We emphasize projects at High Tech High because we believe they represent an effective pedagogy, offering multiple entry points for students with varying learning styles and academic experience. The projects described here range across the grade levels and academic disciplines, yet they share certain characteristics. Most important, they are all teacher-designed. They address essential questions that are relevant not only in the academic arena, but also in the world beyond school and in students' lives. They culminate in a product or performance, with intermediate products or "checkpoints" along the way. And finally, they all involve lots of reflection on the part of teachers and students.