Project-Based Learning

PBL Champion School: Billie Martinez Elementary

Billie Martinez Elementary is a PBL Champion School, we are dedicated to transforming education for our students. We were once facing potential closure due to test scores, our school was granted "innovation status" by the state board of education. Under the leadership of Principal Monica Draper, Billie Martinez has embraced a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) curriculum delivered through Project-Based Learning (PBL).

Starting our PBL journey at PBL World in 2017, we have seen remarkable growth and success, thanks to the support from PBLWorks. In 2019, Billie Martinez was awarded the PBL Champion Award.

At Billie Martinez, we believe in "giving every student the good stuff" – an engaging, inquiry-based education that empowers students to ask questions and explore solutions. Student have said, "Education at Martinez used to be about answering questions – now it’s about us asking questions."

We are celebrating our journey and successes as Billie Martinez Elementary. We continue to thrive as a beacon of innovative and provide high-quality education to our students.

What is Project-Based Learning (PBL)?

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a way of teaching where students learn by working on real-life projects. Instead of just listening to lessons and doing worksheets, students explore and solve problems. PBL makes school more exciting and relevant for students by having them work on meaningful projects. This helps children develop important skills and a love for learning.

Key Parts of PBL:

Real-Life Problems: Students work on projects related to real-world issues, making learning more interesting and relevant.

Student Choice: Students get to choose how they will work on their projects, which makes them more motivated.

Research and Creativity: Students ask questions, do research, and come up with creative solutions.

Reflection and Improvement: Students think about what they are learning, get feedback, and make their work better.

Sharing: Students present their projects to others, which helps them feel proud of their work.

Benefits of PBL:

More Engaging: Students are more interested and involved in their learning because they work on things that matter to them.

Skill Building: Students develop important skills like thinking critically, solving problems, working with others, and communicating effectively.

Deeper Learning: Students understand subjects better because they see how they apply in real life.

Encourages Curiosity: PBL makes students curious and eager to learn more.

How Parents Can Help:

Show Interest: Ask your child about their projects and be excited about what they are doing.

Help Find Resources: Assist your child in finding information and materials they need for their projects.

Encourage Effort: Remind your child that it's okay to face challenges and to keep trying.

Attend Presentations: Go to your child’s project presentations to support and celebrate their work.

*Talk to your child's teacher about ways you can help.

Grade Level Projects

Click to read more about each grade level's projects!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten Projects:

All About Our Names: Students create a book about their names. They learn and share the letters in their names, how to write them, and how their name is similar and different from others. Students research the meaning of their names and the way they were named. They meet and interview an author to learn how to write, illustrate, and publish a book. Students create a page in a class book about everything they know about their name.

Here Comes the Sun: Students will create videos to inform visitors about the weather in Greeley. This practical application of their learning will help them understand the relevance of their studies. They will observe and investigate weather, and learn how weather conditions and temperatures affect people's daily lives. Students will work together to discover how weather influences what people wear and the activities they do. They will show their learning by creating a video to recommend clothing and activities for each weather type.

It's Alive: Students will learn about different animals. They will research them, take notes, and create a book about their animal. After completing their research and book, students will design a habitat for their animal and present their diorama.

1st Grade

2nd Grade

2nd Grade Projects:

The Hunger Project: Students learn about the impact of hunger on our community, and that it impacts 1 in 4 children. We learn about the resources we have in our community to help, and how as second graders, they can help as well. Their final project is creating a way to make an impact in our community.

Dinography: Students learn about paleontologists, and fossils. They explore the different dinosaurs that have been found in Colorado, and choose one to study. Their final project is to create a museum display to inform others about the dinosaur they studied.

Pollinator Protectors: In this unit, students learn all about pollinators and their important contribution to our planet. Students create their own pollinator, using what they know about a pollinator's important traits. They also create seed packets to give to others and inform them of the importance of pollinators.

3rd Grade

3rd Grade Projects:

Photojournalism: Students learn and practice the art of using photographs to share untold stories. Students will take pictures of their lives outside of school and use these photos to create scrapbooks, slideshows and collages. The intention of these products will be to communicate messages of diversity, culture, history and family.

Tiny Homes: Students design a tiny home according to the specifications provided by a client. This project entails using concepts of area and perimeter to create blueprints and three-dimensional models.

Weather and Climate: Students create a product (brochure, emergency kit, PSA) intended to keep people safe from disastrous weather events. Throughout this unit, third graders become familiar with different kinds of weather events as well as their causes. Students will use their knowledge to develop ways to predict and protect themselves from weather events.

Citizens and Government: Students exercise their right as citizens to advocate for change in their school and/or community. Throughout this project, students become familiarized with the inner workings of local government. At the end of the unit, students will use their knowledge to create a formal presentation proposing a solution to a problem they have identified in their school or community.

4th Grade

4th Grade Projects:

Converting Energy: Students will make observations and explain evidence of energy ( sound, light, heat, electricity and motion). They will design, test and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

Frankenstein Experiment: Students will study animals that use their senses, internal and external structures to survive, grow and behave in a particular habitat. They will create a model of their own hybrid animal and explain how its structures help it to survive.

Colorado History Living Museum: Students will learn about Colorado history starting from Native Americans to present day. Then they will research a famous person in Colorado's history.

5th Grade

5th Grade Projects:

Safe Water Saves Lives: Students will be engaged in learning about access to water, current demands, and issues faced. They will first learn about the current global water issues and then do research about local water issues.

Save Today, Survive Tomorrow: In this project, students create an action plan for improving human impact on the environment in one of the following areas: access to clean water (human rights), recycling, climate (ecosystems and earth spheres), and the rainforest. As environmentalists, students plan and execute their group's idea for improving human impact on the environment to share with their community.

American Revolution: In this project, students investigate the causes and outcome of the American Revolutionary War by looking at it, not only from the perspective of the American colonial leaders and the British, but also the French, indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and members of various social classes in the colonies. As historians, students plan, write, and produce engaging products (presentation, stations, escape rooms) to share with other fifth graders around the country.