Boost creativity and excitement with these five cross-curricular PBLs | Mentoring in the Middle

Boost creativity and excitement with these five cross-curricular PBLs

 Last week, I wrote about having your students write mysteries.  Or myths.  You can read about that here.

Today, let's explore some project-based learning that I promise will have your students asking for extra time!  

There are a few things you should know about my style of teaching.  I ❤️❤️ cross-curricular teaching.  And I think kids get more out of it, too, because they're making great connections.  After all, life is not one topic followed by another.  We're constantly navigating the world in a variety of ways!

So, what did we do to help our students?  I think Project Based Learning is one of the best ways to:

  • allow for choice
  • be academic
  • blend multiple subject areas
  • let students work independently or with a partner (or in small groups)
  • have structure
  • allow teacher check-ins
  • let students be imaginative
  • keep students totally engaged

a lake with mountains in the background on the cover of this PBL
One of the most popular projects with my students was this one, which blends Geography, Social Studies, and Writing.  After students learn 20 important landforms and bodies of water, they create their own country around a central theme.  

They create a map of their country with all the landforms, a capital, and several large cities. Those were great to hang up outside our classroom.  Then, they write the history of their country.  I loved how students imaginatively created peace-loving countries!  If only we could be so wise...

Of course, many of them said that school only needed to be half the time.  Or not at all.  So there is that...

This comment warmed my heart from a teacher using this with her students.  

💡  I am obsessed with this product! I started it with my students after we had gone over different geography terms and map skills. They are having so much fun creating their country while using the skills! Absolutely wonderful project and it allows for such creativity! My kids have been choosing to work on this during free time rather than playing on their Chromebooks! I can't recommend this project enough! Thanks for creating it!


Another project that captured my students was this one where they traced their history.
Old photos make up the cover of this family history PBL

This one too, is a great blend of Social Studies and Writing.  Students research the origins of their name, create a family tree, and identify the countries and continents they're from.  Many discover roots they were unaware of, and after drawing all the countries' flags that represent them, they create a unique one just for their family.

Comments from teachers who used it in different ways.

💡 We started the year off in social studies with this project. Students were able to learn about their family roots and later apply this knowledge in various history lessons. It gave them a face to the history they were learning.

💡 Students were able to learn about their family roots and later apply this knowledge in various history lessons. Great for an end-of-the-year activity to see how what we have learned connects to their families.

A hand on a map for this PBL to plan a dream trip

Here's a resource that uses a lot of geography and real-world math skills.  Students are assigned a state, and with a budget, plan a 2-week trip from your school to that state.  They can stop along the way to see other sites, but they have to figure out costs for visiting, food, and hotels along the way. 

One of the things I loved about this project was my students' appreciation for how much things cost. 

Guess what?

Once they realized the expense of travel, they started exploring less expensive options.   The wonderful byproduct of that was that they explored state and national parks - which are low-cost or free - and discovered lots of wonderful places to visit.  

Some of my students' parents used their kid's research to plan a family vacation and I've heard that from teachers who have bought this product, too.

💡 We loved this project! I like that it was easy to use and I didn't need to plan a ton to go with it. I was able to chunk this down and fit it into the time we had. The students really enjoyed it!

We did some of these projects throughout the year, but I always saved one for the end. The next two involve food.  What's not to love about that?
A baseball field serves as the background for this baseball and food PBL

A great project to work on right after state testing in the spring, this one combines two of my joys - baseball and food!  Students are assigned one of 30 major league teams and they research the team's history, name, and mascot.  

Then they explore food in the region that is considered a "must try."  Finally, they explore what food is already served in the stadium and then they come up with their own unique restaurant.

💡 I am using this as an end-of-the-year project. It has a lot of literacy as well as math concepts in it so I am using it in both my resource math and resource English classes for my 6th and 7th graders. The kids are enjoying the aspect of it being completely different from the constant notes and practice we have been doing trying to prep for testing. PS. Both my kids and I love the QR Codes. The ease of finding the links and not having to worry about what other sites they may find while doing a Google search is very reassuring.

The interior of a restaurant for this Create a Restaurant PBL



This was a project that I often saved until the end of the year.  It was a ton of fun, and if you created a Restaurant Fair to celebrate their restaurants, it was a lovely time in that crazy-chaotic-joyful way!

In a similar vein to the Country project, students created their own restaurant around a theme.  Then they made a menu, designed their space, and wrote a realistic history of how the restaurant came to be.  

On the day of the Restaurant Fair, parents were invited to come to taste a sampling of one food item from the restaurant, and students proudly showcased their menus, histories, designs, and themes.

💡 I used this resource as an end-of-the-year project for my English classes. It kept them extremely engaged, and was a lot of fun for them--as well as educational!

I hope these PBLs have given you some ideas about the kinds of projects you can create with your students!

👉👉 Click on the picture of each resource to take a closer look.

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