Subject area: Multiple subjects
Integrated subjects: Reading, writing, math, technology, social studies
Teacher: Suzanne Scott, counselor; entire staff (509) 921-2836
School: West Valley City School, West Valley S.D. (Spokane)
Grade level: 5-8
“Our biggest barrier is challenging ourselves to always think outside the box.”
Counselor Suzanne Scott
Abstract: Park Place is one of the most desirable squares on
the Monopoly board. In Spokane, Park Place, a retirement home, is a spot where
kids link their learning to the game of life. Each of the 140 students at the
public alternative West Valley City School is matched with a senior citizen,
many of whom live at Park Place. Through e-mail and visits, fifth- through eighth-graders
see the history they’re studying come alive in people who have been shaped
by its effects.
Students researched different eras—the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s—so
before they met their adopted grandma or grandpa, they understood the world
as it was when the senior was a child, teen or young adult. The project involved
writing a biography, then transforming it into a PowerPoint presentation complete
with scanned-in photos of the subjects. Students were motivated to excel, knowing
their presentation would be seen by parents at a couple of family nights and
by the seniors themselves at a picnic at Park Place.
In another project which combined technical writing, math and evolved into storytelling,
students took digital photos of their senior friends. Using grids, they then
drew the pictures in a different size. They interviewed their subjects, then,
as they were learning about embellishing stories, they told the seniors’
stories with some embellishments of their own.
Once a week, Park Place residents come to the school where the students teach
them to use computers, digital cameras and other technology. As a result, more
seniors at Park Place have started using computers there. Harriet, an 80-year-old
Park Place resident and a poet, contributed to a study on poetry. For May Day
students made 114 May Day baskets and enclosed poetry they had written.
The senior citizen connection is a natural fit for a school built around the
concept of a city. Just as Monopoly players can’t avoid taxes, utility
bills, following rules or the ups and downs of the Community Chest, West Valley
City School students daily face the realities of community life. They study
reading, writing, math and social studies in class from 8 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.
every day, then apply what they’ve learned in City Escape each afternoon.
Each student has a job, not just handed out randomly like rolls of the dice,
but landed through the application, résumé, reference and interview
process. They are trained for their positions, whether they’re entrepreneurs
or work for City Hall, the Courthouse, or law enforcement.
Each week payroll issues checks (in West Valley City School dollars) at three
pay levels; students pay, tuition and taxes out of their income. Friday afternoons,
they can spend any extra at the Marketplace. The goal isn’t to have the
most play money at the end; it is to perform their jobs well.
Connections to Goal 4
Students are assigned “jobs” which come with a job description,
related performance tasks and a rating scale for each task. There’s a
probation review after the first two weeks, and two performance reviews which
go into the student’s portfolio. Relevance often comes from listening
to the students and being open to their ideas. One girl, with an assignment
to investigate the Nez Perce Indians, created a magazine as her final product.
It was such a success, teachers later had students in health class work in small
groups to make their own health magazines.