By: Vanina Sandel (STEAM Director and PBL Coordinator)
Kitah Gan students hosted a vibrant Celebration of Learning that wrapped up their first Project-Based Learning (PBL) unit! This interdisciplinary project explored Nature and Camping, with a special focus on forests—including the rainforest—through STEAM, Hebrew, English Language Arts, and Math.
Each kindergartener took the lead in their learning journey, diving into topics that sparked their curiosity; from creating 3D rainforest maps to researching nocturnal animals, from learning about different trees to designing innovative backpacks and fishing rods. As part of the celebration, they proudly presented their projects to their 8th-grade buddies and parents.
A key component of PBL is for each student to be able to reflect on their learning. A learning reflection is the result of looking back at the entire journey including formal educational experiences and personal experiences, and turning surface learning into deep learning. Some of the reflections from our Kindergarteners include;
“Some trees live for a very long time, and trees are very good because they give people shade and they control the land. An Oak tree can live up to 100 years, and a peach tree can live until 570 years. I have a book about trees that says that.”
“I am interested in fishing. I wonder what fish would do if they were my pet. [My fishing rod]It has a fake fish to trick the other fish to come. I added a butterfly because it is calming so the fish want to come to the butterfly.”
“I love maps, because I like to find treasures. This is why I want to know about maps. This is a 3D map of the forest. It is basically a map where you can touch the structures with your fingers, without it being flat.”
“Some reptiles eat bugs and some flies. It is fun to learn about them. Some bugs eat other bugs. Some reptiles like snakes eat rats.”
“I chose to build the rainforest because I have never gone to one and I want to. There are many plants that grow there, and also many trees.”
“We worked together and we tried to find out how we could build them. We learned that chameleons eat flies. It was hard to build them because it took us a long time to do it.”
PBL units take place in all grade levels at Yavneh since this methodology encourages students to take responsibility of their own learning, and to connect with their educational and life experiences in a way that makes learning meaningful and relevant.
