Wredling Students Win At National Geographic Competition

ST. CHARLES, IL - From Community Unit School District 303: Seventh and eighth grade Wredling Middle School Infinity students competed in the GeoChallenge, a standards-based competition from the National Geographic Society that challenges student groups in grades five through eight to develop a creative solution to a real-world problem, at Illinois State University on April 6.

The 7th and 8th-grade Infinity students formed four and five-person groups in their social studies class. These groups respond to a problem, challenge, or critical issue a migratory species faced using research, collaboration, creativity, and communication to create and present real-world solutions while building skills in geography, mapmaking, storytelling, theatrical techniques, and video production.

Nine-hundred teams submitted entries across the nation. During the first round, students researched a migrating species' journey, created a map that shows the migratory path the species takes, designed and created an innovative physical model of a solution to obstacles the species encounters along its journey and creates and presents fact-based, theatrical video of the story that includes a call to action.

Teams that qualified for regional competitions in California, Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Texas competed on April 6. Students adapted their video into a seven-minute demonstration. They then presented in front of a panel of appraisers comprised of university professors and other volunteers and answered questions regarding their research and innovative solutions model.

Of the sixteen teams at the Illinois competition hosted at Illinois State University, Wredling Middle School represented ten of those teams. During the awards ceremony, Wredling won four of the five top prizes, including Most Compelling Call to Action and Best Team Work.

Image via Shutterstock / Phonlamai Photo