By Jenni Breeze, Marketing Specialist
jbreeze@legoeducation.us

Years of poor test scores and low performance led to Eastlawn Elementary starting this school year in a state of turnaround. The almost entirely new staff had an important goal: to improve their school by growing their students. The staff needed to help students have higher expectations, and they needed to move beyond what they had been doing in the traditional classroom setting. As part of this school-wide effort, Dr. Whitney Oakley, the school’s new principal, implemented a BuildToExpress special class that was both innovative and related to common core standards. This class was less about filling out activity sheets and more about thinking critically about content. It was important that the class grow the students’ vocabulary and improve writing skills as well as make valid connections to science, technology, engineering, and math.

After the staff saw a local school experience success with LEGO^® Education BuildToExpress, it seemed like the right fit for the Eastlawn students. According to Dr. Oakley, “the level of engagement and the capacity of the students who had been trained using the sets as well as their natural collaboration” was what caught her attention. When she returned to Eastlawn, rather than implementing the product into a few classrooms, she designed the class schedule so it would be applied school wide as a special class that every student (K-5) would get to attend at least once a week. “We needed the class to be cutting edge, but we knew they needed exposure as often as possible, not just every now and then,” said Dr. Oakley.

Implementation in the Classroom

Kim Griffis, instructor of the class, learned about BuildToExpress when Dr. Oakley made the decision to hold professional development at the school. Kim said the educational, hands-on training taught the teachers how to use BuildToExpress to engage students and develop challenges. “The trainer allowed us to interact with one another, which gave us the opportunity to feel like we were already teaching in the classroom.” Implementing the class has had a big impact on the students. Griffis said, “BuildToExpress brings out another side of the children; it’s like teaching the students to learn. Because there are no wrong answers, it makes learning more fun; kids are more enthusiastic about learning; and by using their imagination, their creations become whatever they want them to be.” Griffis uses the class to make real-world connections for students through her build challenges. When creating challenges, she uses examples of things going on in the news or in the students’ lives or subjects relevant to what they are learning in their other classes. They use the sets to build and then write about what they created. She has seen improvements in the students’ writing since using it as part of the challenge. Initially, when she would ask them to write details about their builds, they wrote one or two sentences, but over time the sentences have grown and the students now write paragraphs.

According to Elmer, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, using BuildToExpress is as easy as “using your imagination, following the teacher’s direction, and doing the best you can on the challenge.” By using BuildToExpress, the students at Eastlawn are engaging with one another and gaining a better understanding of their classmates, all while reflecting on topics that are curriculum relevant. “We are not trying to teach them to pass a test; we want them to go out and be productive citizens and be competitive in the job market. This kind of instruction is what is going to equip them to do just that,” said Oakley.

Equal Voice to All Students

Griffis says BuildToExpress makes a difference to all students including Exceptional Children (EC), English as a Second Language (ESL), and behavioral students: “We have no behavioral problems in the BuildToExpress room, and the students can communicate with each other through builds if they struggle to communicate verbally.” Outside of curriculum use, BuildToExpress has helped the students and Griffis get to know each other. “I’m seeing a different side of children that I’ve known for at least three or four years now. To see them growing and seeing what they can create has been a very rewarding experience.” Phileecia, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, said, “I’ve learned things that I never knew about my friends. Sometimes we do a lot of hunting, trying to figure out what is similar and what is different about us.”

With time constraints of school and testing pressures, BuildToExpress has provided Eastlawn Elementary the opportunity to go above and beyond, work in teams, and have some autonomy in deciding how they are going to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum. Students don’t get that everywhere. According to Dr. Oakley, “The greatest strength of BuildToExpress is that it gives children the opportunity to think creatively and to think critically. They’re synthesizing information, they’re organizing, and they’re applying skills that they are using in all subject areas.” All in all, “we needed to raise the bar and it’s provided that for us.”

By Jenni Breeze, Marketing Specialist
jbreeze@legoeducation.us

Years of poor test scores and low performance led to Eastlawn Elementary starting this school year in a state of turnaround. The almost entirely new staff had an important goal: to improve their school by growing their students. The staff needed to help students have higher expectations, and they needed to move beyond what they had been doing in the traditional classroom setting. As part of this school-wide effort, Dr. Whitney Oakley, the school’s new principal, implemented a BuildToExpress special class that was both innovative and related to common core standards. This class was less about filling out activity sheets and more about thinking critically about content. It was important that the class grow the students’ vocabulary and improve writing skills as well as make valid connections to science, technology, engineering, and math.

After the staff saw a local school experience success with LEGO^® Education BuildToExpress, it seemed like the right fit for the Eastlawn students. According to Dr. Oakley, “the level of engagement and the capacity of the students who had been trained using the sets as well as their natural collaboration” was what caught her attention. When she returned to Eastlawn, rather than implementing the product into a few classrooms, she designed the class schedule so it would be applied school wide as a special class that every student (K-5) would get to attend at least once a week. “We needed the class to be cutting edge, but we knew they needed exposure as often as possible, not just every now and then,” said Dr. Oakley.

Implementation in the Classroom

Kim Griffis, instructor of the class, learned about BuildToExpress when Dr. Oakley made the decision to hold professional development at the school. Kim said the educational, hands-on training taught the teachers how to use BuildToExpress to engage students and develop challenges. “The trainer allowed us to interact with one another, which gave us the opportunity to feel like we were already teaching in the classroom.” Implementing the class has had a big impact on the students. Griffis said, “BuildToExpress brings out another side of the children; it’s like teaching the students to learn. Because there are no wrong answers, it makes learning more fun; kids are more enthusiastic about learning; and by using their imagination, their creations become whatever they want them to be.” Griffis uses the class to make real-world connections for students through her build challenges. When creating challenges, she uses examples of things going on in the news or in the students’ lives or subjects relevant to what they are learning in their other classes. They use the sets to build and then write about what they created. She has seen improvements in the students’ writing since using it as part of the challenge. Initially, when she would ask them to write details about their builds, they wrote one or two sentences, but over time the sentences have grown and the students now write paragraphs.

According to Elmer, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, using BuildToExpress is as easy as “using your imagination, following the teacher’s direction, and doing the best you can on the challenge.” By using BuildToExpress, the students at Eastlawn are engaging with one another and gaining a better understanding of their classmates, all while reflecting on topics that are curriculum relevant. “We are not trying to teach them to pass a test; we want them to go out and be productive citizens and be competitive in the job market. This kind of instruction is what is going to equip them to do just that,” said Oakley.

Equal Voice to All Students

Griffis says BuildToExpress makes a difference to all students including Exceptional Children (EC), English as a Second Language (ESL), and behavioral students: “We have no behavioral problems in the BuildToExpress room, and the students can communicate with each other through builds if they struggle to communicate verbally.” Outside of curriculum use, BuildToExpress has helped the students and Griffis get to know each other. “I’m seeing a different side of children that I’ve known for at least three or four years now. To see them growing and seeing what they can create has been a very rewarding experience.” Phileecia, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, said, “I’ve learned things that I never knew about my friends. Sometimes we do a lot of hunting, trying to figure out what is similar and what is different about us.”

With time constraints of school and testing pressures, BuildToExpress has provided Eastlawn Elementary the opportunity to go above and beyond, work in teams, and have some autonomy in deciding how they are going to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum. Students don’t get that everywhere. According to Dr. Oakley, “The greatest strength of BuildToExpress is that it gives children the opportunity to think creatively and to think critically. They’re synthesizing information, they’re organizing, and they’re applying skills that they are using in all subject areas.” All in all, “we needed to raise the bar and it’s provided that for us.”

By Jenni Breeze, Marketing Specialist
jbreeze@legoeducation.us

Years of poor test scores and low performance led to Eastlawn Elementary starting this school year in a state of turnaround. The almost entirely new staff had an important goal: to improve their school by growing their students. The staff needed to help students have higher expectations, and they needed to move beyond what they had been doing in the traditional classroom setting. As part of this school-wide effort, Dr. Whitney Oakley, the school’s new principal, implemented a BuildToExpress special class that was both innovative and related to common core standards. This class was less about filling out activity sheets and more about thinking critically about content. It was important that the class grow the students’ vocabulary and improve writing skills as well as make valid connections to science, technology, engineering, and math.

After the staff saw a local school experience success with LEGO^® Education BuildToExpress, it seemed like the right fit for the Eastlawn students. According to Dr. Oakley, “the level of engagement and the capacity of the students who had been trained using the sets as well as their natural collaboration” was what caught her attention. When she returned to Eastlawn, rather than implementing the product into a few classrooms, she designed the class schedule so it would be applied school wide as a special class that every student (K-5) would get to attend at least once a week. “We needed the class to be cutting edge, but we knew they needed exposure as often as possible, not just every now and then,” said Dr. Oakley.

Implementation in the Classroom

Kim Griffis, instructor of the class, learned about BuildToExpress when Dr. Oakley made the decision to hold professional development at the school. Kim said the educational, hands-on training taught the teachers how to use BuildToExpress to engage students and develop challenges. “The trainer allowed us to interact with one another, which gave us the opportunity to feel like we were already teaching in the classroom.” Implementing the class has had a big impact on the students. Griffis said, “BuildToExpress brings out another side of the children; it’s like teaching the students to learn. Because there are no wrong answers, it makes learning more fun; kids are more enthusiastic about learning; and by using their imagination, their creations become whatever they want them to be.” Griffis uses the class to make real-world connections for students through her build challenges. When creating challenges, she uses examples of things going on in the news or in the students’ lives or subjects relevant to what they are learning in their other classes. They use the sets to build and then write about what they created. She has seen improvements in the students’ writing since using it as part of the challenge. Initially, when she would ask them to write details about their builds, they wrote one or two sentences, but over time the sentences have grown and the students now write paragraphs.

According to Elmer, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, using BuildToExpress is as easy as “using your imagination, following the teacher’s direction, and doing the best you can on the challenge.” By using BuildToExpress, the students at Eastlawn are engaging with one another and gaining a better understanding of their classmates, all while reflecting on topics that are curriculum relevant. “We are not trying to teach them to pass a test; we want them to go out and be productive citizens and be competitive in the job market. This kind of instruction is what is going to equip them to do just that,” said Oakley.

Equal Voice to All Students

Griffis says BuildToExpress makes a difference to all students including Exceptional Children (EC), English as a Second Language (ESL), and behavioral students: “We have no behavioral problems in the BuildToExpress room, and the students can communicate with each other through builds if they struggle to communicate verbally.” Outside of curriculum use, BuildToExpress has helped the students and Griffis get to know each other. “I’m seeing a different side of children that I’ve known for at least three or four years now. To see them growing and seeing what they can create has been a very rewarding experience.” Phileecia, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, said, “I’ve learned things that I never knew about my friends. Sometimes we do a lot of hunting, trying to figure out what is similar and what is different about us.”

With time constraints of school and testing pressures, BuildToExpress has provided Eastlawn Elementary the opportunity to go above and beyond, work in teams, and have some autonomy in deciding how they are going to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum. Students don’t get that everywhere. According to Dr. Oakley, “The greatest strength of BuildToExpress is that it gives children the opportunity to think creatively and to think critically. They’re synthesizing information, they’re organizing, and they’re applying skills that they are using in all subject areas.” All in all, “we needed to raise the bar and it’s provided that for us.”

By Jenni Breeze, Marketing Specialist
jbreeze@legoeducation.us

Years of poor test scores and low performance led to Eastlawn Elementary starting this school year in a state of turnaround. The almost entirely new staff had an important goal: to improve their school by growing their students. The staff needed to help students have higher expectations, and they needed to move beyond what they had been doing in the traditional classroom setting. As part of this school-wide effort, Dr. Whitney Oakley, the school’s new principal, implemented a BuildToExpress special class that was both innovative and related to common core standards. This class was less about filling out activity sheets and more about thinking critically about content. It was important that the class grow the students’ vocabulary and improve writing skills as well as make valid connections to science, technology, engineering, and math.

After the staff saw a local school experience success with LEGO^® Education BuildToExpress, it seemed like the right fit for the Eastlawn students. According to Dr. Oakley, “the level of engagement and the capacity of the students who had been trained using the sets as well as their natural collaboration” was what caught her attention. When she returned to Eastlawn, rather than implementing the product into a few classrooms, she designed the class schedule so it would be applied school wide as a special class that every student (K-5) would get to attend at least once a week. “We needed the class to be cutting edge, but we knew they needed exposure as often as possible, not just every now and then,” said Dr. Oakley.

Implementation in the Classroom

Kim Griffis, instructor of the class, learned about BuildToExpress when Dr. Oakley made the decision to hold professional development at the school. Kim said the educational, hands-on training taught the teachers how to use BuildToExpress to engage students and develop challenges. “The trainer allowed us to interact with one another, which gave us the opportunity to feel like we were already teaching in the classroom.” Implementing the class has had a big impact on the students. Griffis said, “BuildToExpress brings out another side of the children; it’s like teaching the students to learn. Because there are no wrong answers, it makes learning more fun; kids are more enthusiastic about learning; and by using their imagination, their creations become whatever they want them to be.” Griffis uses the class to make real-world connections for students through her build challenges. When creating challenges, she uses examples of things going on in the news or in the students’ lives or subjects relevant to what they are learning in their other classes. They use the sets to build and then write about what they created. She has seen improvements in the students’ writing since using it as part of the challenge. Initially, when she would ask them to write details about their builds, they wrote one or two sentences, but over time the sentences have grown and the students now write paragraphs.

According to Elmer, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, using BuildToExpress is as easy as “using your imagination, following the teacher’s direction, and doing the best you can on the challenge.” By using BuildToExpress, the students at Eastlawn are engaging with one another and gaining a better understanding of their classmates, all while reflecting on topics that are curriculum relevant. “We are not trying to teach them to pass a test; we want them to go out and be productive citizens and be competitive in the job market. This kind of instruction is what is going to equip them to do just that,” said Oakley.

Equal Voice to All Students

Griffis says BuildToExpress makes a difference to all students including Exceptional Children (EC), English as a Second Language (ESL), and behavioral students: “We have no behavioral problems in the BuildToExpress room, and the students can communicate with each other through builds if they struggle to communicate verbally.” Outside of curriculum use, BuildToExpress has helped the students and Griffis get to know each other. “I’m seeing a different side of children that I’ve known for at least three or four years now. To see them growing and seeing what they can create has been a very rewarding experience.” Phileecia, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, said, “I’ve learned things that I never knew about my friends. Sometimes we do a lot of hunting, trying to figure out what is similar and what is different about us.”

With time constraints of school and testing pressures, BuildToExpress has provided Eastlawn Elementary the opportunity to go above and beyond, work in teams, and have some autonomy in deciding how they are going to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum. Students don’t get that everywhere. According to Dr. Oakley, “The greatest strength of BuildToExpress is that it gives children the opportunity to think creatively and to think critically. They’re synthesizing information, they’re organizing, and they’re applying skills that they are using in all subject areas.” All in all, “we needed to raise the bar and it’s provided that for us.”

By Jenni Breeze, Marketing Specialist
jbreeze@legoeducation.us

Years of poor test scores and low performance led to Eastlawn Elementary starting this school year in a state of turnaround. The almost entirely new staff had an important goal: to improve their school by growing their students. The staff needed to help students have higher expectations, and they needed to move beyond what they had been doing in the traditional classroom setting. As part of this school-wide effort, Dr. Whitney Oakley, the school’s new principal, implemented a BuildToExpress special class that was both innovative and related to common core standards. This class was less about filling out activity sheets and more about thinking critically about content. It was important that the class grow the students’ vocabulary and improve writing skills as well as make valid connections to science, technology, engineering, and math.

After the staff saw a local school experience success with LEGO^® Education BuildToExpress, it seemed like the right fit for the Eastlawn students. According to Dr. Oakley, “the level of engagement and the capacity of the students who had been trained using the sets as well as their natural collaboration” was what caught her attention. When she returned to Eastlawn, rather than implementing the product into a few classrooms, she designed the class schedule so it would be applied school wide as a special class that every student (K-5) would get to attend at least once a week. “We needed the class to be cutting edge, but we knew they needed exposure as often as possible, not just every now and then,” said Dr. Oakley.

Implementation in the Classroom

Kim Griffis, instructor of the class, learned about BuildToExpress when Dr. Oakley made the decision to hold professional development at the school. Kim said the educational, hands-on training taught the teachers how to use BuildToExpress to engage students and develop challenges. “The trainer allowed us to interact with one another, which gave us the opportunity to feel like we were already teaching in the classroom.” Implementing the class has had a big impact on the students. Griffis said, “BuildToExpress brings out another side of the children; it’s like teaching the students to learn. Because there are no wrong answers, it makes learning more fun; kids are more enthusiastic about learning; and by using their imagination, their creations become whatever they want them to be.” Griffis uses the class to make real-world connections for students through her build challenges. When creating challenges, she uses examples of things going on in the news or in the students’ lives or subjects relevant to what they are learning in their other classes. They use the sets to build and then write about what they created. She has seen improvements in the students’ writing since using it as part of the challenge. Initially, when she would ask them to write details about their builds, they wrote one or two sentences, but over time the sentences have grown and the students now write paragraphs.

According to Elmer, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, using BuildToExpress is as easy as “using your imagination, following the teacher’s direction, and doing the best you can on the challenge.” By using BuildToExpress, the students at Eastlawn are engaging with one another and gaining a better understanding of their classmates, all while reflecting on topics that are curriculum relevant. “We are not trying to teach them to pass a test; we want them to go out and be productive citizens and be competitive in the job market. This kind of instruction is what is going to equip them to do just that,” said Oakley.

Equal Voice to All Students

Griffis says BuildToExpress makes a difference to all students including Exceptional Children (EC), English as a Second Language (ESL), and behavioral students: “We have no behavioral problems in the BuildToExpress room, and the students can communicate with each other through builds if they struggle to communicate verbally.” Outside of curriculum use, BuildToExpress has helped the students and Griffis get to know each other. “I’m seeing a different side of children that I’ve known for at least three or four years now. To see them growing and seeing what they can create has been a very rewarding experience.” Phileecia, a fourth-grade student at Eastlawn, said, “I’ve learned things that I never knew about my friends. Sometimes we do a lot of hunting, trying to figure out what is similar and what is different about us.”

With time constraints of school and testing pressures, BuildToExpress has provided Eastlawn Elementary the opportunity to go above and beyond, work in teams, and have some autonomy in deciding how they are going to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum. Students don’t get that everywhere. According to Dr. Oakley, “The greatest strength of BuildToExpress is that it gives children the opportunity to think creatively and to think critically. They’re synthesizing information, they’re organizing, and they’re applying skills that they are using in all subject areas.” All in all, “we needed to raise the bar and it’s provided that for us.”