What is Project Quest?
The goal of project quest is to provide a hands-on PBL unit for 6th grade that involves a variety of subjects and faculty. Through science, history, religion, art, Latin and technology classes (and faculty), students explore the theme of water's impact on civilization.
For the six weeks from November up to the Christmas break, during the times that they would normally meet in the above listed classes, students instead have Project Quest classes with multiple faculty present for instruction and support.
There are three segments to Project Quest and a culminating project:
1) Now - Students explore current issues with water in society today, develop guiding questions for research, analyze the data they discover, and represent their research results through an infographic. During this segment, students also engaged in an art piece (simple pinch pot representing a water organism) that will become part of a self-circulating water fountain we build on campus.
2) Then - Students learn about the impact of water on ancient civilizations. Each group selects a civilization to research and write articles on, and represent their learning through a digital magazine (website). During this segment, students also created a water myth movie in the context of their study of religion and Latin.
3) Action! - After having explored the Now and the Then, student groups take on a project of their choice. Some of their options are:
Share What You Know:
For the culminating project, students will take the work they have already done through the Now, Then and Then What? segments, and blend them into one of the following formats:
We are currently in year 3 of this project, and as such we are learning along with the students about this process. We keep a daily journal of where we are in the schedule, and what modifications are necessary as we move forward. Our team meets on a regular basis to discuss all of this and make adjustments in the schedule as needed.
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For the six weeks from November up to the Christmas break, during the times that they would normally meet in the above listed classes, students instead have Project Quest classes with multiple faculty present for instruction and support.
There are three segments to Project Quest and a culminating project:
1) Now - Students explore current issues with water in society today, develop guiding questions for research, analyze the data they discover, and represent their research results through an infographic. During this segment, students also engaged in an art piece (simple pinch pot representing a water organism) that will become part of a self-circulating water fountain we build on campus.
2) Then - Students learn about the impact of water on ancient civilizations. Each group selects a civilization to research and write articles on, and represent their learning through a digital magazine (website). During this segment, students also created a water myth movie in the context of their study of religion and Latin.
3) Action! - After having explored the Now and the Then, student groups take on a project of their choice. Some of their options are:
- Make a product
- Art piece
- Service project
- Awareness video
- Design an experiment
- Other?
Share What You Know:
For the culminating project, students will take the work they have already done through the Now, Then and Then What? segments, and blend them into one of the following formats:
- A Digital Magazine (while a digital magazine project took place via website creation during the Then segment, this is a more polished piece using iBooks Author and includes multimedia components)
- A 60 minutes style News Video
- A TED-style public presentation
We are currently in year 3 of this project, and as such we are learning along with the students about this process. We keep a daily journal of where we are in the schedule, and what modifications are necessary as we move forward. Our team meets on a regular basis to discuss all of this and make adjustments in the schedule as needed.
Return to Home