St. Agnes students stretching brains with Action Based Learning program
Here the youngsters read a Thanksgiving poem, while decked out in their Pilgrim hats. From left to right are Jerrald Witt, Kaliyah Walker, Jeremiah Reiter, Noah Wallace, Zachary Bruder, Mazin Al-Ameri, Miles Buscko and Kaleb Helberg, along with teacher Sherrie Brink. (Roberta Olson/Osakis Review)
Kaliyah Walker demonstrated the ABL ladder activity in the St. Agnes School gym during the class’ Celebrate Fall event. In the background, one student jumped rope at left, while another bounced a ball.
Zachary Bruder demonstrated the catching activity, using a cone and a ball. Each of the eight first graders demonstrated on each of the eight stations during the program.By Roberta Olson Rob616@mainstreetcom.com
Whole brain learning is the goal in a new program at St. Agnes School in Osakis being implemented in the first grade classroom, with teacher Sherrie Brink.
Parents and grandparents were invited to see first-hand the Action Based Learning (ABL) Lab at a Fall Celebration on Wednesday, November 27.
The first graders moved about the school gym to eight ABL stations, demonstrating the skills they are learning. The stations included spinning, creeping and Army crawl, hopping on even numbers, jumping rope, eye-hand coordination, the ABL ladder on the floor, which the children navigated while saying the words printed, and hopscotch.
The movement activities are designed to develop necessary components to enhance whole brain learning and to access the parts of the brain that may be otherwise under developed. The station progressions help students master the necessary components for optimal learning to occur. Each progression builds upon the previous ones and preview upcoming tasks.
After the ABL demonstration, the first graders moved back to their classroom where they performed four Readers’ Theaters, sang a Thanksgiving song, and recited a Thanksgiving poem from memory.
Daily 5 demonstrations followed, with four rotations of activities, including listening to someone read, reading to someone, which included parents and grandparents, making a super sentence using Word Work on the computers, and finally constructing an edible craft with the teacher, which turned out to be a cookie Thanksgiving turkey.
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