Literacy Now

photo credit: Laurel L. Russwurm via photopin cc

When people hear the term “Project-Based Learning,” there are usually one of two misconceptions: It is where your class makes a project at the end of a unit or it is simply too chaotic. Both of these assumptions are truly that —“misconceptions.”

True PBL is a process where the students own their learning. They are simply told what to do, with clear guidelines. They are at the forefront, while the teacher serves as the facilitator. Students are engaged and the project is driving the unit instead of the unit driving a final product. Yes, things may look chaotic at times, but with proper training, students know what the expectations are. Student behavior usually is not a problem because they are so involved in the process. They know the purpose for learning the content. Students are working in collaborative groups, having making decisions about their learning. By doing this, they are working on conflict resolution skills, leadership, listening and speaking skills.

One of the Standards I recently taught my third grade students was the history of our community. Students needed to know why people chose to live in their community, what their rights and responsibilities were as a citizen of their community, how their community has changed over time and what drives shifts in population in their community. Through PBL, I was able to create a project where students were in control of learning this material.

I developed a driving question, “How does Shawnee’s past impact present day Shawnee?” This is open-ended question drives the unit. Students were placed in group of four or five students, where they wrote eight to 10 questions that could guide them to answering the driving question. They used these questions to help them with research. Next, students took notes, allowing them to understand Shawnee’s past.

After doing this, we took a community walk. Each group had an iPad to take photos of our present day community. Students went into businesses, interviewing individuals on why they lived or worked in Shawnee and what they felt our community was doing well, and what needed to improve. To understand more about how they could be a responsible citizen, students completed random acts of kindness while we were on our walk.

Another important aspect of PBL is including experts. This could be individuals coming in to speak with the students, or someone you are able to contact using Skype in the classroom. Our city manager made a presentation for the students so they could gather more information about Shawnee.

The final step was allowing the students to turn their research into a movie using Animoto. This was more of an authentic assessment, rather than having the students answer a multiple-choice test on our community. Students were assessed using a rubric, which they had been given at the beginning of the project.

Finally, the students needed someone to present their movies to. The city manager contacted city council members and other community leaders to attend our community movie presentations. Students became the experts, where they were able to applaud decisions and make suggestions to individuals who were the decision makers with what took place in our community.

Yes, PBL does mean you have to be willing to give up some control to your students, but in the end, it is well worth it.

Brandi Leggett is a National Board Certified Teacher as a Middle Childhood Generalist. She received her master’s in Elementary Education from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. She currently teaches third grade at Prairie Ridge Elementary in Shawnee, Kan. Follow her class during the school year at Team Leggett.

Wordless picture books are one of the best ways to invite readers to actively participate in  a story. Examining these books present great challenges to both readers and authors/illustrators as they no longer rely on words. While some teachers find wordless picture books useful for fostering young children’s literacy skills and imagination, picture books without text also provide reading pleasure for older readers. This week’s book reviews from members of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group invites readers of all ages to experience the power of illustrations and the surprises and delights that these picture books carry to revive or strengthen our love for reading.

Becker, Aaron. (2014). Quest. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

In this sequel to Journey (2013), a 2014 Caldecott Honor Book, author/illustrator Aaron Becker takes readers on another adventure with the previous book’s characters, a young girl and the young boy she has just met. Carrying red and purple chalks as well as accompanied by a magical purple bird, they meet an old king in an orange robe. He shows them a map with several colorful circles on it. While the king is trying to explain the map to the boy and the girl, two soldiers appear suddenly and arrest him but not before he leaves them an orange chalk, which sets them off on a quest to save the king. By following the map, they travel to different places, from under the sea and a desolate castle to a landmark on snowcapped mountains. Chased by a group of soldiers, they are able to complete their quest and save the king with their wits and bravery and the help of the magical bird. Readers will experience the power of wonder and the value of companionship through this picture book. With watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations adding a tone of mystery to the quest, this story invites readers to continue the imaginative journey begun in Becker’s earlier title.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Boyd, Lizi. (2014). Flashlight. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

When night falls, the dark does not mean that nature becomes silent. Carrying a flashlight, a curious boy walks out of his cozy tent to explore the woods at night. It turns out the excursion into the woods after dark is quite interesting. He discovers his lost boot on the grass. Bats fly through the air. An owl perches on the tree. Mice and skunks walk freely. Beavers are constructing a river house. Fish, frogs, foxes, deer, and butterflies all leisurely take their time moving about. Sitting by a tree and having a snack and a rest are luxuries that come from night exploration. Oops! The boy tumbles over a rock, losing his flashlight. To his relief, a raccoon picks it up, and all the animal friends the boy encounters during the exploration help him return to his cozy tent. This picture book invites readers to see nature’s nocturnal beauty through several cut-outs accentuating details on the illustrations. Moreover, the illustrations, rendered in gouache, capture the serene but lively night. Readers may be inspired to take their own night trip outside to appreciate nature in the dark.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Colón, Raúl. (2014). Draw! New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

What might happen to a boy with pencils, sketchbooks, and a book about Africa in hand? After reading about Africa, the boy, stretching his imagination, carries his pencils and sketchbooks and enters his own African safari where he draws elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, chimpanzees, and rhinoceroses. Of course, he makes friends with some animals and is chased by others. This is such a wonderful adventure that the boy is excited to show all his lively drawings of African animals to his classmates. While the story allows readers to let their imagination run wild, the illustrations, rendered in pen and ink, watercolors, colored pencils, and lithograph pencils, with a yellowish and orange hue, make the African safari look real. As one of The New York Times Best Illustrated Books for 2014, Raúl Colón, based on his own childhood experiences, invites readers to experience the power of imagination and drawing.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Frazee, Marla. (2014). The Farmer and the Clown. New York, NY: Beach Lane Books/ Simon & Schuster

While a hard-working farmer is taking a rest, a toot-toot train happens to run by. To his surprise, a baby clown bounces off the train and walks to him. With considerable sympathy, the farmer takes the baby clown to his farmhouse, and they live together. They have meals together, they entertain each other. Their companionship adds some fun while they work on the farm. One day as they go on a picnic, the toot-toot train passes again. The farmer and the baby clown run as fast as they can to catch up with the train so the baby clown can finally reunite with the clown family. As they bid farewell to the farmer and leave on the train, a clown monkey secretly follows the farmer home. Through the characters’ facial expressions and body movements, this wordless picture book presents a heartwarming story featuring many happy moments shared between the farmer and the baby clown. The illustrations, created with colored pencil and gouache, have a nostalgic tone, which may remind readers of their own pleasant memories of visiting a circus or carnival.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Hoogstad, Alice. (2014). Monster Book. New York, NY: Lemniscaat USA, LLC.

A little girl who lives in a black and white town is the only one who owns colorful magic chalks. She loves to draw, and whatever she draws seems to come to life. She first draws a red heart-shaped balloon that is carried by a dog, and then many colorful cartoonish monsters are animated out of her creativity. At first, the town people are surprised to see so many colorful creatures beautify their monotonous town. However, as some monsters join the girl to add colors to town buildings and even draw on people’s faces, the town’s citizens call a police officer to ask the girl to wash the color away. A storm comes with heavy rain when the girl cleans up the mess. While the adults are happy to have their drab town restored, a group of children joins the girl to resume coloring secretly on the other side of the town. With illustrations created with pen and crayons are presented in a childlike style, this book will resonate with readers who have been fallen in love with coloring and drawing.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Idle, Molly. (2014). Flora and the Penguin. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Author/illustrator Molly Idle returns to the character from her 2014 Caldecott Honor winner, Flora and the Flamingo, only this time with Flora has a new friend, Penguin. Tightening up her ice skating shoes, Flora is ready to glide, spin, leap, and twirl on the ice with Penguin. However, the new partners have some points of disagreement, and the penguin, attracted by fish under the ice, disappears for a while. When the penguin shows up again the pair finds way to skate together and the duo glide on the ice beautifully and gracefully again. This wordless picture book with simple illustrations capturing subtle details and emotions traces perfectly the ups and downs in the story of friendship between Flora and Penguin. With lift-up paper on several pages, readers can exercise their imagination to fill in the wordless text and make sense of the plot. Although the illustrations rely only on yellow, blue and white colors, the book’s visual simplicity does not detract from the pleasure of reading. Readers will surely enjoy the lively and lovely performance of Flora and Penguin.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Jay, Alison. (2014). Out of the Blue. Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books.

In a lighthouse by the sea lives a young boy with his father and dog. On a sunny day the boy and his dog go outside to play at the beach where he meets a young girl. The new friends have a blast picking up shells, catching and releasing fish, and watching the immense whales bathing in the sea. Suddenly, a thunderstorm comes with lightning and heavy rain that causes the sea to undulate violently. After a night of restlessness, the sea calms, and people return to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. However, a huge octopus is stranded on the beach, which scares everyone, and the boy is the only one who sympathizes with it, even deciding to cut the net and set the squid free. This wordless picture book is ideal for teaching life science and marine preservation. Several pages at the end of the book provide information about marine life and lighthouses. The illustrations, rendered in oil paint with a crackling varnish, use frames, borders, and various points of view to guide readers throughout the story. This book can trigger readers’ interests in exploring the sea and its fascinating creatures.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Merveille, David. (2013). Hello, Mr. Hulot. New York, NY: North South Books Inc.

This book portrays a famous French character, Mr. Hulot, played by comic actor Jacques Tati during 1950s and 1960s. Mr. Hulot is well-known for his fun and abnormal personality that enables him to see the world from a different perspective. The 23 scenes included in the book present visual humor and surprising outcomes that may make readers laugh out loud. For example, the shadow of Mr. Hulot is pictured as Don Quixote, and Mr. Hulot’s shaking of a snow globe results in snow falling on a summer day. The comic strip-style illustrations add visual interest to the book and readers will surely enjoy reading and rereading.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

Pett, Mark. (2014). The Girl and the Bicycle. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Passing by a store with her brother, a girl spies a shiny green bicycle in the store window. Her desire to own the bicycle makes her work hard to save money. She sells lemonade and her used toys, she offers to help neighbors with their yard work. However, no one stops at her lemonade stall and toy stand, and all of the neighbors, except one woman, turn her down. As the girl works for the woman, their friendship grows. After a year’s hard work and saving, the girl finally has enough money to buy the bicycle. When she takes her money and rushes to the store excitedly, she finds that the bicycle is gone. Disappointed, she instead uses her money to buy a bicycle for her brother. On her way home, the woman invites the girl to her house. To her surprise, the woman has bought the shiny green bicycle she wanted so much as a present. The use of pencil and watercolor for the illustrations creates a retro tone with a down-to-earth yet warm feel. The book shows the importance of saving money, working hard, and delaying gratification, as well as the value of kindness and generosity. Hard work does not go unrewarded as this book shows so perfectly.

—Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. 

In most people’s minds, the “maker movement” in education is associated with STEM-related concepts and technology-based activities. There is good reason for that; it’s an approach to project-based learning (PBL) that encourages experimenting, building, and playing with different concepts. However, my entry point into this hot trend has been primarily through the unusual route of literacy.

This maker movement isn’t necessarily something new. For years in my library, I have allowed opportunities for my students to play and tinker with reading and writing. As a library media specialist, I felt that I had the scope and the affordances to make that possible, to enable activities that were outside of the sometimes strict classroom regimen. Those early experiences were my first attempts at creating a maker culture.

I have always regarded myself as a student of learning. I started collecting secondhand education books during my first years of teaching. I learned early on that educational theories and practices are cyclical and things once old are eventually new again, often reappearing under the guise of a new name. One of my favorite books in that collection—and the one that led me to tinkering with literacy—was called If You’re Trying to Teach Kids How to Write, You’ve Gotta Have This Book! by Marjorie Frank. The playfulness of the writing is reflected in its whimsical graphics and nonlinear structure. The author herself writes about the “joy that fooling around with words” has added to her life. I remember distinctly how just looking at this book made me want to have fun with reading and writing with my students.

Putting it into action

Students are most accustomed to stories in a linear structure. To expose them to a different way, I often read children’s books with nonlinear narratives to my elementary students. One of my favorites is Black and White, written by David Macauley. Picture books such as this have their own logic. After examining texts that don’t need to be read sequentially from beginning to end in strict order, students become more aware of the innovative possibilities for their own writing.

Another favorite of mine is Inanimate Alice, written by Kate Pullinger and produced by Ian Harper. This “born-digital” story has an “open text” construction and deliberately allows opportunities for student co-creation. The story unfolds in episodes that can either be read individually, sequentially, or in any order. My students enjoyed creating their own next episodes by crafting their own narratives, using various tools and resources, print and digital, or even remixing the Inanimate Alice assets to tell an original story. The maker movement encourages children to imagine, create, and build. My students did this during our “choose your own adventure” unit, which was based on the video game Roller Coaster Tycoon. We kicked off our unit by going on virtual rollercoaster rides. We then read a book based on the game and had fun picking our path and choosing our endings. The participatory nature was highly engaging. Students then used websites to design and test their own roller coasters. Some used the app Inklewriter and others chose to write their stories in print. No matter the medium, students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The perfect example of a story that moves through the continuum of creating, but with literacy as the inspiration, is Skeleton Creek, written by Patrick Carman. This hybrid text is told half in print and half in video. Similar to Inanimate Alice, ittells stories across multiple media platforms. This transmedia story helped to move my students from consumption to creation and sparked a mash-up of experiences. The process became less about the task of writing and more about telling stories by leveraging traditional elements and new technologies to shape their narrative. Students designed multimedia reading experiences that fused a story with video, games, and puzzles.

Embracing a growing trend

Following these experiences, I decided to formalize the concepts into a makerspace learning experience. Last year, I was invited to participate in the Brooklyn Storymakers Maker Party organized by the Brooklyn Public Library and Hive NYC Learning Network. At the event, kids had the opportunity to create online comics, design video games, make stop-motion animation, and more. The event was a part of Mozilla Maker Party—one of hundreds of events around the world where people become makers.

With Inanimate Alice as our mentor text, we worked with students to create postcards that characters in the story might send to the main character Alice. Using the Mozilla Webmaker tool Thimble, kids remixed postcards using digital media and the Web. The tool allowed the children to remix their favorite digital postcards by modifying HTML and CSS right in their browser. Instantly, they were able to see the results of their work. Each postcard was written as a #25wordstory,a process of writing created by Kevin Hodgson that lent itself well to our activity. The kids’ creativity was awesome and they were all proud to share it through social media. Many left that event excited to read further episodes and try out other tools such as Popcorn Maker and X-Ray Goggles.

It was after this event that I decided to designate an area in my library as a makerspace. Unveiled last school year, it includes a 3-D printer, Legos, electronics to experiment with at the “Take Apart Station,” and more. A string of imaginative experiences led up to this and set the stage for creativity and making. I believe this maker movement is one that all educators need to embrace. The incredible affordances of new media allow for opportunities to create a “maker culture”’ in our schools like never before. This is true whether you have a formally designated makerspace in your school or not.

The word makerspace, for me, is really simply a metaphor for enabling opportunities for your students to create, imagine, and build, and what better springboard for that than stories? Stories fuel and ignite the imagination.

Laura Fleming(larfleming@yahoo.com) is a library media specialist at New Milford High School in New Jersey. A K–12 educator for 16 years, she focuses on the development of interactive and transmedia storytelling, and runs
the Worlds of Learning blog.

Project-based learning is one aspect of the Common Core’s with extra buzz. PBL engages students in purposeful ways by providing opportunities to develop a laundry list of 21st century skills in areas including critical thinking, research strategies, collaboration, communication, and literacy. If your head is spinning and you are wondering how you are going to make time for and create appropriate PBL opportunities for your elementary students, don’t worry! The good news is there are many ways to incorporate practical project-based learning into your elementary classroom.

Some quick and easy project-based learning opportunities include fourth-graders cruising the playground interviewing students about their after school snacks for the posters they will make to promote healthy nibbling; second-graders learning about chickens and read books to raise funds to provide chickens for families in third world countries; fifth-graders working in teams to write letters to the city council to promote better citywide recycling; and kindergartners baking and wrapping healthy dog treats for an animal shelter as they learn about taking care of animals.

Haven’t we always offered engaging hands-on projects in our elementary classrooms? Yes, but PBL is different. Rather than assessing student knowledge by grading the final product or administering a quiz on the text material, PBL involves “along the way” formative assessments and observations to evaluate how students are progressing in their research and collaboration.

The process for PBL may last several weeks and includes these steps:

• Start with a driving question or issue for students to consider (recycling, safety, healthy eating, the environment, school rules, etc).

• Research using multiple resources to address the issue and collaborate with others.

• Work together to create a project to share with an audience.

• Reflect on the process.  

 The celebration is in the experience, not just the end product! To ensure that you are including all the elements that make a project a true PBL experience check out the free resources on bie.org.

Here are some practical ways to get started or keep going with PBL in the elementary classroom:

Start with Read-Alouds to Inspire PBL Projects

Many wonderful read-aloud books can inspire students to think about ways they can get involved and is a way to find an interesting problem to solve or issue to explore. Here are some books that can serve as a base for projects. Thanks to Booksource for compiling this list.

Endangered Animals
Dobson, David. (1997). Can We Save Them? Endangered Species of North America. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.
Hirsch, Rebecca. (2010). Helping Endangered Animals. Mankato, MN: Cherry Lake Publishing.

Water Use
Frost, Helen. (2000). Keeping Water Clean. Minneapolis, MN: Capstone Press.
Strauss, Rochelle. (2007). One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Toronto: Kids Can Press.

Environment
Williams, Rozanne Laczak. (1998). Let’s Take Care of the Earth. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
Sturm, Jeanne. (2009). Our Footprint on Earth. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing.

Recycling
Barnham, Kay. (2007). Recycle. New York: Crabtree Press.
Green, Jen. (2005). Why Should I Recycle? Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

Helping Others
Ring, Susan. (2005). Helping Hands. Minneapolis: Capstone Publishing.
Sundem, Garth. (2010). Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around the World. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.

Exploring Your Neighborhood
Smith, David J. Illus. by Shelagh Armstrong (2011). If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People. Toronto: Kids Can Press.
Sweeney, Joan. (1998). Me on the Map. New York City: Random House.

Safety
Meiners, Cheri J. (2006). Be Careful and Stay Safe. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.
Greathouse, Lisa. (2011). Emergency! Be Prepared. Huntington Beach: Shell Education.

Healthy Eating
Sohn, Emily and Diane Bair. (2012). Food and Nutrition: Eating to Win. Chicago: Norwood House Press.
Rockwell, Lizzy. (2009). Good Enough to Eat. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers.

Practical PBL Projects for Elementary Students

Work with your class to brainstorm a project that will address a central question regarding an issue or problem. Here are some projects:

• Writing letters

• Creating a collection—a museum or display

• Producing class books

• Conducting interviews

• Producing various media presentations—slideshows, video

• Writing articles for local papers or online school website

• Creating posters or brochures for local businesses or community organizations

• Writing procedural texts such as cookbooks or how-to guides

• Designing game boards

• Producing videos or plays

Inspire Projects with Hand to Heart/Paw/Earth

The Time for Kids nonfiction series has three really great texts by Jessica Cohn to inspire many different service projects on every page!

Hand to Heart: Improving Communities: Some ideas from the text include writing letters of thanks to firefighters, sending care packages to soldiers, writing to newspapers or politicians, planting a garden, and making bookmarks to donate.

Hand to Paw: Protecting Animals: Some of the ideas for projects include: making homemade dog biscuits for a dog shelter, writing letters on endangered species, collecting pet food for a shelter, and putting a pet show and donating earnings to a pet shelter.

Hand to Earth: Saving the Environment: Some of the ideas for projects include: cutting down on water while brushing teeth, reusing plastic cups, unplugging appliances, recycling, and crafts from recyclables.  Students can research and measure their carbon footprint. 

Teach Students to Ask Questions/Research Across Texts

One easy way to help students research their topics and issues is to create a chart to display their questions and then answer the questions across several texts.
As the students read at least two texts (or more), they enter the information gained from each text.  Students use the information gathered to write letters, articles, or make a presentation.

Try Ready-Made Books and Projects with Heifer

Currently, I am working with preK—fifth-grade students to learn about chickens and we are raising funds to buy flocks for the Heifer Project.  We read the Heifer picture book, The Chicken and the Worm by Page McBrier to learn about chickens. Check out the many ready-made project-based learning suggestions on the Heifer Project website including the popular Read to Feed program as well as fabulous picture books you can order to read aloud to your class.  I keep coming back to Heifer Project because the PBL project possibilities are endless!

Lori Oczkus (loczkus52@earthlink.net) is an independent literacy consultant and author. Lori’s latest book is Just the Facts: Close Reading and the Comprehension of Informational Text (Shell/IRA, 2014). Lori can be reached at loczkus52@earthlink.net.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas (First Second, 2013)
Written by Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Maris Wicks
Grades 9-12

In science and in life, there are always new mountains to climb. With humor, expressive illustrations, and engaging dialogue and narration, the graphic novel Primates will engage adolescent readers in the scientific accomplishments and life stories of three greats in primatology: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas. Through dedication and hard work, the main characters illuminate professional accomplishments and persevere through personal struggles. The book addresses conservation as well as facts about primate behaviors and the process of scientific inquiry. Sprinkled with anecdotes of mischievous chimps, exotic insect bites, dung swirling, treks through swamps, and the occasional barfing illness, this graphic novel is sure to keep adolescent readers turning pages. The book is a perfect complement to the move to develop literacy in the content area and to include more non-fiction texts in the classroom. The multifaceted themes in the book pair easily with complex project-based learning (PBL) lessons.

Cross-Curricular Connections: Science, Social Studies

Project Based Learning (PBL) Ideas for Classroom Use:

Essential Question: What problem in my community can the scientific method address?

PBL Activity: Primates is divided into three sections, one for each of the three scientists highlighted in the book. Assign one of the scientists to each student, and direct students to read and take notes on their assigned section individually. Students should focus on the question, “How does a scientist work?” After students have completed this individual task, divide them into three large groups–one for each scientist. Using their notes, each group should discuss and collaborate to create a streamlined version of their supporting evidence within the text of how their assigned scientist conducted research. Once each group is finished, the spokesperson of each group will share with the class. After a class discussion of the key concepts of the scientific method, present news articles (newspapers, local news sites online, blogs, local environmental agencies, etc.) and allow students to choose one topic of interest. Working in groups of three or four, students will find a problem to evaluate, and will use the scientific method to study it. Students will then conduct their research and present their findings to the class.

Essential Question: What is the definition of intelligent life?
PBL Activity: Engage students in an opening discussion of “the definition of intelligent life.” While students brainstorm/popcorn out ideas and examples, take notes in clear view of the class. The class-generated notes will be displayed and modified throughout the next two PBL activities. After the discussion, direct students to silently read an assigned section (divided by featured scientist) of the book. Students should cite evidence of intelligence displayed by the primates within the text while reading. After students complete their reading section and notes, place students in jigsaw groups of three—each group member having worked with a different section of the book to discuss their unique reading experience related to each scientist’s story.

Next, each group of three students should conduct research on other animals not discussed in the book, focusing on characteristics including communication and tool use to develop a list of intelligent animals. Each group should develop a wiki to record their findings. Groups should include pictures as well as lists of the traits each animal uses that show intelligence. Students should be encouraged to post hypotheses and responses about the essential question throughout the project. Each group must include their comprehensive group list of essential traits on the wiki. In addition to lists of intelligent life, students must include information on unintelligent life, and why their choices are classified as such. Students should begin to explore how intelligence affects the value and/or richness of the experience of life.

Essential Question: Should primates be used for medical testing purposes?

PBL Activity: Building on their research on intelligent life, students in each group should collaborate to discuss and produce one group list to describe their definition of intelligent life and how primates fit within that definition. Using this list, the groups of three students will conduct research and create an argument in response to the essential question. To accommodate diverse learning styles, allow students to chose how they present their argument, e.g. creation of a pamphlet, a billboard, online presentation, podcast, etc. Each group should use their notes to create a chart comparing and contrasting the different types of primates within the book: chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. Students should focus on what each group of primates does differently to display their intelligence. All arguments must clearly support or refute the use of primates in medical labs with evidence-based data and discuss the impact animal testing has on Earth’s biodiversity.

Extension Activities That Can Be Done With Primates:

After reading the novel or a selected excerpt, direct students to research the accomplishments and life of a respected scientist not discussed in the book. Create a storyboard that could be a-day-in-the-life of the selected scientist. Students could create and share their storyboards as posters or by using cartoon software.

Additional Resources:

Goodall, Jane. (2013). Jane Goodall: 50 Years at Gombe. New York, NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Montgomery, Sy. (2009). Walking with the Great Apes. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Shumaker, R. W. & Beck, B. B. (2003). Primates in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books.

Gibson, Karen Bush. (2014). Women in Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press.

Keller, Michael. & Fuller, Nicolle Rager. (2009). Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species: A Graphic Adaptation. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Books.

Miller, Ron. (2014). Curiosity’s Mission on Mars: Exploring the Red Planet. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books.

Ottaviani, Jim. Illus. by Lelan Myrick. (2013). Feynman. New York, NY: First Second.

Ottaviani, Jim. Illus. by Zander and Kevin Cannon. (2009). T-Minus: The Race to the Moon. New York, NY: Aladdin.

Shultz, Mark. Illus. by Zander and Kevin Cannon. (2009). The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA. New York, NY: Hill and Wang.

The Jane Goodall Institute

PBS page about Biruté Galdikas

Judith A. Hayn, professor of Secondary Education, her colleague Karina Clemmons, associate professor of Secondary Education, and students in the Masters in Secondary English Education program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock prepared these classroom suggestions.