Additional information
by J. Matthews (Author)
Intimidated by project-based learning? Problem solved.
Welcome to the Theme Park Challange PBL project!
This project leads your students through an amazing and in-depth PBL journey as they design all aspects of their very own theme park.
With the provided grade-appropriate support, your students will consider all aspects of business start-up, including park naming and branding, selection of attractions, park layout, marketing, etc.
Whether you are an experienced PBL teacher or trying PBL for the first time, this resource provides everything you need to feel confident in supporting your learners throughout the project.
Use the Teacher Guide to plan the project in a quick 30 minutes. Launch the project using one of the provided ideas, then guide students with the detailed content modules, which contain extensive teacher- and student-directed resources.
Available Learning Content Modules Include:
- Launch Event:
- Name & Branding
- Location
- Attractions
- Park Layout
- Marketing
- Culminating Event
Student-directed resources within each module include:
- Brainstorming worksheets covering key elements in the topic.
- Use these worksheets to stimulate student thinking and help learners consider the relevant issues.
- Reflection worksheets.
- Reflections are an vital part of the PBL process as they allow students to deepen their learning via a thoughtful review of the content, methods and motivations for their learning.
Teacher-directed resources for each module include:
- Driving Questions
- Check-in Questions
- 3-5 'Deepen the Learning' Options
- Each content module contains 3-5 easy options for helping your learners stretch their thinking and engage with the topic in more depth.
- Scheduling Guide
- Mini-lesson Resources
- Mini-lessons are 5-15 minutes of direct instruction covering information that you or your students have identified as necessary in order to progress.
Additional extension ideas as well as a complete list of the learning standards are also included.
The project is designed to be completely flexible in order to meet your scheduling requirements.
If you are looking for an amazing project where all the hard work has been done for you, grab this easy-to-use book and get ready for a fantastic learning journey.
The project is easily adjustable from Grades 3-8 and beyond.
Project-based learning is not 'doing projects.'
A project is a task that students complete after learning content in order to demonstrate understanding.
In project-based learning, students are given a real-world problem that engages and motivates them. Through the process of exploring and engaging with the issue, students discover the need to learn specific content and skills because they are required to solve the problem.
Students become more engaged with learning because the motivation is driven from their need to know. Your role becomes more of a coach to guide your students to the best learning resources to meet their needs. (In many cases the best learning resources might be you.)
Because of the student-centred drive for information, PBL projects not only build independent learning skills, but also develop essential critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills.
PBL projects have the potential to be the most memorable and effective of your students' school experiences. Grab this project and give it a try!
This book is also suitable for inquiry-based and problem-based learning approaches.
