Two kindergarten students creating a story using
So what did Day 9 actually look like?
Starting at 8: 15 am, grades K to 5 students gathered and
moved from their homeroom floors to the floors and
learning spaces where their projects would take place.
After a brief welcome on their new floors, Multi-Age
cohorts of 6 to 12 students went with their instructors
to their new learning spaces. Students worked on their
projects for three sessions, for about 3. 5 hours in total.
Students also shared lunches and recesses with
students, teachers, and teacher assistants they don’t
typically spend time with, or maybe even know beyond
a passing hello.
At 1: 45 pm, 364 students exhibited, performed, demonstrated or otherwise shared with peers, the fruits
of the 31 different learning projects such as: Math and Art, Designs with People in Mind, Writing
Nonfiction, Reading Fluency through Theater, Music Movement & Maps, Rocket Science, Nature in an
Urban Environment, Expressing Yourself Through Poetry, and Math Games for Higher Level Thinking,
Reasoning, & Strategies.
At 2: 20 pm, students returned to their home floors and
their home rooms where they buzzed about their day,
shared their artifacts, and compared their project
When the team of eight got back together, we reflected
on how we had imagined, designed, and executed this
new day, and wondered if we had achieved the results
we planned and worked for. Through the lens of
teacher feedback, we began to see how each of our
aims had resulted in tangible results. The following is a
portion of this feedback:
Teachers sharing about their experience with a day-long inquiry project reflected:
“Kids loved that they were able to concentrate
on researching and learning just one topic for
the entire day”.
“One student commented that a regular school
day was more tiring and I think I felt the same”.
“A 3rd grader who, at the beginning said that
there was no nature in India, changed his mind
by the end of the day”.
“…the best thing was that at the end of the day
we sat around in a circle and went round the
circle asking for thoughts about the day. Every
single student was really enthusiastic about
what they had learned and what they had
A student building a structure he designed
Grade 3-5 students making books featuring real
children fighting for justice in the world