Best Year Ever
By:  Abbi Onofrio

Project at a Glance :

This project explores how to create an amazing class culture and environment in the beginning of the year that will last the rest of the school year. 

Driving Question:

How can we make this the best year ever?          

Standards:

• Teamwork
• Collaboration
• Problem solving
• Perseverance
• Positivity

Team / Culture Building:

• Creative DNA to create groups
• Hope, Fears, & Norms
• Collaboration Tower​​

• Bug List 

Entry Event:

• Mission from administration:  Deliver an envelope with an official mission that students will need to work on!

Stakeholders:

• Peers
• Teacher
• Paraprofessionals
• Administration
• Families
• Specials Teachers

Empathy Building:

• Stakeholder Map
• Empathy Map​​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Interview stakeholders​

• Use the Hopes, Fears and Norms to brainstorm how we want to feel this year. We will also review interview data.

Incubation:

• Classroom projects  
• Idea Quota​​

• Crazy 8’s ​

Checking in:

• Continually- asking questions and monitoring progress.
• Share out with partners

• Thumbs check in
• 1-5 finger check in

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Solution Building:

• Use the solution ideas generated through the Idea Quota and Collaborative Crazy 8 activities. 

• Run the NUF Test to determine best ideas moving forward.
• After completing the NUF test as a group. Groups will share out top 2-3 ideas. Then individuals draw crazy 8 then share out with group. Then they will do a collaborative crazy 8. ​

Authentic Audience:

• Classmates
• Teachers
• Administration
• PBIS specialist

Final Presentation:

• Using a presentation it could include props, posters, skits etc. students will share out their solution ideas. ​

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• Use  Emoji feedback along with a comment section.
• Pluses and Deltas
• Feedback and questions from the audience. Reflect as a group with Pluses and Deltas.

Student feedback:

• "This was so fun, I loved doing the Save Sam activity."
• ​"It was hard to put together all our ideas, or to know what to do, but we came up with good ideas."
• "I hope we get to do our ideas this year."
• "It was scary to do our pitch's but it made me feel good once they were done."

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:
Abbi Orofino teaches 4th grade at Georgetown Elementary, Hudsonville Public Schools.

     "One thing I LOVE about PBL is the engagement and excitement it brings out in kids. It brings them real world applications, problem solving, teamwork, creative processes. It is pretty awesome!"