Somewhere between sixth and ninth grades, an amazing transformation takes place in the early adolescent brain: the leap from concrete thinking to abstract thought. Parents, guardians, and educators see glimpses of "the big idea" coming through in sixth grade, although for many children, robust abstract thinking isn't truly mastered until the ninth grade. In the RDS Middle School, considerable teaching is framed around guiding students to think in these broad, conceptual strokes, and this week's presentations by sixth- and eighth-graders showcased the very best of this important developmental work:

• Sixth-grade students made their first forays towards broad conceptual thinking with their interdisciplinary Cultural Universals presentations. As an introduction to studying a range of ancient cultures over the course of the year, students have worked in depth to answer the questions: "What are the characteristics of all sustainable cultures and civilizations?," "What are the 'cultural universals' shared by successful civilizations throughout history and across geography?," thereby creating the framework through which they will move on to study the specific cultures of Ancient Greece, Egypt, China, India, and the Near East. Working together in small groups and with their math/science, humanities, technology, music, and art teachers, students created their own imaginary cultures, detailing aspects such as mythology and religion, food, physical geography, music, rites of passage, and more. Interdisciplinary presentations wove together public speaking, PowerPoint slides, ceramic "archeological artifacts," musical performance, written work, and intricate posterboards.
• Adele Madelo's eighth-grade history students presented creative group projects on aspects of the American Revolution, many featuring multi-media presentations or self-written skits. Far beyond reciting the dates, battles, facts, and figures, students researched broader, overarching themes: "turning points," women's roles in the revolution, the impact of -- and on -- Native Americans and African Americans, inspirational leaders, and more. "My goal is to inspire students to become critical thinkers by looking at history through these different lenses," explains Madelo. "I want their work with me to help them answer the big questions: 'What makes a good leader?', 'What issues continually raise conflict?', 'How does America respect differences?'