Origami and Kendama were not on Terri Gratz’s agenda for her third grade class this year, but like so many other things this school year, she adjusted and adapted. As a distance learning teacher, Gratz was experiencing challenges engaging her students in the online format. She knew she had to do something, so when she noticed her students teaching each other how to fold origami during one of their daily meetings, it sparked an idea.
Japan is not normally taught as part of the third grade curriculum, but Gratz used her training in project-based learning to adapt the third grade standards to fit a unit on Japan. She wanted to find a way to enhance her students’ passion for paper folding.
“I am a teacher who thrives on innovating and I especially love when I can find opportunities when my students are the drivers for change,” Gratz said.
Gratz, with the help of her paraprofessional Susan Dalvey, created a completely standards-based thematic unit on Japan to engage students. Her students were surprised to learn how much math is used in origami. The students showed persistence, grit and a growth mindset as they mastered paper folding.
“[Susan and I] couldn’t be more thrilled with the response from the students and we are already thinking about our next project,” she said.
Distance learning has become an opportunity to reimagine the curriculum in new and innovative ways. The normal curriculum was not designed for distance learning and she has found that it is not engaging in a virtual environment. Instead, Gratz listened to her students and integrated their interests and passion into the grade level curriculum. With the success of her new approach, she encourages other teachers to do the same.
“Let go of our normal way of teaching the standards ‘in order’ and give yourself permission to find as much crossover as you can among subjects.”