I teach eighth graders science at the Greater Commonwealth Virtual school.

 

We are a public school that’s about 14 years old. It was originally started to help out some students who are dealing with medical challenges, and we grew during the pandemic. 

 

Our school year ended today, and during the year I taught as many as 110 kids per day.

 

Over the years, I was involved in the Western Massachusetts Writing Project , and one of my WMWP colleagues turned me onto your work. One of my GCVS colleagues, Thea Durling, and I developed the rubric and the kids did the rest.

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We asked students to use I Was A Kid as inspiration for creating profiles of people in their lives who worked in STEAM fields. Their response was extraordinary, ranging from an uncle in Scotland to (the last resort) their own teacher. They were invited to do their own artwork and photography to accompany their writing and some historic photos.  

 

This is an idea that other teachers might be able to take and adapt. I will gladly show you some more student examples of what my kids did. Find the rubric Thea Durling and I created here.