Introduction to Body Structures: Students learn to use directional terms (anterior/posterior, proximal/distal), body planes (sagittal, transverse), and define body cavities. Levels of Organization: Understanding how atoms form molecules, molecules form cells, cells form tissues (histology), and tissues form organs.

The ultimate goal is to have students working on a project of their own choosing with help from the teacher over the course of 9 weeks. The project should be linked to multimedia production in some capacity but should be open ended for students to be able to choose their own path.

social media and ediquette for eigth grade students

develop a work plan for community engagament

Students will create a children's book about belonging or community.

Unit project about peruvian landforms and bodies of water

Students have created a children's book about the Odyssey.

I want to create a project that encompasses math and science using many different types of seeds for Kindergarten. The math skills it should review are counting, one-to-one correspondence, sorting, grouping and skip counting. For science, I'd like them to learn about parts of a plant, plant needs, and all about pollinators. My idea for the final project/culmination looks something like this: reating a "Pollinator Pit-Stop" is an excellent choice for a kindergarten PBL project because it connects living things (science) with patterns and counting (math) in a way that five-year-olds can physically manipulate. Here is a detailed breakdown of how to structure the project and the final creation: ### 1. The Creation: "The Traveling Pollinator Cafe" Each student creates a **portable pollinator container** (a "Pit-Stop") to take home. Instead of a standard flower pot, they design a habitat that includes food, water, and shelter. * **The Container:** Use upcycled gallon jugs (cut in half) or wooden crates. * **The Content:** * **The Nectar Bar:** Two or three native flowering plants. * **The Puddling Station:** A small shallow dish or flat rock where bees can land to drink water safely. * **The Hotel:** A few hollow bamboo reeds or small "bee tubes" tucked into the side for solitary bees to nest. ### 2. The Science: "What do my guests need?" Kindergarteners can act as "habitat engineers" by learning the specific needs of local pollinators. * **Plant Selection:** Focus on native varieties that thrive in high-altitude/four-corner climates like **Blanketflower (Gaillardia)**, **Rocky Mountain Bee Plant**, or **Blue Flax**. These are hardy and colorful. * **The Life Cycle:** Students keep a "Seed Diary" using drawings to show the transformation from a dormant seed to a sprout with "true leaves." * **Pollination Action:** Use a "Cheeto Finger" activity to demonstrate how pollen moves. Students touch orange cheese powder (pollen) and then touch paper flowers to see how it "sticks" and travels. ### 3. The Math: "Garden by the Numbers" This is where the PBL rigor comes in. Use the garden to hit kindergarten Common Core standards: * **Counting & Cardinality:** * **Seed Sorting:** Give students a "Seed Menu." They must count out exactly **10** sunflower seeds and **5** zinnia seeds for their mix. * **Petal Counting:** Have students find flowers in the schoolyard and count the petals. Create a classroom bar graph: "How many flowers had 5 petals? How many had 3?" * **Measurement & Data:** * **Height Comparison:** Use "Unifix Cube Towers" to measure their plants. "My plant is 10 cubes tall today!" * **Sorting by Attribute:** Sort seeds by size (big/small), texture (smooth/fuzzy), or color. * **Geometry:** * **Pattern Planters:** Students decorate the outside of their "Pit-Stop" using an **ABB** or **ABC** pattern with shapes (e.g., Circle, Square, Square). ### 4. The Culmination: "The Family Flight Path" At the end of the project, invite families for a "Gallery Walk." * **The Expert Talk:** Each student stands by their "Pit-Stop" and explains one "Math Fact" (e.g., "I counted 12 seeds for this pot") and one "Science Fact" (e.g., "Bees need this rock to drink water"). * **The Map:** Create a large floor map of the community. Students place a sticker on the map where they live to show the "Flight Path" their pollinators can now take through the neighborhood. * **The Takeaway:** Families take the mini-gardens home to place on their porches or in their yards, officially expanding the local pollinator habitat. **Local Tip:** If you are sourcing seeds or plants, look for **Rocky Mountain Penstemon** or **Native Milkweed**. They are incredibly resilient for little hands and provide a great story about the Monarch butterfly migration or local bee health.