Lower School Project-Based Learning Updates
Lower School Project Summaries
We wanted to share this roundup of Lower School projects this Termfrom Brandon Lee, our Director of ExperientialLearning. His updates demonstrate how KLS has continued using the PBL approach to inspireauthentic and engaging learning despite the pandemic.
See this video formore onhow PBL at KLS allows students to have voice & choice in their learning.
ELA 2 + Science: Farm to Pancakes
This project will be an interdisciplinary project that sees the crossover between ELA 2 and IL2 science. Students will be diving into the essential question “Where does our food come from and how is it used? And how can we, as educators, teach our community about our food sources?”
Throughout this project, students will be deconstructing the parts of a pancake and learning about the science of each ingredient: wheat, salt, milk, honey, and eggs. In science, students will look at these ingredients closely and learn about where they come from, and ELA will focus on process writing about how we can isolate these ingredients.
We have virtual field trips (and maybe an in-person one *fingers crossed), guest speakers, and other experiments planned. Get stoked!
IL3 Science: Trust Me, I'm a Fungi
In IL3 Science, students will be looking at the fantastic, fruitful world of fungi. Over the course of the next several months, they will be growing mushrooms in their homes, conducting investigations on their specimens, and mastering the art of the scientific drawing.
Students will also be creating a timelapse of their growth and developing a scientific model of the mushroom cycle. We will top off the project with a delicious mushroom cookout.
Check out our project handout here.
Humanities 5 Workshop
Wednesday, April 28, 6:45 - 8:00 p.m.
Humanities 5 students will lead a workshop that teaches the historical, art and English content and skills that they have been engaging with during Term 2. Using the Term 2 essential question, How does the past influence who I am? Students will teach a PBL lesson that synthesizes quilting, historiography, reflective writing, and storytelling.The final product will be a community quilt that artistically captures the generational stories.
Humanities 5 Musée Us Exhibition
Wednesday, May 26, 6:45 - 8:00 p.m.
Humanities 5 students will curate and showcase the community quilts designed and createdfrom the Humanities 5 Workshop at their Musee US Exhibition. At this event, they will formally present their Term 2 research, reflections and conclusions gleaned from the work done in Social Studies, Art and English Language Arts class. All work and findings will respond to the essential question: How does the past influence who I am? (edited)
ELA 3: The Library Project Exhibition
Student Presentation of Work to Librarians
Our students have been working diligently on the library project, where they are partnering directly with the Mountain View library to create videos to help teach others about library resources during the pandemic. Our students have been creating videos on how to check out books, how to use their digital resources, as well as profiles on the wonderful children's librarians.
Soon thereafter, our students will be presenting their work to the librarians in a closed exhibition. Zoom recordings will be sent out to families for viewing afterwards.
ELA 4: Revolutionary War Unit
Project Summary by Ellington Vasan
In this project, we had to do a lot of research and studying. First, we had to learn about primary and secondary sources. Following this, we had to learn all about the tensions between Great Britain and the 13 colonies. Next, we had to learn about people's roles in the Revolutionary War. After researching, we decided that some people's perspectives were not heard as much as others.
The purpose of our project is to show a diversity in the representation of firsthand accounts during the Revolutionary War. Most people aren't aware of the perspectives of children, slaves, women, and Native Americans. It's important to learn about all stories, not just the ones told by educated white men.
In our project, we studied the historical stories of various groups of people living through the Revolutionary War. We will explain and relate to the stories through fictional primary sources based in today's technology.
Math 4 + 5: Dear Data The Book
In Math 4 and 5, students are wrapping up their Dear Data projects, where they collect data in and around their lives and transform that data into various visualizations. Inspired by the book “Dear Data”, our students have been sending postcards of their data to each other the past couple months.
We are currently working on reflections and compiling student postcards that will be sent out in the form of a digital book.
