Five Cs: Augusta County pilots 5th-grade exploration block to help deepen critical thinking
CRAIGSVILLE — Zach Hedrick and his fifth-grade students at Craigsville Elementary spent time at the end of the first semester gathering acorns and walnuts for the winter — not for themselves but for the animals at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro. While it began as a fifth-grade project, the entire school got involved.
With help from the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, the students had been learning about non-profit organizations. Fifth-grade classrooms throughout Augusta County have been given $100 to donate to a non-profit.
Hedrick's students decided they wanted to do a service project to collect nuts for the animals. In early December, 19 of the students along with some adult volunteers visited the Augusta Springs Wetlands, gathering nuts to clean and donate. Hedrick estimated they collected at least 300 nuts and said they could have collected as many as 500. He didn't count each individual nut.
"I'm hoping the students take away that anything in nature, anything in the community, no matter what it is, from picking up trash to picking up walnuts, can help out those who are in need, even wildlife," Hedrick said. "It helps them learn to work together, learn to give back a service to their community."
The project was all in the name of both citizenship and collaboration, two of the five Cs about which fifth-graders throughout Augusta County are learning. It's part of a pilot project started this school year in the school division called exploration block. Because of changes in the Standards of Learning for history and social studies, the Virginia Studies curriculum that used to be taught in fifth grade was moved to fourth. It not only helped alleviate the amount of testing in fifth grade, but it allowed Augusta County school administrators to create the new course.
Sarah Melton, the county's assistant superintendent for instruction, along with some students and teachers from Craigsville, Clymore and Cassell elementary schools, gave an overview of the class to school board members at a retreat on Jan. 18. The class focuses on those five Cs — collaboration, citizenship, communication, creative thinking and critical thinking. It also helps students strengthen their reading, writing and research skills, Melton said.
"We tied it to the five Cs," explained Jane Wright, the director of elementary instruction. "In doing that, we felt it would deepen thinking, especially their critical thinking skills across content areas, not just in this exploration block."
The course contains 10 units, beginning with an introduction. The rest of the units include:
I Wonder: Allowing students to select a topic about which they want to learn more.
U.S. Geography: Students study geographic regions of the United States.
Science Investigation: Using data, students study science.
Community outreach: Partnering with the Community Foundation, students learn about phlanthrophy.
U.S. Explorers: Students learn about various explorers as part of the sixth-grade USI history course.
Child Labor: Students learn about children who worked in factories and other jobs in the late 19th century.
Scientific Engineering: Using critical thinking, students work their way through the scientific engineering process.
Science Review: Students review scientific content in a creative way.
Literacy Research Lab: Students author their own hardback books as they complete research on a topic of their choice based on a class theme.
"I like exploration," said Logan, a fifth-grader at Cassell. "I think it's pretty cool that we get to get in groups and put our minds together to explore stuff."
Logan said her favorite part so far was geography. She really enjoyed learning about the states. She also liked the philanthropy aspect, saying her class voted to donate to the The Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia to help infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
Christy Wilson, a fifth-grade teacher at Cassell, said she's enjoyed teaching the class. Among her favorite parts has been the research aspect, saying it helps students learn to dig for information.
Hedrick also likes that students learn to work both independently and as a group.
"They seem to have liked it," he said. "It really brings in outside-the-box-thinking skills."
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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County Schools pilot new exploration block for 5th-grade students
