Mrs. Elliott’s English 12 students have been building homeless shelters in the courtyard. This project is designed to help students connect with the text, The Glass Castle (by Jeanette Walls). The memoir touches on homelessness, and students have been exploring the multiple definitions of homelessness.
For their project, students had to build a shelter large enough and safe enough for a person to survive. Each group was assigned a region (mountains, jungle, desert, etc.), and they had to take that into consideration while planning and building.
Groups presented on Thursday (Nov.6) and Friday (Nov. 7). Their shelters had to survive a wind and rain test. Students were evaluated on their design plan, construction, presentation of the shelter to their classmates and Mrs. Elliott, clean-up and disposal, reflection, and participation.
Students test their shelter (built for a rainforest) against a “wind storm.”
Mrs. Elliott tested the shelter (with all four occupants inside) with water.
Inside the shelter.
THE BULLDOG BARKER BLOG 