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It's not every day that a trip to the Galleria Mall is part of the school day. Wednesday, May 21st was the exception for Ms. Gompah's first graders. They were off to the Apple Store to showcase their latest projects to a very appreciative audience!
This group of youngsters from School 81 have had an exciting educational year. Their teacher, Joy Gompah, has spent countless hours preparing to integrate a cart of iPads into their classroom. She has willingly shared her knowledge with her peers, even offering a course to other Buffalo teachers. More importantly, she has created an active and engaging classroom for 30 industrious six and seven-year-olds. Her students arrived at the Apple Store excited to show their families (and the experts from Apple) what they created with their iPads.
The staff members from the Apple Store were wonderful hosts, welcoming each student with a free t-shirt and wristband. They set the class up in the middle of the store with seats for students and their sizeable audience.
A large display was used to show student work to the assembled crowd. Gompah's students presented multimedia research projects made with an app called Haiku Deck along with movies that they wrote and produced with another app called Puppet Pals. The young scientists worked in small groups to research an animal and create their slide shows complete with photos and text. Each group took a turn narrating their slide shows in an enthusiastic chorus.
Students also presented movies that they created starring Frog and Toad from Arnold Lobel's well-known children's series. The first graders wrote their own stories and scripts and used the Puppet Pals app to create a puppet show, adding their own voice-over recordings. The movies included a diverse cast of characters, ranging from Abraham Lincoln to zombies, along with celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and the audience appreciated the creativity. The Apple staff congratulated all of the students and gave each a certificate to honor their achievement. Then it was back to school for this group of young movie makers. You may have missed the presentation but show isn't over... Visit Ms. Gompah's website to see the students' projects and get a sneak peek into the activities that have taken place all year long!
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BPS Students Visit the Apple Store at the Walden Galleria Mall