Understanding Our City

Our second graders have been learning about cities in social studies and took a deep dive into understanding the many types of businesses and services that go into making a city function. They explored how some are needs, like schools and hospitals, and some are wants, like toy stores or movie theaters. They came to the ChangeMaker Lab to collaboratively design and build the many structures that will serve the needs of their city’s members, and then worked as a full class to arrange their contributions to the city across a neighborhood street grid.

Meanwhile in Middle School, our sixth graders have been researching neighborhoods and making maps as part of their Our Changing City unit in Humanities. They spent time in the ChangeMaker Lab figuring out how to make paper circuits and used LEDs to illuminate important features of their detailed neighborhood maps. Many students learned to solder as part of their process!

Lastly, students across many grades collaborated on using their changemaker skills to impact our city via the community garden! They worked together to turn an old rain barrel into a vermicompost bin. This project was an opportunity to practice skills like measurement to figure out where they would need to cut the barrel in half, sawing using new tools like a jigsaw, and drilling to make drainage holes in the bottom of the barrel. Lower and middle school students worked side by side helping each other to make this project happen. 

ChangeMakers can use their agency to make positive impacts on our community through their making skills in many ways, whether that’s through modeling projects that reflect our growing understanding, research and design projects to highlight community features, and hands-on installations like the way this worm compost bin will support our garden by turning organic waste into healthy soil! 

Read about how Live Oak cultivates a changemaker approach to the world.