Students at Rockwell Elementary School enjoyed a special

parade on Monday during the annual Balloons Over RES event. Second grade students formed a parade through the hallways of the school, showing off balloon creations to their Rockwell

Elementary peers.

Balloons Over RES began 4 years ago when the team of second grade teachers created a unit around the book Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by

Melissa Sweet. Second grade students enjoyed a read aloud of this book, learning about Anthony “Tony” Sarg, the creator of Macy’s Department Store’s first puppet window display and street parade in 1924. Students also independently read an article and watched a video on Scholastic News (“Fun that Flies”) detailing the work that goes into the current creation of oversized balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

After learning the facts about how balloons are created for the Macy’s parade, students spent the week leading up to Balloons Over RES planning and designing their own balloon creations.

Students drafted a balloon proposal, describing in detail what their balloon would look like, the materials needed to create it, and finally drew a sketch of what they were visualizing. Once their proposal was approved by the teacher, each student reimagined their balloon sketch on their iPad, using the Seesaw app to give the balloon color and detail. Students then were given supplies to bring their balloon creations to life the weekend leading up to the Balloons Over RES event.

On Monday morning, all Rockwell Elementary students and staff lined the hallways of the building, eagerly awaiting the balloon parade’s arrival. With marching band music pumping through the schoolwide speakers, 2nd grade students, led by Parade Marshall and second grade teacher Mrs. Jessica Kepley, traveled through the hallways showing off their creations. The parade culminated in the media center, where students could visit to view the balloons once again at their own pace.

Story by Sarah Cole for Rockwell Elementary