Lesson Plan According with Project Based Learning.

Grade: 3rd

Content: Natural Science

Problem Based Learning: How can we protect the river of our city?

 Warm Up:

In this first step, the teacher will show a short video film about the different problems that
face the river of the city such as: contamination because of the garbage that flows inside
it, chemical substances and bad smells that every citizen perceives. With this cognitively
engagement process, students explore and explode their curiosity to find out the specific
issue brought to the class and how would they recognize its incidence to take care of it.

 Introduction:

Teacher collects, underlines and writes on the board the questions asked by his students
to make a brainstorming about what they consider are the causes and consequences that
incidence in the relationship between the river and how to protect it. Therefore, teacher
presents the real context to plan a project about how to protect the river of their own city.
That is why, among every student and teacher, start to distribute them in groups of 3 or 4
participants to make an analysis of what they could find in the river that provoke
contamination of its water to then establish proposals to implement and reduce the level
of contamination.

 Presentation:

Each group will decide with the teacher a horizon to work out about the problems and
other questions related to it that affect the river through a diary that they must write to
arrange from the biggest until the smallest issues that sway in the contamination of the
river. Consequently, they plan how will socialize and share their results to other groups
and teacher through a simulation of how the river can be contaminated by the human
being and chemical product, and the choices to select (letters, video, story, brochures,
leaflet, webpage, articles or portfolio) about the trajectory of the actions that they can
carry out to protect the river.

 Practice:

At this point, all groups establish a schedule to control and monitor the step by step which
they must apply to figure out what are the circumstances in which the river is
contaminated to then go deeper in the process to find out strategies around how to
protect it. In this way, they make a simulation of how can they protect the river before the
whole groups, bringing to the class different material and ludic resources to recreate the
real conditions in which it is contaminated. Thus, they highlight with these simulations
what the problem is and socialize the chosen medium (webpage, video, story, leaflet and
so on) in which they established the strategies to implement.

 Evaluation:

Students demonstrate how and what they have learned, teacher starts to assess and give
feedback about their carried-out processes, the critical thinking, collaborative work, the
communication that they had among them, ways in which they faced the problem and
how they did their contributions and consultations to develop the project realization for
taking care of the river.

 Application:

Teacher and students have reflected in the effects of their experiences to understand how
can they protect the river of the city, they prepare and share their final product according
to the received input from teacher suggestions. Thus, in this final stage they give the
results and innovative outcomes from their searching.

Comments

I love this idea and it fits perfectly in the project-based learning approach. Although, it is
not easy to put it into practice, it clearly connects the school with local problems that
must be solved.
Grade: 5.0

Student´s role

1. Project Based Learning is developed by groups of students working together to

reach a common achievement.

2. Their interests and needs frame the project. These lead them into action.

3. PBL allows students to investigate and explore issues, challenges and topics in
real-world problems.

4. They connects the world with authentic problems.

5. They research important ideas and questions.

6. Students make most of the choices during the process with the pre-approved
guidelines and direct the project.

7. They make choices that help determine the outcome and path of the research

8. They work with their own community at the time they see the effect of the project

9. They  develop the 21st century skills to research, create and draw content and
conclusions

10. They lead the planning, designing and performance of the project

Student’s role:
1. students work towards a common goal.
2. explore real world problems and challenges.
3. work within the community while seeing the positive effect of their work.
4. Collects the interest of the students, motivates them to study and prods them into
action
5. intrinsic motivation.
6. students make most of the choices during the project
7. Students direct the project.
8. They make most of the choices during the project within the pre-approved
guidelines
9. They make choices that help determine the outcome and path of the research
10. PBL allows students to investigate issues and topics in real-world problems.
11. They research important ideas and questions.
12. Their needs and interests frame the project.
13. They work with their own community at the time they see the effect of the project
14. They lead the production and presentation of the project
15. They connects the world with authentic problems
16. They  develop the 21st century skills to research, create and draw content and
conclusions.
17. Project Based Learning is developed by groups of students working together to
reach a common achievement.
18. They explore real world problems and challenges

Assessment role
1. It is authentic.This requires more time and effort from the teacher.
2. Takes time to reflect, individually and as a group.
3. Vary the type of assessment used and discuss what worked well and needs.
4. Share ideas that will lead to new inquiries, thus new projects.
5. Students are assessed on the basis of their projects .
6. Is graded  based on a defined rubric made and adapted for the project itself.
7. assessment is based on  clearly defined rubric made or modified for the project.
8. The performances embrace the quality of the product, outcomes, and the content
showing contributions and understandings in the ongoing process of project
elaboration.
9. It assesses to help students obtain key academic content.
10. Assess the outcome and can provide diagnostic feedback for educators and
students and evaluate the progress of the project.
11. give students the opportunity to conduct self-assessment