Students Recruit Astronauts and Found New Holidays for Shout-Outs!
Each week, we task students with thinking outside the box for the chance at Flocabulary fame through The Week in Rap and The Week in Rap Junior Shout-Out Contests! Ms. Megan Shipley’s 7th Grade Social Studies students at Margaret Mead Junior High School in Elk Grove Village, IL stole the show by creating materials to recruit new astronauts. Meanwhile, Ms. Laura Maier’s 5th graders at The Valley School in Seattle, WA stood out by creating new national holidays. Read on to learn about their outstanding entries!
In a recent edition of The Week in Rap, we covered the news that NASA will be accepting applications for new astronauts for the first time in four years. What a great opportunity for students to explore the roles and responsibilities of this top-notch STEM career! We asked students to imagine themselves as NASA employees tasked with creating hiring materials that outlined qualities, education, skills and characteristics they’d look for in astronaut candidates.
We loved how students at Margaret Mead really dove deep into the role of a recruiter, describing the types of educational degrees and personality traits that would make the best outer space explorers. Here are two examples of our favorites below. Congrats Margaret Mead students!
In The Week in Rap Junior, we recently reviewed the meaning behind Veteran’s Day and why we honor men and women who have served our country on this holiday. We asked students to think about what new holiday they would found, given the chance.
Students from The Valley School wowed us with their creative holiday ideas – from National Everyone Day (where each person gets whatever his or her heart desires for free!), to Tree Appreciation Day, marked by festivals to honor our leafy friends. One student also chose to recognize wildlife – this time with Horse Appreciation Day. Another chose to honor a figure from history with a new national holiday for Jackie Robinson’s birthday. On this day, people “would be encouraged to try new things, especially if it’s something that you don’t think ‘your kind’ of people normally do.” Big props for big ideas, students of The Valley School!
Will your school win the next Shout-Out? Click here to find out about the latest Week in Rap Junior contest challenge and here for the next Week in Rap contest prompt!