“I wasn’t able to see their faces all the time and see their excitement, and I wasn’t able to hear their voices and hear their excitement, but I could 100% see it in their work.”
SHOW NOTES
Josh and Andrea continue the PBL Project Blitz series where once a month, they highlight a PBL project by veterans in the PBL classroom.
In this episode of the PBL Project Blitz, Josh and Andrea talk about a COVID-19 related project that was completed by the 6th graders at Hamilton Central School in New York. Their guest, 6th grade teacher Monica Chamberlain, discusses the project that she created to provide an authentic learning opportunity for her students in the midst of the school closures due to COVID-19. She used the current situation to create a Social Studies based project in which her students aimed to document the ways in which people in their county are dealing with the major changes in our world right now. She partnered with the Historical Society in their community to create a library of personal stories from people in their community.
Monica also discusses her PBL journey as a first year PBL teacher, from her first PBL that she felt was a failure, to this PBL that was more of a success. Monica’s journey this year reflects the ups and downs of most first year PBL teachers, and she leaves our listeners with some encouraging advice as we navigate PBL in the current world.
School: Hamilton Central School- Hamilton, New York
PBL UNIT OVERVIEW:
PBL Unit Name: COVID-19
Grade: Middle School-6th Grade
Subject: Math, ELA & Social Studies
Standards: 6th Grade Writing-Personal Narrative
Summary: I asked students to create primary sources about living through a pandemic. We then sent our projects to the Madison County Historical Society where they had asked for first hand accounts about COVID-19.
Driving Question: How can we as 6th grade students share our knowledge and experience of this pandemic to educate people of the future on what COVID-19 was really like?
Entry Event: COVID-19 Entry Event
Community Partners: Madison County Historical Society-Hamilton, NY
Rubric: COVID-19 Rubric
End Products: Student #1 Diary, Student #2 A Picture Diary
Stay tuned for more awesome projects as the PBL Project Blitz series continues every month!
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