# data[].attributes.body
How can we help increase the population of bees and other pollinators?

http://www.jefcoed.com/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=1997994

https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/pblaboutbees

# data[].attributes.body
How can we build a safe and happy school community?

https://educ3620pblunits.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/pbl-unit-community-helpers/

https://www.sesd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=2121&dataid=1710&FileName=Community_Helpers_Social_Studies_Unit_Plan.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/DanielleRoussos/pbl-kindergarten-community-helpers-unit-danielle-roussos

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Project-Based-Learning-Activity-Create-A-Classroom-Community-PBL-2676450

a stretch, but maybe?
http://www2.davidson.k12.nc.us/pbl/eett/pblfiles/pattersn/flat%20stanley%20pbl.pdf

BATS!
http://digitaldivideandconquer.blogspot.com/2015/10/build-bat-cave.html

http://www.pbs.org/parents/wildkratts/activities/building-homes-for-bats/

Aimed at older kids, but there's a citizen science project: https://blog.scistarter.com/2014/10/halloween-citizen-science-classroom-answer-bat-call/

https://www.emaze.com/@ALORICFT

Home Depot Bat Box Kits

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pocket-PBL-Bats-A-Project-Based-Learning-Activity-3441055

# data[].attributes.body
How does weather affect our environment?

http://www2.davidson.k12.nc.us/pbl/eett/pblfiles/varner/PBL-weather.pdf

https://tiie.w3.uvm.edu/blog/extreme-weather-pbl-unit/#.W4Q2NuhKiUk

https://studylib.net/doc/6877638/pbl-weather-and-me-unit

https://www.regent.edu/acad/schedu/mathandsciencecenter/grants/documents/problem-based-learning-lessons/Grade%202%20Understanding%20Weather%20PBL.pdf

http://www.jefcoed.com/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=1998042

# data[].attributes.body
How do environmental changes impact GA's crop production and how can we support sustainable farming?

I've had a hard time finding rsources that match your PBL unit, but you may find some ideas in these sites:

https://blogs.sas.com/content/sascp/2017/02/13/building-scientific-literacy-farm-to-table-pbl/

http://www.envisionprojects.org/pub/docs/envision/index.htm

http://pblu.org/projects/schoolyard-habitat-project

https://hackthecurriculum.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/learning-about-climate-change-through-pbl/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Design-A-Green-Island-Climate-Change-Project-PBL-NGSS-Aligned-Editable-3154803

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PBL-EconomicFarming-Unit-3rd-4th-5th-6th-1086502

# data[].attributes.body
How are plants, humans, and animals interdependent upon one another?

http://www2.davidson.k12.nc.us/pbl/eett/EETT0506/Plant%20and%20Animals%20PBL.pdf

https://ngss.nsta.org/DisplayStandard.aspx?view=topic&id=8

https://www.bie.org/object/document/a_home_for_everyone

https://www.uab.edu/icac/images/4th_Grade_Lesson_Plans/Science/Friends_for_Life.pdf

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ecosystems-Project-Based-Learning-with-Animal-Research-1750749

Ask me about a biodiversity study I did with the WWF a long time ago.  May be able to replicate here.

# data[].attributes.body
How do humans choices impact the environment's ability to survive and thrive?

http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceUpload/Preview/20939

http://mrfarnerslifescience.weebly.com/human-impact-pbl.html

http://www.leadingpbl.org/w/page/15692435/PBL2%20Human%20Impact%20on%20Environment

https://wcsdpblprojects.wordpress.com/6-8-projects/human-impact-on-the-earth/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Human-Impact-Project-2983011

# data[].attributes.body
How can classifying plants lead us to a more sustainable plant-based diet?

http://www2.davidson.k12.nc.us/pbl/eett/EETT0506/Plant%20and%20Animals%20PBL.pdf

http://medlockpbl.weebly.com/animal-classification.html

http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/view_lesson_plans?id=264

http://www.cobblearning.net/lpangburn/2017/05/03/classification-pbl/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Animal-Classification-PBL-2443819

# data[].attributes.body
Change "learning about" to "figuring out"

# data[].attributes.body
WV Dept of Ed Template
British Columbia DoE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Engineering Design Process (lyric video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ASK the right questions, IMAGINE how to solve them,/ PLAN out each and every move/ CREATE a solution to the problem/ See what works and then IMPROVE/ VERSE 1 The first step of EDP is to ASK What are the key elements in this task?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The engineering design process is central to engineering. Engineers use the EDP to create technologies. For our elementary engineering curriculum, we developed an age-appropriate five-step EDP: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve. Did you know you can apply this problem-solving tool to problems outside of engineering? Throughout the school day, your students encounter numerous problems that they'll need to solve. Our engineering design process can give your students a process to solve their everyday problems more effectively and a chance to practice important 21st century skills like collaboration, communication and critical thinking. Over the years, educators have shared with us the innovative ways they adapted EiE's engineering design process to the help their students solve a problem. Below we share our favorite examples!

Making Class Decisions

Does your class need to come to a unanimous decision soon? Try using the structure of our engineering design process to reach consensus. A 4th-grade class used our EDP to figure out where they should take their next field trip. Together, the students tackled the problem. They asked questions and generated criteria and constraints for choosing the trip-for example, proximity to their school. They brainstormed possible trips, identified variables between the suggestions, and evaluated how each potential trip met the criteria. Then they analyzed the data to solve the problem of where they should visit!

This is a great practice to implement in your classroom as it encourages students to communicate effectively, consider problems in context, and make tradeoffs between criteria and constraints!

Writing

Most educators teach their students a typical writing process that includes stages such as: "Ideas & Plan," "Draft," "Revise," "Edit," and "Publish." Next time you assign a writing assignment, guide your students through a different type of writing process that uses the EDP's structure. Every essay or writing assignment has a problem that the writer needs to address and answer for its reader. Rather than asking students to write about a topic, ask them to write about a problem that they want to explore in their essay. Have them brainstorm with a classmate possible solutions to the problem and then encourage students to identify the various constraints and criteria by which they'll need to evaluate the possible solutions. This activity will provide all the points they need to include in their essay outline. After they've drafted their essays, ask them how they can improve them. Then remind your students that all good writing is a result of good revising!

Choreographing a Dance!

Every choreographer has a problem they need to solve: How do I plan the steps to this dance? Last year, a dance teacher challenged her students to choreograph a dance to represent the movement of a simple machine as a STEAM extension lesson to Marvelous Machines: Making Work Easier.

We love sharing this example as a useful STEAM activity as well.

A Disciplinary Tool

This last example is one of our favorites. An elementary school in North Carolina incorporated the structure of EiE's engineering design process into their disciplinary practice. Students who were sent to the principal's office met with the administrator and first articulated the problem/situation. Then they asked questions, identified the consequences of their behavior, and imagined alternative ways for handling the conflict. Together the administrator and the student developed a plan that would guide future behavior and empower the student to practice more effective ways to resolve conflicts and tough situations.

We love this idea because students practice communicating effectively and assessing the implications of potential solutions. All skills they'll need to navigate further conflict resolutions!

EiE aims to create the next generation of problem solvers. We love hearing how educators adapt our engineering design process and pedagogical strategies to further their students' learning. Try using the engineering design process as a problem-solving tool in your classroom and provide richer opportunities for your students to practice the skills they'll need to succeed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Creative Ways to Use the Engineering Design Process as a Problem-Solving Tool

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The engineering design process is central to engineering. Engineers use the EDP to create technologies. For our elementary engineering curriculum, we developed an age-appropriate five-step EDP: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve. Did you know you can apply this problem-solving tool to problems outside of engineering?

# data[].attributes.headline
10 Things Students Should Know About Tech by Fifth Grade

# data[].attributes.subject
10 Things Students Should Know About Tech by Fifth Grade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
21st Century Learning

10 Things Students Should Know About Tech by Fifth Grade

I wrote the following list for parents at my school to let them know what their kids need to know to be ready for upper school. This list is in no particular order and is definitely based on my humble opinion. That being said, if I teach your child, my goal is to teach all these things from a Christian perspective.

1) Touch typing. Elementary students should be typing at least 20 words per minute at the end of fifth grade. That is the minimum speed where typing is faster than writing. We have devoted time in the curriculum for this, but curriculum time is limited. If you're a parent, find a free online typing test and check your child's speed. If they are below 20 word per minute, use a free resource to help them reach this speed. A good choice is typing.com.

2) Troubleshooting. By the end of fifth grade, students should have a thought bank of resources when things don't go right when using technology. They should know how to refresh a Web page, what to do look for if they can't log onto something using their user names and passwords and what to do when a Bluetooth keyboard won't respond. These are all skills that will help them in life. It is our tendency to take a device out of their hands, fix it and hand it back. We should be teaching our students how to critically think and solve their own problems.

3) Digital citizenship. The minimum age requirement for many social media sites is 13 years old. Most fifth-graders have not yet reached that age. Therefore, fifth grade is the perfect time to teach students about digital citizenship issues regarding social media, bullying, online etiquette, safety and communication skills.

4) Device basics. All students should be able to do the following tasks on their device of choice:

1. Turn power on and off;

2. adjust volume up/down and mute;

3. select an appropriate WiFi network;

4. log in to a school e-mail account;

5. plug in headphones;

6. open Web browser to access the Internet;

7. take a picture;

8. take a video;

9. switch between front- and rear-facing cameras;

10. bookmark a website and add a shortcut to the home screen;

11. take a screenshot; and

12. access photos and videos.

5) Citing. Students should know how to give credit where credit is due. Using a citing website (such as Noodlebib), a fifth-grader should be able to collect the information needed from websites, books or photos and enter it into the appropriate form to create a reference page.

6) How to put together and deliver multimedia presentations. To complete various projects through their elementary school years, fifth-graders should have a variety of presentation tools that they feel comfortable with when asked to present information.These tools include but not limited to: Google Docs, Google Slides, Keynote, Pages, Green Screen by Do Ink, Tellagami, Explain Everything, Idea Sketch and Visualize.

7) How to do a proper Internet search. Fifth-grade students should be taught the virtues and shortcomings of doing a Google search and how to best use Google for their educational benefit. Students should know how to use age-appropriate search engines for research projects including but not limited to: EBSCO-host research engines, encyclopedias and child-friendly websites.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Things Students Should Know About Tech by Fifth Grade -- THE Journal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
21st Century Learning I wrote the following list for parents at my school to let them know what their kids need to know to be ready for upper school. This list is in no particular order and is definitely based on my humble opinion.

# data[].attributes.body
“The best questions have no clear answers. As opposed to getting the right answer, [tell students] to come up with an answer they can defend.”

# data[].attributes.body
Use the rubric to ensure your project is the best it can be!

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.bie.org/blog/inclusive_special_education_via_pbl

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
April 13, 2016
Inclusive Special Education via PBL

Teaching special education can be a tough gig, but it also gets a pretty bad rap. Yes, there are incredible challenges - widespread lack of resources, from staffing to curriculum; varied but typically overpowering levels of segregation; and a pervasive presumed incompetence of our students with disabilities - to name a few.

But, like our students themselves, teaching students with disabilities is highly underrated. In fact, my SPED colleagues and I often brag that our students are the coolest kids on campus, a sort of 'best kept secret' of the trade (except we've been shouting it from the rooftops for a while).

After years of facing these all too common barriers, I want to talk about the other best kept secret I've discovered in education: Project-Based Learning. Six years ago I stumbled into an opportunity to create a special education program at a small, PBL high school, and I gotta tell you: I don't think I can ever go back. In part, because it has allowed me to ensure students are fully included in regular classes regardless of their disability, from day one.

More than this, though - and what I didn't expect - is that PBL has transformed my vision of inclusive special education for students with even the most significant support needs. I'll tell you a little bit about why, and then I'll tell you where you can start.

Why is PBL Good for Students with Disabilities?

We know that the presence of differentiated instruction, interdisciplinary content, technology, collaboration, supports and accommodations, self-determination, and authentic assessment are key markers of successful inclusion in school communities. We see these elements in the foundations of Project Based Learning, and thus in PBL classrooms and schools, with incredible consistency.

Project Based Learning as a pedagogy is a great vehicle for meaningful inclusion because each of its project design elements and teaching practices are geared toward creating the kind of engaging and dynamic learning environment that are also known to best serve students with a wide range of disabilities.

As one of my former principals used to say whenever I geeked out on the ample opportunities for peer relationships and real-life skills that PBL provided my students: Yep; good teaching is good teaching. It is surprisingly as simple, and as radical, as that.

3 Tips to Get Started:

1. Collaborate!
There may be nothing more valuable in setting students up for success than planning with colleagues. As a special educator, I bring expertise on my students' specific needs, their IEP goals, and the instructional strategies and supports that help them to learn and grow. My general education colleagues are the authority in their content areas, and they are invaluable in prioritizing which aspects of the standards are most important to make accessible. Our combined wisdom makes it fairly easy to anticipate needs and embed considerations for the diverse range of students at the beginning stages of project design.

You may have heard of this before - it's called Universal Design for Learning, and it's one of the best ways to create a successful inclusive classroom. Better yet, doing this helps students without disabilities as well! One of my favorite common responses to a suggestion I make or a support I create in a planning meeting is "You know, I think many of the students would benefit from that."

2. Differentiate Instruction
There are a number of ways to differentiate in PBL, such as offering voice and choice in student products to increase engagement and build on students' strengths, or the various ways you can manage project implementation. At the same time, scaffolding projects effectively still leaves plenty of room for conventional differentiation strategies like frontloading vocabulary, providing visual supports, or offering texts with varied reading levels.

One of the big benefits of PBL is that it is also naturally differentiated. By allowing students to take different paths and explore different interest in a project, this means that at any given time, students in the same class may be working on very different things. This normalizes the students who need different things, alleviates the stigma of support that students often bring with them into the classroom, and reinforces a culture of individuality and self-management that leads to students' owning their learning.

3. Embed IEP Goals into Projects
There are obvious opportunities to embed students' specific academic IEP goals throughout their differentiated project pathway that allow you to address those skills with consistency, in addition to providing students with a sense of their genuine purpose.

Beyond this, I often have students with IEP goals such as augmentative communication, self-management, or nuanced social skills. In a PBL classroom, the emphasis on key success skills provides daily opportunities to work on these goals in an authentic and natural context!

For example, when students work in teams, they constantly have to practice communication, social skills, organization, self-management, self-determination, and self-advocacy. It's a special educator's delight!

I've also been able to collaborate with speech therapists to create a modified oral communication rubric, which helps a student's teachers meet them where they are at, teach them what they need to know, and track their progress in a variety of settings.

For those of you teaching PBL at a school with less than inclusive practices - be they special day classes, extensive pull-out, or even tracking - I encourage you to reach out to your special ed colleagues and invite any students in your grade level to fully participate in your next project. Follow my tips and these from an elementary special educator doing just that. I'm certain your perspective will be transformed as well.

Do you have questions, comments, or tips on using PBL with Special Education students? Please enter them below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching special education can be a tough gig, but it also gets a pretty bad rap. Yes, there are incredible challenges - widespread lack of resources, from staffing to curriculum; varied but typically overpowering levels of segregation; and a pervasive presumed incompetence of our students with disabilities - to name a few.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/2244-emphasizing-understanding-builds-better-projects

This article features a 3rd grade team revising their PBL.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.rubicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/dok-question-stems.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Research also indicates that students are more likely to retain the knowledge gained through this approach far more readily than through traditional textbook-centered learning.

Why Is Project-Based Learning Important?

5 Keys article and video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning