What is PBL? Project-based learning is an approach in which
students explore real-world problems and challenges to acquire a deeper
knowledge. Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of
time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem. It
is a style of active
learning and inquiry-based
learning. PBL is different from teacher-led instruction where the teacher
presents facts and the students complete a worksheet.
When my school underwent training for the PBL model of teaching,
I thought: “this sounds GREAT, but how the heck would a six-year-old do this?” I was trained
and had only taught with a traditional style of teaching and the idea of first
graders somehow magically working independently on a research project seemed
laughable. HILARIOUS.
Some of the main components of PBL that frightened me as a
teacher of the littles was:
-
Choice: Students were supposed to
be able to choose their project that would display their learning. What would
that look like for first graders who have never made a poster, pamphlet, diorama,
etc. before? How could we give them choices that they could independently
conduct without each PBL unit turning into a parent project?
-
Independence: students were
expected to work independently on their own research & projects, how could
I effectively implement this when students can only stay on task for only 15- MAYBE 20
minutes at a time? Especially when not all my students are reading independently
or writing more than a few sentences yet?
Through a lot of teamwork with my coworkers, lesson planning
and trial and error, I discovered some tricks to successfully implement PBL in my classroom
for me and my class of wonderful 6-year olds! Here are some of the things that worked for me:
(I am not an expert, only a teacher who worked very hard to make the PBL model work in her classroom)
1. I
still teach an itty-bitty mini lesson to introduce new and tough vocabulary and
set the scene each day for our research.
• I
found that my class of younger students needed to be reminded of our end goal
and progress each day to stay invested and motivated in their research/project
• The
biggest struggle with PBL in first grade is: not everyone is reading! How are
they supposed to do research? Well with the help of symbaloo and YouTube this
is SO EASY! You can link videos from YouTube to your symbaloo page and students
can view them without ads! Plus, there are so many great videos and read alouds
on YouTube.
3.
Guided Research: I “guided” students research by
providing them with graphic organizers that they were already familiar with to
write their research on. I used the time during the mini lesson to remind them
of their research goal and sometimes model how to write research. This helped
students keep track of their new learning and information. During the research time,
I would walk around the room and visually monitor each student’s progress, ask
questions and check in with my struggling readers/writers.
4. Projects and
Choice: The very first PBL I ever tried with my firsties was about Desert Animal Adaptations. Within the PBL there were 3 choices for their project to display their learning.... and that PBL CRASHED AND BURNED! So now, in the beginning of the year in first grade during our first PBL, we all complete the SAME project but students are given a choice when it came to what content would be
included. This met with the PBL guideline of giving students choice and freedom
to pursue their interests but let me model and guide students in completing
their projects. This helped HUGELY! Throughout the year as I modeled different types of projects, by the end of the year I am able to offer the firsties choices, letting them choose between 1-3 projects
and successfully complete them independently.
·
Some of my favorite project ideas for first
grade PBL’s:
o
Class book (each student writes their own page)
we used this project with our national symbols PBL.
o
Poster (I had my students create one of these in
our Frog PBL to display their knowledge of a frog's habitat)
o
Make a video commercial
o
Use the app ChatterPix to publish students
writing in an ADORABLE video
I compiled some of my favorite class PBL’s into units below. I created these tried and true units after my class successfully completed the research/projects. I hope what worked for me helps you successfully implement the PBL model in your
classroom! Click the pictures below to find the PBL unit in my TPT store!
Happy Teaching!
