Projects
Scroll down to explore and experience the collaborative, immersive, authentic projects created at High Tech Elementary Explorer!
Clay Has It's Say 2022
The future of food waste tackles the world, community, and school problem of chronic food waste. Students explored all three levels of the epidemic and worked together to tangibly address the problem in our school community. Students worked towards a solution, raised awareness of the issue, and implemented a future of food waste at Explorer, and in their own homes. Students were in charge of creating and maintaining all sustainable practices at Explorer. They raised awareness by creating persuasive podcast episodes to show that our project does matter and why other community members should care.
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Essential Questions--
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Why do we have so much food waste at Explorer and at home and why is it a bad thing?
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How can we up-cycle food scraps to create new food?
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What are the benefits of sustainable farming practices?
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How can we educate others about the consequences of food waste and the benefits of future farming?
The Future of
Food Waste 2022
The future of food waste tackles the world, community, and school problem of chronic food waste. Students explored all three levels of the epidemic and worked together to tangibly address the problem in our school community. Students worked towards a solution, raised awareness of the issue, and implemented a future of food waste at Explorer, and in their own homes. Students were in charge of creating and maintaining all sustainable practices at Explorer. They raised awareness by creating persuasive podcast episodes to show that our project does matter and why other community members should care.
​
Essential Questions--
​
-
Why do we have so much food waste at Explorer and at home and why is it a bad thing?
​
-
How can we up-cycle food scraps to create new food?
​
-
What are the benefits of sustainable farming practices?
​
-
How can we educate others about the consequences of food waste and the benefits of future farming?
Our Exhibition- An Explorer Farmer's Market
Hidden Voices Mini Project: Larry Itliong
In this first sequence of a mini project that was connected to our future of food waste project. This mini project explored the humanities aspect of the larger project as we explored the hidden voice of Filipino farm labor activist; Larry Itliong. This culturally responsive lesson/mini project celebrated Larry Itliong and surfaced the oppression that Filipino heroes in America faced and continue to face. Students were taught about the silencing and hiding of voices of color, particularly Filipino voices in the 1940s-60s. They were able to understand that other classes are often not taught about heroes of color and rarely learn about people like Larry Itliong. This lesson took place in the middle of AAPI month and worked to sustain and respond to the culture of the Filipino students in our classroom. Check out the video to see part of the lesson!
Essential Questions:
- How might we carry on stories that have been silenced?
- How might we honor and educate others about heroes that are not white?
Standards:
JU.3-5.15 -I know about the actions of people and groups who have worked throughout history to bring more justice and fairness to the world.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7 - Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. Speaking & Listening
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1 - Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. Language
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Prototype & Student Work
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1st Grade Project: Lights, Access, Action!
Lights, Access, Action was a multi-discipline project that encompassed humanities, math, science, social emotional learning, circuitry, and engineering. Students explored all aspects of light from light pollution and light poverty to the creation of light with circuits while engineering our very own flashlights. To develop literacy through this project, students read multiple stories about light and reflected on their own feelings about light including:
How does light make me feel?
How does darkness make me feel?
What would a world without light look like, feel like?
For this project, I tackled the humanities aspect to explore light access and poverty throughout the world through a book that I created! Checkout all of the resources below!
Future Project- Borders: A Fine Line
This future project idea sprouted from mine & a colleagues brain during a critical pedagogy class we had taken at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. After exploring Mission Trails with our class, we began to understand the biased & colonialistic rhetoric surrounding San Diego and formerly indigenous spaces such as Mission Trails. Whilst exploring the land and the plaques placed that are meant to educate visitors about Mission Trails, we sensed a strong need for an anti-bias view of spaces such as Mission Trails but truly, all over San Diego. Mission trails is a hot-spot for field trips and I can only assume that the students who visit are not viewing the space through a critical lense. This project provides the opportunity for students to learn about San Diego's history through a critical lense that combines the relevance of borders both seen and unseen.
