March 12, 2025
Students at N.B. Clements Junior High School were able to think critically about what makes a person special and their impact on society through a collaborative, multidisciplinary project that brought together hands-on research, technology, and writing that culminated in engaging presentations in the school's library on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
SEE MORE PHOTOS: PGCPS on Flickr
During the six-week project, students worked with a partner to select and research a notable person from a list of over 250 names, ranging from sports stars like Lebron James and Steph Curry, to renowned performing artists like Selena and Beyonce, and well-known historical figures including Albert Einstein, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Harriet Tubman.
The project deviated from being a typical research paper in having students use Scratch, an accessible, block-based programming language, to create an interactive biography model for each group's Makey-Makey invention kit. The model featured hands and a face representing their selected figure, and would play a pre-recorded script outlining biographical information about their subject, melding technology, writing, and art concepts.
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The script-writing process for students was an opportunity to combine their cited research with their creativity and flair as they were guided through the process of developing an engaging hook for their Makey-Makey presentation, determining the perspective of their script, either first or third-person, and outlining several specific facts about their subject.
Once all of the elements were brought together, their written research, their Makey-Makey units, and their personalities, the groups delivered their presentations in the school library, with each group offering feedback on their classmates' presentations, evaluating things such as the creativity of their models, engaging introductory hooks, and overall quality.
The multi-week presentation project was a collaboration between the students, the teachers, and the library team. While students worked together to develop their research and project elements, Clements' librarian, Mrs. Bailey, instructional technology resource teacher, Mrs. Wilder, and teachers Mrs. Haley and Ms. Oronoz partnered to make sure students had the tools they needed to do thoughtful research, carry out proper source citations, prepare their models and ensure their presentations went off without a hiccup.