Cuyahoga Heights Elementary School (CHES) second graders’ upcoming performance of “Go Fish” is much more than a chance to take the stage in the high school auditorium. Their debut will culminate weeks of learning not only songs about the sea, but also researching certain species of fish, finding out about ocean habitats, writing about what they’ve learned, and learning an important life lesson.
The CHES performance is based on a children’s musical, “Go Fish,” written by John Jacobson and John Higgens. However, science teacher Barb Currey rewrote the scripts and added speaking parts to accommodate all 60 second graders. “Students have been practicing the script with me on one of the two days per week in science class and learning about the ocean habitat on the second day,“ said Currey. “They researched the fish species they portray in library class, and then typed up their answers to the research questions in technology class.”
While learning about the main characters – a tuna fish who can’t carry a tune, a star fish who can’t get an acting job, an Octopus with only seven legs, a zebra fish with spots, and a tiger shark who just wants to make friends – the students are also learning an important life lesson: how their differences make each of them special.
Music teacher Angelo Bertolone prepared the students to sing the songs in music class. “So far the most fun has been learning the moves of the old ‘California Raisins’ dance routine for our song ‘Oceans of Fun,’ and learning the Vaudeville shuffle for our song ‘Commotion in the Ocean’,” commented Bertolone. All of the music is posted on the second-grade music Google Classroom website so students can practice at home too!
The CHES second graders make their debut on Thursday, March 8 at 11 a.m. in the Paul L. Baumgardner auditorium.