Whittier sixth-graders show reading-meets-science project in school spotlight
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Summary
Sixth-grade students from Whittier School presented a cross-curricular unit tying an ELA study of historical yellow fever accounts to hands-on science experiments observing bacterial growth, telling the School Committee the work strengthened reading, evidence use and scientific thinking.
Principal Mike McLucas and Whittier's sixth-grade team brought students to the School Committee on Dec. 15 to demonstrate a cross-curricular unit that paired an ELA unit on yellow fever with a science investigation.
Student Caden opened the presentation: "Our sixth grade team worked on a lesson that connected our ELA unit on yellow fever with a science investigation," and several classmates described the unit's steps: reading historical texts about 1793 Philadelphia, forming three hypotheses (bacteria, contaminated materials, mosquitoes), swabbing school locations, growing bacteria samples in petri dishes, recording observations and writing evidence-based claims.
Students said the activity helped them practice reading skills (vocabulary, comprehension, citing evidence) while also learning scientific methods. One student summarized the pedagogical goal: the lesson made the ELA story feel "more real because we actually test one of the theories ourselves."
Principal McLucas and the superintendent praised the students' poise and noted the lesson aligns with district priorities for literacy and rigorous cross-curricular instruction. The committee excused the guests after the presentation; the spotlight was taken out of order by motion and vote earlier in the meeting.