Francis Bacon
Bacon Academy · Grade 1 · Module F

Build

Curiosity — "End-of-year deliverable: showing what you learned"

Thought Question to Ponder

"Of everything you learned this year, what's the one thing you'd want to show someone who's never met you?"

Posted Week 1 · left open · answered aloud by students on Week 6, Day 5
Standing Teacher Practice — Fact vs. Guess

When choosing a piece, the test isn't "which looks nicest" — it's "which one is actually true to what I learned and worked hard on." The same honesty standard applied to observations and inventions all year now gets applied to the child's own judgment of their own work.

How the day is structured →
  • Morning Circle — theme check-in
  • Outdoor Reflection Walk (lighter this module — looking back on where the year's learning happened, not gathering new material)
  • Movement / Free Play
  • Exhibition Studio (was Sketch/Invention/Storyteller's Studio) — curating, captioning, and assembling the portfolio
  • Story / Read-Aloud
  • Lunch + unstructured outdoor time
  • Rest / quiet time
  • Second Block — project/synthesis time
  • Closing Circle — share out
The Six Weeks
Week 1Looking Back

revisit each module and choose one favorite piece from each.

Day 1
  • Morning Circle: introduce the Big Question, no discussion yet. Outdoor: reflect on the year, much of which happened outside. Exhibition Studio: skip building — pull out and review saved work from Module A (Observe). Story: a read-aloud about sharing or showing your work. Second Block: dictate one favorite piece from Observe and why. Closing: share.
Day 2
  • Review Module B (Inquisitive) work. Exhibition Studio: pull the chosen piece. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate why it was chosen. Closing: share.
Day 3
  • Review Module C (Communities) work. Exhibition Studio: pull the chosen piece. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate why it was chosen. Closing: share.
Day 4
  • Review Module D (Imagineering) work. Exhibition Studio: pull the chosen piece. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate why it was chosen. Closing: share.
Day 5
  • Review Module E (Storytelling) work. Exhibition Studio: pull the chosen piece. Story: recap. Second Block: dictate why it was chosen. Closing: share — now holding five candidate pieces. Revisit Big Question.
Week 2Curating the Collection

a good collection isn't everything made this year — it's the pieces that tell the child's actual story.

Day 1
  • Introduce: a good collection shows the best of what tells your story, not everything you made. Exhibition Studio: lay out all five pieces, discuss what story they tell together. Story: a read-aloud about museums or collections. Second Block: dictate what connects all five pieces. Closing: share.
Day 2
  • Exhibition Studio: decide the order/arrangement — does it tell the story of their year? Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate the order and why. Closing: share.
Day 3
  • Exhibition Studio: create a simple title for the whole collection. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate the title and why. Closing: share.
Day 4
  • Exhibition Studio: begin dictated one-sentence captions for each piece — what it is and what they learned. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate captions for the first two or three pieces. Closing: share.
Day 5
  • Exhibition Studio: finish the remaining captions. Story: recap. Second Block: review the full captioned set. Closing: marinating nudge.
Week 3Practicing the Explanation

being able to explain a piece out loud, not just display it.

Day 1
  • Introduce: visitors will ask "tell me about this one" — practice answering. Second Block: practice explaining piece 1 (Observe) to a partner. Story: a read-aloud on explaining your work with confidence. Closing: share.
Day 2
  • Second Block: practice explaining piece 2 (Inquisitive). Story: read-aloud. Closing: share.
Day 3
  • Second Block: practice explaining piece 3 (Communities). Story: read-aloud. Closing: share.
Day 4
  • Second Block: practice explaining piece 4 (Imagineering). Story: read-aloud. Closing: share.
Day 5
  • Second Block: practice explaining piece 5 (Storytelling) and the collection's overall theme. Story: recap. Closing: share, marinating nudge.
Week 4Building the Display

the physical exhibition setup.

Day 1
  • Introduce: how will pieces be displayed (table, wall, folder)? Exhibition Studio: plan the physical layout. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: dictate the layout plan. Closing: share.
Day 2
  • Exhibition Studio: assemble physical display elements. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: continue assembly. Closing: share progress.
Day 3
  • Exhibition Studio: add captions to the physical display. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: continue. Closing: share.
Day 4
  • Exhibition Studio: add the collection's title/nameplate. Story: read-aloud. Second Block: finalize the display. Closing: share.
Day 5
  • Exhibition Studio: full review and adjustments. Story: recap. Second Block: class walks through each other's near-finished displays for encouragement. Closing: marinating nudge.
Week 5Full Rehearsal

dress rehearsal for a real audience (parents, another class, staff).

Day 1
  • Introduce: this week is rehearsal for the real exhibition day. Second Block: full run-through with a partner as "visitor," practicing the full explanation. Story: a read-aloud on presenting to an audience. Closing: share feedback.
Day 2
  • Second Block: run-through with a different partner, incorporate feedback. Story: read-aloud. Closing: share.
Day 3
  • Second Block: small-group rehearsal, a few "visitors" at once. Story: read-aloud. Closing: share.
Day 4
  • Second Block: whole-class mock exhibition — everyone briefly visits everyone. Story: recap. Closing: share what worked well.
Day 5
  • Second Block: final polish based on the mock exhibition. Story: recap. Closing: marinating nudge — real exhibition next week.
Week 6Big Question Week / Exhibition Day

present the year's work to a real audience and answer the year's final question.

Day 5 (Fri) — Exhibition Day
  • Morning Circle: reintroduce the Big Question one final time.
  • Rest of day restructured around the event: visitors (parents, older students, staff) walk through, and each child presents their collection — answering the Big Question as part of the presentation.
  • Closing Circle: celebrate the full year; preview Grade 2 ("The Order of Nature").
In Development — this module's day-shape and pacing are being refined with an experienced early-elementary educator before being finalized.
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