Ms. Doreen Arlow’s fifth graders are mixing things up! These Lester students joined Our American Voice, a national educational program that teaches civics and empowers students to organize an action project that improves their school or community.
For their action project, Ms. Arlow’s students chose to hold a Mix-It-Up Day at lunchtime. This project encourages students to sit with someone new at lunch and strike up a conversation. Its goal is to get students to move outside their comfort zones and befriend someone who might not have as many friends.
“We prepared for this project by making posters, speeches for the morning announcements, having lots of meetings, eliminating ideas that would not work, writing emails for our principal and board members, and we also spent lots of time arranging seats and question starters appropriate to the including grade levels,” said Cate, a fifth grader in Ms. Arlow’s classroom.
Thanks to their hard work, their recent Mix-It-Up Day went very smoothly!
“Many students thought the Mix-It-Up lunch was a success and some classrooms gave us feedback on Post-It notes,” said fifth grader Abby. “We thought that it was a success because the students were really enthusiastic in the conversations. We really think that this project could continue in the future and create more friendships.”
Ms. Arlow’s students look forward to hosting their second Mix-It-Up Day on Thursday, May 3. They hope it will continue to break social barriers and foster new friendships.
“A lot of kids found out how similar they were to each other and enjoyed each other's company. We got good reviews and the students learned a lot about each other,” reflected fifth grader Ada.
This is the second year Ms. Arlow’s classroom has participated in Our American Voice. Learn more about her inaugural experience here.