Fairfield

Sow, Grow, Share: Falcon Insights into Agriculture and Campus Happenings

Henrico Learner Profile (HLP) 6C Focus

6, 7 and 8th Grades - ELA and CE

SOL/Standard - 

Backyard Urban Garden: ELA 6.9 & CE 1.7J

Learning Experience

Throughout the school year, students from Mr. Freeman’s TAG and Mrs. Key’s Backyard Urban Garden class followed parallel paths in creating media that documented campus happenings- specifically around agriculture and Cornerstone Farm- sharing that media with peers and creating supplemental resources that teachers used as lesson activities in classes. Frequently the projects intersected, creating a fresh and interesting collaborative experience. 

Inspired by our many community supporters, our students used HEF-funded cameras, podcasting equipment and microphones to conduct interviews at campus-wide events, record and edit special video projects and create 2 ongoing series of videos designed especially for their peers: "BUG Interviews..." and "BUG Explains.."

These videos were then used in classes to supplement lessons in Backyard Urban Gardening. The focus of the 'BUG Interviews.." series is career preparedness, while other projects allowed us to share the perspectives of attendees at our schoolwide events such as Fall Fest, the Career Fair, and Read Across America Week. 


What did the student(s) learn about this experience:

"I think one that has improved is ‘creative thinking.’ Being in the BUG class and doing the podcast have helped me grow as a creative thinker. I like thinking outside of the box. The activities we do in the BUG class themselves are creative and it helps me be more creative in how I think and do things." - Lena


"I chose Creative Thinker because throughout the interview process, including finding camera shots and recordings, I’ve had to have a creative mind to get the best possible shots. I’ve grown on shot taking and just thinking of creative ways to talk to people."- Samiera

What did the teacher enjoy about this experience:

"Fairfield middle school’s gifted program, which includes a class range from 6th to 8th, has completed a multitude of media projects for the 23-24 school year. Our 6th grade Academic Enrichment class focused their energies on writing, recording and editing satirical news stories in WeVideo. The 7th grade Academic enrichment class opted to create satirical infomercials and comedy sketches all with the help of our ILC, Nick Lapres. The 8th grade 21st Century Inquiry and Leadership class launched what became the FMS school podcast and media team. Our plan is now to have each grade level teach the last what they have learned to consistently influence the continued growth and use of media based projects to offer students at Fairfield middle school a truly differentiated educational experience."

Additional Pictures, Media & Artifacts

BUG Explains.. Soil Blocking

Read Across America Week 

BUG Interviews: Mrs. Shuman

BUG Interviews: Mrs. Green

Thank you to the innovators who helped make this experience possible: