Project-Based Learning Packs Tips Overview

Resources for Guided Inquiry

Project-Based Learning Packs task students with investigating a high-interest topic to discover an answer to a Driving Question. Using the numerous grade-appropriate resources in each pack, students collaborate and develop creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills through guided inquiry and the use of planning or organizing tools.

More About Project-Based Learning Packs

Why Use Project-Based Learning Packs

The Project-Based Learning (PBL) instructional framework requires students to use a variety of skills, including collaboration, communication, and critical thinking, to reach a goal and gain essential language arts and content-area knowledge.

In the Project-Based Learning Packs, the goal is for teams of students to find their answer to a Driving Question, which provides students with a purpose and structure for learning. Answering a Driving Question helps students understand what they are learning about and why it's important. The numerous grade-appropriate resources associated with each pack help keep students' investigations focused on the topic and help the students plan and organize their approach.

Investigation (by grade range)	Teamwork & Presentation (by grade range)	Reading and Activities Chart (by pack)	Project Planning (by pack)
Ask and Answer Questions KWLS	Team Project Planner	Anchor Text	Project Lesson Plan
Investigation Planner	Teamwork Rubric	3–4 primary sources	Driving Question Project Outline
Research Bookmark	Peer Review Sheet	3–4 secondary sources	Pack Rubric
	Presentation Rubric	1–3 activities

Preview the process for project-based learning.

How Project-Based Learning Packs Work

Entry Event

Entry Event

An entry event provides a spark to interest students in the topic of their investigations, which are structured by a Driving Question that gives a real-world purpose for projects.

Preteach Vocabulary

Preteach
Vocabulary

Each pack contains vocabulary specific to the content areas and academic vocabulary of the project to help students unlock key ideas related to the Driving Question.

Anchor Text

Anchor Text

All students experience the same leveled book to give them a foundation upon which to build their understanding of the Driving Question.

Question & Plan

Question & Plan

Students create investigation questions, form teams, and set a project timeline to frame their team's research of the Driving Question.

Find & Evaluate

Find & Evaluate
Resources

Groups start their research and divide up project tasks. A core set of resources is listed in the Reading and Activities Chart of each lesson, and Research Bookmarks provide tools for evaluating sources.

Organize Information

Organize
Information

Teams organize what they have learned to create their presentations. They choose which information to share that answers the Driving Question.

Choose a Project

Choose a
Project

Teams decide on a presentation format from options suggested in the lesson plan. Presentation formats can be chosen during any Investigate step.

Practice & Review

Practice &
Peer Review

Teams practice speaking and listening skills and review the presentations of their peers to ensure everyone is confident when presenting in front of a public audience.

Present to Audience

Present to Audience

Teams present to a public audience to remind students that their projects have real-world value. Rubrics and other assessment opportunities throughout the project cycle help teachers determine what students learn.

Reflect

Reflect

Students reflect in writing about the project and/or process; potentially identifying further topics of inquiry to start the cycle again.

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Select One or More Project Pack(s)

Resources for All Grade 2 Packs

Investigation

Teamwork & Presentation

Disappearing Coral Reefs Project Pack

Driving Question

How can communities use technology to solve the problem of disappearing coral reefs?

Anchor Text

Coral Reefs

Lexile 890L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Coral Reef Food Web

primary

Preview

Discover the Great Barrier Reef!

primary

Preview

Grow a Coral Garden

primary

Preview

Growing Coral in a Nursery

primary

Preview

Interview with Mia Adreani

primary

Preview

Life in a Coral Reef

secondary

Preview

Reefs at Risk

secondary

Preview

Underwater Medicine Cabinet

secondary

Preview

Follow the Pollution

secondary

Preview

Healthy Reefs

secondary

Preview

Coral Reefs Might Be Saved By New Ideas

secondary

Preview

Let's Change Together Project Pack

Driving Question

How can students persuade others to make changes to the rules or laws in their school or community?

Anchor Text

Can I Vote?

Lexile 530L Fiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

primary

Preview

Make Them Laugh, Make Them Think

primary

Preview

School Change Survey

primary

Preview

Vote for the Slide

primary

Preview

Write a Letter

primary

Preview

Kids Make a Difference

secondary

Preview

Letters to the Editor

secondary

Preview

Voting Results

secondary

Preview

Make More Chocolate Project Pack

Driving Question

As producers of chocolate, how can we make more?

Anchor Text

All About Chocolate

Lexile 590L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Chocolate-Making Throughout History

primary

Preview

Diseases That Affect Cacao Trees

primary

Preview

Earl of Sandwich Frozen Chocolate

primary

Preview

Selling Chocolate

primary

Preview

Soil and Water

primary

Preview

Ancient Treat Older Than Scientists Thought

secondary

Preview

Cacao Tree Habitat

secondary

Preview

Farming Cacao Done Mostly By Hand

secondary

Preview

How to Make Chocolate

secondary

Preview

Valentine's Day Chocolates to Cost More

secondary

Preview

Show Respect! Project Pack

Driving Question

How does our school demonstrate an understanding of equality and respect for all people?

Anchor Text

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lexile 720L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Are We Living Dr. King's Dream?

primary

Preview

Camp Brookside

primary

Preview

Joining Hands as Sisters and Brothers

primary

Preview

Show Some Respect

primary

Preview

What Makes You Special?

primary

Preview

A Better Way to Solve Problems

secondary

Preview

Brown v. Board of Education

secondary

Preview

The Girl at the Next Desk

secondary

Preview

Triple Threat to Trash Project Pack

Driving Question

How can we use the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" to create a plan for how our school deals with waste?

Anchor Text

Landon's Pumpkins

Lexile 610L Fiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Compost and Heat

primary

Preview

How Much Paper?

primary

Preview

Recycling and Reusing

primary

Preview

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

primary

Preview

Save Energy, the Earth, and Money

primary

Preview

From Plastic Bottles to Clothes

secondary

Preview

School Energy Costs

secondary

Preview

The Waste Pyramid

secondary

Preview

What Can (and Can't) Go in the Recycling Bin

secondary

Preview

Select One or More Project Pack(s)

Resources for All Grade 3 Packs

Investigation

Teamwork & Presentation

Food's Global Web Project Pack

Driving Question

How do the foods we eat and where they are grown connect us with people around the world?

Anchor Text

Dinner Around the World

Lexile 1100L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

All Kinds of Restaurants!

primary

Preview

Bananas: From Jungle to Table

primary

Preview

Favorite Fruits and Vegetables

primary

Preview

Imports and Exports

primary

Preview

The Origin of the World's Food Crops

primary

Preview

Comfort Foods

secondary

Preview

The Cost of Food Distribution

secondary

Preview

Famous Food Cities Around the World

secondary

Preview

How Prepared Are We? Project Pack

Driving Question

How can our school be better prepared for severe weather, such as a thunderstorm, tornado, or hurricane?

Anchor Text

Severe Weather

Lexile 860L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Science, Math, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Be Prepared!

primary

Preview

Common Paths of Hurricanes

primary

Preview

Interview with Henry Snow

primary

Preview

Interview with Weather Solutions, Inc.

primary

Preview

Ping-Pong-Ball Anemometer

primary

Preview

Safety Space

primary

Preview

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes

primary

Preview

Firefighters Rescue Four- Legged Friend

secondary

Preview

How Lincoln Elementary School Staff Prepares for Severe Weather

secondary

Preview

Tornado-Safe Rooms in Schools

secondary

Preview

My School, My Castle Project Pack

Driving Question

How are modern school communities similar to and different from European castle communities of long ago?

Anchor Text

European Castles

Lexile 810L Nonfiction

Lesson Plan

Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, 21st Century Skills

Driving Question Project Outline

Pack Rubric

Reading & Activity Resources

Castles in Communities

primary

Preview

Cheney Elementary School

primary

Preview

Harlech Castle

primary

Preview

Jobs at School

primary

Preview

Schools in Communities

primary

Preview

The Ten Best Cities for Families

primary

Preview

Five Castle Jobs

secondary

Preview

Five Jobs for the Future

secondary

Preview

Technology vs. Mother Nature Project Pack

Driving Question

Can the technology to predict earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis help keep us safe in places where these events are likely to happen? Why or why not?