|
Project week at Eastside Prep is a time for each grade to get together for hands-on research and reflective thinking. Projects involve both individual and group work, field trips and research at school, inquiry-based learning and practical applications, and a whole lot of fun. Each grade uses their project to reflect on and present in a unique way some of the things they’ve learned in their classes during the year. The projects are guided by the Big Questions, which provide a way for students to synthesize work done in different classes under one umbrella of critical thought. The Big Questions for each class are listed below with the projects.
When projects are completed, the Eastside Prep community gathers at the Kirkland Performance Center each Spring to see and hear students formally present their work. EPS welcomes members of the broader community as well as prospective families to join us for this amazing night. Please contact the Admissions Office if you are interested in attending next Spring.
Middle School Project Descriptions
Projects may vary slightly from year to year, but many are long traditions at the school. Middle School projects are described below.
5th Grade: Who am I?
EPS fifth graders take the stage and perform an original play that helps explore who they are as individuals, as a class, and as members of a broader global community. Students conceive, write, rehearse, and polish their play throughout the week. Teachers offer guidance and direction, but this is a student-run production.
6th Grade: What is the World Made of?
Students explore their own perspective on what the world is made of in a narrated slideshow they create with Photo Story. After mastering the use of this program, students interview community members for differing perspectives, write a script, upload and edit relevant images, and help the guests narrate their own Photo Story.
7th Grade: How Did We Get Here?
By class vote, students choose a controversial issue such as Makah whaling rights, hydroelectric dams and salmon protection, or cloning and stem cell research. After thorough research using skills they have developed in their Biology and U.S. History classes, they analyze the history of the issue and the role of the government in moving forward, and culminate their studies in a mock legislative session.
8th Grade: What Does it Mean to be Human?
Students visit locations around the Seattle-metro area and the State Capitol to film on-the-street interviews asking strangers what they think about the 8th grade Big Question. Returning to campus, students write, direct, and perform skits, and the whole production is compiled into a film by student directors and editors.
|
