West Islip Union Free School District concluded its four-week Summer Investigations program on July 31 with a magical final week centered on fantastic fiction, fairy tales and fables. Through hands-on literacy and STEM activities, students combined imagination with problem solving while exploring some of their favorite classic stories.

During English language arts lessons, students compared and contrasted fairy tales and fables, learning that fairy tales are written to entertain while fables often feature animal characters and teach life lessons. They read classics including “The Gingerbread Man,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Little Pigs”, while discussing fractured fairy tales and how authors use unexpected twists and surprise endings to reimagine familiar stories.

In the STEM lab, students rotated through a series of engineering challenges inspired by their literary adventures. They created magical slime to help a wizard save his kingdom, designed sturdy bridges from craft sticks, cups and index cards to rescue a dragon, and experimented with melting crayons to create a rainbow of colors for a fairy's kingdom while learning how heat changes materials. Students also put their engineering skills to the test by designing bridges from LEGO bricks and magnetic tiles to help the Gingerbread Man safely cross the river.

The engaging activities encouraged creativity, collaboration and critical thinking while reinforcing literacy and STEM concepts. The themed week provided a fun and memorable conclusion to the district's Summer Investigations program, allowing students to continue learning through exploration, imagination and hands-on discovery throughout the summer.