Category: Project Work

Second Graders Become Published Authors

Saklan’s second graders recently celebrated the culmination of their Project Based Learning unit, The Secret Life of Seeds, by becoming published authors and sharing their work with younger students across campus.

Centered around the driving question, If a seed could talk, what story would it tell about how it travels?, the project invited students to combine scientific inquiry with imagination and storytelling. Throughout the unit, students explored the many ways seeds travel, survive, and grow, studying methods of seed dispersal such as wind, water, and animals. Each student selected a specific seed to research before creating an original narrative that followed the seed’s unique journey.

As students moved through the writing process, they experienced firsthand how ideas develop and strengthen over time. Early brainstorming and planning sessions helped students organize both the scientific concepts they wanted to teach and the creative elements they hoped to include in their stories. During drafting, students experimented with voice, dialogue, and storytelling techniques as they transformed seeds into characters with adventures, challenges, and destinations.

Revision became one of the most meaningful parts of the project. Students carefully reread their work to strengthen descriptions, clarify scientific explanations, and make their stories more engaging for readers. Peer feedback conversations encouraged students to think about their writing in new ways and reinforced the idea that strong writing develops through reflection, collaboration, and persistence.

The project culminated in a series of “Meet the Author” events held in the library with ECE, Kindergarten, and First Grade classes. During these special visits, second graders proudly read their published books aloud, answered questions about their stories and scientific research, and stepped into the role of confident authors and experts. Sharing their work with younger students gave second graders an authentic audience and highlighted the meaningful connections between literacy, science, and community.

The Secret Life of Seeds beautifully reflected the inquiry, creativity, and communication that are central to Saklan’s Project Based Learning approach. Most importantly, students experienced the joy and power of using their voices and ideas to teach, inspire, and connect with others.

#SaklanProjectWork

Museum of the Future

Opening on Wednesday, May 20 at 10:05 a.m. in the Humanities Room

Saklan’s sixth graders are wrapping up their final Project Based Learning unit of the year with an immersive exploration of ancient Greece and its enduring influence on modern society. Students investigated the driving question: What important stories can we tell as curators about connections between 21st century America and ancient Greece?

This essential question has allowed students to weave together many of the themes they have explored throughout the year, including the role of museums, the work of archaeologists and historians, the impact of perspective and bias, and the relationship between power and storytelling.

As part of their studies, students examined a variety of artifacts from the Legion of Honor connected to ancient Greek medicine, sports, gender roles, functional art, government, education, and more. Through guided discussions and inquiry, they explored how these artifacts reveal stories about both ancient civilizations and the world we live in today.

Students were introduced to multiple ways to approach the driving question, and each student selected a topic or connection that felt most meaningful to them. Some chose to dive deeper into themes discussed collaboratively in class, while others pursued entirely original interpretations and connections. Their work reflects not only historical understanding, but also creativity, critical thinking, and personal voice.

The culmination of this project will be Saklan’s “Museum of the Future,” where students will showcase their curatorial responses and share the stories they believe are most important to tell. Families are invited to join the sixth graders on Wednesday, May 20 at 10:05 a.m. in the Humanities Room to experience this exciting exhibition and celebrate the students’ learning and insight.

#SaklanProjectWork

Things That Go!

If you’ve stepped into the Owlet classroom recently, you may have noticed clouds floating overhead and airplanes soaring through the room. That’s because the Owlets have been immersed in an exciting study of air transportation as part of their “Things That Go!” project work. Through hands-on exploration, creative design, and visits from experts, students have been discovering how humans travel through the sky and how flight shapes the way we see the world.

After studying ground-based transportation, the class began studying air transportation with a paper airplane challenge. Each Owlet designed, decorated, and named their own airplane before testing their flying skills in a game inspired by cornhole. Drawing on previous science lessons with Ms. O, students remembered that the best way to launch a paper airplane is by aiming upward toward the sky rather than downward toward the ground.

Once students mastered the basics of flight, the challenge became even more exciting. Different-sized targets were added for airplanes to fly through, each worth a different number of points. As students practiced launching their planes toward the targets, they strengthened hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and perseverance. While it was tricky at first, many Owlets improved their accuracy through persistence and teamwork.

The Owlets also explored the history of aviation by learning about famous pilot Amelia Earhart. After reading about her flights across the Atlantic Ocean, students discussed how landscapes appear differently when viewed from above. This sparked a conversation about perspective and how our viewpoint changes what we see. Students reflected on how objects appear from the ground compared to the sky, where everything can seem flat like a map. Inspired by this idea, the Owlets created their own “bird’s-eye view” drawings, imagining the world from a pilot’s perspective.

Throughout the study, the Owlets learned from several special visitors who shared their expertise about transportation and flight. A Hoot Owl friend introduced students to the world’s fastest train in China, which uses powerful magnets and can travel up to 286 miles per hour. Students noticed similarities between the train and BART, especially its pointed nose designed to help it move faster through the air.

The class also connected virtually with Louis, the uncle of an Owlet, who shared his expertise about airplanes. He explained that building airplanes can feel similar to building with Legos and introduced students to the four forces that help planes fly: thrust, lift, drag, and gravity. Students asked thoughtful questions and were amazed to learn that the SR-71 Blackbird can travel up to 2,000 miles per hour, while smaller propeller planes travel much more slowly. They also discovered that airplanes use jet fuel, a stronger type of gasoline.

In addition, two former Owlets (now kindergartners) returned to the classroom to share what they know about airplane travel. They taught students about turbulence, airplane parts, and how pilots communicate with air traffic control during flights. Students also learned that airplanes land on their back wheels first for safety and that the plane’s pointed nose helps it move smoothly through the air.

The Owlets’ exploration of transportation has combined science, creativity, engineering, storytelling, and collaboration in meaningful and joyful ways. Families are invited to learn more about these discoveries and celebrate the students’ work at the Owlets’ Things That Go! culmination on Thursday, May 21, at 8:30 a.m.

#SaklanProjectWork

Improving Saklan’s Community Spaces

Saklan’s seventh-grade students have been exploring the role of community spaces through an engaging Humanities Project Based Learning unit centered on the driving question: How can we improve our shared public spaces to better meet the needs and reflect the values of our community?

As the culminating project for the unit, students are developing thoughtful and practical proposals for improving one of the most meaningful shared spaces in their daily lives: The Saklan School campus. Families are invited to join the seventh graders on Wednesday, May 20, at 10:15 a.m. in the Humanities Room to hear students present their ideas for enhancing our campus community.

The project began with students reflecting on the changes already made to Saklan’s campus during the current school year. Together, they identified several updates, including the addition of all-gender bathrooms in the Lower School, a new net above the sports court fence, the construction of the redwood deck, and the installation of larger middle school lockers. Working in small groups, students evaluated whether these changes improved the campus experience and considered how they might be enhanced further.

From there, students conducted a detailed assessment of the school grounds, examining buildings, outdoor areas, and the campus perimeter. Each group identified spaces that were functioning successfully, areas that could be improved, and the reasons behind their evaluations. This process encouraged students to think critically about how design impacts the way people interact with and experience shared environments.

The unit then expanded into a historical exploration of community spaces in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Through a gallery walk featuring unlabeled images from the Maya, Aztec/Mexica, and Inka civilizations, students analyzed architecture and public spaces while considering the cultural values they reflected. Students also engaged in discussions about the legacy of Christopher Columbus, examining differing perspectives on why he remains widely recognized and whether he should continue to be celebrated.

Working in expert groups, students studied one of the three civilizations in greater depth, learning about the geography, climate, and major achievements that shaped each society. Individually, students then selected a pre-Columbian structure or community space to investigate more closely. They explored why the space was created, how it was used, what needs it fulfilled, the materials used in its construction, and the factors that influenced its design.

As students continued refining their understanding of successful community spaces, they also examined examples from the modern world, including a visit to a contemporary temple. Throughout the process, students connected lessons from the past and present to their own campus community, using their research and observations to inform their final proposals.

The project has encouraged seventh graders to think deeply about the relationship between physical spaces and community values, while empowering them to imagine how thoughtful design can improve everyday experiences for others.

#SaklanProjectWork #SaklanCommunity

Once Upon a Time in Kindergarten

Kindergarten students at Saklan have been immersed in a magical world of storytelling as their Project work has focused on fairy tale writing. The classroom has been filled with excitement as students bring imaginative characters and adventures to life. Dragons, evil magicians, brave princesses, talking animals, and mysterious villains have all found their way into their original stories.

While the final stories are full of creativity and humor, students are also learning an important lesson about the writing process: strong writing begins long before the final draft. Weeks earlier, students engaged in a carefully scaffolded planning process designed to build an understanding of story structure and organization.

Using a color-coded system, students mapped out their ideas across six parts of a narrative: introducing the main character, beginning the adventure, presenting the problem and villain, building to the “uh oh” moment, resolving the conflict, and concluding with a happily ever after. By focusing on just a few sections at a time, students were able to thoughtfully develop their stories and gain confidence in structuring their ideas.

Once their plans were complete, students eagerly began the writing process. Over the following weeks, the classroom buzzed with focused energy as young authors transformed their plans into full fairy tales. To support their work, students used a growing class word bank, along with table-specific word lists, to help with spelling and vocabulary. They also leaned on one another, asking questions, offering suggestions, and celebrating each other’s ideas along the way.

This collaborative and supportive environment helped students not only strengthen their writing skills but also develop confidence and independence. The process was both challenging and rewarding, resulting in stories that are as unique as the students themselves.

You are invited to experience these original fairy tales firsthand during the Kindergarten culmination on Friday, May 15, at 9:00 a.m. It promises to be a joyful celebration of creativity, growth, and storytelling!

#SaklanProjectWork

From Brain Science to Real-Life Application

What does it look like when students take what they know about the brain and use it to help others? That question came to life as our fifth graders stepped into the heart of their project work.

Building on their recent brain science studies, students are now applying their understanding of how the brain interprets, reacts, and sometimes gets it wrong to design tools that help people better understand and manage emotions and relationships. Working in three teams, they are focused on self-awareness (naming feelings), self-regulation (calming tools), and connection (conflict resolution, active listening, and problem-solving). Each team is designing visual teaching tools and co-creating stories that show characters using the strategies, and younger students will soon get to help shape key elements.

Last week, teams presented their prototypes and story drafts to guest experts who support children every day. Riva and Emily joined the self-regulation team, bringing calming tools for students to test. Annette and Coach Rob shared their Peace Talks training and Conflict Corner guidelines with the connection team, and Peta supported the self-awareness team in refining their tools using Zones of Regulation strategies. 

Students listened carefully, asked thoughtful questions, and immediately began refining their work.

One fifth grader captured the spirit of the project perfectly:

“We have a voice in project work. We made a real impact on the Redwood Grove earlier this year, and now we’re doing something that can help people understand their emotions and relationships. I like knowing our work matters.”

Families are invited to see this important work in action at CLAS on May 15, when fifth graders will present their projects and share the impact of their learning.

#SaklanProjectWork

Cross-Divisional Project Collaboration

Beyond reading buddies, Saklan projects are intentionally designed for meaningful student collaboration that authentically supports academic growth. This spring, middle school is using their music production skills for kindergarten’s fairy tale recordings, 6th grade helped 1st graders organize their expository writing, and 4th graders helped our Pre-K Hoot Owls refine their Venn diagram skills! 

Kindergarten and Middle School Music Production

How can we write and share our own fairy tales to spread magic and joy? Through answering this driving question, Kindergarten students have learned the elements of fairy tales and deepened their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to write and record their own original fairy tale stories. 

In preparation for their readers-theater style culmination on May 15th, students recorded their stories, and middle school students are creating original backing tracks to support the narrative elements of the fairy tale. Sound mixing the Kindergarten stories gives our middle schoolers an authentic application of their digital music production skills.

6th Grade and 1st Grade Expository Writing

All year 6th graders have worked on expository writing in Humanities. Recently, while preparing to write artifact labels for their PBL unit culmination, the Museum of the Future, sixth graders reviewed structure and organization in expository writing. To practice this work, sixth graders analyzed 1st grade report writing drafts on extreme weather. They completed individual writing conferences to support improving the structure and organization of the first-grade reports. Not only did the first graders get to work with the big kids in a middle school classroom, but the sixth graders had the opportunity to grapple with the deeper cognitive task of teaching and explaining elements of writing to a younger child. This work improved the content of the first-grade reports and solidified the sixth grader’s understanding of writing structures and organization, while building community across divisions.

Hoot Owl and 4th Grade Venn Diagrams

Venn diagrams are a useful tool for many grade levels to demonstrate understanding of academic content. This spring, our Pre-K class has been learning all about oceans while their 4th-grade reading buddies have been working on a PBL unit about the California Gold Rush. Both classes planned to use Venn diagrams as a learning tool, and teachers needed an opportunity for some one-on-one teaching and practice. It was natural for these classes to connect and engage in some cross-divisional content learning! 

With fourth graders guiding the learning, the buddies made Venn diagrams all about each other! They chatted and recorded what they had in common and what was different about each other. As they got to know each other better by completing the diagram, both classes also deepened their understanding of how to use a Venn diagram. When each class returned to their own project work, they employed the same learning tool at different developmental levels with different content.  

If you want to see final products and culminating events, stay tuned for the next week at Saklan emails for updates on ways to come see and celebrate our students’ spring project work!

#SaklanProjectWork

Preschool Rolls into Learning

As part of their Transportation Project, the Owlets enjoyed a special “Wheels Day,” focused on the types of transportation they can use themselves.

The sports court came alive with movement as students and staff propelled the wheels of roller skates, scooters, bikes, and skateboards. With teachers guiding and encouraging them, the Owlets practiced riding with awareness and care, demonstrating strong safety habits and teamwork as they looked out for one another.

Driven by student curiosity, the experience naturally led to a deeper exploration of safety gear. When the preschoolers noticed that one classmate was wearing more than just a helmet, they became eager to learn more. Together, they examined wrist guards, knee pads, and elbow pads, discussing how each piece protects different parts of the body.

Building on this interest, students used Model Magic to design and create their own safety gear. As they worked, they paid close attention to details like shape, straps, and padding. Through this hands-on activity, they discovered an important concept: protective gear is designed with a hard outer layer for safety and a soft inner layer for comfort.

Through play, observation, and creativity, the Owlets are not only learning about transportation—they are developing an understanding of safety, design, and how thoughtful choices help keep us protected.

#SaklanProjectWork #SaklanCuriosity

Safe at Home

First graders at Saklan are deepening their understanding of homes and safety through meaningful, real-world connections as part of their Homes Project Based Learning unit.

One area of interest for the students has been wildfires: how they start, how they impact homes, and what people can do to stay safe. To bring this learning to life, students welcomed guest expert (and Saklan parent) Firefighter Mason, who shared valuable safety tips and prevention strategies. He explained how firefighters work to protect the community and what families can do to reduce risk at home. This visit helped students better understand the critical role firefighters play and made the learning both relevant and memorable.

A highlight of the visit was Mason’s demonstration of his firefighter gear. Students watched with awe as he suited up, describing each piece, from his heavy boots to his helmet and fire-resistant clothing. They were especially surprised to learn how much the gear weighs and how it helps keep firefighters safe while they do their important work.

The learning continued with another special guest, Saklan’s Science Teacher, Ms. O. As part of the unit, students explored how to protect themselves and their homes during extreme weather conditions. Before her visit, students generated thoughtful questions, which Ms. O answered in engaging and accessible ways.

Through videos and images, students were introduced to a range of natural events, including tornadoes, earthquakes, strong winds, and hurricanes. These visuals helped bring complex concepts to life and sparked meaningful discussions about how such events can affect homes and communities.

Ms. O also guided students in thinking about how to prepare for different weather conditions, whether staying cool during extreme heat, keeping warm in cold temperatures, or making safe choices during emergencies. These lessons helped students see how science connects directly to their everyday lives.

Through these expert visits, first graders are not only learning about homes, but they are also developing the knowledge and awareness needed to stay safe and care for their communities.

#SaklanProjectWork

Designing Dreams

Third graders at Saklan are stepping into the role of architects with a new Project Based Learning unit that asks a compelling question: What if you could design a home that fits someone’s life perfectly—every inch intentional, every detail meaningful?

The unit began with imagination at the forefront. Inspired by If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen, students sketched their own dream tiny homes. Their ideas ranged from whimsical treehouse escapes to cleverly designed underground hideaways, each reflecting a unique blend of creativity and personal vision. As their designs took shape, students began to think more deeply about the purpose behind their choices.

From there, the learning shifted toward real-world application. Students explored why people choose to live in tiny homes and considered the challenges of designing within a limited space. They examined how architects must carefully balance wants and needs, making thoughtful decisions about how every inch is used.

This work is closely tied to their current math studies. By applying concepts of area and perimeter, students are discovering how mathematical thinking plays a critical role in planning functional spaces. Measuring, calculating, and adjusting their designs has helped them see math as a practical and powerful tool for problem-solving.

A highlight of the unit was a visit from guest expert Chris Avant of Canyon Design Build. Students had the opportunity to explore real blueprints and materials, including wood samples, glass, and color palettes. This hands-on experience brought an added layer of authenticity to their work and deepened their understanding of the design process.

Now working in collaborative teams, students are taking on the role of architects in earnest. They are developing thoughtful questions, interviewing “clients,” and learning to listen carefully to design homes that truly meet others’ needs. This phase of the project is strengthening their communication skills and fostering purposeful collaboration.

As the unit progresses, students are transforming their ideas into tangible creations through detailed blueprints and physical models. With each step, their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills continue to grow—demonstrating the power of learning that is both meaningful and deeply engaging.