Every day, outstanding teaching and learning take place both on campus and in the world beyond our walls. This article highlights how our educators foster academic growth, creativity, and curiosity in their students. UPrep’s challenging educational program in an inclusive environment encourages students to grow confident as they discover their passions and purpose. Read on to learn more about our Integrated Science I class, where students learn to lead a life of learning as they become scientific thinkers.

The Class: Integrated Science I

In this yearlong 6th grade course, students think critically, carry out investigations, record and interpret data, and design experiments. As they seek solutions to problems, students are introduced to laboratory skills, concepts, and methods involved in the physical, biological, and chemical sciences. An emphasis is placed on the application of topics to real-world scenarios, and the development of critical thinking to answer the why and how of science phenomena.

The Task: Create a Model Playground

The playground project is part of the metric unit. First, students learn about length, mass, and volume; calculating area; and converting between units within the metric system. Then, the students use those concepts as they build a 3D model of a playground or a scene of their choosing where one centimeter equals one meter.

The Outcomes

Along with giving students a better understanding of how scale models work, this unit and project are about helping them picture, conceptualize, and understand the metric system, said Science Teacher Matthew Staats. “This is important because students won’t use pounds, inches, or feet by the time they are in 8th grade science classes. Within the scientific field, people only use the metric system,” he said, noting that the U.S. is one of three countries in the world that doesn’t use the metric system.

Matthew saw a lot of aha moments when they began talking about conversions within the metric system. The students learned about the ladder, a common scientific tool that looks like a staircase. “They have this moment where they understand the base unit is 10. Every time we want to go step down or up on the ladder, we multiply (down) or divide by 10 (up). They realize they can move the decimal point right or left depending on the direction, and suddenly they have a conceptual understanding and see the useful potential of the metric system,” he said.

While they work on the playground project, they practice conversions and calculating area. “Doing a hands-on project makes it more engaging,” said student Sebastien W. “It’s fun building things with your classmates while figuring out how to convert life-size items to model-size.”

During 6th grade science classes, the teachers usually spend the first 10 minutes talking to the students, and the next 60 minutes is spent doing hands-on experiments or projects. “They get a chance to play and the freedom and autonomy to move around and work with each other in the classroom,” Matthew said. “Our curriculum is focused on students learning a bit of knowledge and then applying this knowledge to projects where they can show their creativity and who they are. With this project, every single playground is different.”

Student Charley R. created the stage and some audience members from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Miniature Taylor is two centimeters tall, as she is about six feet tall in real life. “It’s a fun project because everybody shares ideas of how to build the scenes. It’s good to blend learning mass, volume, weight, and calculating area with an art project,” she said.

Charley said science is one of her favorite classes because it’s so active. “Working in groups paired with people I don’t know has also been helpful, since we are all at a new school,” she said. “I’ve made some new friends.”