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Paula
Cirillo meets Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce.
Paula
Cirillo accepts her award.
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Here
is Ms. Cirillo’s winning entry:
A
FOREST OF MAGIC TREE HOUSES
A
carton of milk. A Quaker Oats container. Popsicle
sticks. Youthful enthusiasm. A touch of inspiration.
These building blocks came together as a point of
departure into a classroom filled with Magic Tree
Houses.
My
goal for my students was to instill a desire for
independent reading, increase their reading comprehension,
and improve their writing skills. The Magic Tree
House series by Mary Pope Osborne would be at the
core of all the cross-curricular lesson plans and
activities focusing on California State Standards
in reading and writing. My philosophy is that if
students can recognize and make connections to good
writing in what they read, then they are more likely
to become better writers themselves.
Second
graders love miniatures; thus the idea for the classroom
collection of miniature tree houses. After reading
Dinosaurs Before Dark, the students chose
a book to read independently or with their parents.
They designed and built their tree house around
the theme of their particular book. My classroom
exploded with pipe cleaner tree branches, construction
paper greenery and a diverse Jack and Annie “clothing
line.”
A
sense of ownership and pride swelled as each student
read their individual books and progressed through
the hands-on reading and writing activities as they
built their tree houses. For example, each tree
house ladder displayed important vocabulary the
student found in the book. Students placed various
items, relevant to the story, in the tree trunk.
After reading each book, the students completed
a Magic Tree House Passport with information about
each book.
The
students had baskets to go with their book which
held activities found on the Magic Tree House website.
These baskets were also “treasure chests” of connections.
For example, students brought in family photographs
(text to self), Scholastic newspapers (text to world),
and books from other authors (text to text). Magic
had truly entered the classroom as students were
making connections with their own life, world events,
and other pieces of literature. They found a springboard
to comprehension.
When
the tree houses were finished my students became
specialists of their Magic Tree House book in their
own right. Entire classes were now visiting, being
entertained and sharing in the connections my students
made.
After
reading Civil War on Sunday, we took a field
trip to a Civil War Encampment which featured battle
reenactments that thrilled the students. Another
exciting day was a “Jack and Annie Day” where students
dressed like Jack or Annie from their Magic Tree
House. This was celebrated with our own Peach Hill
librarian, who dressed as Morgan le Fay and presented
each student with a Master Librarian card just like
Jack and Annie received in Polar Bears Past Bedtime
.
The
Magic Tree House books have helped my students learn
many interesting historical facts and have stimulated
an insatiable appetite for reading. This is a year
they will never forget – the year they traveled
through our forest of Magic Tree Houses in Room
14 at Peach Hill Academy!
Click here to see Ms. Cirillo's class photographs
and teaching ideas for creating "A Forest of
Magic Tree Houses."
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Congratulations
to our runners up! Here are excerpts from their terrific
entries:
“To
celebrate the imagination, there is a special place
in the classroom devoted to the Magic Tree House. There
is a large oak tree and tree house on my classroom wall.
In the branches of this tree, replica books from the
Magic Tree House series are attached as we read through
the series. There is a world map labeled ‘Where in the
World Are Jack and Annie?’ upon which miniature replica
books and ‘golden silk thread’ are used to locate the
setting of each story. There is a space called ‘Jack’s
Bedroom,’ a makeshift bedside table upon which sits
Jack’s airplane lamp, his glasses, a globe, notebook,
pencil, flashlight, and ‘Pennsylvania Book.’ ‘Jack’s
Backpack’ hangs on a wall hook. It is in Jack’s Backpack
that a special ‘thing’ from each story is kept until
the conclusion of each story, when it is revealed and
placed in Jack’s Bedroom.”
-
Angela Burchett, First Grade Teacher, Seacrest Country
Day School in Naples, FL
“In
Dinosaurs Before Dark ,
we compared and studied fossils with our third
grade buddies. In Pirates Past Noon ,
we celebrated National ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’
and dressed up like pirates. Once we brought in mangoes
to taste and discover, and while at the rainforest,
we did watercolors of the rainforest….While on the Titanic,
we did a culture study of the time period and discussed
the concept of first and second class and also determined
how few in the class would have survived a trip on the
Titanic. While studying the plains, we brought in buffalo
artifacts and had a real teepee built by some people
from our local museum. While on the moon, we did a variety
of activities to help us discover stars and the solar
system. We learned how to count in Chinese and draw
the Chinese symbols. We have done a number of comparisons
of what life was like long ago compared to now through
schools, travel, homes, etc.”
-
Lisa Norris, First Grade Teacher, Explorer Elementary
in Sioux Falls, SD
“Dreams do come true outside of our classroom as
well. Students are able to share their excitement about
Jack and Annie with their families. They take home one
of six lunch boxes that have a Magic Tree House book
paired with the supporting Magic Tree House reference
book, a parent guide, and a flashlight for reading under
the covers. Parents are encourage to ‘get hooked’ on
the series by reading the books with their child and
sharing with the class what they have learned from the
adventures. Another outside experience is that we have
started an international connection with a first grade
class in Malaysia….We are now sharing book reviews,
favorite highlights, research, and our love of the Magic
Tree House stories. We know that this is just the beginning
of a wonderful relationship all made possible by Jack
and Annie.”
- John Bennett, First Grade Teacher, Portage Path
School of Technology in Akron, OH
To read the winning entry from the Magic Tree House
Educator
of the Year 2008, Julie Granchelli, click
here.
To
read the winning entry from the Magic Tree House
Educator
of the Year 2007, Paula Henson, click
here.
back
to contest page
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