Lit for Learning PBL Unit | Episode 17

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

“The student choice in this is huge. It’s exciting when kids want to give back to certain organizations that they have had a connection to or have worked with before, that’s really fun to see. The fact that they choose their organization and how to raise the money…it’s fun to see how that all comes to fruition.”

— Angela Spurgeon, 8th Grade English Facilitator, Central Middle School | Columbus, IN

Welcome to the PBL Playbook, brought to you by Magnify Learning – where we put teachers back in their sweet spot. Make sure you follow us on Twitter: @magnifylearning, @askgiebs, @MissB103, #PBLPlaybook.

Josh and Andrea continue the PBL Project Blitz series where once a month, they highlight a PBL project by veterans in the PBL classroom.

In this episode of the PBL Project Blitz, our hosts talk to two middle school Project Based Learning teachers about a project that they have facilitated around literacy. Trisha Burns (@BurnsTrisha) and Angela Spurgeon (@spurgeona) facilitate PBL in their 8th Grade Math and English classrooms, respectively. They discuss with our hosts a project that they have done called “Lit for Learning,” in which students raise money for children’s books to promote literacy and a love for learning in younger students. They apply math concepts of equations and surface area, and used English class to evaluate books and make choices for book selections based on age-appropriate reading. Trisha and Angela talk about the incredible impact this project had on their students, as well as some of the different components that go into creating a cross-curricular project.

Stay tuned for more awesome projects as the PBL Project Blitz series continues every month!