This year I am doing English, Social Studies, and Science in PILOT. It is a lot of work, but I am really enjoying it and it is fun!
English: For the expressive writing standard I am writing a story (that is currently almost 100 pages long), and in Semester 2 I have been writing poetry as well. For the responding to reading standard I have taken notes on the book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, which I discussed with Ella (and I also have notes from those discussions), and I also took notes on a memoir I read called Untamed (by Glennon Doyle). In quarter 3 I read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (another book about writing), and discussed it with Ella. I also read the collection of poems Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman, and took notes on it. For the expository writing standard I wrote one short research essay about Germany and clean access to drinking water.
Social Studies: In semester 1 I researched and wrote an essay about the Equal Rights Amendment. This project applies to all three social studies standards: history and civics because it involves learning about legislation in the past and present, and social sciences because it is about the social science of gender inequity. In semester 2 I researched intersectional feminism and Kimberlé Crenshaw, and gave a callback presentation on what I learned.
Science: In semester 1 I collaborated with Una to redesign the waste system in the U32 cafeteria, which is to get the engineering standard. In quarter 3 I have learned about climate change in the oceans to get the change, cause, and effect standard, and the matter and energy standard. I also learned about bamboo for the structure and function standard, and in quarter 4 I did an experiment on the effects of the temperature of water on its pH, for the scientific practices standard.
Learning to Learn Skills: Learning to learn skills that I have learned and improved on this year include perseverance (especially with the waste system project), time management (making sure to balance my work between my different projects), responsibility, self-direction, and accountability that I am getting work done. I have also made progress on my public speaking skills because of my exhibition presentations.