Subject area: Multidisciplinary
Coordinator: Pat Lassanske, (360) 604-4089
District: Evergreen School District, Vancouver
Grade level: 5, 8, 12
Abstract: The Evergreen School District is piloting Exit Projects
at the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades. The Exit Project is designed to demonstrate
Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements and Evergreen School
District Exit Outcomes. The projects create a connection between school and
community, and allow students to pursue a personal interest. The project is
designed to demonstrate the following Essential Academic Learning Requirements:
• to read with comprehension
• to write with skill
• to communicate effectively and responsibly
• to know and apply mathematics
To track progress, students will complete the following components:
• research on a topic of personal interest, which includes a data collection;
• an extended learning which includes an organized community experience;
• a compiled work portfolio;
• an oral presentation which includes a visual representation of the data which was collected;
• a tangible product; and
• a student reflection paper.
Each of these components is assessed using rubrics or checklists verifying completion.
Sample 5th-Grade Exit Project
Students have worked in partnership with the Evergreen Fish Hatchery. They have
integrated the learning of math, writing, communication skills, and science
into a partnership with the hatchery. They have mapped vegetation and trails.
They have made booklets and guidebooks for future visitors. They have documented
kinds of species and developed maps and guides which have been illustrated and
laminated. In the course of the four or five trips to the Evergreen Fish Hatchery
they actually used their math to calculate and interpret the data looking at
issues such as rate of growth. They have used their writing and reading skills
in reporting the data in compiling it into a booklet and developing display
boards which they used to present to other classes in the school. They also
showcased what they had learned at a districtwide showcase called “The
Night of the Stars.”
Students at Pioneer Elementary School have partnered with an outdoor school
to develop and to investigate the vegetation and animals. They were able to
develop and illustrate a map to scale of the different habitats. They developed
a worksheet to follow through on investigation. They looked at nonfiction books
and guidebooks to help them study in depth and to help them interpret the data
related to their focus. They then developed guidebooks which were given to fourth-grade
students who would be attending outdoor school. Students in fifth grade work
as a team to identify a project. They work together on all phases of the project.
Sample 8th-Grade Exit Project
Eighth grade students work independently on their projects. Receiving support
from their English and math teachers, they research a topic, represent their
findings using graphs and visual representations, and complete eight hours of
service related to their topic. To help students develop meaningful connections
between their topics and their service the district sponsored a service fair.
This year 30 organizations were present to share their organizations programs
and needs. Upon completion of their Exit projects, students make a presentation
to a small panel of community members and teachers.Below are just a few of the
projects students have done and their related service:
Health Risks of Smoking
Service - Developed a brochure and distributed it at schoolWeb Design
Service - Taught web page design to classBlindness
Service - Volunteered at Blind SchoolAlzheimers
Service - Nursing Home volunteerAnorexia
Service - Did class presentations