A PBL Unit kicks off with an entry event, otherwise known as a “hook,” that engages students’ curiosity. In fifth grade, students study USA history and geography, and so for an entry event into their latest PBL unit, the fifth grade class examined a 3D map of the USA, and noted the flat center that makes up the Great Plains region. Students examined photographs and personal accounts from the early 1930s; the “chocolate-rich soils” that drew many to profitable wheat, corn, and livestock farming during the Great Depression, creating the area’s nickname as “The Breadbowl” of the nation.
Students then examined photographs and heard personal accounts of the 1939-1949 Dust Bowl Disaster. What caused the year-upon-year sand storms that killed livestock, buried crops, and drove farmers off their once-fertile lands? The class charted initial ideas, and will collect “clues” in the form of a growing body of knowledge and experiences each week, and then try to answer the complex question (that puzzled scientists for years) at the end of the unit.
Milestone One
Learning steps necessary to reach an end goal is a “milestone” in PBL. The first milestone in the fifth grade unit is for students to understand the value of water as a precious natural resource. After defining “resource,” students wrote their answers to the question, “What is the most precious resource in the world?” They posted these on a chart that remains on the classroom wall throughout the unit. Food, water, and shelter made up the top responses. Sleep, and being healthy were other thoughtful answers; the 5th graders knew that gold, diamonds, and X-boxes were not it!
Next, students learned about fisherman Jose Alvarenga, lost at sea for 438 days after a storm flooded the engine of his fishing boat. Using buckets to collect fresh rainwater, and his bare hands to catch any sea life he could, Jose was able to get just enough fresh water and food to survive for fourteen months. Students learned that people can survive just three weeks without food, and only three days without water! To conclude, students revisited their thought-board and refined their “…most precious resource” answers, reflecting how we refine and rethink things as we grow in knowledge, skills, and experiences in a lifelong learning process.
With this, the fifth grade Earth Science PBL Unit “Water doesn’t just fall from the sky, you know” was underway. Students will learn about the interconnected nature of the earth’s four spheres, with emphasis on the hydrosphere and an application of learning at the end.
Stay tuned to learn about the next milestone in the fifth grade hydrology PBL unit!
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