Project Launches: Grade 9 English and Grade 10 Innovation

Two exciting projects were launched this week. Here is a quick overview:

Romeo and Juliet: From Page to Stage

Mrs. Alden's students receive their role assignments.

Our Grade 9 English teachers launched their final unit of the year by "setting the stage" for an in-depth study of Romeo and Juliet. This was, for most students, their first interaction with Shakespeare and Elizabethan English. The students spent the launch day in the PAC, and each class was assigned one of the five acts from the play. In the morning, parts were assigned and students read through their act, making decisions about movement, delivery and blocking. They had time to practice and decide on costumes and props, and then after lunch, a rough but entertaining first run-through of the play was performed. Now with this groundwork complete, students will be able to go deeper into how a production of the play would take shape moving from the page to the stage.

Jo Denley, who designed the project with Margaret Haske, explained that "the PBL spans over the whole 4th quarter and has students taking on various production roles (i.e. director, actor, public relations, props, costumes) and then envisioning different takes on R+J. In the past we have had Civil War era R+J, Puxi vs. Pudong R+J, Modern day R+J, and Undercover spies R+J. Essentially, students are encouraged to look at the play through a different lens without losing the thought and meaning behind Shakespeare's original text. Students study passages in depth, discuss, analyze and ultimately, they 'pitch' their final plan to our (the teachers') production company!"

Branch's students do an initial reading of their act.

Back to the Future: A Dockumentary

Contemplating what the future might hold.

The Year 2 Innovation Institute's final project of the year will engage students in answering the question: What is the story of the future? At the launch, students participated in paired and small group conversations in response to a series of prompts addressing a variety of factors (economic, environmental, technological, etc.) that have the potential to significantly impact what our world might look like in 50 years. For each question, several students shared out their predictions with the class, and then a film clip was shown that illustrated one possible interpretation of how the future might look. After engaging in research and developing their own guiding question, the students will create short documentary films that depict their group's data-driven prediction for the future. The 3-5 minute shorts will be screened at an evening Film Festival on Friday, June 3rd in the PAC. Mark your calendars - these films are sure to be ahead of their time!

We'd love to hear about other projects that are happening! Feel free to add yours in the comments, or let me know and I'd be happy to write it up.