Inside a classroom at T.L. Reed, students are participating in "Ultimate Survival," a Gifted and Talented Education program offered through Kings Canyon Unified School District. The monthlong course encourages students to explore what it would take to survive in different environments around the world.
"We wanted them to be able to kind of step out of their box, learn something new, try something new," said Angela Tombach, the district's GATE coordinator.
As part of the program, students are reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, a novel about a 13-year-old boy who survives a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness and must learn to fend for himself.
The story serves as a foundation for students' projects, helping guide their research and understanding of survival strategies.
Fifth grader Carter Fox chose to focus on surviving in the Amazon rainforest. He researched the environment and developed a survival plan based on its conditions.
"Specifically, the Amazon rainforest is very moist on the ground, so we use an elevated structure to keep ourselves from getting wet and all the dangers below," Carter said.
Students explore topics such as food sources, shelter and safety precautions, compiling their findings into personalized survival guides.
They also learn universal signals and strategies that could help them in emergency situations.
"This is just a signal universally known for needing help and rescuing," Carter said as he explained, while showing his SOS sign.
Tombach said the program is designed to challenge students at all learning levels and encourage growth through more complex tasks.
"So, students at every level need to be challenged," she said. "They need to be put into some uncomfortable learning positions because that's how they're going to grow."
Carter said the experience has been both fun and practical, giving him skills he believes could be useful outside the classroom.
"It has been fun. We have learned, obviously, more skills that we can use in our lives, and if we ever get stuck in an area, we'll know what to do," he said.
At the end of the program, students will present their projects at an expo, where they will showcase what they learned and challenge their families to test their survival knowledge.
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