Poetry Trail

One of my favorite project based learning (PBL) tasks was the poetry trail which is now a permanent part of Santa Cruz Garden’s campus. My 2nd grade students worked tremendously hard over a span of four months studying various types of poetry and designing, developing, and building a poetry trail which now contains works of poetry, thoughtfully scattered throughout the garden in front of the school. This PBL unit focused on collaboration, research, revision, presentation, and sharing deep emotions through words. The six pieces of poetry originally installed encompass our community, emotions, learning, growing, friendship, and the Santa Cruz Gardens Way. On each publication there was a QR code at the bottom, which if scanned allowed the listener to hear the author read their work. We invited all classrooms to come read and write their valuable compliments, constructive feedback, and experiences that connected to each poem. The poetry trail’s enduring goal is to feature writers from across the school. For years to come, every class will be invited and encouraged to publish their own poetry.

During the ‘22/’23 school year, my 2nd graders created an individual nature journal. We worked outside around 3-5 times a week, focusing  on aspects of nature surrounding our S.A.G.E. (Science and Garden Emphasis) garden and local community.We explored weather shifts, gardening, native plants, edible and medicinal plants, the five senses, animals found within our garden community and so much more. My favorite part of this year-long project was exploring the lush trails of the Chaminade resort, which provided students the ability to make their own observations and expand upon them in local preserved natural spaces. This science tool was an engaging way to teach curiosity, creative thinking, compassion, and exploration through personal experiences. These journals also allowed students to have opportunities to grow their artistic, writing, reading, and engineering skills. By the end of the school year, my students were proud of their journals, which were full of personal experiences and vivid descriptions of their 2nd grade adventures.