It is hard to believe we are coming to the close of the last session at Acton Academy of Bergen County. Even though things are beginning to wrap up, they are not beginning to slow down. Activities this week included further investigations of ecosystems, reflecting on their first year at Acton using filmmaking, and so much more!
Garden Quest has taken a sharp turn, leading the students to discover more about how plants affect the bigger picture, ecosystems! For the first activity
this week the learners each picked an animal to create a food web/chain from. Some students chose carnivorous animals, while others chose omnivores and herbivores. Once they learned how energy flows from one animal into the next, they created stacking cups to represent the chain. Wednesday, they investigated deserts and created a model desert using sand, succulents and other art materials. Some learners have also chosen to create Kahoots about different plants to share with the rest of the studio. Once they have finished the kahoot they present it to their peers during the quest launch to play and receive feedback on it.
This session we added Storytelling through Film Making to the schedule. The first
few weeks the learners explored the concept of creating frames and understanding how frames help us understand who a character is. After they worked with their frames they began creating short videos with pictures that explained a challenge that they conquered this year. The last project they worked on involved creating a video chronicling their journey at Acton throughout the year.
In Writer’s Workshop the learners are submitting their poems for feedback and
beginning to edit them. When they finish their poems, they will design their own
poetry book and create a visual or performance art piece to accompany their
favorite poem!
As the year is coming to a close, many of the activities this week asked the learners to deeply reflect about their experiences this year. In Art this week the students created art pieces depicting their journey this year, they also had the option to write a song that talked about their life at Acton.
