PBL in Language Arts Classroom

HI all, I am new to this group and thrilled to have found it!

I teach 8th grade English, and am attempting to create a more student-centered classroom every year. I love everything about PBL, but I struggle to figure out how to apply this to literature/language arts related content. I see how wonderful it is for Science and would love to operate my classroom like a language arts learning lab!

Any ideas or resources for applying PBL to language arts would be greatly appreciated!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Krauss on July 2, 2010 at 6:58pm

I am happy to learn about Jim Burke's books, they sound great. Thanks Tara.

Permalink Reply by Sherri Johnston on June 22, 2010 at 9:55am

What makes PBL so promising in LA is when we create situations where students read and write for an authentic purpose on a topic they are passionate about. One year, a group of Grades 9's got kicked up about a teenage pregnancy centre where girls received maternity care, were able to continue their schooling, make use of daycare services, etc. The Grades 9's (as part of their LA class) decided to champion this centre. They came up with the idea of holding a silent auction and set about making it happen. They wrote business letters to community organizations explaining the value of this centre and requesting donations for the auction. They created a program, invited guests, tracked the donations and organized the silent auction, etc. In the end, it was a huge success and all students had a role in making it happen. The teacher never envisioned that one little presentation would spark such a project like this, but the kids got excited about it and it took on a life of its own. So rather than design a project that seems interesting to you (e.g. the Dream House project), maybe you could explore the interests of your students and see what sparks.

Have you explored a connection with literature? Another Gr. 9 colleague decided to build a project based on the book, My Sister's Keeper. Students read the book, discussed the weighty issues of cloning, personal rights and organ donation. They connected it to a social justice study in their Social Studies class and it led to a project.

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Daniels on June 22, 2010 at 12:10pm

Wonderful ideas, Sherri, thanks! And you make a really good point about finding a project that resonates with the kids...

Permalink Reply by Jane Krauss on July 2, 2010 at 7:01pm

Wow. Those kids leave knowing how to champion a cause. That's profound! Talk about a civics lesson!

Permalink Reply by Sheri on June 23, 2010 at 6:05pm

Edutopia pbl workshops this summer

http://www.edutopia.org/files/existing/edutopianews.html

Permalink Reply by Andrea Hildreth on June 23, 2010 at 8:27pm

Hello Elizabeth and fellow PBL~Better with Practice friends,

I suggest you have a look at: "The Decameron Web is a project of the Italian Studies Department's Virtual Humanities Lab at Brown University". http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/index.php

It is a project being done by university students - but it is great! I hope it gives you some ideas for your next PBL project.

Permalink Reply by NELSON PINHEIRO COELHO DE SOUZA on July 8, 2010 at 8:37pm

I think PBL is a great idea for teaching language, But I think PBL in Science or in language teaching, when it comes to beginners, I mean those students that dont have the necessary previous knowledge available, should be used with care. See we learn by doing because the meaning is on the use, on the application, but we can t expect students to guess how something should be used, should be applyed, Most of the knowledge we learn is full of arbitrary conventions and we can t expect our begginers to guess such arbitrary conventions. We have to show them how to use, how to apply.....