RISE celebrates student ingenuity, research excellence

North Royalton City Schools recently hosted the 2024 Research and Independent Study Extravaganza (RISE), showcasing the achievements of 61 enriched English language arts students from grades five through eight.

This year’s RISE event incorporated several objectives, fostering a comprehensive learning experience for the young scholars.

The independent study project objectives encompassed a diverse range of topics, encouraging students to delve into areas of their choice, historical events, ecological issues and social concerns. They developed research questions, conducted extensive research using credible resources, including primary sources and expert interviews for eighth-grade students.

Students planned and implemented their research, culminating in the development of research papers adhering to MLA format, complete with a works cited page. The depth of their work varied across grade levels, with fifth-grade students producing informational reports, while grades six through eight crafted research papers with focused questions and theses.

To communicate their research findings, students demonstrated remarkable creativity by designing and completing products of their choice. Fifth-grade students presented three-dimensional displays incorporating four products, while sixth-grade students opted for multimedia presentations accompanied by artifact boxes. Seventh-grade students created websites showcasing their research and pop culture connections and eighth-grade students utilized presentation tools to exhibit their work, including extensions to community agencies, legal cases, interviews and journalistic commentary.

The event culminated in oral presentations, providing students with the opportunity to share their knowledge and insights with a captivated audience.

RISE facilitated a platform for recognizing students’ interests and creativity while offering them a meaningful learning experience. With 41 consultants, including teachers, administrators, community members, and previous RISE participants from the class of 2024, the students received invaluable feedback on their completed projects. ∞