Grades 6–8 • Fair Lawn, New Jersey
How do the events of the past impact our lives today and how can we use this knowledge to positively impact the future? The Decades of Discovery program selects one decade each year for a year-long investigation through interdisciplinary and intergenerational activities. Week-long trivia contests, inter-generational dialogues, first-person accounts, and interactive classroom presentations are designed and created to showcase the decade. Students and staff dress in the full costumes of the era and participate in a variety of original events such as a live game show, fashion show, dance and sing-along. Community “grandparents” (the actual grandparents of students and seniors from the town senior center) participate in a full day of activities aimed to help participants to see their generation through their eyes, creating a bridge between generations for a better appreciation and understanding of each other. As the culture and circumstances of the decade become clear, students realize that just like the generations that came before them, they have power and the responsibility to affect change, to create opportunities and to overcome the challenges facing their own generation.