Creative teaching at King George

Wesley Kranenburg is emblematic of the innovative and creative teachers that populate the classrooms of the Grand Erie District School Board. Mr. Kranenburg is a grade 8 teacher at King George Public School and he conceived of the “Comedy Fest” project. This project covers a number of different components of the curriculum including:

• identification of the characteristics of an effective comedy presentation
• collaborative script writing and editing
• in class presentations for feedback and teacher/peer assessment
• identification of exemplary work for public presentation using criteria
• media literacy - taping and editing of a finished DVD (assisted by Mr. Kranenburg and volunteers and sold as a class fundraiser), and
• program development and promotion.

Drama

• presentation skills, and
• staging.

Learning Skills

• co-operation
• task management, and
• organizational skills.

Mr. Kranenburg is the creator of this initiative and provides leadership for the activities, in partnership with fellow Grade 8 teacher Carrie McMillan. All grade 8 students are involved in creating comedy presentations, and Mr. Kranenburg’s students then present their work on the “big stage” in the gym to an audience of fellow students and parents.
The DVD is something many students cherish as a keepsake. Mt. Pleasant Public School principal Richard Pardoe learned this first hand, when a Grade 8 student transferred from King George to his elementary school.  “The student arrived with few possessions but the child had a DVD that they were incredibly proud of. The child would lend it to friends to watch over night. I became interested and asked to borrow it as well. I was very impressed with the huge effort that Mr. Kranenburg put into this endeavor for the King George students. The child considers this DVD one of their most important possessions. My congratulations for offering students a forum where they can stand at centre stage and be recognized.”