Legends of the Trash Creatures

OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT

Over the last three months, the sixth grade students have been working on a very exciting interdisciplinary project called the Legends of the Trash Creatures. This project connects science, art, coding, robotics, website development, creative writing and research skills. The project itself includes both group and independent components. In groups of 5-6, students built a 5-foot-tall creature made of found “trash” in their homes and school to convey information on a specific issue related to trash and the impact it has on the environment and society. The creature also reacts to a stimulus using Hummingbird robotics hardware and coding that was taught by Mr. Umekubo in Design, Code, Make. Beyond the expectations of this creature, the group also created a website that includes a creative legend of their creature (written largely in English class), details on their environmental issue and potential solutions, supported by facts and statistics about their issue. Each group member also has a sub-page on the group’s site where they have a write-up on an interview they conducted with an adult as well as their independent academic choice - a letter, digital presentation, or original skit/song/rap on their group's environmental issue.