Writing distinguished by voice, imagination, and impact

the life of a community follows a plot

A Little More Than Just People: Juanita Nelson

Grade(s):

8

Eighth grade students from the Four Rivers Charter School, in Greenfield, Massachusetts, created a book of “monologues of community cultivators.” Students studied people from their community, who both through their vocation or avocation, worked on behalf of their local communities and “gave back”

This court is in session for the case of bear vs. raccoon.

Panda Classification Comic Strip

Grade(s):

7

After learning about DNA, students had to explain if the giant panda was a closer relative to bears or to raccoons by creating a comic strip.

she was involved in her community, but didn't realize it

Small Acts of Courage

Grade(s):

7

Students created a set of four books based on interviews with unsung local civil rights heroes as part of a learning expedition on civil rights. 

When the sun passes through a thicker layer of atmosphere we see colors at sunrise and sunset

What's Up?

Grade(s):

3

This book was written  as part of a three-month learning expedition on astronomy. It was written to help introduce other students to these topics.

The jaws are adjustable to make sure they can meet around the bolt.

Our Book of Tools

Grade(s):

K

This product was part of a learning expedition on tools, in which students learned to identify tools and their uses and learned about the wider world through the study of tools.

grass sways lazily in the breeze as birds tweet and insects are at work

Give Bees a Chance

Grade(s):

6

After researching bees as part of a learning expedition, students crafted a book to help people understand the importance of bees to the production of food and the impact of Colony Collapse Disorder.

I tangle in your mind like a string being tied into knots

I Am Poem

Grade(s):

5

As a culmination of learning about their lives and the greater world, students wrote "I am" poems. They used figurative language, spacing, repetition, and breaking the rules of grammar as poetic authors.

I was supposed to be a statistic.

Senior Talk - Denisha

Grade(s):

12

Prior to graduation, students present a speech to a panel of students, staff, and community members articulating lessons learned in their jourrney through school and their plans for the future.

the best way to survive in a world that isn’t ready for our ingenuity

Rhetorical Analysis - Satire

Grade(s):

11, 12

Following close reading and rhetorical analysis of texts in the genre of satire, students argued about how the language and style choices of various authors help to establish their messages. 

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