During this half of the term, Tamar class tried to answer the big question of ‘what would the world be like without rainforests?’
To do so, they researched and produce a piece of work about a rainforest animal that is on the endangered animals list. They also organised a ‘movie and smoothie’ fundraising event to raise money to help protect these animals. They organised the event by choosing the movie, informing the other classes by making posters and even designing their own posters.
Teacher’s Reflection
“I enjoyed this project as it allowed the students to organise an event which linked to their work. This was the project that they seemed most engaged with and everyone was excited by the event we organised. This was also the project where students had the most independence over the work they produced. I think it would have been nice for the students to have more opportunities to showcase their work and explain how their work fed into answering the big question. Next time I would also like to invite parents or have a separate showcase for parents.
What was the best thing about the project?
– Students had ownership over how they produced their work (e.g., poster, presentations, videos)
– Organising an event which involved the whole school
– Allowed students to design the event
What did I find challenging?
– Differentiating the options for how students produce their work
– The audience for the showcase could potentially have included parents – this is something I have found challenging throughout PBL this year
– Not enough time at the zoo to see rainforest animals
– Found it challenging to refer to the big question throughout and for students to understand the implication of losing animals” – Sam Dexter
Student Reflection
“I loved the project because I enjoyed making my presentation. My highlight was watching the film because I liked Zootropolis. The project taught me how to use google slides.”
– Jack
“Best project ever! I loved the movie and smoothie morning.”
– Yitzi
