The Project I created Polyhedra City as a yearlong project that involves math, history, reading, art, and writing. It's a city made of polyhedra structures, built entirely by the students. They use paper, cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, shoe boxes and any other material that we could find. During the process, they read about the history of New York City and the immigrants who built it. This has a powerful impact on the children, many of whose parents are immigrants.
Students keep a journal describing what they accomplished for the day, what they learned.
We get parents involved by inviting them to work on the project with their children. At the end of the year, there is a major event when parents are invited to see Polyhedra City, which by this time has filled up an entire hallway. Astonished, they listen as their young children, even those who began the year with little English, explain the geometry behind their creation. I think the students have really responded to seeing three of their teachers working together, being friends, patting each other on the back and laughing together. They see us sharing ideas and sharing our materials.