HOM Fourth Graders Are Getting Some Southern Exposure This Year

By Tanjua Damon

Fourth grade students in Mr Royal’s class at Head O’ Meadow are learning a lot about Louisiana this year. The class has teamed up with Mrs Pizzalota’s class, another fourth grade class from Belle Rose Primary School in Louisiana.

The two classes have been using the Internet as a tool to share writing assignments and learn about each other. The two groups have written introduction letters and stories about animals so far this year.

The project started at the beginning of the school year when WISH TV, a pilot program for fourth graders through World Gate Communications in Pennsylvania, did not start on time. Jan Hinson, a professor from Louisiana State University, is heading the program between the two schools.

“We decided we would just go ahead,” she said. “We’re working loosely, trying to establish friendships just using the Internet and writing back and forth.”

Writing and reading are a key part of the project. The idea is to see if writing and reading skills increase throughout the year. It also gives students a chance to compare lifestyles in Connecticut and Louisiana.

“We are looking at the increases in writing skills and reading level based on how they write,” Prof Hinson said. “And try to give them an authentic writing experience. Communication between kids.”

So far things are going well. The students at Head O’ Meadow School are enjoying the project and have learned things about Louisiana that they had never known before.

“We learn stuff about Louisiana,” Chris Bock said. “I didn’t know alligators go into your backyard.”

The Head O’ Meadow students have learned that Louisiana has alligators and snakes. Daniel Berlingeri realized that there are similarities.

“There’s a lot of wild animals,” he said. “They are both the countryside.”

Robert Eckenrode has noticed that the students from Louisiana have very different names from his classmates in Connecticut.

“The kids in Louisiana have different names,” he said. “They have a different culture. They have Spanish and French names. They have a French section, and Louisiana is close to Mexico.”

The students have not seen pictures of each other yet. They have only written introduction letters that included number of family members, what sports and foods they liked, and they have written letters about animals to each other. But soon the Head O’ Meadow students will see their e-pal friends in hats and will have to guess which story goes with which person wearing the hat.

If you would like to read the stories online visit the Web site at www.newtown.k12.ct.us/~royalk/bellerosehom/bellehom.htm