Lewiston teacher Bernard Fortier

Students Nate Bragdon and Kasey Smith

Recently, Nate Bragdon, a fifth-grader at Minot Consolidated School, and his cousin Kasey Smith, an eighth-grader at Auburn Middle School, built birdhouses with the help of their grandfather Wayne Penley of Auburn.

Nate researched birdhouses by reading and watching online articles and videos. He decided on a design and invited Kasey to join him in the fun after learning she was also interested in building her own birdhouse.

With their grandfather’s guidance, the cousins did the majority of the work, making the cuts and adjusting their plans as needed. The project was a great way to learn and practice new skills.

The research has begun for the next project on their list: bat houses!

Auburn teacher Diana Carson

I’m a science and ELA teacher at Auburn Middle School. I’ve posted lessons on GoogleClassroom for my students which utilize videos and other online resources to teach science topics and grammar. In addition, students are doing 20 minutes of writing a day.

I’m having my students keep a journal of their time at home during the shutdown — they are telling me what they are doing, how they are feeling, and what they are worried about. They are living through a moment that will be written about in history books, and now they have a chance to write their own primary source documents about their experiences.

They have included screenshots of text messages they’ve had with friends which give me a look into their world. Many students are pursuing their interests in music and dance with their extra daylight hours. Some explain how hard it is for them to focus without a schedule and someone to be there when they have questions about assignments. Many students complain that they are bored and lonely.

If you’re looking for an interesting quote, here’s one from one of the seventh-graders: “I do have to say, even though school can be boring sometimes, at least I was being bored with my friends, now I’m being bored by myself.”