Spring is an eagerly awaited season for many of our students. It is a time of celebration and renewal. Project Based Learning units channel the excitement of spring into critical thinking and problem-solving. The following books can spark that excitement into an idea for a spring-based PBL unit. Read below for ideas, potential driving questions, and curriculum connections.
1. A House for Birdie by Stuart J. Murphy (K-2) AR: 2.0 Lexile
Why I love this book for PBL?
It speaks to my inner STEM nerd. I can easily see students gathering in tables to research different animals and what they require from their habitats. Can’t you visualize students finding materials to build shelters for creatures around the school? Hosting workshops on environmentally friendly materials, so that we preserve nature while helping these different creatures.
Potential Driving Questions:
- How can we, as caring earthlings, help the creatures in our area find suitable habitats?
- How can we, as bird enthusiasts, provide shelter for different types of birds in our community?
2. In The Trees, Honey Bees by Lori Mortensen (2-5) AR 4.4
Why I love this book for PBL units?
It is no secret that honeybees need our help. But it is so important for students to learn the role bees play and to conquer their own fears related to this crucial creature. This book lends itself to a lot of discussions around honeybees, poetry inspired by nature, and conservation efforts. The edition of this text I own, also contains a non-fiction article in the back that makes a perfect paired reading to engage in more discussion about the importance of honeybees.
Potential Driving Questions
- How can we, as authors and conservationists, use nature to inspire our community to take action?
- How can we, as conservationists, help the honeybees in our community?
3. The Garden Project by Margaret McNamara (Pre-K-1) AR 1.8
Why do I love this book for PBL units?
The author does a great job of illustrating “upcycling” resources to create a garden. This book is a wonderful way to introduce the topic of raised beds. When completing my unit plans with my partner, we chose this text to depict how a garden could be laid out and to get students thinking about the “why” behind turning a sandbox into a raised bed. This text is about a first-grade class creating a garden and really empowered my first graders to feel like they could grow their own garden.
Potential Driving Questions:
- How can we, as growing students, help the cafeteria provide healthy foods for students?
- How can we, as caring community members, help provide for people who are hungry
4. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (4-6) AR 4.9
Why I love this book for PBL units?
How does this book connect to spring you might ask? When the characters arrive in the land of Narnia it is in a vast and everlasting winter. Slowly, the characters witness the winter begin to melt into spring. The imagery and language around this occurrence are beautiful. As a former 5th-grade PBL teacher, I LOVED finding chapter books that could lend themselves to supporting a PBL unit. Even better if those books could launch a PBL unit. The language and imagery in this book are so beautiful that a study of themes, metaphors, and figurative language are a must. This book covers themes like bullying, good vs. evil, family bonds, and even faith.
Whenever I read a quality piece like this with my students, my first hope is always that they will want to write their own works. This way we can study the masters of authorship and help them hone their own craft. They don’t always take the bait though ;-).
Potential Driving Questions:
- How can we, as caring students, protect our “land” from the behavior of bullies?
- How can we, as authors, help provide x grade with quality texts?
- How can we, as authors, use the elements of fiction to teach others about issues that matter to us?
5. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (any age) AR 3.1
I know. I know. The Lorax for 5th and 6th graders?! But stay with me for a minute. This book is one of my favorites for teaching two main principles, conservation and empathy. While the cartoons appeal to younger students, they also make deeper themes easier to navigate for older elementary students who are just beginning to dive into literature analysis.
Take for example the idea of empathy. While younger children immediately empathize with the fish and the trees and the Lorax, it is the older students who can relate to the plight of the Once-ler. Regret is something younger students don’t understand completely. It is not until they are older that they can see that the Once-ler is a true example of how our actions can leave a mark on our character later in life.
Why I love this book for a PBL unit?
I have used this book in both 5th grade and 1st grade and the conversations that it sparks are amazing. Students can really pull so many different PBL units from this one text.
- Connect elements of fluency by creating a Reader’s Theater for students to practice this story.
- Delve into conservation by studying deforestation and pollution effects on habitats and ecosystems.
- Compare and contrast photos from long ago and today and discuss the impact humans have on their environment.
- Study basic principles of economics and supply/demand using the Once-ler’s business model.
- Analyze entrepreneurs/businesses that have modeled being good stewards of the earth vs. those who have not. Dig into how this has impacted their models.
Potential Driving Questions:
- How can we, as good stewards of the planet, run a successful business?
- How can we, as conservationists, protect our planet for future generations?
- How can we, as future scientists, help reduce the effects of pollution on our community?
6. The Little Plant Doctor: A Story About George Washington Carver by Jean Marzollo (K-3) AR 3.3
Why I love this book for PBL units?
This book can be a catalyst for so many PBL units that revolve around STEM and history.
- Study famous scientists who made discoveries that changed the world.
- Discuss inventions and inventing new processes for items. Consider asking students to choose an item and create a new way for it to be used like George Washington Carver did for the peanut.
- Read about inventors who are not often discussed and their contributions to the world.
- Discuss opportunities to educate, inequality, and the importance of all children having the same access to quality education.
- Imagine what trees have seen as time passes. Choose a tree in the local community and write a story from the time it was planted until now. If personified, what would the tree have witnessed? What stories would it tell?
Potential Driving Questions:
- How can we as inventors find new and helpful uses for the materials and resources that we use every day?
- How can we as historians, share with others about underappreciated inventors?
- How can we as students, help all children receive an equal education?
Ready to begin your spring-based PBL unit? Try my guided PBL planner to help you plan a fantastic and original PBL unit.
