Fall PBL Showcase

Driving Question: How can we successfully determine a product's market segmentation? 

Task: Students were tasked as being marketers and creating a whole new cereal box. Prior to the lesson, they learned about the target market where different companies have different target audiences.  This activity allowed students to show their creativity by creating a new cereal that will appeal to a specific target market and market segmentation. Students will also be designing the packaging and labeling for the new cereal. The front of the cereal box is where they design and create a new cereal whereas the cereal box is about something interactive for consumers to be engaged in (game, fun facts, etc.) Students had the choice of either working individually or in partners. They also had the choice to hand-draw their design or utilize Canva.

Interdisciplinary Learning: CTE, Fine Arts, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, connect problem & solution, make text connections  to self, text/media, world

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Incorporate and Give Feedback 

Driving Question: How do we solve for missing variables when we encounter them in everyday life?  

Task: Students were tasked with becoming savy shoppers. Each tried to stay on a budget of $35 while buying items from a supermarket advertisement. They knew they had $35 to spend, but didn't know how much change they would get back as they shopped, or if they would go over budget (if they didn't keep track!). Many students found they easily went over budget, while others used a variety of methods to keep track of their spending. Those who went over-budget then looked back at their purchases to see what they could leave behind in an effort to stay on budget. Students reflected on the many ways they will use these skills as they continue on in their lives. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, make predictions, problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can forensic scientists (people who investigate crimes) use their knowledge of light waves to determine if a specific pen was used to sign a document? 

Task: As part of our wave unit, students studied light waves. They discovered that light waves are electromagnetic and transverse. Also, people only see the visible part of the light spectrum and different colors have different wavelengths (ROYGBIV). In addition, they learned that white light is a combination of colors like when looking through a prism or at a rainbow. Just like light, marker colors can be broken into separate parts. The students were forensic scientists who used paper chromatography to separate pen colors. They discovered that even though a pen might write in a singular color, that color may be made up of specific colors. As a result, this would help a forensic scientist determine if a specific pen was used to sign a document. The activity reinforced the concept that some colors of light can be broken into a combination of primary colors. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: In a world of infinite space, how much of it do we take up? 

Task: As architects, students constructed castles by individually assembling prisms, cylinders. and cones. Then, they had to find the compound volumes and surface areas of their castles. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: problem & solution, sequence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we effectively network with other Virtual Enterprise student executives? 

Task: Leadership teams in Virtual Enterprise attended a conference at Long Island University. Students had the opportunity to network with other VE firms from across Long Island and were given the chance to pitch their company. Students also worked within their departments to analyze case studies and present their ideas to judges. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: CTE, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: draw conclusions, identify main idea & details, make inferences, make predictions, determine point of view, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can you construct a new broom for the witch and have it hold the most candy pumpkins? 

Task: Students were challenged with collaboratively designing a product based on the text Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.  Using materials selected by students, teams planned and created a broom that was required to sit two inches off the ground. Groups tests their products using candies to support the weight of the broom.  After presenting to the class, students develop an action plan for improvement. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Math

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, make predictions, connect problem & solution, sequence  

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we find the meaning of unknown words? 

Task: The students were trained to become word detectives. Students learned about the 5 types of context clues and used what they learned to determine the meaning of unknown words. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: Why do  certain substances create a chemical reaction?

Task: Students acted as scientists to make their own hypothesis for a Mentos and soda experiment. As a grade level,  Mentos were dropped into three sodas and the students observed the reaction. Students returned to class and explained their findings through a lab book. Class discussions were held to extend student thinking about further experiments with different materials. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, problem & solution, sequencing, develop vocabulary, cause & effect

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we preserve the importance of service to our country? 

Task: The students were tasked with analyzing the role of veterans in history and designing a written token to display their appreciation of these heroes. The tokens were then delivered to our local veterans home. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Social Studies/History, Fine Art, SEL

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, determine cause & effect, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, identify main idea & details, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How does reading literature help us grow? 

Task: In anticipation of reading the novel, The Bully by Paul Langan, students were tasked with creating anti-bullying posters to show support of being an upstander instead of a bystander. To start, students discussed the impacts of bullying on mental, physical, and emotional health and the effects words, both positive and negative, can have on a person. Collaboratively, students worked to create posters that contained positive and uplifting messages or sentiments about the importance of bullying prevention.

Additionally, students listened to the song “Mean” by Taylor Swift and analyzed the meaning of the lyrics and its powerful anti-bullying message. Students took apart each stanza of the song and answered questions about literary conflict, figurative language, and how this song related to bullying. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Fine Arts, SEL

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, identify main idea & details, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Self and/or Social Awareness, Incorporate and Give Feedback 

Driving Question: How can varied perspectives help explain the same time period? How did Reconstruction change the South after the Civil War? 

Task: Students were tasked with constructing an argument from the point of view of a person during reconstruction.  Through choice and voice, students selected the person and the style in which to display the information (newspaper article, journal, news report, letter, movie poster, or brochure.)  Students also completed a gallery walk using primary source documents to analyze this time period.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History,  ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, develop vocabulary, cause & Effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, use text evidence

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Social Awareness

Driving Question: How do we use math in our everyday lives? 

Task: Students were asked to work cooperatively with a partner to solve marathon related math problems involving: reading charts, graphs, maps, and catalogue descriptions; making inferences/predictions; solving complex multi-step problems; identifying trends/patterns; and learning/reading the history of the marathon.

Interdisciplinary Learning: Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies, PE/Health

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Flexibility 

Driving Question: How can we build a model of a Native American longhouse? 

Task: Students have been learning about the homes, tools, contributions and traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy. In this activity, students are to work in groups to build a model of a longhouse and decide together a clan name. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History, ELA, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How can we persuade balloon officials to include our balloons in the Macy's Day Parade? 

Task: Students were tasked with creating a persuasive letter, as well as designing and creating balloons to be presented in a schoolwide Thanksgiving Day Parade. Additionally, students were tasked with researching various balloons of the Macy's Day parade and utilize multiplication to conceptualize the number of people needed to support a real Macy's Day Parade balloon. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: ELA, Math, Social Studies/History, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, identify main idea & details, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary  

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: How did inhabitants of Mesopotamia innovate to meet their needs? 

Task: Students created shelters using dirt, straw, and water to create mudbricks that are similar in composition to the homes that were used by ancient peoples

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History, ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, make inferences 

Life/Career Skills: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking

Driving Question: What are the unique features and attractions of each region in New York State, and which location would you personally like to visit?  

Task:The students became researchers and New York travel experts when they were broken into groups based on each diverse region of New York State. From there, students used library and web resources to identify locations of interest in their assigned region. Students worked in heterogeneous groups to identify 1-2 destinations in Metro NY/Long Island, Lower Hudson River Valley, Finger Lakes, Capital Region, Northern/Adirondack Region, or Western, NY that they felt was worth visiting and collaborated on a Google Slides presentation to share their location with their peers. Each group shared their findings in front of the class after a mini library lesson on presentation skills. After making connections to the diverse offerings of the geography and culture of New York State, students then had the opportunity to come together and share with the whole class which location they, as individuals, would like to visit in our state.  

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History, ELA, CTE

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, make inferences, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: What is actually in our water? 

Task: Allow students to brainstorm and find out what is in our water and how we can conserve it. The students will create a "Watershed Superhero" poster. Each Superhero will have a specific power, made up by the student, that will help conserve and protect our communities' water. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Science, ELA, Fine Arts, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, and develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Driving Question: Why is the election process important? 

Task: Throughout the school year students have been learning about our government, including the different branches of our government. During this PBL, students will participate in the process of voting. They will learn every step of the voting process along with the reasoning behind these steps. Students will learn the history of voting, how to register to vote, the purpose of campaigning, participate in a debate, and vote on a Joe's Day of Service project. In the future, students will use this information when participating in voting in national and local elections. This is valuable knowledge that will help our students utilize their right to vote in the United States. 

Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies/History, ELA

Instructional Skills Developed: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, determine point of view, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak