Raising the Bar

A few months ago, my students turned in their first big at-home projects. They had to choose two projects from a list to complete at home about Earthquakes.  The projects included designing their own working seismographs, creating edible faults, putting together earthquake emergency kits, etc. I LOVE letting my students pick what they want to complete. It gives them ownership and allows their creative juices to really get flowing!

This year when I presented the projects I told my kids that they needed to "go big or go home." I told them I expected the best. Their best. I reminded them that doing the "bare minimum" wasn't going to cut it. I even showed them several examples of projects from last year and told them what grade they received. I watched as jaws dropped when I help up poster after poster, exclaiming that most of the projects were "C" work. I told them they could do better.

The result? Phenomenal. My kids definitely raised the bar. For the most part, their projects were exceptional, and I was so impressed by the number of kids who pushed themselves to think outside the box and create fabulous projects. It's amazing what can happen when you push your kids to strive for their best. Sometimes, it takes a strong, firm expectation that you expect nothing but the most innovative and outstanding work to get that final product you so yearn for. So...push your kids! Raise the bar! Here are some examples of the outstanding work my kids produced!

A computer operated seismograph

Scale model of a two story house with pictures detailing possible earthquake safety hazards!


How do you raise the bar in your classroom? My kids are getting ready to start their "Moon Projects" for our space unit-and I can't WAIT to see what they come up with!