SK 107 has been learning all about the city of Chicago. We began by discussing how a city is a place where many people live closely together, bringing together a great variety of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

The students explored Chicago’s history, from its early days to the present, focusing on some of the iconic buildings that define our amazing skyline. They sketched and created building models using recycled boxes and tubes, which were proudly displayed in the hallways for former students to admire and reminisce about their own experiences in SK.

This year’s SK trip “of Chicago” included a visit to the Art Institute. Since the beginning of the year, students have been studying and sketching self-portraits each month, examining their families, names, and what makes them unique. This personal exploration seamlessly connected with the art and sculptures they encountered at the museum! We also visited The Bean in Millennium Park, where we admired the skyline buildings we had studied.

After the Chicago field trip, students participated in hands-on extension activities, such as constructing buildings out of foam blocks and shaving cream. They also designed their own imaginative buildings, featuring heart-shaped rainbow gems, slides, and creative number patterns. We shared our designs and visions, just like the engineers and designers we read about in Andrea Beaty’s books, Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect.

If you were to design a building, what would it look like?