Exploring Europe through
Project-Based Learning
Presented By:
Cathy Dalimonte; Christi Clark; & Tori Carpenter – Queens Creek Elementary
Laura Thompson – Clyde Erwin Elementary Magnet School
What is Project-based Learning?
Problem-Solving; Collaboration
IMPORTANT FACTORS:
• Student Choice
• Authenticity
• Global Significance
• Exhibition
Creating a PBL – Questions to Consider:
 What standards do you need to teach? Are there related standards that can be
addressed? Establish your learning targets.
 What real-world problem or situation can you use to capture students’ interests?
 What real-world scientist/career can be attributed?
 What group size will be best? How will they be selected?
 Introduce learning targets, the problem, and get feedback (I wonders) from your
students? – this can make your PBL even better!
 Teacher-students create rubric together (what are your must haves, what will your
students add – what is important to them; are the standards/learning targets
addressed?
 Who will be your authentic audience?
 What technology tools can be integrated to enhance experience?
Europe in the K-12 Classroom 2014 Curriculum
Development Award – World View & UNC Center
for European Studies Grant
ALEXANDRA HOLMGREN
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Dr. Allen Hurlburt, Associate Professor
Biology Dept – UNC-Chapel Hill
http://www.birdsleuth.org/
http://labs.bio.unc.edu/Hurlbert/links.html
http://europe.unc.edu/teaching/lesson-plans/
Queens Creek Elementary’s
Bird PBL
Learning Targets: Science – animal adaptations; Social Studies – human impact; geography; Math –
measurement systems; currency; ELA – informational texts; novel study; letter writing/persuasive writing
Problem Challenges:
• You are a team of expert ornithologists who have been asked by the European Ornithologists’ Union
to explain the adaptations of European owls and whether or not climate change/human intervention
is affecting food source, thus affecting survival.
• You will create an owlet of your chosen species to study, identifying physical adaptations this owl has
to use to survive. For two weeks, you will be responsible for caring for your owlet and recording your
actions to keep your owlet “alive.”
• You will determine from the data and research on your owl whether or not it can survive in coastal
North Carolina. You will also determine what other raptors live in coastal NC that could be competing
for food with your owl. Write a letter to the European Ornithologists’ Union telling them your opinion
on whether it would be a good idea or not to have your chosen owl to be brought to and live in
coastal NC ecosystem should its European feeding ground be compromised.
Discovering What Owls Eat
& Owl Digestion
Through Dissecting Owl
Pellets
Date/Time
(EST)
Swansboro,
NC - ◦F
Swansboro,
NC - ◦C
Italy ◦F
Italy - ◦C
May 28.
2015;
10:10 a.m.
78◦F
26◦C
75◦F
24◦C
June 3,
2015; 8:46
a.m.
85◦F
33◦C
78◦F
26◦C
Temperature Comparisons
Date/Time
(EST)
Swansboro,
NC - ◦F
Swansboro,
NC - ◦C
Scotland
◦F
Scotland
◦C
June 1,
2015;
10:16 a.m.
84◦F
28◦C
51◦F
10◦C
June 5,
2015;
10:11 a.m.
84◦F
28◦C
61◦F
16◦C
Letter Writing/
Writing Process
Novel Study
A story that shows conflict
between nature and human industry
– students made connections to conditions
for their European owl.
Entrepreneurship
Clyde Erwin Elementary
Magnet School’s Bird PBL
Poetry Connections
A Bird
Be Like the Bird
Emily Dickinson
Victor Hugo
A bird came down the walk:
Be like the bird, who
He did not know I saw;
Halting in his flight
He bit an angleworm in halves
On limb too slight
And ate the fellow, raw.
Feels it give way beneath him,
Yet sings
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.
Knowing he hath wings.
Bird Migration Maps/ Math -Measurement
Other PBL Examples with
European Connections
“Let’s Go Fly A Kite” PBL
Your team has been asked to create the very first
kites for the Clyde Erwin IB Kite Festival –
celebrating all things IB. Your kite will be made from
at least 3 different shapes. Each shape will
represent a part of IB – an attitude; a learner
profile; and a student action you have participated
in during this school year. You will create your
prototype on PPT and then use that to create a real
kite. You will have choices of materials to choose
from but will have to purchase them and stay on
budget. When the kite is done, we will use our
weather skills to test wind speed and our
estimation skills to see how high the kite flies! You
can get your inspiration for this Kite Festival by
“visiting” Kite festivals in Europe:
• Vulandra International Kite Festival – Italy
• Berck International Kite Festival – France
• Drachenfest Hannover Kite Festival – Germany
• St. Anne’s Kite Festival – Lancaster, UK
Attributes of Our Kite:
•Is it 2D or 3D?
•How many sides does it have? (2D)
•How many edges does it have? (3D)
•How many angles does it have?
•How many vertices does it have?
Is it an open shape or a closed
shape?
Fairytale Rollercoaster PBL
(A 3rd-Grade Project-based Learning Experience)
Disney is looking to create a new park dedicated to classic fairytales. They
have hired your engineering team to design a fairytale rollercoaster. You must
make a rollercoaster model for them to evaluate. The rollercoaster must have
at least two props that show fairytale elements from your chosen story. Your
team also needs to present images and information about the country the
fairytale originates from so Disney Imagineers can develop the area around the
rollercoaster. Additionally, Disney wants your team to create a shortened retell
of your chosen fairytale so they can have the story broadcasted during the ride
to bring the joy of this story to the many children they anticipate will ride your
rollercoaster.
Pinocchio on Trial
Inquiry Questions:
• What laws would Pinocchio have
broken if living in the US? How is that
different than in Florence, Italy,
where Pinocchio was created?
• How does a trial work? Who are the
people involved in a trial?
Authentic Resources:
Judge Sarah Seaton
Laura Miller, Cultural Correspondent,
studying abroad in Florence, Italy
Flags of the World PBL
A new island has appeared in the Atlantic Ocean close to the European coast. People
started to inhabit this land and decided to declare it a country. They have formed a
government and this government has hired your team of vexillologists to create a new
flag for their country. (Vexillologists are people who studies flags).
To prove that you are up for the task, they have asked that your team to first compare
your nation’s flag with another established European country’s flag. You are to
compare geometric shapes used (using mathematical terms); color choices; meaning
behind the choices for design; and identify the global perspectives each flag represents
best. You may use http://www.worldflags101.com/a/albania-flag.aspx to help you
with this comparison.
Designing Country’s flag – Your team will need to design this new country’s flag using
PowerPoint. Prior to designing, make decisions in your team about geometric shapes,
which global perspectives you think may be most important for the island nation, and
the colors your team will use. These websites can help you in your decision http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/visual-grammar-shapes/ and
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html. Your presentation to the
government must include the reasons for your choices.
Global Perspectives:
• Interdependence
• Identity
• Human Rights
• Peace
Building/Conflict
• Sustainability
How the European Frog Got Its
Hop PBL
You are a team of herpetologists, ecologists, historians and engineers who
have selected an ecosystem in Europe to study the frogs there and their
importance to the native culture in the area. You will discover a native who
will share how his people believe the frog got its hop (a pourquoi tale). You
will share this story to a younger generation and share the importance of
sharing stories from generation to generation.
Guidelines:
Select an ecosystem from the bag.
Discover through research a type of frog that lives in that ecosystem
Discover through research a tribe or native people who may have created
this story to explain why frogs hop
Create a story on PowerPoint of how that particular frog got its hop in
that ecosystem (you will need to know what other animals are in that
ecosystem to help you in your story – predators; what the frog eats, etc.)
– we will make these into books for the Kindergarteners
Create a robotic storyboard of the story that your frog will take
Create robotic frog according to directions and then add any additional
pieces to represent your particular frog
Present to a Kindergarten class on January 14th.
5th Grade Rubric – PourQuoi Tale PBL
Task
3
2
1
Pourquoi Tale –story
Explains how the frog got its hop and is consistent
with the ecosystem
Explains how the frog got its hop but can be a story
told in any ecosystem
Explains how the frog got its hop and does not
relate it to the ecosystem
Pourquoi Tale – setting
Setting clearly identifies the chosen ecosystem
Setting shows some factors related to the chosen
ecosystem
Setting shows few to no factors related to chosen
ecosystem
Pourquoi tale – characters
The animal characters are consistent with animals
found in this ecosystem
The animal characters are mostly animals found in
this ecosystem
Only some of the animal characters are found in
this ecosystem.
Mat – ECOSYSTEM
The mat shows at least 3 animals (including frog); 2
plants, and 1 water source specific to the
ecosystem
The mat shows at least 2 animals (including frog)
and 1 plant specific to the ecosystem
The mat is missing inclusion of other animals,
plants, or water source
Frog Robot
Frog robot is complete, looks like the chosen frog
for the ecosystem and can move forward
Frog robot is complete and can move forward
Frog robot is complete but is not programmed to
move
Native American research
A PowerPoint slide gives information on a specific
Native American tribe/tribe of chosen ecosystem;
information includes name, location and at least 2
interesting facts
A PowerPoint slide gives information on a specific
Native American tribe/tribe of chosen ecosystem;
information includes name, location and at least 1
interesting facts
A PowerPoint slide gives information on a specific
Native American tribe/tribe of chosen ecosystem;
information includes name and location
Animal and Plant Research
Completes PPT slides showing and describing at
least 2 animals, the frog, and 2 plants from that
ecosystem
Completes PPT slides showing and describing at
least 1 animals, the frog, and 1 plants from that
ecosystem
Completes PPT slides showing and describing at
least the frog, and 1 plants from that ecosystem
Creativity
Shows creativity in tale, mat and robot frog
Shows some creativity in tale and robot frog
Shows little creativity in tale and robot frog
Teamwork
Work together without arguing and complete PBL
on time
Work together with a little arguing and complete
PBL on time
Work together with a little arguing and doesn’t
complete PBL on time
Presentation to K/1st grade class
Presents story with storytelling voice that is easily
heard and includes expression of feelings
Presents story with storytelling voice that is easily
heard
Presents story with storytelling voice that is heard
most of the time
Laura Thompson
4th Grade Teacher
Clyde Erwin Elementary Magnet School
of International Studies & Cultural Arts
[email protected]
School website:
http://clydeerwin.nc.oce.schoolinsites.com/
Cathy Dalimonte, Assistant Principal
Christi Clark, 4th Grade Teacher
Tori Carpenter, 5th Grade Science Teacher
Queens Creek Elementary School
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
School website:
http://queenscreek.nc.oce.schoolinsites.com/