We do a lot of inter-disciplinary projects at Hyla because they allow students to create something. And in the act of creation, students cement their learning. To move from knowledge absorption to mastery, there is a complex zone where students must apply what they’ve learned and do something new with that information. “When they apply knowledge to create something new, that’s where the hard work happens,” says Suzanne. “Creation forces them to ask more and more questions,” she continues, “and reconcile the facts they know with the creative decisions they need to make.”    

7th graders have been working in this zone with a collaborative project that merges art and history, and specifically combines puppetry and the fall of the Roman Empire. In a combined art-history unit, students created a puppet show of vignettes about the empire’s collapse, each scene representing a different perspective on the historical events. David explained that storytelling is an effective tool for moving students toward knowledge mastery, an on-going skill. “I wanted the kids to tell a story,” said David. “I wanted them to show me that they understood the cause and effect of how great societies fail. Having to present it forces them to have to be clear with that. They can’t just tell a story – it has to have logic and context to it.”

Creative choices made in the art room, like character and type of clothing, needed be historically accurate and each choice challenged students to apply context and knowledge. Inevitably, that process of application plays out with challenges and stumbles – which only make Kate smile. “One of my favorite experiences in the art room,” she said, “is when something goes wrong and we get to figure it out.” While creating rod puppets (Sesame Street style) made of clay, students had to learn their way through a new medium as the air-dry clay cracked. Kate presented an array of solutions and from there “students got to self-select which strategy they were going to try,” Kate explained. These photos show the wide array of personality and expression in the puppets. Though based in researched historical accuracy, each skit was infused with student voice and humor. In the process of making it true, they also make it their own. As Suzanne says, “That’s how higher order thinking skills develop