Second Grade Thunder!

Before Ms. Claudia Lewis left for maternity leave she coordinated these lesson plans for the second graders, and their substitute teacher, Mary Ellen Piland. To celebrate the successful completion of their work, the students got to bake a thunder cake with help from Mr. Jason Wells and make thunder music with Mr. Jubal Creech.

The story, Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco, is about a grandmother that helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by gathering ingredients and baking a cake to keep her mind off the storm. The most surprising ingredient in the cake is tomatoes! Mr. Jason followed the recipe to the letter and the children were surprised to find no tomato taste in the cake!

While the thunder cake was baking in the Booster’s Club oven in the multi-purpose room, Mr. Jubal Creech came with drums, cymbals and other musical instruments to make “thunder” with the students. They were amazed to find out that could make rain and thunder inside the school.

At the end of the day, the students gathered to sample the thunder cake with Ms. Kelly, Ocracoke School principal, and classroom visitors Alton Ballance, NCCAT Center Fellow, and Andy Mink, Executive Director of Learn, NC . Jubal led the group in “making rain” across the classroom using their bodies as instruments. A piece of thunder cake was delivered to Jason in the gym while he was teaching his PE classes.