Showing Our Thinking: Analysis and Synthesis with Hexagonal Thinking

This week, the Seabury middle school students completed a final assessment for our study of Refugees where they connected ideas from our short story unit, their memoirs, economics, and the testimonies we heard from modern day and historical refugees.

In groups, students discussed where to place hexagons labeled with characters, people, places, and terms. Individually, they chose connections and explored and explained them in writing.

Listening to the students discuss connections, explain their thinking to one another, and deciding how to collaborate revealed the creativity of the students' thought processes.

As ideas took shape, each group formed their own connections.

Using an Economic Lens : Environment

Middle school students at Seabury produced projects that reflected their learning about the forest and the costs and benefits of using it as a resource. Seabury encourages students to think about concepts deeply and to try and understand complex issues. The people of Washington and indeed the US use Washington forests as an important resource, this use benefits not only logging companies and forest owners, but also students learned how sustainable forestry benefits education, animals, and even the forest itself.

The students first engaged in research, they read articles, watched videos, and interviewed a Washington Department of Natural Resources Forester. They then, had to make decisions and think of alternatives for the sale of an imagined timber sale. 

Here are some of the results:

Timber Podcast

Timber Project Infographic