VanGorden 5th Grade Classes Working on Real-World Problems

The students in Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Penny's 5th grade Math and ELA classes at VanGorden have been working on a complex real-world problem:

Would a tiny house community be a good idea for Liberty Township? They researched the environmental, economic, zoning, and political factors that go into making a decision like this in a community, then students designed a variety of tiny houses that would fit the standards they learned about. From there, students created presentations and pitched their tiny house ideas to the "city council," a group of 5th grade advanced math students who were charged with evaluating all the information, then making the final decision about the proposed community. A very special guest, Liberty Township Trustee Steve Schramm, met with the city council to bring the simulation into the real world, helping them make informed decisions about the tiny house community project. Thank you, Mr. Schramm, Mrs. Newman, and Mrs. Penny for providing this amazing experience for some of VanGorden's 5th graders! (Students posing with Mr. Schramm in photo at bottom of page from left to right: Eli Pond, Aloiye Ekhaeyemhe, Emmett Heinrich, Susanna Ellis, Lauren Helms)