How much do you know about finding cures for rare diseases or the plight of endangered animals? This month, sixth graders addressed important issues like these and shared their visions for how we can positively impact some of the world's most pressing problems. The "Transforming Our World" workshops are interactive presentations where students research an issue related to one of the United Nations' seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and then design a presentation to educate the audience. Audience participation is key to the workshops, with students incorporating quizzes and games using the Google Meet Board and Sandbox to engage the audience and help them retain the information.

The workshops are an interdisciplinary project between sixth grade English, science, social studies, Principles of Design (POD), Design and Digital Literacy classes, library, and math classes. In social studies, they identified problems that they have noticed or are aware of in the world. They continued this work in science class, narrowing down their topics, identifying a connection to one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and conducting in-depth research to gain a deeper understanding of the problem. In library, students learned how to select reliable resources for their research and the proper way to cite their sources.

In POD class, sixth graders began a design challenge to create one or two interactive components for their presentation. Using the Google Meet Board, students designed and tested features such as a true/false sorting challenge, a fun facts maze, and matching games that encouraged participants to remember important facts and think more deeply about their topic. Presenting their data in an organized, clear, and creative manner was also essential to the presentation. Students worked on creating infographics in math class that presented statistics and numerical trends related to their issue for the audience.

In English class, sixth graders worked with Lara Gleason to turn their organized research into a script for a five-minute presentation. With limited time to convey important information about their topic, students had to consider why they care about the topic and why others should care, identify facts that evoke emotions about the issue, and incorporate a call to action that empowers the audience with actionable steps they can take to make a difference. 

When it came time to present, students drew on the communication skills they had worked on throughout their time at Fay to deliver clear, engaging, and thoughtful presentations. After each workshop, the audience scanned a QR code to give each presenter specific feedback on what they learned, what the presenter did well, and any areas they could work on to improve their presentation.