PBL Showcase ~ Summer 2025

DQ:  How do people in our community help us? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: Social Studies/History, ELA, Physical Education/Health, Fine Arts, ELA

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

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

Task: The students were tasked to study the different people in a community. After learning about the jobs that community members have they were to decide what they think they would like to be when they grow up. Each student created a project to showcase what they want to be when they grow up and explain to their classmates what they will do when they have that job. 

DQ:  What is an animal?

Interdisciplinary Studies: Fine Arts, Science, ELA

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast 

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

Task: Students were tasked to create a new animal with a new animal trait. Students renamed their new animal and shared what their new trait would do to help protect them and help them survive. 

DQ: "How can we use our voices through writing and art to inspire change and connect with our community?" 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Fine Arts, CTE, SS/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, author's purpose, analyze text structure, connect essential themes, ideas, and perspectives, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career 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 created poems, short stories, and original work on the theme "Traveling Through Time" for the spring edition of the lit mag. Artistically interpret the theme "Traveling Through Time" in words or image. High school students were tasked with creating narrative pieces of writing for the bi-annual literary magazine.  Over 35 entries were published into the anthology "Traveling Through Time." Follow the link to see the finished product:  https://comsewoguehs.comsewogue.k12.ny.us/literary-magazine 

DQ:  How can we create a spinning LEGO ride that shows how engineers solve problems?

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Math, Science, CTE 

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

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

Task: In this hands-on PBL lesson, students collaborate in teams to design, build, and program a working LEGO carousel using the LEGO SPIKE Essential kit and block-based coding. This project integrates engineering, coding, and teamwork with literacy and communication skills. Students engage in the engineering design process by imagining, building, testing, and improving their models, culminating in a group presentation. 

DQ:  How can we effectively run a lemonade stand while managing money and providing excellent customer service? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Math, CTE

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

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

Task: The students were asked to make change using Ms. Leonard bucks from our customers buying lemonade. The students needed to use their social skills as well as activate their knowledge on money. Half of the students made change while the other half of the students used their fine motor skills to pour lemonade. 

DQ: What does it take to build a successful civilization, and how do its parts work together to shape its future? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, make inferences, make predictions, develop vocabulary 

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

Task: Sixth grade ENL students at JFK were tasked with designing their own fictional civilization using GRAPES: Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, and Social Structure. Students researched each aspect of GRAPES to understand how civilizations work. Students planned and developed their own unique civilization, made decisions about the location, beliefs, government, economy, technology, and social systems, and created presentations that showcased their civilizations. Each student identified a similarity between their civilization and another presented in class. They evaluated a strength and a weakness of their civilization and brainstormed how that strength and weakness might impact their civilization's long-term survival. As a final reflection, the class discussed and wrote about how they could combine elements from different civilizations presented in class to create an "ideal" civilization.

DQ:  How can student journalists shape the narrative of our school and its values? How can students produce a great media product and enhance their speaking skills? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, CTE, Fine Arts

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, identify main idea & details, determine point of view, use text evidence, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Life/Career 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 learning about all the steps in journalistic media production by producing a media product for our online newspaper. Watch entire show here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vYf-apsGE2zDm8XnqTtJ0Q7UGV_tjn4N/view 

DQ:  How can we design emperor robes that reflect the power and cultural significance of ancient China's emperors? 

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

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

Life/Career Skills Enhanced: Creativity, Life Management - time, risk, stress 

Task: In this lesson, students embarked on a creative journey that combines historical research with artistic expression. After researching a specific Chinese emperor, students designed and created paper robes that visually represented the emperor's leadership style and personality traits. This task required students to analyze historical information, incorporate their findings into symbolic representations, and justify their artistic choices with textual evidence. Students were tasked with creating a key that connects each image on their robe to a specific trait of the emperor, explaining why they chose that trait based on their research. This project encouraged students to think critically about historical figures, interpret information creatively, and communicate their understanding both visually and through written expression. 

DQ: How does a seed turn into a plant? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science

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

Life/Career Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming botanists. We first researched what plants need to grow. After planting the seeds we made sure each pot had the four things we learned (soil, air, water, and sunlight). We made observations as the seeds grew and learned the life cycle of a plant through these observations. 

DQ:  How can we share our love of reading and help others find books they’ll enjoy? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Fine Arts, CTE 

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

Life/Career Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Self and/or Social Awareness, Flexibility, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: Fifth-grade students from Ms. Cole’s class collaborated with their “buddies” from Ms. Leonard’s 3rd/4th grade class during Ms. Reilly's library time to complete an end-of-year literacy project. The 5th graders created “Book Talk” videos recommending their favorite titles, which were then used to help their buddies select and write about a book they enjoyed this year. Students worked together in small groups to write and illustrate personal reflection books, showcasing their reading growth and preferences. After completing the reflection books, all students were invited to explore a Makerspace activity of their choice as a celebration of their efforts. 

DQ:  How can a community effectively and authentically honor the diverse experiences and sacrifices of veterans?

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Social Studies/History

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, make inferences, determine point of view, make text connections - to self, text/media, world 

Life/Career Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Self and/or Social Awareness, Incorporate and Give Feedback, Actively Listen and Speak 

Task: The students were tasked with researching the idea of honoring veterans to decide how they could best honor them. They ultimately decided to write letters to local veterans at the State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University Hospital. 

DQ: How can we develop and learn better eating habits? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, make inferences, make predictions, connect problem & solution, sequence 

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

Task: Students were tasked with becoming an herb farmer and starting a garden. 

DQ:  How can we be of service and honor others?

Interdisciplinary Studies: Math, Fine Arts, ELA

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, connect problem & solution, sequence 

Life/Career Skills Enhanced: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Self and/or Social Awareness 

Task: Students were tasked with becoming designers and creating a space in our school to honor those that gave 'The Ultimate Sacrifice.'

DQ:  What good or service is needed in your neighborhood? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Social Studies/History, Math

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, connect problem & solution, develop vocabulary 

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

Task: Students were asked to think of an idea for a good or service that they would provide in their neighborhood.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/143HA6GVeMBUBZ_fWfHFVp815lypepCjr/view?usp=sharing 

DQ:  How long does it take for a caterpillar to become a butterfly? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science

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

Life/Career Skills Enhanced:  Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking 

Task: The students were asked to recall and observe the life cycle of a butterfly in real time. Watching each stage of the butterfly life cycle. Making predictions on how long they believed it would take for the butterfly to make it through the life cycle. 

DQ:  How can we use wires and batteries to create a working electric circuit, and what factors affect whether a bulb lights up or a device operates? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, Science, CTE

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

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

Task: The students were tasked with becoming electrical engineers and designing an original, functional electric circuit using wires, a battery, and a bulb to solve a real-world problem or need, such as creating a simple flashlight or a doorbell system. They then had to analyze and explain the effectiveness of their design, identify possible improvements, and justify their choices based on scientific principles and evidence. Finally, they presented their solution to the class, demonstrating their understanding of how electric circuits work and how they can be applied in everyday situations. 

DQ:  How has New York State’s geography and history shaped each region, and how can we share that with visitors? 

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

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, determine cause & effect, compare & contrast, draw conclusions, demonstrate fact vs. opinion, identify main idea & details, make inferences, sequence, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

Life/Career 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 becoming regional tour guides and researchers. They used what they learned throughout the year to research one of New York State's regions and create a presentation that explained the region’s history, how it has changed over time, and what it’s like today. Students worked in collaborative groups to gather information, create posters, build models or displays, and deliver speeches to showcase their findings at our classroom "New York State Visitors Center." 

DQ:  How can we, as student authors, create engaging and meaningful books that other students will enjoy and learn from? 

Interdisciplinary Studies: ELA, CTE, Fine Arts 

Instructional Skills Discovered: activate prior knowledge, find author's purpose, analyze text structure, determine cause & effect, connect themes, arguments, perspectives, draw conclusions, identify main idea & details, connect problem & solution, sequence, use text evidence, develop vocabulary 

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

Task: Students were tasked with becoming authors of picture books that would be engaging to readers, and offer insights into the many ways people can help one another through reading, writing and storytelling. They had to consider the ways in which their writing, and subsequent reading of their writing to others, could build connections of kindness in our school community.