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In the words of Keri Smith, "Life is a Scavenger Hunt". This statement sets the tone for the type of learning that will take place in the project I'm planning for my students. Smith is the author of "How to be an Explorer of the World", which she describes as a "portable life museum". This book is all about stimulating curiosity and awareness of the world. When you pick up the book and turn the page, you quickly make the transition from passive reader to active participant. Each page contains prompts and creative exercises to spark critical thinking, observation, documentation, and creativity. The classroom set of books I'm submitting for funding will be a traveling library, to be shared among classrooms at different times throughout the course of a semester. Students will execute actives and projects through the lens of different subject areas, further enhancing their intellectual engagement and expanding the scope of their learning. My colleagues and I have set up an interdisciplinary framework for learning, which we collectively refer to as "The World". Each year we work together to develop a theme or concept for students to explore, and then implement it. Student learning culminates in a S.T.E.A.M. showcase at the end of the semester. This year, we have decided to focus on student's immediate environments, and how they experience it. In a hyper-connected​ world, we want to emphasize the importance of being "present" and simply noticing things with a discerning eye and a creative mind.
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