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Redwood students hit the streets of San Jose for a scavenger hunt

By Michele Leung

Redwood Middle School teachers put together a bit of history with a dash of space exploration and whole lot of freedom to explore when they sent their sixth-grade students on a scavenger hunt to discover landmarks in downtown San Jose as a year-end project.

The scavenger hunt was billed as a cumulative activity for sixth-grade students to recap the material they've learned over the year. But in addition, the scavenger hunt was also a team-building exercise for half the sixth-grade students, who comprise the Olympians at Redwood.

All the students at Redwood are divided into teams, with two teams per grade level. This organization allows all students to share the same set of teachers, who can plan lessons together.

"But we were not sure they bought into the concept of the team," said Caitlin Hoffman, team coordinator and French teacher.

Hoffman and the eight other teachers of the Olympian team, which included teachers in language arts, math, P.E. and music and a librarian, devised a scavenger hunt for their charges, the first time they have put together such an activity. More than 150 students descended on downtown San Jose, and their scavenger hunt led them to the San Jose Museum of Art and the Tech Museum to look at exhibits. Students also roamed around the Fairmont Hotel, Plaza de Cesar Chavez and the Tech Museum to look at the history and architecture of downtown buildings.

"We took our standards and made the curriculum come alive," Hoffman said.

Students answered questions and learned about the domed buildings they saw that day, a fire that was deliberately set that destroyed what was then Chinatown, and the weight density on Mars.

"It was a big hit," Hoffman said. "The kids brought cameras and clipboards. It was not a race. They worked together to solve things as a team."

Teachers have worked hard to foster team spirit all year long. There was a logo contest for T-shirts, which students donned at an Olympian team assembly that recognized their peers in categories such as the most helpful or most artistic. Teachers also organized a dodge ball tournament and made hundreds of bag lunches for children in Biloxi, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina ran through their town.

Community service is a big facet of who the Olympians are, Hoffman said.

Hoffman said while Redwood offers many academic opportunities to shine, the school still has a responsibility to look out for students' social and emotional well-being. The team idea has been one way to incorporate the social and emotional welfare of the students as part of the school day.

"We embraced those values and that mission, and we figured out how to operate under it," Hoffman said.