Outdoor Classroom with Native Plants Garden
                                                                     By:  Melissa Sanborn

Project at a Glance :

This project is designed for 2nd grade students. The goal is to make our school more inviting and welcoming while utilizing the outside environment for learning.  This project is estimated to last the full school year.    
 
Driving Question:

How can we create an outdoor learning environment that includes native plants that bring in pollinators?              

Standards:

• SL.2.1. Speaking and Listening.  Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• SL2.3  Comprehension and Collaboration.  Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.    ​​

Team / Culture Building:

• Inner Hereos
• Creative DNA

• Hopes, Fears, & Norms

Entry Event:

• ​Tour of the outside of the building and ask students how we can better use the outdoor space at the south end of our building.

Stakeholders:

• Students
• Teachers
• Parents
• Building maintenance staff

Empathy Building:

• Stakeholder map​​

• Empathy map

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Pains and Gains - worries and wishes
• Need to know (create a top 10 list)
• Interview: professional landscaper, plant experts, parents, fellow classmates, teachers, and custodial staff.

Incubation:

• On a weekly basis from week one of school have an activity that encourages outside the box thinking: example being “squiggles” students create something from a random line and then we group results into similarities and those that don’t fall into groups are voted on for the most outside the box idea.  Creative thinking is supported daily in all areas of the school day.​​​

• Idea dump - brainstorm activity
• How would ____ solve this?

Checking in:

• Teacher will check in with students at every stage moving throughout the room, observing each group's progress, sticking points, and  successes. Offer some probing questions to keep them moving forward.

• Rule of Thirds protocol

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Solution Building:

• Poster Session to share ideas with group.
• Saturate and Group ideas

Critique and Revision: 

• Use Dot Voting to narrow down ideas.
• Students will revisit and revise the ideas that survived the Dot voting.  Then do the NUFF test.

Authentic Audience:

• Teachers
  
•  Students
  
• Parents
  
• Grounds maintenance staff

Final Presentation:

• In person presentation, groups will have Tri-fold board and students take turns talking to different aspects/points of the project.  The presentation will  include samples or photos of plants that will be included in the project.
  
• Pitch
  
• Prototyping​

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• ​Feedback sheets
• Scale/Rubric
• Harkness Circles
• Retrospective Board​

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

Meet the Educator:
Melissa Sanborn teaches 2nd grade at Robinson Elementary School, Grand Haven Area Public Schools.

     "One of the best things about PBL is that it's a great way to connect my students to the real world and make their learning relevant.  The students are energized and super motivated to the work."