Students turn fun in the snow into a lesson for life

by Marianne Morf

Educators call it Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW).  Fourth graders at Clear Creek Elementary School just call it fun.

A day spent building snow forts doesn’t sound like a very productive learning day, but teachers Troy Einertson, Melanie Marreel, Shawn Puttmann and Ruth Christensen have turned the entire experience-- which included much more than building, into a lesson all are bound to remember and use beyond the school  yard.

“We were brainstorming with (Curriculum Coordinator) Tracy Thomsen about  ways to create better learning for the kids,” explained Einertson.  “Somehow we stumbled upon snow forts and it was an idea that went big.”

Building snow forts was a one-day project, but preparation for the big day began weeks before and is still continuing.

Teachers successfully worked the building concept into their lessons, teaching students to figure area and volume, angles and mass.  Each student acted as an architect designing a fort in groups of four which could not be simply square or rectangle.  They eventually practiced their persuasive writing skills to share their ideas with their class, which ultimately voted to determine a winning design.

“The best part of this project was connecting what we learn in the classroom to the real world,” said Marreel.  “The students had to apply many different skills and strategies in order to come up with a final product.  The connection between their learning and it’s value beyond school was the best.”

The perfect day for snow fort building finally arrived Feb. 18 and the classes worked from 8:30 a.m. to 10:20 clearing snow and preparing a site.  They marked the fort perimeter with a stick, then spent the next three hours constructing their vision.

Each class named two foremen, and identified snow gatherers, block builders and wall builders.  

Einertson estimated his class’ finished product stood roughly four and one-half feet tall, using about 1,000 12x12 blocks of snow.  With each block estimated to weigh one-half pound, he said each class handled about one ton of snow.

“The plan was to build six-feet tall, but time and warm temperatures were working against us.  Still, it was quite an experience,” said  Einertson.

“The students learned how very important it is to communication with one another, and work together,” added Marreel.  “There were a