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“As teachers, we need to be able to step back and say, ‘But how will students see this?’ To us, it’s our baby and we’ve designed this, so we think that it’s really clear…sometimes we need to remember that they don’t see all of it yet.”
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 sit down with Kendra McPheeters (@kmcpheets), an English teacher and literacy coach in northwest Indiana. McPheeters shares about one of her favorite projects in which students studied short stories and partnered with the elementary school to encourage STEM-based literacy.
Stay tuned for more awesome projects as the PBL Project Blitz series continues every month!
Show Notes
*PBL PROJECT BLITZ EPISODE 11 FULL SHOW NOTES
Resources & Links Related to this Episode
School: Lowell Senior High School-Lowell, IN
PBL UNIT OVERVIEW:
PBL Unit Name: Short Stories
Grade: High School-12th English
Standards:
Writing Genres: Narrative 11-12.W.3.3 Write narrative compositions in a variety of forms that:
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Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters.
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Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
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Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
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Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
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Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
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Provide an ending that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.
Authentic Problem: Students at the local elementary needed help learning science standards and building their reading skills. Seniors tackled this issue by writing their own engaging stories for the elementary students. The stories they wrote were based on science standards and used the necessary elements of short story.
Driving Question: How do we as authors effectively write engaging and informative short stories for elementary students in order for them to build literacy and science content knowledge?
Community Partner: Local Elementary School Class
End Products: Short stories which were read to elementary students.
