Collaborative Project Based Learning in 6th Grade
Project based learning builds something within a student, beyond the graded product. That something is connection. Earlier this year, I reached out to Dawn Southworth, our art teacher of 30 years, to propose a collaboration. The idea was to have students generate a visual representation of a scene from the spooky story they were writing in English Language Arts.
The assignment was to write a spooky story packed with descriptive language. With an established foundation of knowledge about sensory imagery and dialogue, and having explored creepy classics like The Raven and The Monkey’s Paw, students made their way through the creative writing process. They brainstormed, outlined, drafted, edited, and revised original stories. Some people wrote thrillers, others mysteries. As students enthusiastically shared their ideas with peers, the depth of their work and creativity spun grew stronger. On the other side of campus, using construction paper, glue, and pastels, students created dreamlike images that ranged from whimsical to downright chilling.
The excitement came to a head at 1:00 p.m. on Halloween. Families gathered behind the upper school for a live reading of their stories. Scattered around the field behind upper school, students got a chance to practice their public speaking skills. It’s one thing to share one’s work with peers - and a whole different game with an audience of parents and siblings. Between listening to stories, families surveyed the display of spooky scenes positioned between the two classrooms in the breezeway.
Afterward, everyone was treated to the annual Halloween Parade, followed by fresh cider doughnuts. What a sweet way to celebrate fall!