Project Based Lesson - Where in the world did Waldo go?
Goal:
Improve students map skills using 21st century skills.
Description:
What is a map and what purpose do maps serve? What do tables, charts and graphs
tell us? What kinds of things do maps show us? In this project, students will track
Waldo as he travels the world and gain an understanding of how to use and read
maps, legends, tables, charts and graphs. Students will also learn about certain
regions, countries and explorers.
Standards of Learning:
3.4 The student will develop map skills by:
a) locating Greece, Rome, and West Africa.
3.5 The student will develop map skills by:
a) positioning and labeling the seven continents and five oceans to create a world
map;
b) using the equator and prime meridian to identify the Northern, Southern,
Eastern, and Western Hemispheres;
c) locating the countries of Spain, England, and France;
d) locating the regions in the Americas explored by Christopher Columbus (San
Salvador in the Bahamas), Juan Ponce de León (near St. Augustine, Florida),
Jacques Cartier (near Quebec, Canada), and Christopher Newport (Jamestown,
Virginia);
e) locating specific places, using a simple letter-number grid system.
3.6 The student will read and construct maps, tables, graphs, and/or charts.
21st Century Skills:
Category
Skills
How will skills be
observed?
Learning and Innovation Skills
Communication and
collaboration; critical thinking
and problem solving
Information and Communication
Technology; Information Literacy
Initiative and self-direction;
social and cross-cultural skills;
productivity and accountability
Teacher observation
Information, Media and
Technology Skills
Life and Career Skills
Presentation
Rubric, Teacher observation
Curriculum Framing Questions:
Essential Questions
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Unit Questions
How do you think Waldo
was able to identify
continents and oceans as
he traveled the world?
Did the hemispheres
have an impact on
Waldo’s recognition of
the major continents
and oceans? How do you
know that?
How do you think Waldo
felt as he traveled to the
Parthenon, the
Coliseum, and the
Ancient Temples?
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How can you summarize
the impact the explorers
exploration had on
America as we know it
today?
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Content Questions
What have you learned
about how geographic
locations influence our
lives?
Which continents would
Waldo travel if he were
east of the prime
meridian? south of the
equator?
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How did the architecture
from these ancient
cultures play a major
role in world
contributions?
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What theory disproves
that the earth is flat?
What is each explorer
best known for?
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How do you find
direction?
What can maps tell us
about people, places,
and environments?
What symbols and
identifiers are found on
a map and what do they
mean?
Which country did the
Olympic games originate
from?
Which country did the
United States adopt its
government from?
On which continents did
each of the explorers
make their discovery?
Where is the fountain of
youth and do you think it
exists today?
Questioning:
Purpose of Question
Motivate and engage students’ curiosity and
interests
Questions
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How would you know how to get from
place to place without a map?
Could you find your way around the world if
you didn’t know which direction was north?
Determine student knowledge and understanding
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What do maps tell us?
Name four types of maps and tell why we
use them.
Prompt observation and description of
phenomena
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What does the equator and your belt have
in common?
Can you find a word made up from the
compass rose directions?
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Encourage reflection and metacognition
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Promote critical thinking and problem solving
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Encourage creativity, imagining, and
hypothesizing
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What was the most interesting thing about
this project?
Name one thing you learned from this
project that you will remember most.
If you left North America and traveled east
of the prime meridian to a continent below
the equator, where would you end up and
how would you get there?
How do you think Christopher Columbus
discovered America without a map?
What other ways can we tell where we are
without using a map?
What if maps didn’t exist?
Assessments:
Title of Assessment
Process and Purpose of
Assessment
How Assessment is Graded
Project Timeline
Post in classroom to exercise time
management skills.
This will not be graded but will
be reflective upon the project
plan checklist.
Teacher Observation
Teacher will roam and observe
students working collaboratively
while listening for dialogue.
Teacher will ask questions along
the way to prompt higher level
thinking.
Teacher will take notes on each
student and add those to the
collaboration rubric collected
from each student before
rotating to the next station.
Collaboration Rubric
Rubric is given to each student for
each activity. They are to look it
over and work at achieving their
best.
A point value is associated with
each category and a range will
be set to determine a grade for
each activity.
Project Plan Checklist
Students use this checklist to
assess their progress and make
adjustments as needed.
No score will be determined
here. This is strictly to keep the
students on task in a timely
manner.
Waldo Final Checklist
Teacher will ask students one at a
time to talk about their Waldo
mascot and have them place him
on the pull down map of the
world as close to his country as
possible. Student will use a dot
sticker to mark the country.
Teacher will ask each student
questions pertaining to
hemisphere, continent, direction,
grid location, and what is
significant about the place they
have placed their Waldo mascot.
Teacher will use a checklist for
each student to see how well
students know their geography
and factor that in with the final
grade.
Activities:
 Waldo, the Traveling Mascot – (station 1, sm grp)
 Explorers Cereal Box Creation – (station 2, sm grp)
 National Geographic Search and Sort – (station 3, sm grp)
 Edible World Map – (station 4, sm grp)
 Creative Post Card Design – (station 5, sm grp)
 Travel Poster Advertisement – (station 5, sm grp)
 Waldo’s Journey – (wrapping it up, whole grp)
SOL 3.6
SOL 3.5d
SOL 3.5ab, 3.6
SOL 3.5a,b,e
SOL 3.4a
SOL 3.5c
SOL 3.6
Procedure:
1) Read any one of the Where’s Waldo books to introduce the character and what
he does.
2) Explain project based learning and how students will rotate from station to
station and complete the activities assigned to each station.
3) Explain to the students how they will be assessed when working in groups and
for the closing activity as a whole group for Waldo’s Journey. Talk about
checklists, rubrics, charts, and observations as the means for assessing them
and each other.
4) Provide materials for each activity at each station. While doing so, tell your
students what the project is about at each station, how they are to use the
rubric and project plan checklist and work collaboratively within their group.
5) Break up class into 5 small groups.
6) Students will work on each activity spending two days at each station and
rotate as directed through the entire project.
7) A project timeline will be posted in the room for all students to refer to and
utilize their time management skills.
8) Gather all students and their Waldo traveling mascot for Waldo’s Journey. Have
students present their Waldo mascot independently in front of the class. Assess
students through questioning before and after the student places a dot sticker
on the world map. To wrap up the activity, have students create a grid chart
on the board and fill in how many times Waldo visited each continent. Then ask
students about the hemispheres and which area seemed to be the most popular
in his travels. Questions may vary.
9) Have students reflect on the project and close by writing in their journal using
this prompt – “The most interesting part of this project was…” This will give
you the feedback needed to evaluate your project.
Timeline:
 Day 1:
Begin by reading a “Where’s Waldo” book then follow steps 1-6 in the
procedure above (allow an extra 20 minutes this day).
 Day 2:
Day 3:
Step 6 (take your stations – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Step 6 (finish this project)
 Day 4:
Day 5:
Step 6 (rotate stations - 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 1)
Step 6 (finish this project)
 Day 6:
Day 7:
Step 6 (rotate stations - 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 1)
Step 6 (finish this project)
 Day 8:
Day 9:
Step 6 (rotate stations - 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 1)
Step 6 (finish this project)
 Day 10:
Day 11:
Step 6 (rotate stations - 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 1)
Step 6 (finish this project)
 Day 12: Step 8 (students present their Waldo for Waldo’s Journey and create a
grid chart to summarize the data on Waldo’s travels)
 Day 13:
Step 9 (writing prompt reflection)
Allow approximately 45 minutes for each day’s activities.
SANDERSON 2012 – PBL - Where in the world did Waldo go?