More Free Project Based Learning Activities for SAFARI Montage

In a previous blog entry, we presented six project-based learning activities for use with SAFARI Montage that were appropriate for upper elementary and middle school learners.   Here are several new project-based learning activities suitable for elementary school learners.

Project-based learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based approach to instruction that fosters collaborative learning and promotes students’ development of research, communication and critical thinking skills in the pursuit of answers to real-world challenges.

Working in small groups, students engage in a sustained, cooperative investigation to answer a question or solve a problem. Throughout this process, students are creating an artifact or presentation representing what they have learned and the solution they propose.

Using SAFARI Montage as an on-demand digital media resource for learning and investigating, these multi-disciplinary project-based learning activities engage teachers and students in creating multimedia projects that span multiple content areas.

Activities 1-4 focus on countries, cultures and traditions around the world, how topography and climate affect the availability of resources, what life was like in ancient civilizations and the connection between life in the past and life today and are appropriate for elementary school learners.  Activities 6-8 focus on the structure and function of plants and seeds, how plants and seeds grow, plant adaptations, energy in plants and the importance of plants as a natural resource and are appropriate for elementary and upper elementary school learners.  Each contains an essential question, guided research, tailored playlists, graphic organizers, and assessment rubrics and each can be modified for your specific instructional needs. The projects result in multimedia products such as websites, blogs, wikis, podcasts, movies, and public service announcements bringing real-world applications to student learning.

Please explore the activities below and download them for use in your classrooms. We'd love to hear about how you use SAFARI Montage with your students!
 

Activity 1: Our Journey Around the World
Activity 2: Celebrations of Culture
Activity 3: World Views
Activity 4: Live: From the Ancient World
Activity 6: Think like a Seed
Activity 7: Plantformers
Activity 8: Plant Power!