Connect Kids to the Real World with PBL

Teachers, do you ever read or listen to the news and ask yourself, "What if?" "How can I explain this to or discuss this with my students?" "How can I help my students to make a real difference in the world around them?" What if we could use some PBL (Project Based Learning) to  connect our students to the real world and current events unfolding in the news? What if we could take class time to develop these units without missing a beat in our attention to the standards we must meet?

Project Based Learning (PBL) is the answer to "What if?"!

For fourth through sixth graders, I always love to begin a new PBL unit with literature connections. I love to give kids a great story to hook their thoughts on as they begin to brainstorm ways they can begin their own PBL experience. Searching your library or online bookstore will turn up lots of connected literature perfect for your own grade level and kids.

If you are new to PBL, I thought these ideas from one of the PD trainings that I have taught on PBL might be helpful. This one was on organizing a PBL based fundraiser to help with Hurricane Relief. Reaching out to people who have been caught up on a natural disaster is one way that kids in your room right now can tie their PBL to real life. If you are already familiar with PBL, I hope that some of the curricular connections might be helpful.

Here's a link to a post about a PBL based project that my Rainbow City students did for many years to help families in need in our community.

For a fun conversation about STEM/STEAM/PBL, be sure to tune in to Episode 17 of We Teach So Hard!

For tons of ready to use PBL task starters, check out Rainbow City Learning's STEM/STEAM projects!

And...for more ideas to keep your class moving through December, visit these great Teacher Talk blogs! Let me know by email if you'd like to join up and blog along with us each month! 

An InLinkz Link-up