PROJECT-BASED
INSTRUCTION
Learning in Real-World Context Benefits ELLs
By Michelle Kuamoo
Educators are faced with the challenge
of meeting the needs of English language learners (ELLs) while
maintaining high standards and accountability with limited funding and
resources. How can teachers
educate a class full of ELL students, each with different abilities, cultures,
and learning styles? One method builds on the resources readily available
within one’s local environment: project-based instruction. Project-based
instruction features interdisciplinary learning activities that are long-term,
relevant, and student centered. Students learn through the exploration
of real-world contexts such as creating a community garden, studying local
botanical and wildlife environments, recreating a historical event, and
developing a newspaper or website.
What are the benefits of project-based
instruction for ELLs? This approach creates a learning environment where
all learning is valued. Students demonstrate greater self-esteem and increased
motivation to learn, and have greater opportunities to problem solve and
communicate within a social and academic context. ELLs specifically benefit
from project-based instruction because new information and content is
organized and presented within a real-world context. The introduction
of real-world study creates relevancy and motivation to learn, and allows
students to build upon prior knowledge. New vocabulary is introduced within
an interdisciplinary approach that is meaningful and relevant to the student’s
life. Projects might include:
- tracking daily temperatures on a spreadsheet
and converting the temperatures from Fahrenheit to Centigrade, or
- pretending to be zoologists cataloging animal
species from around the world into a computer database.
How do you create a project-based classroom or school?
Jennifer Railsback’s 2002 booklet Project-Based Instruction:
Creating Excitement for Learning (available at www.nwrel.org/request/2002aug/textonly.html)
is an excellent source of information. The author recommends implementing
early planning and design at the classroom or school levels. Project-based
instruction requires staff to work collaboratively to plan and align the
curriculum and the theme of the project to state and/or district standards.
Projects can be designed to last a month, quarter, semester, or an entire
academic year.
How do you implement project-based instruction on
a limited budget? Schools with limited resources can adopt projects that
build upon the resources found within their local environments. Resources
can include community organizations, technology, and local libraries.
The sample project-based unit below presents an example of a third grade
project based on plants that grow in the Pacific.
Sample
Project-Based Unit
The Taro Plant: Making Taro Bread |
| Content Area |
Activity |
Resources |
| Math |
- Study units of measurement: liters, quarts,
pints, etc.
- Convert units of measurement by computing
fractional units.
|
Library
Internet |
| Science |
- Study the chemical reactions that occur
as the bread is rising, such as the role of yeast.
- Study the different varieties of taro.
|
Local grocery stores
Taro farmers |
| Social Studies |
- Study the history of the taro plant in
the Pacific.
- Study the taro products found in the Pacific.
|
Library
Internet |
| Literature |
- Read about growing taro plants.
- Read about taro as a food.
- Study Pacific history and legends.
|
Library
Internet |
| Writing |
- Write directions for making taro bread
in sequential order.
- Write short research reports about taro
in the Pacific.
|
Library
Internet |
| Drama |
- Reenact the life cycle of the taro plant.
- Reenact the steps in the taro bread recipe.
|
Library
Internet |
| Art |
- Study the role of the taro plant in the
artwork of Pacific cultures.
- Create taro art.
|
Library
Internet |
Michelle Kuamoo is a Curriculum Developer for
the NEARStar Program.
|