Hello fellow educators!
I want your help. I have heard of PBL (project-based learning) a lot lately, but each time I looked at it, I thought it would be a lot of work and at those particular junctions in my life, I wasn't looking for "more work."
Well, I still don't want more work (who does, really?), but I think I am ready to give it a try.
Here's what I'm looking for.
Kelly, Heather, and I do a WWII foldable lapbook every year in social studies. If you check out this link about Projects vs. PBL, you'll see that this falls under "Projects" in a major way! This equates to disappointment on my end, folks.
We want to revamp this project to make it more PBL than plain ol' project (POP, my new acronym, if you will).
The first step is to start with the end in mind. WELL, DANG! That's the part I'm having trouble with!
I want the kiddos to "own" more of this project, but I do have a couple of thoughts I'd like to integrate.
Normally, along with our 5th grade social studies standards, we do Number the Stars for a read aloud. We also want to incorporate either all or just parts of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas along with it.
Here's my train of thought...
1) In Number the Stars, the girls know something is wrong, but they aren't sure just how bad or how serious everything is until the end of the book
2) In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, the theme is quite similar
3) In Germany, the theme is still there. People were mesmerized by Hitler, only learning later in the timeline how horrible he truly was.
I want to do something with these themes. I want the learning about Hitler, the other leaders of the Axis Powers, and their aggression throughout Germany.
I looked at this site, and it also suggests tying the PBL into community service. Not 100% sure how I'll do that (though a few random ideas are floating through my brain...)
As you read this, does something brilliant pop into your brain? Please send your thoughts and ideas!!!!
Here's one website I'm using to research: http://www.pbl-online.org/pathway2.html
Thanks as always,
Dallas
Did you ever get any ideas or come up with your own? I ask because I am JUST NOW jumping off the cliff feet first into the PBL world ... I do not have a CLUE where to begin ... We are beginning the Outsiders next week when we return from Thanksgiving break, so I began looking for a PBL unit already in tact that I could "tweak" and make my own ... I just have NO CLUE where/how to begin ... I know we will be reading The Boy in Striped Pajamas in the spring - so my ADD brain drifted from The Outsiders to BiSP, and I came across your site. I would LOVE to know more - or for someone to mentor me and get me started in the right direction .... HELP ... :)
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get any ideas or come up with your own? I ask because I am JUST NOW jumping off the cliff feet first into the PBL world ... I do not have a CLUE where to begin ... We are beginning the Outsiders next week when we return from Thanksgiving break, so I began looking for a PBL unit already in tact that I could "tweak" and make my own ... I just have NO CLUE where/how to begin ... I know we will be reading The Boy in Striped Pajamas in the spring - so my ADD brain drifted from The Outsiders to BiSP, and I came across your site. I would LOVE to know more - or for someone to mentor me and get me started in the right direction .... HELP ... :)
ReplyDelete