Summer Showcase

Driving Question: What is volume? Where do we see it in our lives? 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming architects and were enlisted to create a brand new village/town. First, architects in groups of 2-3 students figured out how to construct rectangular prisms using tape and grid paper. Some also created composed figures using two rectangular prisms. This was done as a STEAM activity.

Once students constructed the solid figure they named it. After that children constructed houses. This time they were given a volume and they had to figure out a length, width, and height that would multiply to the given volume. Then they used their dimensions to construct a home using the dimensions that they identified. Finally, students grouped themselves into three jobs to design, and created a model of our town. They chose their job based on their strengths. Jobs chosen were computer people, city planners, and builders. The city planners created the model of Volumeville. The builders constructed additional required buildings. The computer people created a map key that identified each building and its length, width, and height. After groups were done each student was given a building to find the volume of. Then a student checked the volume of each figure, made corrections and found the total volume of Volumeville.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, Science, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, use text evidence, problem & solution, develop vocabulary

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility 

Driving Question: Why are certain penguins endangered and how can we protect them? 

Task: Classmates were tasked with researching an endangered penguin and worked together on what they could do to protect them. Students then presented their findings to their classmates. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking 

Driving Question: How do human activities affect the environment and what can be done to mitigate their negative impacts? 

Task: Students created a personal carbon footprint to visualize their current impact on Earth. Next, they investigated the 2024 Earth Month Eco-Challenge to explore constructive conservation practices. Finally, students developed a model to reverse negative human impact on earth by creating a public service announcement, educational poster, or comic strip to inform the public about methods to minimize carbon footprints.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we work as entrepreneurs and consumers? 

Task: Students created stores to sell the products of their choosing. Stores were created on Google Slides to showcase their products. Students then earned a paycheck to deposit into their "checking account" and were able to shop using the funds by writing checks to the stores. Students maintained a balance in their checkbook account. Stores tallied their sales at the end of the mall shopping experience.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, Science, ELA, Fine Arts, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, make inferences, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can probability be used to predict future events? 

Task: The students were tasked with creating their own carnival game and predicting the outcomes of winning and losing the games they created. Students were asked to create a carnival game that was a compound event, where there were two or more events. Students created games consisting of coins, spinners, dice, and other materials. To display the probabilities of winning and losing their game students created a pamphlet with their group, which consisted of the rules of their game, different levels of winning, a model of the sample space of their compound event, and the theoretical probability for each level of winning and losing. After, students created a model of their game using both physical and virtual materials. At the conclusion of their project, students played each others games and calculated the experimental probability of each compound event.   

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, Fine Arts, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking 

Driving Question: How can we use statistics to analyze real-world data? 

Task: Students were tasked with creating their own statistical question that they wanted to conduct a study on that would compare data of two different groups. Data for their question could be collected through online research or through a survey. Students developed their own questions such as, "How many texts do 6th and 7th graders send per day?" and "How many pets do students and teachers have?". Students made predictions about what their data would look like for the two groups that they compared, such as the center and spread of the data. After students collected their data, they analyzed the results, finding the five-number summary, mean, mode, range, and interquartile range for each of their groups that they compared. Finally, students displayed their results on a poster, using the five number summary from each group to display their results as a boxplot. Students were asked to expand on their results by comparing and contrasting the boxplots of each group and interpreting their results. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking 

Driving Question: What makes each animal unique and able to survive in their environment? 

Task: Classmates were tasked with researching a different animal that they choose as a group. Each group worked together to come up with facts that helped them understand and learn more about the different habitats and adaptations each animal had to survival. Students then presented their findings to their classmates. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, analyze text structure, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, identify main idea & details, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What lives in Bracken Cave located near San Antonio, Texas?

Task: The students were tasked with becoming scientists to gather details about the mysterious type of animal that lives in Bracken Cave. Students first made predictions as to the type of animal that lives in the cave based on their observations of the cave. Students then applied what they’ve learned about how to place animals into groups based on their characteristics to revise or confirm their predictions. The students were able to predict that the animal in the cave is a small mammal based on obtaining information from an email from the scientists. As a class, we discussed what information was the most important from the email. After further investigation and research, the students were able to revise or confirm their predictions that the mammal sleeps during the day, and hunts at night. Finally, students used their listening skills to determine that the mammal that lives in Bracken Cave is a bat.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, develop vocabulary

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we propose a state-level law that would positively impact our community members?

Task: Students were tasked with becoming legislators and proposing a new state-level law that addresses a specific issue or problem within their community. Students engaged in sustained inquiry and independent research. They drafted a detailed legislative proposal, complete with rationale and evidence. The proposed laws were submitted to a NYS District 4 assemblyman.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can geometry be applied to designing a zoo? 

Task:  Students are tasked as architects to design a zoo. The zoo must follow the rules and regulations provided and meet the minimum requirements for area and perimeter for each exhibit.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, Fine Arts, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, problem & solution, develop vocabulary, make predictions 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility 

Driving Question: How does budgeting money help me make purchases?

Task: Students will dive into the world of budgeting and financial management by simulating a shopping experience at Ms. Link's Holiday Boutique. By working within a set budget to purchase items like erasers, fidgets, and notepads, students will learn practical skills that apply to everyday life. Students will explore the concept of budgeting, working with decimals, and making strategic purchasing decisions. They will research prices, compare costs, calculate totals, and justify their choices based on their budget constraints. Students will have the freedom to decide which items to purchase within their budget and present their reasoning for their selections in a format of their choice, such as a budgeting journal, a presentation, or a visual representation. This project will integrate math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and decimals with real-life scenarios, fostering connections between mathematics and practical applications in budget management.   

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Flexibility, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can script analysis inform the performance of each character and scene? 

Task: The 5th grade Drama students were tasked with becoming actors and crew members to effectively tell the story of Finding Nemo KIDS. Since the fall, the cast members have been analyzing the script dialogue and stage directions to determine their character’s objectives and emotions throughout the plot. This impacted how the students read the lines for their character (tone, expression, pacing, etc.) as well as the character’s body language and facial expressions. The stage crew members also read through the script and watched the cast members rehearse their scenes to determine what props and set pieces were needed on stage, and what lighting colors to use to enhance/reflect the storyline and the emotions of the characters on stage. Through analyzing the script, both the cast and crew were able to appropriately convey the story of Finding Nemo KIDS.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Fine Arts, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, identify main idea & details, determine point of view, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness 

Driving Question: What is the Earth made of? 

Task: Students acted as chemists to create a poster to demonstrate their understanding of the different states of matter. Students used the information to inform community members about how they could find different states of matter around them and how they use the matter in their everyday lives.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How does knowing what landmarks are help our understanding of the world? 

Task: The students became an expert on a specific landmark by researching and answering questions. They then had to construct a poster, essay, or physical product of their landmark. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ENL, ELA,  Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Creativity, Self and/or Social Awareness 

Driving Question: Why is your person an important figure in their respective Francophone country and what impact have they had on the rest of the world? 

Task: Students researched different famous and important people from Francophone countries and presented their findings to their classmates. They discussed the impacts their person has had on francophone and other countries around the world.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: LOTE, ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we use a schedule to demonstrate our knowledge of time? 

Task: The students were tasked with becoming a graphic designer, utilizing Canva to create and design a daily routine schedule. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, Fine Arts, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, sequence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness 

Driving Question: How can we design and deliver a lesson to a fourth grade class? 

Task: Students from Mrs. Rand and Mr. St. Pierre's Take a Look at Teaching Club at JFK were tasked with becoming teachers by creating and delivering a lesson to Mrs. McCumisky’s fourth-grade classroom at Terryville Elementary. The lesson was titled, “Where Does Chocolate Come From?” They created a lesson plan incorporating technology and designed creative worksheets on Canva. They effectively questioned students to encourage engagement and used classroom management strategies such as offering praise to students who volunteered to share responses with the class. Through this collaborative effort, the students engaged in an interactive learning experience while developing an understanding of what it takes to be a teacher.

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Science, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, sequence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak