My Dream Classroom
By:  Kevin Sills

Project at a Glance :
   
This project is for 4th graders who are learning about writing persuasive essays.  They will explore what features are important to a classroom and will help students do their best learning. 
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Driving Question:

How can we create a 4th grade classroom that is great for learning, but also comfortable?

Standards:

• W.4.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
• SL.4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• SL.4.4. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Team / Culture Building:

• After doing the Stakeholders Map, Empathy poster, and Anti-problem protocols.  After observing how each student worked in groups, the teacher will divide them into groups where they can best benefit each other.  
  

​​Entry Event:

• During the entry event for this PBL, the teacher removed all the furniture from the classroom and let the class see a "blank slate". Then, students created a design for how they think the current furniture should be arranged.

Stakeholders:

• Teachers
• ​​Students
• Administration
• School Board
• Parents

Empathy Building:

• Empathy Map​

• Stakeholders Map​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Create a Need to Knows list.

Incubation:

• ​Anti-problem protocol
• 3-12-3 - The class took their thoughts from the rule of thirds and narrowed down some ideas that they were passionate about for a future classroom. They took some of those words and elaborated on them in order to pitch them to their classmates. 

• Idea Quota protocol ​

• Rule of Thirds - We took their idea quota notes and had each group start to sort them into "obvious", "crazy", and "mind-blowing".  

Checking in:

• Each group will have a time to go over what they have discovered through the protocols that we have done.  I will also drop in as they go through the “checking in” protocols that they will share with the class.

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Solution Building:

• Filtering & Objectives protocol - As a class we went through a filtering and objectives protocol to make sure we were covering what we thought were the most valuable options for our solutions.​

• Poster Sessions -Each group created a poster of what their classroom floor plan will look like. They first created a rough draft and then moved it onto an another poster for a more finished product.  
• Mind Mapping activity
• $100 Test - After looking at all of their ideas for a new classroom using their mind maps, each group put together a list of things they thought were important for their own classroom plan. Each group then assigned a value to that idea. The more important ideas were given more money than ones they thought had less value in their classroom.

Critique and Revision: 

• New and Novel - Each group went through their mind maps and started label things that they believed to be new or novel. They had to explain to their group why they believed that idea would be new or novel to their group.  

Authentic Audience:

• Parent
• Tricia Kiepert, Principal
• Devon Brooks, Superintendent 

Final Presentation:

• Students presented their ideas to the authentic audience.

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

     "Beanbags. Ever feel like just collapsing? Beanbags are perfect for that. When you do, they just go, BOOF."
     "Couches. Kick back, relax, and read! Comfy, and it has many uses! Plus our current couches break all the time. Just ask Mr. Sills! He is always fixing them."
     "Who wouldn't want a slide and with a loft in their room, they would be crazy!"
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• Two Stars and a Wish - Each group displayed their projects poster and slideshow that they created. Then we walked through the room and wrote down two stars (things we liked) and one wish (something we think could improve). Then we split into groups to share out our thoughts in order to prepare for the final presentations.  

• Think-Pair-Share - The following day we gathered as a class and shared our thoughts and ideas together using a think/pair/share format.
• Exit Ticket - The authentic audience completed an exit ticket.
  

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

Meet the Educator:

​Kevin Sills teaches 4th grade at Hudsonville Christian School.
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     "A way to dig deeper into generating ideas for questions that students may have as well as a way to collaborate with other students during the process."