Junior Unit

Jill Garland, who came to TPS in 2004 to be part of the Junior Unit and currently is a part of the Learning Resources team, shares why thematic studies are particularly important for Junior Unit students.

Thematic studies in Junior Unit are geared towards the developmental needs of 4th and 5th graders. At this age, students are increasingly able to think abstractly and tackle multi-step problems. They are craving connection to and independence from adults while deepening connections through social relationships. They are developing complex organizational skills while still adept at imaginative play. JU teachers know just how to draw students in with projects that engage students in a mission. The following projects, one from the 90’s and one from this year, demonstrate how project work animates learning.

Mission To Mars

“So, do you want to go to Mars? What do you have to figure out?”

These words launched the Junior Unit Mission to Mars, a project envisioned and brought to life by Michael Zimmerman who taught in the unit from 1988 to 2004. The Mission to Mars was a multi-layered project designed to “access the human desire to play and to imagine oneself in situations that are exciting.” In this mission, like all of the best multidisciplinary project work, the students are working together to solve problems–social and intellectual. As Michael pointed out in a recent reflection about the project, “The goal of what we do in school is on constantly shifting ground.” Technology changes dramatically. The intellectual problems we put before students are evolving rapidly. And yet, the interpersonal challenges of navigating teamwork and collaborative problem-solving remain the same.

Imaginative Inquiry

This year, during a study of China, students engaged in a process of imaginative inquiry, where they were tasked with designing a Chinese restaurant. This project, like the Mission to Mars, preserves a sense of play and imagination through a simulated sense of purpose. Working in mission-specific teams, 4th and 5th graders in JUB researched geography and culinary traditions of regions across China, planned menus that reflected authentic regional cuisine, created budgets, designed interiors, and wrote a sustainable business model while taking care to avoid cultural appropriation. And like their space-exploring predecessors, they grappled with the interpersonal challenges of collaboration. Students are building skills that are transferable to their relationships beyond the project. As JU teacher Forte described, this model allows students to work and talk through social issues in a playful, motivating, and safe environment. They are learning how to do the work of appreciating and sharing their skill set and owning their mistakes.