This integrated learning project, titled Math Across Anchorage, invited students in Sophie Wildwood’s 2nd/3rd grade class to collaboratively design a large-scale, student-drawn map of Anchorage. Rooted in place-based learning, the activity combined elements of mathematics, geography, art, and community storytelling. Each student contributed one square to the grid, using coordinate mapping skills, scale, and spatial reasoning to represent landmarks, neighborhoods, and local features—from mountains and rivers to favorite pizza places and the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Labels and hand-drawn icons were added to bring dimension and personal relevance, allowing students to see Anchorage not only as a city but as a community they actively inhabit. This interdisciplinary piece fostered a strong sense of belonging, civic identity, and visual representation—bridging math with meaning, and cartography with creativity.

This immersive Alaska Studies unit invited students to explore the cultural traditions of Alaska’s Indigenous peoples through research, observation, and hands-on creation. Inspired by the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, located within the Anchorage Museum, students engaged in close looking and note-taking during a field trip to study artifacts and exhibits representing various Alaska Native cultural groups.

Each student then selected a group to study more deeply, crafting a 3D diorama or replica that reflected a specific aspect of that culture’s way of life—such as housing, fishing, or ceremonial practices. In tandem, they authored a short essay explaining their project, presented in a “museum-style” format to families, classrooms, community members, and Alaska Native Elders invited to the showcase.

Pictured here is a diorama and accompanying writing by Gavin S., who chose to represent Athabascan fishing racks. His thoughtful construction and writing demonstrate a meaningful grasp of the role subsistence practices play in Athabascan life and heritage. This project emphasized place-based education, cultural awareness, and multi-modal expression, while building bridges between school and community in a way that honored Indigenous knowledge.