2003-2004. Throughout the school year, teachers and parents supplemented the PACT curriculum with activities in gardening, cooking, literacy circles, physical education and music. They provided transportation for field trips relevant to their classroom studies, adding a valuable set of experiences for each student.

Arts Focus: Grades K-5. Provided 45 hours of arts education per child per year (in addition to the CSMA instruction). There were 5 disciplines: Clay, Paper, 3D, Drawing & Painting, and Textiles. Classes comprised of multi-age students who rotated through each discipline - learned about the medium, created art pieces and learned about its history/artists.

Science Fair: PACT hosted its first annual science fair. Ninety (90) PACT children from all grades participated in this optional and extracurricular activity (approx 50% of all PACT children). Experiments focused on electricity, biology, zoology, chromatography, physics, chemistry, magnetism, etc.

Constructing a neighborhood: Grade K/1. Children constructed a neighborhood complete with roads, street signs, a park, houses, businesses and services to better understand 'our town' geography and social studies. They then mapped their neighborhood and practiced giving and taking directions for getting around in it.

Kid Writing: Grades K/1. All PACT K/1 classes implemented a "Kid Writing" program where students wrote daily in their personal journals. The children wrote freely at their developmental level, read their story to an adult who then underwrites the "kid writing" with adult writing, thereby modeling the correct conventions and orthography.

Little Red Hen: Grades K/1. This interactive unit which featured the character of the Little Red Hen (played by a costumed parent) integrated science, math, social studies and language arts. Children helped plant and care for wheat seeds sowed in spring, then harvested the wheat in the fall. The students counted the grains, ground the wheat and made homemade wheat pancakes.

Quilting: Grades 2/3. Quilting was a year long theme in one 2/3 class. Students made quilt squares each month related to particular pieces of literature, science and social studies. In addition, the mathematical strands of geometry and fractions were explored each time students designed and stitched their quilt squares.

Stream Study: Grade 4. Students studied stream ecosystems and related environmental issues, performed chemical tests to monitor water pollution, and raised steelhead trout in the classroom which were then released to a local stream. This is another example of an integrated unit which supported science, math, social studies and language arts.

Native American Studies: Grades 2/3. In a Native American unit, children constructed a ½ size teepee and studied different tribes. As part of their studies, they divided into teams representing 6 tribes. They wrote reports, created crafts representing their tribes (e.g., pouches or bear-claw necklaces), participated in a Trading Post Day wherein they bartered and purchased products from each other.

Mural Walk: Grade 4. Students became better versed with local political issues via a walking tour of San Francisco murals led by a mural artist.

Cooperative Curriculum: Grade 4. PACT teacher worked with neighborhood teacher to plan numerous lesson plans in science, math and social studies. Children rotated among the classrooms with PACT parents managing the small groups.

Cooperative Science: Grade 5. PACT and neighborhood classroom teachers planned science units together. PACT parents assisted in preparing the hands-on materials. As a result, students in both PACT and neighborhood classes received rich, hands-on science explorations and experiments.

Animation Projects: Grades 5. The children studied animation through history, reviewed and discussed animation art, and created several animated pieces both individually and in teams. For instance, they created zoetropes (animation created on inside of a cylinder), clay animation, and 20-second animation pieces that were compiled into a movie.

Shakespeare Performance: Grade 5. Children studied Shakespeare and performed Midsummer's Night's Dream. The kids were responsible for all casting, set design, publicity, and some directing.