Buck Institute for Education

Students have the opportunity to participate in a local community revitalization effort by developing a walking tour throughout town.  Teams of students identify community landmarks that should be included on the walking tour, research history surrounding those landmarks using primary and secondary resources, and communicate their findings by writing and recording a narrative that will guide the tour.

As time travelers,  student will plan how to keep Europe out of religious wars.  They must also report back to a panel of social studies teachers and/or administrators as to their findings and suggestions.

How do other regions in the United States influence my life?  Students will create a show segment for The Amazing Race for another class.

Students were asked to assess the role of censorship in American society through a study of banned books in America. Students engaged in reading a banned book, writing a persuasive essay, and participated in a mock trial around issues of censorship.

Students generated their own questions about the history of South Africa. These questions guided the activities and smaller projects leading up to the culminating exhibition, where students researched and presented their answer to their question in a powerpoint presentation.

Students investigate the role of microorganisms in causing disease. They also study the impact of a public health infrastructure, along with medical and pharmaceutical advances, on the evolution of microorganisms.

Elementary students create interactive stories involving family histories with choices that reflect historical probability.

What was the impact of various historical and contemporary civil rights and reform movements on US society? After studying various civil rights issues in class, the students were assigned a culminating project to showcase one specific movement in our Civil Rights Museum for Exhibition Night.  Products included biographies, art pieces, modern world connections, informational pamphlets, timelines, and an interactive component.

Students study energy transfer and biomes in science, and look at the history of industrialization in specific developed and developing countries.  This project is an exploration of climate and weather, the factors that lead to climate change, how industrialization has affected climate, and how countries are responding to climate concerns and industrial development.

Upper Division students prepared for a talkshow exhibition about the experience of slavery and civil war through various viewpoints. Students were required to compare an aspect of slavery/civil war in America and in a Spanish-speaking country.

The Principal will explain to the students that a new discipline plan is needed for the school. They will challenge the students to create rules for a specific area of the school. The students will create a poster identifying their rules. The students will also create a commercial selling their rules to other schools.

Students take on the role of crime scene investigators to solve a murder that has occurred at the school.

Students become aware of stereotypes, and give them strategies to avoid using stereotypes.

Students will gather, analyze, interpret, and synthesize historical information regarding how past civilizations have contributed to the advancement of democracy in today’s world as well as use that information to make appropriate decisions regarding the advancement of democracy in countries where democracy is not a way of life.

Students will describe the effect of climate change on the environment and tourism of Spanish-speaking countries.