This morning, frozen fog was forecasted and the streets were cloaked in mystery. The trains held down their horns through blind turns, and I arrived 40 minutes late to Chapel St. Atherton, due to delays and 2 extra train changes in order to get back on track.
I arrived to classroom observations at a free school in a temporary building with a student population of 40 year 7s (6th graders). I saw a lively chemistry lesson and a math lesson before sitting down with a new teacher in charge of project-based learning at the school. She had a project planned that asked students to create pamphlets about hygiene in groups of four. The lesson started with engaging (and gruesome) videos about personal hygiene that hooked the students. Then, they moved into groups of four to choose topics and a team leader/editor. They went through a research challenge, finding online research, library sources, re-watching videos and asking experts in different rooms throughout the school. In the end, they gathered their research and created their first drafts of pamphlet pages.
It was a tough topic to get kids excited about, so overall, I was impressed by the students willingness to jump into the activity. I imagine the students who struggled will be hooked in with projects that inspire them with a topic they are more interested in and a real audience, in the future. It was a great first day working with the kids from Atherton. They have a lot of energy - especially the lads I met. I am looking forward to seeing that energy applied to their work as they become more engaged. I can't wait to dream up and plan engaging projects with the small, dedicated staff.
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