At 8:45 a.m. on a recent Monday morning, Class 1 students were not inside their classrooms were, instead, seated in the Assembly Room ready to begin an exciting project.
“Do you remember when you visited Gym 1 in Kindergarten and saw Class 1’s community build?” asked Class 1 Teacher Jes Thies. (To which a resounding ‘yes’ rang out.) “Today is the first day of our own community build! We will work on this for many months.”
The Class 1 social studies curriculum is anchored by the concept of community. As such, the word was displayed in big, bright letters on the screen in front of them. When asked to describe community, a few students said: “When a lot of people share space,” “When you show respect to everyone around you,” and “A group of people who gather together to work and play.”
Equipped with this foundational knowledge, the first graders were ready to take on the role of urban planners—a person who imagines, designs and builds a community.
“First, you’ll need to make a blueprint,” said Lower School Teacher Rowen Halpin. Engineers, she said, follow a blueprint—like a guide—to build their desired structure. “Today we’ll teach you how to do that. You’ll make many more throughout this project!”
A blueprint, she explained, is similar to a map. While a map shows where things are and how to find them, a blueprint shows how to build something. “It’s similar to the scientific diagrams you’ve made in class,” said Ms. Halpin. “Blueprints can contain measurements, labels and other information to help engineers.”
The community build is just one piece of the yearlong study of community for Class 1. The students learn about the history our school’s neighborhood and other communities around the United States and the world. They consider the impact of geography and connect this work to other disciplines like dance and Spanish. Overall, the students’ goal is to create a unique community that is equitable, sustainable and innovative.
The Class 1 teachers shared that, ultimately, the girls will participate in a grade-wide community build showcase, like they observed last year, but not until May. “Our community will be so big, we can’t make it all in one day!”
Students were then shown a picture of Chapin and tasked with creating its blueprint. “We’re going to use a special kind of paper with boxes,” Ms. Thies explained. “To make a mini Chapin!”
“Even though your blueprint is flat, your mini Chapin will be 3D!” Ms. Thies clarified. Therefore, she reminded, they’d need to add windows to all four sides.
The girls excitedly spread out across the Assembly Room—pencils, rulers and clipboards in hand—and got to work. Once they completed their blueprints, they headed to the back of the room to collect cardboard and construction paper in different colors to create their 3D models.
At 9:30, the girls left for their classrooms, eager to continue this immersive, interdisciplinary unit.
