PBL Showcase ~ Spring 2026

DQ: Do estimates need to be accurate? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: Math, ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, make predictions, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary  

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility 

Task: Students were tasked with estimating, counting, and building with candy hearts. 

DQ: How can we honor our veterans by sharing factual information about each military branch with our community? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Social Studies/History, SEL

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Creativity, Problem Solving, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness 

Task: ENL Writing Workshop students were tasked with researching one of the five branches of the U.S. military and creating informational posters to display at a Veterans Day breakfast celebration at JFK. Students worked with JFK librarian, Ms. McDermott, to research a specific branch of the U.S. military using Noodle Tools. They gathered factual information from digital and print sources and paraphrased the information they researched. They created informational posters honoring veterans to hang at a special Veterans Day Breakfast at JFK. 

DQ: How does giving and receiving Valentines help us build connections with others?

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Fine Arts, SEL

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced:Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Students were tasked with creating and giving out Valentines to their peers. Students worked on communication and spreading kindness. 

DQ: How can I design an invention that solves a real-world problem and makes life better for people? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: Science, Social Studies/History, ELA

Instructional Skills Discovered:activate prior knowledge, draw conclusions, connect problem & solution, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Students read an article about inventions from the last 100 years. Students brainstormed with their tables inventions they think are useful and inventions that they think aren't necessary/needed. Students were tasked with writing an informative paragraph about an invention they would create, who it would help, what problem it would fix, how it would work and why they picked this invention.

-Why is your invention a better solution than inventions that already exist?

Why do you believe this problem is important enough to invent something for? Support your reasoning with evidence or examples. 

DQ:  What is the history of the ugly holiday sweater in the United States, and how can we design and describe our own using strong adjectives? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, compare & contrast, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak  

Task: After learning about the cultural significance and history of "ugly sweater" parties, races and other events in the United States, ENL Writing Workshop students were tasked with becoming designers using descriptive language to describe their own "ugly sweaters." Their descriptions were then transformed by the teacher into AI-generated images using Google Gemini for an "Ugly Sweater Contest" in time for the JFK Ugly Sweater Party. Designs were put in a Google Form and voted on by administration and counselors. The student with the winning design won an ugly sweater.

DQ: How can we help the Cat in the Hat keep all his items from falling down? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science, Math

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

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Flexibility 

Task: Students stepped into the role of Balance Engineers to solve a high-stakes problem for a very messy guest. After reading Dr. Seuss’s classic tale during Read Across America celebrations, we were tasked with helping the Cat in the Hat master the "art of the stack" without letting his items fall down or "hit the floor".

Acting as professional engineers, students investigated the invisible "pull" of gravity and the "push" of stable foundations. The mission was clear: defy gravity by strategically balancing various items—from play dished and pots, to toy food—atop a wooden block featuring the Cat himself. Through trial and error, our young engineers discovered that the shape and weight of their items determined whether their towers stood tall or tumbled down. By the end of the lesson, students could explain not only how to build a sturdy structure but also how gravity is constantly pulling everything toward the Earth! 

DQ: What happens wto crayons when we heat them-and can we reverse the change? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, sequence, develop vocabulary  

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Our second grade chemists were tasked with changing a crayon's state of matter and demonstrating it as a reversible change. 

DQ:  How can we balance our country’s energy requirements with being environmentally conscious? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Math, Social Studies/History, Fine Arts, CTE, Science

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

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: As part of the non-renewable energy portion of their energy science unit, fourth-grade students used chocolate chip cookies and toothpicks to simulate and evaluate coal mining techniques and completed a cost-benefit analysis. The students have been studying the pluses and minuses relating to renewable and nonrenewable energy resources.

For the cookie mining activity, the students were given two broad guidelines. The first cookie mining round was to extract as many chips as possible with little regard for the environmental impact. The second round required the students to be mindful of their techniques and cause less damage to the environment. In both cases, there was a fixed amount of time, and the students were fined based on the number of broken cookie pieces. Upon completion of the activity, the students created a profit/(loss) statement and analyzed their profitability. The students presented their findings to the class and assessed how their mining decisions would change if they weren’t fined. Also, they discussed how the environment of the cookie would be affected if there were ecosystems on it. Finally, they brainstormed some ways that they could entice businesses to be environmentally safe. This exercise helped students reflect on the types of decisions governments and businesses are faced with and how difficult it can be to strike a balance between being profitable and protecting the environment. 

DQ: What makes a successful structure? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: Science, Math

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, connect problem & solution 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: The students were tasked with taking on the role of engineers to build the longest structure possible, with a given amount of materials. 

DQ: What are skills needed to work in a school? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: CTE, ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies/History

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

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: The students were tasked with different work skills at all our elementary schools. Our students practiced the work skills in class and were able to apply them in the field. Some of the tasks included shredding papers, taking inventory in the supply closet, organizing the sensory room, cleaning cafeteria tables, copying and stuffing mailboxes, hanging clothes in lost and found, stacking paper in the copy room, organizing binders, and sharpening pencils. Our students were able to generalize learned task across 2 different settings. 

DQ:  How can we design and build a strong, stable trap that can catch and hold an elf using only limited materials and time? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science, Fine Arts, CTE 

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, sequence, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: The Elf Trap Challenge

Fourth-grade students participated in a challenge in which they were mechanical engineers who attempted to build a trap to catch an elf. The purpose of this STEAM activity was to encourage students to brainstorm, think critically, and work collaboratively while exploring science concepts. The students were given a limited amount of string, a plastic food container, marshmallows, popsicle sticks, foil, clay, and a Lego minifigure. Their job was to build a structure that would trap and contain an elf. The participants were presented with some constraints:

· They couldn’t use anything to hold or prop up the structure.

· The tower had to stand for at least 30 seconds before being measured.

· They had 5 minutes to brainstorm and 20 minutes to build.

This exercise helped students experiment with various shapes and structures to see which one (s) was the strongest and most stable. They were able to reflect on why different designs may be more successful. Finally, the activity exposed students to using a trial and error (iterative) process to learn from successes and failures. This life skill can be applied across multiple disciplines and careers. 

DQ: How do we divide cookies into equal groups as new people arrive? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Math

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, make predictions, connect problem & solution  

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Flexibility, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: As a whole group, students read The Doorbell Rang. After the story, students were given 12 Oreos or Chips Ahoy cookies. As each guest arrived in the story, students worked in groups to divide the cookies into equal groups so that everyone received a fair share. Students successfully used their understanding of equal groups and division to separate the cookies accurately. After demonstrating their math thinking, students were able to enjoy their cookies. 

DQ: Can students remove snow (cotton balls) with a snowplow built from classroom objects? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science, Math, CTE

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, sequence, develop vocabulary 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Life Management - time, risk, stress, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Students engaged in problem-based learning by analyzing a real-world engineering challenge and developing a solution through programming and modifying to have a Sphero simulate snow removal. 

DQ:  How can we change the story so the Gingerbread Man doesn’t get caught? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA

Instructional Skills Discovered: identify main idea & details, make predictions, sequence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world, develop vocabulary 

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: The community was tasked with sending in letters on how the Gingerbread man was able to escape. 

DQ: What are the sequencing steps to wrapping a present? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Fine Arts 

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, sequence, develop vocabulary  

Portrait of a Graduate Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration 

Task: The students were tasked with deciding as a group which materials to use and the sequencing steps (First, Then,Next and Last) for wrapping a present. The students were asked would they have done anything different and were they happy with their finished present.