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What do Lithuanian Immigration, Tibetan Chinese Mandalas, and the competition between the superego and the id have in common? All three were topics explored by students during this year’s Middle School Search program, which culminated in an exhibit and parent evening on December 20.
Search is a hallmark of the middle school curriculum. Adapted from Ken Macrorie’s ideas in his book, Search Writing, it is an orderly process that teaches students how to gather information about a self-selected topic and write about their personal experience of learning as they do so. The projects include a search journal (for reflection about the process and a running record of all work done), a search narrative (the final report), a symposium presentation, and a visual display.
Why is the search process an important learning experience? This year’s parent evening program stated unequivocally that Search is “a fundamental way to teach students how to engage in the intellectual work of learning. The Search process teaches students how to write a research paper, how to organize their studies, and how to be self-motivated learners.”
The freedom to select a research focus within a theme results in a broad and unexpected array of topics. This year, sixth graders, asked to explore an aspect of ancient China, came up with: The First Seismograph; Terracotta Warriors; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Chinese Marriage Traditions; and Jewelry in Ancient China, among other topics. Seventh graders, tasked with investigating some aspect of their personal family history and linking it to larger issues in American history, completed projects titled: An Irish Journey, Luigi’s Travels; My Korean Heritage; The Military Service of My Family; and Technology at Harvard.
During the week that the visual displays are exhibited, visitors who pause to look at the projects and read the descriptions are often impressed by the depth and sophistication of the students’ investigations.
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