Patricia Forg
English Teacher
Teaching Outside the Classroom
Intersession
While working at High Tech High, I had the unique and wonderful opportunity to facilitate an Intersession experience. Intersession is a 2-week period in which students get to engage in a "course" of their choice, in which they explore various hobbies, experiences, and new learning opportunities. What started as a simple 'watersports' Intersession turned into sailing, kayaking, viewing ancient indigenous dwellings, driving 1600 miles, and seeing the Grand Canyon.
Week One
During the first week of Intersession, students took a sailing course in which they learned how to navigate a Hobie sailboat in San Diego's Mission Bay. Of the sixteen students who participated in this Intersession, none of them had been sailing before. Students worked together in groups of four to master this new skill, and their teamwork paid off as they sailed around the entirety of Mission Bay with confidence.
When students were not sailing, they were enjoying their time swimming, and those with experience taught their peers how to paddle board. When the weather was too cold to be in the water, students all worked together to pitch in for a trip to San Diego's Bel Mont park for an afternoon of rides and games.
Week Two
During the second week of Intersession, we piled into cars and began our long journey to Arizona. We make a pit stop at Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, the students' first of several experiences viewing and interpreting the meaning of petroglyphs left behind by indigenous peoples hundreds of years ago. Our first stop saw us in Lost Dutchman state Park at the foot of Superstition Mountain, riddled with myths and legends of lost treasure and restless spirits.
We then made our way to Lees Ferry Campground on the Colorado River in Glen Canyon, where students kayaked 11 miles downriver and through Horseshoe Bend, one of the most photographed places in the United States. During our kayaking trip, we stopped at the Descending Sheep Petroglyph Panel and learned the history of these petroglyphs, what they represent, and how they were used for communication.
We made the drive from Lees Ferry to the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon, where students were able to explore various viewpoints of the remarkable landscape, learn about the canyon's geological patterns, and enjoy a short hike.
Before returning home, students were also able to view Montezuma's Castle, a remarkably well-preserved cliffside dwelling of the ancient Sinagua people. Students learned about the reasoning behind cliffside dwellings, the usefulness of the terrain, as well as the ingenuity behind the Sinagua's lifestyles and food preservation techniques.
