Exploring the American Revolution Through Writing, Strategy, and Self-Leadership (Session 3, Week 3)

Greetings from the Journey Studio! Although this was a short week due to MLK Day, it was still a fun and meaningful one. Learners continued their in-depth research on the American Revolution while engaging in challenging and creative learning experiences.

Genre

This week began on Tuesday, when learners wrote 250-word essays exploring what the future of the United States could look like. On Wednesday, learners participated in peer feedback sessions, offering thoughtful suggestions to help one another strengthen their writing. By Friday, learners revised their essays and submitted them to Michal for approval.

Quest

Quest presented a series of challenging and engaging activities this week. On Tuesday, learners created their own Falcon Bucks. Afterward, an approving partner produced a counterfeit version of each bill. Both the original and counterfeit were then presented to learners in the Discovery Studio, who worked to determine which was authentic.

On Wednesday, learners used a simulation that placed them in the role of George Washington, requiring them to make strategic battle decisions during the Revolutionary War. On Thursday, learners prepared secret messages hidden within letters, and on Friday, they competed in a decoding challenge to see who could crack the messages first.

Civ

During Civ, learners were divided into groups representing different factions that existed during the Revolutionary War. The groups were split between two rooms, with learners taking responsibility for managing each space independently.

One of the guiding questions explored during Civ was:

Imagine you are one of the Founding Fathers. After declaring independence, you must form a government. Do you:

• Create a government with very little central power, fearing tyranny like the one you revolted against?

• Or create a strong central government to avoid the gridlock and chaos caused by 13 independent states trying to agree?

These discussions encouraged learners to think deeply about leadership, balance of power, and historical decision-making.

Learner Leadership

With Michal traveling to Orlando, Florida with the LaunchPad learners, the Journey Studio operated without a guide on Tuesday and Wednesday. This gave learners the opportunity to step up and take full responsibility for their studio—leading their own launches, managing transitions, and supporting one another throughout the day. They rose to the challenge and demonstrated impressive independence and leadership.

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