AMORY, Miss. (WTVA) - Jennifer Hood's fifth grade class is learning about math and science.
They're doing so using a method related to the new Common Core State Standards.
The students used their math and science knowledge to design a water park.
Hood said, "They had to calculate area and parameter. They also had to design it with spacing."
The young people also used science to make it an eco-friendly park.
It's those kinds of real-life situations that are given to students who must then talk about, write about, and ultimately figure out how to solve.
Hood said, "One person just doesn't go out and build a water park. It takes a team of people who collaborate and work together in the real world. I thought that was important for them to see."
Making the transition to this new way of learning requires a new way of teaching.
That's why the Amory School District has a group of 21 teachers and administrators who make up the teacher leadership team.
Superintendent Tony Cook said, "We look at different activities such as close reading and performance-based activities as a team. Those teachers then go back to their individual buildings. They present that during faculty meetings to all the teachers within their building."
Teacher Michelle Holman is one of those team members.
Holman said, "It's all about applying what they know to real-world situations. We're trying to make it as relevant as possible. We're trying to bring in lots of activities for them to work together and do more problem solving."
Teachers from East Amory Elementary are not the only ones on the leadership team. It's made up of teachers throughout the school district.
The hope is that the sooner teachers and other educators are familiar with Common Core, the sooner they can get both students and their parents used to this more rigorous curriculum.
