweed chef for the day at WES), Kristel Anuszewski (WES teacher and event organizer), Keri Kaczor (Maine Sea Grant, UMO), Chef Mike Flynn (RSU#12 Director of Student Nutrition Services), and Kara Bailey (WES kitchen assistant)
Kristel Anuszewski (WES Librarian and STEM teacher) and Jana Diket (middle school science and social studies teacher)

Prior to this collaboration, Anuskewski and Diket introduced their students to seaweed curriculum and activities, and kindergarten through 8th grade students all helped decorate the hallway in preparation for the events. Fish and seaweed adorned the walls, fabric hung from the ceiling with silhouettes of sea-life, creating a magical “seaprise” and experience for all. An intertidal ocean mural with seaweed and other creatures was also on display, built by the 7th and 8th grade students.

Diket plans to continue this work by installing a saltwater tank in her classroom, and both teachers plan on taking students on a field trip to the sea in the spring.

Keri Kaczor, Maine Sea Grant, shared, “It is wonderful to see educators and food service staff at Windsor Elementary collaborate to provide high-quality, hands-on science, art, and nutritional experiences for their students. It’s also a gift to have Maine’s seaweed industry and Chef Andrew generously commit their time, expertise, and products to this effort.”

For more information, please reach out to Kristel (kanuszewski@svrsu.org) or Jana (jdiket@svrsu.org).

This story was submitted by Windsor Elementary School through our Maine DOE Good News Submission form. To submit a story, please fill out the form here.

Photography and Poetry Gallery at Lyseth Elementary School

Walking into the bright atrium of Lyseth Elementary School in Portland, you are met by giant black-and-white photographs of the 20 students in Leigh Quigley’s 4th-grade class. Hanging from the skylight are even more pictures, pictures that students took after learning photography elements like composition, light, and focal point from professional photographer Liz Bieber. Proud adults gather around, taking pictures of student work. As you walk to the end of the atrium, framed images of students and the poetry they wrote, the conclusion to a poetry unit designed to build empathy, understanding, and community within the classroom, hang on the wall in neat rows.

The unit began as a single-focus poetry unit where students were exposed to classic and modern poets and forms and then transferred their learning to create original poetry that captured their voices. After a visit to the Bowdoin Museum of Art, student’s curiosity and excitement transformed the single focus into a multidisciplinary unit that included original photography. Students added knowledge and skills around photography to their poetry knowledge and applied those skills by taking candid and studio pictures of their peers that would accompany their poetry. Once photos were taken and poetry was written, students created frames, chose pictures, and typed their poems, which included different fonts and effects that emphasized certain words and phrases.

4th-grade student Patrick explained his choice of purposely using lowercase letters to “make it different than the others.”

The final products were mounted in the atrium, where they would be a prominent addition and visible to every member of the school community.

“I really like taking pictures and writing poetry,” 4th grade student Grace shared. “The hardest part was figuring out what to write, but I used a poem we read before for inspiration.”

Mrs. Quigley noticed an increase in student engagement but also grew professionally herself. “Working with them every day opened my eyes to new ways of thinking. They provided a fresh take on the subject matter through their unique interpretations.”

This project gave students an opportunity to share their voices, but it also has had ripple effects throughout the school. Lyseth principal Sara Goodall shared that “kids, families, and staff are asking and excited to learn more” and that “less than a week after it opened, Lyseth is exploring a photography club.”

The student voice in their poetry, the choice of which photos to use to illustrate their poetry, the community gathering to celebrate,  and the ripple effects it has caused throughout the school are concrete examples of the school’s core value of “we all belong here at Lyseth.”

This story was a collaboration between the Maine Department of Education’s Interdisciplinary Instruction (II) Team and Lyseth Elementary School. If you are interested in collaborating with the Maine DOE’s II Team to showcase your school’s interdisciplinary instructional work, reach out to Kathy Bertini at kathy.bertini@maine.gov. You can also submit Maine school highlights to Maine DOE’s Good News Submission Form.