At various times during the school year, EHS students use Washington as a living laboratory to augment their classroom work, doing everything from polling people on current issues to running ecological experiments on local streams to using the shape of government buildings to test geometric theorems.
Past Class Projects
Honors
Government Class Polled on Election 2008 Frontrunners
The Honors Government
class traveled into Washington and polled almost 200 people on the National Mall
on the following:
-
Who the respondents
believed was the most likely winner of the 2008 election at this point,
regardless of their personal choice, and
-
What were the two
most important issues that would impact the outcome of the 2008 election?
The poll was part of a
larger group research project analyzing the 2008 frontrunners.
US
History Section Researched Venezuelan Oil issues, US Relations
In conjunction with
EHS's new Global Issues Program (see main page), a US History section researched
the relationship between the US and Venezuela as it relates to oil and other key
issues. The class tied its research to its study of US-Saudi-OPEC
relations in the 1970s, and discussed its findings with an American lobbyist who
represents the Venezuelan oil ministry in its dealings with the US Government.
AP
Biology & Freshwater Ecology Classes Conducted Tests on local Ecosystems
Throughout the Fall, the
AP Biology and Freshwater Ecology classes visited local ecosystem (streams,
rivers and meadows, mostly as part of ongoing projects that test the level of
pollutants.
Honors
Government Class Researched Israeli-Syrian Nuclear Relations; Impact on US
Policy
The class studied
Israel's 09/06/07 air strike on a suspected nuclear facility in Syria from the perspective
of understanding Syria's possible motivation for developing nuclear
weapons, and what the US might do in response. The students discussed
their findings with the Director of the Syria Levant Office at the US State
Department.
AP
Environmental Science Class Conducted Experiments
The class compared the
biological diversity of the local fauna based on a-biotic conditions (dissolved
oxygen, nitrogen, ammonia, and Phosphate levels) against historical data and
data collected from the school's pond. T he diversity is different based on the
varied environmental conditions.
Spanish
1 Class Engaged in "Target Practice"
A Spanish one class
recently visited a local Target store with bilingual signage to enhance the
class members' everyday vocabulary.
Honors
Government Class Created a Mock National Intelligence Estimate for Iran
The students researched and analyzed the
threat posed by Iran in the following areas: Terrorism, Weapons of Mass
Destruction, Conventional Weapons and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
They discussed their findings with a former CIA analyst, himself the author of a
National Intelligence Estimate, at the Institute for Defense Analysis.
AP
Biology Class Learned About Fermentation at a Local Microbrewery
The head brewer talked about the
metabolic capacities of yeast and how that organism is used in the breakdown of
sugars in the fermentation process. He also discussed enzymes present in the
grains and how they create the sugars used by the yeast. Different strains of
yeast and their use in similar processes were also highlighted.
Honors
Government Scored Presidential Candidates on their Economic Plans
After reading about President Clinton's
difficulties in reconciling his campaign promises with economic/fiscal reality
in 1992-1993, the government students examined the economic plans of the major
presidential candidates, mainly to see what impact they'd have on the federal
budget deficit. They discussed their findings with an expert at the
Concord Coalition, a balanced budget advocacy organization.
Honors
Government Analyzed New Class of Navy Destroyer
Whenever the US military develops a new
major weapons system, members of Congress vote for (or reject it) based on their
evaluation of how the system will be used, what economic impact it has on their
state or district and what political impact it may have on the member
him/herself. In this context, the class examined the DDG1000
"Stealth" destroyer, and were briefed on the ship by a naval officer
and civilian employees of the DDG1000 program office at the Washington Naval
Yard.