Journey to Grammar Island

Recently, students in Crisan Crozzoli, Jennifer Curry, and Teresa Fox’s classes from Balmville Media and Communications Center in Newburgh participated in an English Language Arts musical to coincide with the school’s Compact Committee goal of increasing ELA skills and the Arts.

The fifth grade teachers chose a musical titled, Pirates from Grammar Island, to energize their language arts curriculum. The script was introduced with a live reading, 60 vocabulary words, and 10 engaging songs. With a map in one hand and a dictionary in another, the students scour uncharted waters for grammatical goals: complete sentences, parts of speech, contractions, subject-verb agreement, correct punctuation and capitalization.

The colorful scenery came together under the supervision of Rene Goldsmith, a Balmville Teaching Assistant, who organized the stage crew students to build a larger than life treasure map and palm tree.

Press release by Kerry Butrick