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Project Card

Come Play With Us

15th December 2022Website Admin

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

High Tech Elementary Explorer had a run-down grassy area as a part of its playground, and a real shortage of options for creative outdoor play. Patricia Lim and Stacey Stevenson decided to create an inquiry-based project about the nature of play, in the hopes it could ultimately transform the underused space into a nature playground.

They began their project by asking some open-ended questions: Why do children like to play? How do they like to play? What allows children to be creative, to pretend, to build, to be active?

Stacey and Patricia launched the project with a trip to a nature playground, where their classes played for hours and also reflected on how they played, and how the materials they encountered encouraged them to play. In the following days, when they were back at school, they observed other students playing. Finally, based on their observations and field work, they began a process of re-designing the run-down play area. Children made sketches of their ideas, and gave and received critique from classmates as well as older students and adults in the school. They voted on final ideas for various areas of the playground, which ultimately included a sand house for pretend play, sticks and rocks for building, stumps for balancing, a water wall, a music/sound wall; and a giant tire for climbing.

The final weeks of the project were spent building. Each group also created safety rules for each play area, and wrote how-to books to teach other children how to use the new play area.

Project Learning Goals

This project met many standards for kindergarten learning, including counting; measuring; data collection; observation; reflection; persuasive speaking; drawing a model of a proposed solution; giving and receiving critique; and writing informational how-to manuals. Social and emotional learning goals included collaboration; negotiating over final products; analysing what makes playtime fun; and understanding and creating rules for play spaces.

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Give Me Shelter

15th December 2022Website Admin

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

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In this project we discussed the issue of homelessness and poverty to encourage students to develop empathy and to see the world from different perspectives. Students took a closer look at the underlying issues of homelessness. We examined the issues of resource availability, equity, and access. We grappled with questions about over represented populations. Students took a hard look at their own biases and misconceptions and developed a better understanding through community service. Students created change with public service announcements, demonstrations holding cardboard signs with facts and statistics, and the creation and implementation of community food pantries.

Teacher’s Reflection

“We saw a tremendous shift in our students’ thinking and perceptions about what it means to be homeless. Throughout the process it was evident that students were growing as empathetic individuals who wanted to create change in their local community. Each student worked to help the homeless population in our community gain access to much needed resources.”

Student Reflection

This project was based on empathy and helped us see how the other half of the world lives, and that we can do so much to change the world if only we try.

— Emersyn

The campout made me realise that the homeless live in harsh conditions, like cold, rain, and hard places to sleep. Having to build our own shelters helped me understand because ours fell down in the middle of the night.

— Ashby

I had seen some homeless people in the park in Escondido but it was drastically different to see the camps downtown.

— Bree

To learn more visit: Mrvisser.weebly.com, Mrscasciato.weebly. com, or Charleyjacob.weebly.com

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Electricity Project

28th September 2022Website Admin

This term we explored electricity and why electricity is important to everyday life. We looked at the science behind electricity and learned how to make our own circuits, how to be safe using electricity and how to encourage others to do the same.

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We wrote ʻA Day in the Lifeʼ explaining all of the technology we used and why it makes our lives easier. We had photographer, Jeremy Coleman, host an Expressive Arts workshop on how to take photos with different light sources. We also built our very own electronic toys and created Dragonʼs Den pitches to try and sell our toys to the Senior Leadership Team. Their Speech and Language sessions focussed around developing their presentation skills, whilst OT helped develop strength in their hands, to be able to use crocodile clips to make circuits!

Teacher’s Reflection

“The pupils were really engaged doing a science-based project as it was different from previous ones. They were able to do fun experiments and learn about a variety of different scientific theories. It was a great one to link in with literacy and OT skills, especially when making the toys.

Another highlight was the way we created companies and the pupils worked really well as a team most of the time. They took the roles seriously and were all invested in creating quality work. Originally, we wanted the pupils to make their own toys, but in hindsight, this worked a lot better. We created posters and manuals to go along with the toys, but next time I would get them to do that independently to allow a variety of different ways of working.

I really enjoyed their pitches for their Dragonʼs Den episodes. All pupils got a role to play and worked together as a ‘company’ using simple business skills. It was great to see how much they enjoyed it.”

— Leah Coombes

Student Reflection

“I thought it was fun — although I wished to have learned more about how to set up appliances.”

– Francesca

“I learnt how lightning is made and that was fun! The highlight of the project was the exhibition.”

– Daisy

“The highlight of the project was the Dragonʼs Den pitch which taught me how to present.”

– Ben

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Habits of Heart and Mind

7th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work

Understanding Habits of Heart and Mind Through Our Community

Second graders investigated the question, “How do Members of Our Community Show Care and Perseverance?” Throughout this project, students engaged in fieldwork to show care and perseverance within their community.

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To begin, we brainstormed people who showed our Habits of Heart and Mind: care and perseverance. Next, we asked various experts to visit us to teach us about these traits and how they show this in their personal life and in their job. During the process of speaking with experts, students generated interview questions, took notes, and debriefed about what they learned. Finally, the students selected one member of their community who inspired them and taught them about our Habits of Heart and Mind. Students wrote creative biographies and created Norman Rockwell style artwork, developed through multiple drafts. These pieces of work were exhibited at a local non-profit art center in San Marcos called Charity Wings.

Teacher Reflection

I was inspired and amazed at the efforts the students made to help their community. It was tremendously rewarding to see the outcome of our fieldwork as well as how accomplished the students felt. I hope that this project will be an inspiration for students to continue to help others outside of their school and persevere to make a difference in their community.”

Student Reflections

My highlight of the project was going to the beach because we got to pick up trash.

—Grant

My highlight of the project was getting to help the community.

—Matteo

Food For Thought

7th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

The Food for Thought project focused on why and how to make healthy food choices. Students researched the food industry in America and the deceptive nature of fast-food advertisements. They learned how to read food labels and discovered the many benefits of vitamins and minerals.

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Students selected a vegetable to grow and research, de-signed a kid-friendly recipe that included their vegetable, calculated the nutritional content of their recipe, cooked their recipe many times, and took professional photos of the results. Ultimately, the students compiled a professional cookbook of healthy vegetable recipes for kids. During exhibition, students in chef’s hats stood by their cook-book pages and educated visitors about the benefits of their vegetable, how they calculated the nutritional value of one serving of their recipe, and the importance of making healthy food choices.

Teacher Reflection

This project stretched beyond the classroom to connect school and home. I was struck by how powerful it was to involve parents in the critique process. Many parents told me that their child had never cooked before, or was now more appreciative of the food on their table. When you hold the cookbook in your hands, and flip through its beautiful pages, it is clear that 56 children cared deeply about their work.

Student Reflections

We made our recipe at home with the help of our family and then they tried it and gave some critique. They gave some celebrations and suggestions. We took the suggestions into consideration and changed our recipes. This was a very unique form of critique because it allowed for our families to get very involved with our project and truly get an inside look at what we were learning in class.

—Sarina

Eating fresh and balanced meals make a big difference in one’s well-being. When you eat what you choose, ask yourself, “This tastes good, but how does this affect my health?”

—Izadora & Aleia

To learn more about this project and others,

visit the HTH Unboxed website.

Superheroes Unite!

7th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

The Superhero project explored what superhero qualities each student possessed and how these unique “superpowers” con-tribute to our classroom and school community. The students investigated fictional superheroes and found a common theme in their powers.

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The students examined everyday superheroes in their community, learning about their different jobs and respon-sibilities. Each first grader considered the questions: What super qualities can you bring to better our community? How do super-heroes work together? Students designed and made a costume to represent their superpower. The children also created social stories featuring their superpower in a comic book format. The stories were then made into short films with the students role playing in their superhero costume. These films and the students’ experiences were then shared at a school gathering.

Teacher Reflection

There were several things we loved about this project. An ab-solute highlight was the excitement in the children’s faces when they realized that everyone possesses a superpower and no mat-ter how old you are, you can make a difference. We often found them using their superpowers like Grit Girl, Thinking Man and Happiness Gal on the playground or during class time when no one was watching. At a table you would hear “Don’t give up, use grit!” when participating in a difficult math activity or “I’ll get a band-aid!” as Helpful Boy ran off to help a friend who had fallen down on the blacktop. It empowered the children to take owner-ship in making a positive change in their classroom and school.

Student Reflections

The Superhero project taught me that I should help people and I should take big risks for the people I care for.

—Nia

I learned that superheroes are real and help us everyday like po-lice officers and firefighters. Everyone is a superhero!

—Giovanni

To learn more about this project and others,

Visit the HTH unboxed website

Water We Doing?

7th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

Tenth graders stepped into the shoes of scientists and became stewards of our environment by implementing solutions to local water issues.

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Students learned about the history of the world through water, collaborated with local and regional organizations, and engaged in scientific research to test solutions to issues such as water pollution, lack of clean water access, overuse or waste of water supplies, and endangered marine life. Students submitted their action plans to the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, a national K-12 environmental sustainability competition, and created a documentation panel and interactive exhibit to showcase their work.

Teacher Reflection

The Siemens competition challenged our students to think like scientists and tackle real problems that affect real people. By providing a rigid but broad framework, we were able to incorporate student voice and choice in the design and execution of each group’s action plan. Solutions included a solar-heated water bag, a three-step filtration for our school’s reclaimed water supply, and a quantitative study of the impact of hand sanitizer on water usage and bathroom resources.

Student Reflections

The research and hours of time that we spent working have changed me. Every day brought me closer to my group and my planet, giving me a strong understanding of why I should care and what I can do to help.

—Aine P

This project helped us construct an idea of our issue based on the expertise of professionals in the field. The Siemens challenge made us realize that the work we were doing would have an impact on the community that would transcend HTHCV.

—Rafael R

The level of learning was incomparable to anything I’ve ever done. Giving back to a community and knowing that your hard work is currently serving a purpose and benefiting a family might just be the best feeling in the world.

—Erika A

To learn more about this project and others,

visit the HTH Unboxed website.

Children’s Astronomy Book Project

6th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

Students created an illustrated book to teach young children about our universe. In pairs, students chose and researched topics in astronomy.

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They wrote essays about their topics, learning about outlining, thesis sentences, topic sentences, supporting evidence, and MLA citation in their Humanities class. They then composed stories about their topics for 8-10 year olds, creating storyboards with scripts and hand drawn art, and editing mock books through several rounds of critique. Their stories and artwork, published through blurb.com, are available at the HTH bookstore: http://www.hightechhigh.org/books.

Teacher Reflection

The most rewarding aspect was the numerous drafts the students completed for their essay. I was glad they understood that correctness was the goal, and however many drafts it took to achieve that goal was what they had to do. Some students did more than eight drafts. Reading that many essays was a challenge, but by taking this seriously we sent the message that doing something was not good enough. It had to be done right.

—Aaron Commerson

Student Reflection

One important thing we got out of this project was realizing how to communicate and collaborate well. The idea of the story was hard to come up with, as well as editing it to ensure the content was correct and understandable. Even making pictures was a challenge, because we had a tough time deciding what to do and how to do it. In the end, we were able to learn some valuable skills that we will need to use in our future at HTH, including communication, time management and, if we create another product for children, the ability to simplify concepts.

—Ethan Chan and Michael Thompson, 9th grade

To learn more about this project and others Visit the HTH unboxed website.

Resilience Café Project

6th April 2022Duncan Robertson

With thanks to High Tech High for allowing us to share their student’s beautiful work.

During the Resilience Café Project, 8th graders learned about resilient heroes from the past and present, and explored together what it means to be resilient. Students identified specific attributes to celebrate and communicate through their work.

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They connected a resilient historical figure, a resilient community member and their own personal story of resilience through writing and by creating an art piece full of symbolism. They honored their resilient community members by inviting them to a night of celebration through music, spoken word, poetry and artwork.

Teachers’ Reflection

Students took the basic concept for the project and made it their own. The elements of choice, and the fact that students were working on this project in two out of their three classes, allowed for creativity and personal connections to emerge. Throughout the project, the energy was high, the creativity was buzzing, and the students were empowered to honor the resilience all around them!

Student Reflections

During this project I learned about the Civil War, Brown vs. The Board of Education, The Civil Rights Movement, and the Blues. I also learned that resilience is the ability to endure and be strengthened by the hardships you face. Basically, learning about resilience teaches us to go out of our comfort zone and to know that the struggle will help us become a better person.

—Andrew Sanchez

I loved exhibition because I felt proud of all of my pieces. Everybody liked my art piece and I felt like it represented my community member and historical figure. I was able to have in-depth conversations with other parents about my art.

—Hannah Hoang

I felt so good about this project! I was in my element considering we could do music. People were blown away by our song and that meant a lot to me. We got so many compliments that night. My grandmother said that she felt honored by our performance and was so proud of me.

—Lizzie Mooney

To learn more about this project and others,

visit the HTH Unboxed website.