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Research Project Template For Elementary Students

Hey teachers! Are you searching for one easy resource that keeps on giving, all year long? My Research Project Template for Elementary Students is perfect for you!

We all know that research skills are super important for students to have, but some of you may be wondering how best to fit research into a younger student’s curriculum. Typically when you think of research, you think of long hours in a college library and tons of citations. Well, it’s easier than you might think!

Seriously, you can do a simple research problem on pretty much anything. I’m talking bugs, states, countries, plants… you name it. And since younger kids are naturally super curious, they always get excited to embark on the quest to find out more about the things they like — and learning about completely new things, too!

It’s key for students to start to get some research experience while they are in elementary school because this will build their ability to question the world around them while they are young. It also helps them develop note taking skills and write out their ideas and observations, both of which are essential parts of good communication and good classroom habits. They will take these skills with them for the rest of their lives, so it’s never too early to start!

Here’s the good news: research projects for elementary students don’t have to get fancy at all. In fact, my Research Project Template is both incredibly simple for you to prep, and comprehensive on the students’ side of things. Plus, you can use it again and again all year round because it’s totally editable. Yay for reusable resources!

How does this Research Project Template for Elementary Students work?

It doesn’t get much easier for you and your students than this research project flip flap! All you have to do is print it for your students and you’re ready to roll. As easy as the prep is for you, students still get the opportunity to cut, color, and write about any research topic they’re assigned or that sparks their curiosity.

The research project template is a Powerpoint file, and complete instructions are included for you. This way, you can easily edit the text to suit your classroom’s needs!

Students will pick a topic that interests them, or you can assign a topic based on any unit your class is currently studying. Then, according to the topic, students will record their observations and more, including…

●       3 Interesting Facts

●       Vocabulary word with pictures

●       Illustrate what you learned

●       Create a poem

●       Can, Have, Are activity

The combination of writing, observations, and illustrations make this a comprehensive activity that covers ELA skills, STEM skills, and creative expression. And since it is customizable in the Powerpoint document, you can choose which sections to use and leave some out if they don’t best suit your lesson.

How can I use this Research Project Template in the classroom?

My favorite part about this research project template for elementary students is that you can reuse it in the classroom all school year long! Since it is a generic template and completely editable, it can easily fit with any kind of research project or activity you have in mind, from geography, to science, to art, and more.

Students can even pick their own topic they would like to research and complete their own mini project themselves! This option is great for centers. Flip flaps are amazing for centers because once students observe how to complete the flip flap once or twice, they can easily do it on their own in groups. You can assign a topic for the group to research or let students go their own way and work independently.

They can keep their research projects in their folders all year long if it’s important stuff to know, or they can bring them home and proudly show them off to their families. If you’d like, you could even have a research day where students present their findings to their classmates at the end of the day!

Download the No-Prep Research Template:

Click here to download a copy for your students.

This Research Project Template for younger students is totally worth returning to all year round! It’s super simple to prep, easy to edit, and can be used for any topic that you or your students want to cover. They will be able to practice their questioning, observational, note taking, and written communication skills, while everything stays low prep on your end. Have fun researching with your class, and enjoy!

What kinds of research do you like to do in your class? Do you plan on using this research project template? I’d love to hear from you all!

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Bell Ringers

Independent research projects in upper elementary, independent research projects in upper elementary ela.

Every year, I plan to give my students more choice, voice, and independent project work. Of course, we also have to deal with state testing and loads of other requirements. However, giving your students independent research projects not only helps them demonstrate learning and mastery of standards, it also gives them some choices and ability to share their own unique voice! Here are some independent research projects in upper elementary ELA that your 4th through 6th graders will love!

Genius Hour

You may have heard of Genius Hour or Passion Projects. Genius Hour is considered project-based learning, and it starts with a question. Students choose their own research question about anything really, and they study it at least an hour a week. After reading/researching about their question, their final project can be something as simple as an explanatory slideshow or building their own dollhouse. The possibilities are endless.

Genius Hour can require some scaffolding at the beginning. For example, you may ask your students to research a question related to a certain topic. If you’re reading Watsons Go to Birmingham, for example, they may ask a question surrounding the Civil Rights Movement or the 1960s. The topics can be open-ended to give the students some choice but still have an overarching theme.

Once students get practice researching and coming up with their own final project, they can choose a Genius Hour topic about anything. Some example questions may include:

• How do I promote healthy eating in elementary school?
• How do I prepare for middle school?
• What is the best place to take a family vacation, and how can I plan one for my family?
• How do you start a small business as a student?

Genius Hour gives students choice and voice in the classroom, and you’ll love learning about their passions!

Author Studies

This is one of my favorite projects to use for upper elementary ELA students! I first implemented this project with fifth graders after state testing. This is the perfect time of year for an independent study, and it reinforces reading, writing, and research concepts used throughout the school year!

This project includes almost everything you need for your students to complete a research project on the author of their choosing . It sets them up to brainstorm, research, take notes, plan, and then complete a research paper on their selected authors. I have also made sure to leave some of the note-taking more generic so that you and your students can use as little or as many pages as they need.

Start by giving students the included list of possible authors to research or let them choose their own. This author may already be a favorite or one they want to know more about! Once the author is chosen, your job is to facilitate. Remind them of resources to use for research, note-taking skills and options, and let them learn and explore!

The author study resource includes everything your students need to get started. You’ll have the author examples, note sheets, rubrics, and an example research paper to help guide your instruction and student learning!

Differentiate by having students work in groups to research an author together or study different authors within the same genre. This is also a great way to culminate literature circles by having students research the author they read!

These independent research projects in upper elementary ELA are some of my favorites to provide choice while differentiating for all learners. What research projects have you tried in your ELA classroom?

• Read more about: Upper Elementary Reading

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8 Genius Research Projects for K–2 Students You Will Definitely Want to Try

Turn your K–2 students into researchers and detectives with these fun classroom projects.

PebbleGo  is the award-winning database for reading and research for K-2. It makes learning fun while improving reading and research skills. Learn more about the six different databases—Animals, Science, Biographies, Dinosaurs, Social Studies  and the Spanish-language Animals. 

Research-based learning is often reserved for students in upper elementary or middle school, but this is a skill that kids can and do learn at an early age. Yes, you can teach kindergarteners how to do proper research (i.e. be awesome detectives and readers) . 

Here are eight inspiring research projects on subjects common for the K–2 age group. For each one, we give tips for LEARNING about the specific subject first with key research questions and tasks. Then, we offer a creative project idea, inspired by teachers and educators around the country, for DOING with your students.

1. The World of Bugs

SOURCE: Plain Vanilla Mom

It’s a big, enormous world out there—and there are   lots of bugs in it. This is a good one to start with if you’re teaching young elementary students how to research. Spiders, insects, and bugs will forever be fascinating subjects for kids. So this project should generate a lot of excitement.

LEARNING: Assign each of your students a different bug and have them answer very simple questions like: How many legs do they have? Where can you find them? How big are they?

DOING: This bug fossil activity is fantastic! All you need is modeling clay, plastic insects (which you can get at the dollar store), a magnifying glass, and tweezers or tongs. Your students will love making the little molds, and it will really encourage them to pay attention to detail!

2. Money, Money, Money

Source: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Understanding the value of a dollar, counting, and even doing small math problems with money are all skills that your students will be doing for years to come. Here’s how you can get them going on concepts now.

LEARNING: Start with the basics and make sure your students know the value of each bill and coin. Once they understand this, talk to them about earning money, saving, and even the purpose of banks.

DOING: Get inspired by this money minibook. Either download a free one (see link above) or create your own version to meet your classroom needs. Create several books for your class or one for each student as a quick reference to help them really understand the value of money.

3. History and Fame

Source: Let’s Explore

Every grade level has history and biographies as part of its curriculum. It’s essential for students to learn about historymakers, inventors, artists, and other important people of the past, and there are lots of fun ways to do this.

LEARNING: The research comes first, so it’s a good idea to assign a famous person to each of your students. Have them do a little biography, answering questions like: When were they born? Why are they famous? Where did they live?

DOING: Now it’s time for the fun part, where students get to be creative in reporting their results. Some teachers have the students get up in front of the class to present on their specific person, while others make it an art project. We love biography poster collages, like the one pictured above, because they really encourage students to focus on the most essential biographical facts.

4. Learning Plant Life Cycle

Source: The Imagination Tree

Learning about plant life is always a popular classroom activity. It’s such a great opportunity to show students how things grow, and help them understand where their food comes from. 

LEARNING: Students can research farming and agriculture, and learn about where food comes from, both locally and around the world. Discover where tropical fruits like bananas and pineapple come from compared to crops in the United States like corn, potatoes, and beans. Help students understand that all plants have a similar start like the beans you will grow in class. 

DOING:  Plant your bean plants in a clear container like a jar. You can use paper towel or cotton balls for the planting so students will be able to see the roots grow and develop. Have students track the plant’s progress. They can measure it, take photos, or draw pictures every few days. Your students will love seeing how it changes so quickly. 

5. Animal Tracks

Source: Green Kids Crafts

Animals are such a big interest area for younger elementary students, and they make lessons instantly more popular. This really useful lesson covers animals, human anatomy, and animal habitats.

LEARNING: When your class studies animal tracks, students can learn a lot about animals. For instance, they can learn about an animal’s size. They can also compare the size of the animal track to their own handprints or footprints for an anatomy lesson. And students can learn about animal habitats, too! We can help our students understand how all of these items are connected.

DOING: Now that your students have learned about animal tracks, have them recreate the tracks using cardboard scraps and sponges. This will give them a real idea of the actual size and shape of different tracks in the wild.

6. Digging into Dinosaurs

Source: Inquiring Minds

Even though they’re now extinct, dinosaurs remain some of the most popular animals with kids. Once you get your students researching, they can learn so much about these magnificent animals that came before us.

LEARNING: Help your students define the words “paleontology” and “paleontologist.” Next, encourage your kids to research different types of dinosaurs. Have them answer questions like: What were some of the big ones? Which ones could fly? What did different types of dinosaurs eat? These will all be important questions to answer before you dive into a project.

DOING: You can steal the sponge idea mentioned above to also create dinosaur tracks. Or for the ambitious teacher, create your very own giant dinosaur skeleton. This teacher outlined the shape for her students and then let them use packing peanuts and empty cardboard tubes to fill the inside.

7. Environment and Pollution

Source: The Owl Teacher

Whether you’re looking for a good Earth Day activity or you just want to teach your students more about environmental issues we are facing around the world, you can bring home the message by studying water pollution. This is a topic that affects millions every single day.

LEARNING: First, learn about the different types of pollution with your students. Air and water pollution are two big ones to start with. Help your kids learn the difference between these two and what they look like. Then ask them a question like, how could pollution affect animals, humans, and the future? Questions like this might seem too big for little minds, but they can handle it!

DOING: It really helps to see this lesson firsthand, and this Freddie the Fish activity is perfect. You’ll definitely want to see this teacher’s step-by-step instructions  describing how she did it, but the basics involve a fish-shaped sponge, plastic containers, and adding different toxins to the water. Your students will really start to see how a little bit of water pollution can really get out of hand quickly.

8. Color Mixing 

Source: Preschool Inspirations  

Color mixing is always a popular activity, and it’s great for hands-on research. Your students will love being in charge of the colors and watching them change before their eyes. 

LEARNING: Talk to your students about primary colors and go over the basics of what happens when you blend colors together. Depending on age, talk to them about why this happens and/or what they are seeing. Work with them to come up with a list or anchor chart about the most common color combinations. 

DOING: There are so many great color-mixing activities out there, including mixing colorful ice cubes or having a color mixing station in the classroom. We also love this project from Preschool Inspirations,  where they make sensory bottles with color mixing. 

Make research for your K–2 students easier by using PebbleGo , a reading and research database specifically targeting younger elementary students.

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A Black History Month Research Project for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

A Black History Month Research Project is a great way to help your students learn more about and celebrate the impact African Americans have made to the United States.  It's also a good way to help students learn about obstacles African Americans have had to face in this country.  But having 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students conduct research and complete a project based on that research can be an overwhelming task.

Scaffolding this process is essential in order for your students to be successful - and for them to actually stay engaged and excited!

After I fine-tuned the process, this Black History Month Research Project was one of my students' favorite projects all year.  It included researching a famous African American, writing an essay, creating a timeline of their life, and labeling a map.  The upper elementary students remained engaged throughout the entire project and were always very proud of the outcome!

Choosing an African American Hero to Research

Part of making a Black History Month Project meaningful is exposing students to people that they might not be familiar with.  If you let 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students choose who they want to research, you'll probably find that everyone wants to research Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, or Barack Obama.

Instead of simply letting students choose people they are already familiar with, collect a variety of biographies on different African Americans - or find some  kid-friendly biographies online.

Do whatever works for your classroom, as long as you give students an opportunity to introduce themselves to different African Americans.

How I Organized This in My Classroom

There are a lot of different ways you could do this with your students. I would always have my librarian collect enough child-friendly biographies for each student in my class.  We would sit in a circle, and each student would get one of the books.  They had about a minute to look through the book, and then everyone passed their book to the left.

After everyone had looked through every book, students would write down the top 5 people they were interested in researching.  Then, I would look through everybody's choices and assign each student their famous African American to research.

This process got students excited and gave them more ownership over the project.  However, it also allowed me some freedom to make adjustments that would help students be successful and be exposed to different people.

My students used a book from the library as their main source for research, so I wanted to make sure the reading level of the books was appropriate for each of my students.  (If you have a really well-organized classroom library checkout system, this might be easier for you!)

Scaffolding a Black History Month Essay

As all upper elementary teachers know, having students complete research and then use that to write a successful essay is much harder than you would think.

You have to teach students not to copy paragraphs straight from a book or website.  And how to organize a research paper.  And you have to motivate students so that they will actually WANT to write.

This No Prep Black History Month Research Project scaffolds the entire process so students can succeed.  And even better, it will minimize all the one on one time and help students complete their project much more independently.

But there are ways you can scaffold on your own.

1. Model the Project for Your Students

Modeling an entire project takes up a lot of class time, but it makes a huge difference in your students' success.  Plus, it will prevent a lot of student questions later.

This No Prep Black History Month Research Project has all the information you need to use Martin Luther King, Jr. in your modeling.

2. Provide a Research Page with Clear Topics

Instead of having students do their own research on note cards or a blank sheet of paper, provide a research page that tells them exactly what sorts of topics they should be researching.

Otherwise, students have the tendency to copy paragraphs and collect information on irrelevant topics.

Decide what exactly you want your students to learn about - for example, their African American's family, accomplishments, and impact - and create a research page that helps students easily organize that information.  (And, of course, this project also includes research pages.)

3. Scaffold the Writing Process

This might be one of the most important ways to help your students write a successful, organized research paper. Simply providing students with paragraph frames can make a drastic difference and give students more confidence in their writing.

This is similar to this scaffolding you can use when having students write a compare and contrast essay.   Or, use the no prep option with this already ready-to-go Black History Month Project.

Use the Research to Create a Timeline and Map

Use this opportunity to address some other social studies skills - timelines and maps!

Have students use their research to create a timeline of important events in their famous African American's life.  Then, provide students with a blank map and have them color in different states that were important to their African American.

This is a very simple way to make these skills more meaningful to students.

Presenting the Black History Month Project

There is no one right way to have students share their projects.  It really depends on how much time you have!

Here are some options:

• Have students simply turn in their projects.  You could use them to create a bulletin board or just take a grade.
• Have students create a poster with their essay, map, and timeline.  They can present it to the class, or you could make a display.
• Have a Living Wax Museum!  This takes a lot more preparation, but your students and parents will love it.  Find more information on Living Wax Museums here.

If you think this scaffolding would be beneficial to your students as well, then you might like my Black History Month Research Project – Essay, Map, and Timeline Resource.   It includes everything I used to help my students be successful – even a model using Martin Luther King, Jr. so you can show students what is expected of them!

Testimonial:

"This has made doing this research project so much easier! The best part is that samples of the completed steps are included. They always want to copy full sentences instead of making notes, and displaying the sample while they worked led to many more children succeeding without my one to one help."

You might also like these other ideas and resources for teaching during Black History Month - including a freebie!  

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Research Project Ideas

In this post you’ll find FUN research project ideas for upper elementary students! I certainly remember completing my fair share of boring research projects in elementary school. We go to the library to find an encyclopedia to take notes on our topic. Then, we would write a traditional five paragraph essay. Fun stuff! Maybe I’m dating myself, but the only thing exciting about the research project was getting out of class!

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way…not even close! With the research project ideas and presentation resources now available to students, the possibilities are almost endless. Students still need our guidance and structure within their projects. Otherwise they tend to become overwhelmed and lack a clear direction.

With these research project ideas, I’ve found that it helps to have a broad theme for research projects-such as animals, biographies, ecosystems, etc. Students can then pick their topic from your class’s theme. One of my favorite ideas is center the project around geography and to have students research a state or country. Most students have a very limited background knowledge and become really interested in whichever location they choose to study.

I love using this reso urce, because it has a twist full of research project ideas! It’s a perfect addition to your informational writing unit or reference skill lessons. This research project gives students choice and flexibility when researching states and/or countries. To present their findings, students complete various activities until they earn up to 100 total points. There are 10, 25-, 50-, and 75-point activities, where the more challenging activities are worth the most points. Students may choose to complete several smaller activities, a couple of larger activities, or any combination.

Research Project Ideas – Task Cards

There is a wide variety of activities to address many different learning styles and student interest. I’ve also created thorough direction cards for each of the activities. I’ll print and laminate a few copies of each card, so that I can use them year after year.

I’ve included any printables that students may need for the project. There is both a state version and a country version of the printables, because in any research project students need the guides to be as specific as possible.

Research Project Ideas – Example Activities

There are too many activities in this research project that students can choose from to share in one blog post, but here are some of my favorites!

In the Pack Your Stuitcase activity, students create a booklet where they describe the items they would need to bring with them if they were going to that state/country. I included a color and black and white version of a suitcase, as well as lined and unlined paper. Students can cut out the pages and staple to create the booklet. To save time, I have a few of these prepared in advance.

The Daily Journal newspaper article looks deceptively easy. However, writing a concise paragraph with all necessary information can be quite a challenge! It’s also a great way to tie in main idea into your instruction!

The travel journal requires just a little preparation. Print out a book cover and a journal entry page for each day of the week. Then, cut them out and staple the pages together. Once again, I like to have a few booklets made in advance.

There is something about a triarama that is just cool. I’m not sure what it is, but students love it! I do too! They look far more complicated to build than they actually are, and they’re a great way to incorporate art and creativity into students’ research projects.

There are more traditional activities included in the collection of research project ideas, such as an informational essay. I included a detailed graphic organizer to give students plenty of support for independent writing.

Some other research project ideas include activities such as a time line, post cards, and the brochure do not require any printables. Students may use common classroom supplies such as index cards and copy paper for these activities.

Research Tips

Before implementing these research project ideas, students have to be taught HOW to research. A project like the state/country research project should not be implemented until students have experience with research.

1. Evaluate Sources – Students must learn to evaluate the information found in their sources. Discuss how to evaluate a website: Is the information up to date?, Does the site ask for too much personal information or prompt virus warnings? Does the information come from a trusted expert?

2. Ask Good Questions – I imagine we’ve all conducted unsuccessful Google searches! Students need to learn to develop search queries to get better research results. Too often, students will enter a broad search term such as “George Washington,” and browse through pages of results that aren’t related to their research. For practice, give small groups three search terms each, ranging from the general to the specific (e.g., “presidents,” “George Washington,” and “George Washington’s birthday”). Ask the groups to record how many results are returned for each term. Encourage groups to come up with three alternate search terms for the most specific item on their lists. Students can compare the results and discuss how changing a few words can generate different information.

3. Respect Ownership – Students also need to learn to respect the intellectual property rights of creators. Have students to write about what it would feel like to have a book published. Have students share how they would feel about their accomplishment. Then, introduce the idea of piracy and have students share how they would feel if someone downloaded their book without paying for it. You can use this discussion to lead into a conversation about plagiarism.

Hopefully, you’ve found some new research project ideas that your students will love! I like to teach these tips during my Informational Writing Unit and let this research project follow those lessons.

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I love this idea as a follow up to your informational writing unit. The variety of activities and student choice opportunities are a great idea.

Thank you for your post!

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• Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

• These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
• Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
• Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
• Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
• Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
• Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

• Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
• Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
• Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
• Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
• Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
• Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like  Thesaurus.com .
• Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

• Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
• Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
• Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
• Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest).  Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
• Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
• Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
• Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
• Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
• Watch this video  from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
• Take a look at  20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know  by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
• Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

• Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me?  by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
• Brainstorm a list of popular domains   (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
• Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results  (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
• Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
• Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
• Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
• Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
• Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

• Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
• Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
• Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
• Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
• Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
• Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
• As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
• Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

• Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
• Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
• Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
• Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
• Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
• Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
• Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
• Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source. 
• Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
• Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
• Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

• Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
• Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
• Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
• Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

Home » Tips for Teachers » Discover the Joy of Science: 16 Experiments Perfect for Elementary Students

Discover the Joy of Science: 16 Experiments Perfect for Elementary Students

When I am continuously going over worksheets or books with my elementary class, I notice my students’ long and bored faces, their eyes drifting away from the material. Because of this observation, I try to integrate at least one hands-on science experiment into my weekly schedule. This approach not only keeps the children entertained, engaged, and focused but also fuels their innate curiosity. The objective is to spice things up every once in a while to keep my classroom fun and the learning experience vibrant.

The future is dependent on humans who know how to use science to make sound decisions, innovate, and take part in cultural, political, and civic conversations. Understanding this, I felt a responsibility. With that being said, I wanted to help other teachers around the world learn how to introduce science in fun, practical, and interactive ways for their elementary-aged students. Therefore, I am sharing my ultimate list of 16 science experiments for elementary school in this article.

This is how experiments are held at Northridge Elementary School:

WOW! The 5th graders at Northridge Elementary School participated in our lesson NEWTON’S 2nd LAW OF MOTION. Their experiments helped them understand force, mass, and acceleration. https://t.co/IRMc0iv6RJ pic.twitter.com/a93gleNPnL — WPAFB EO Office (@wpafbeo) March 2, 2022

3 Ideas for Student Biography Research Projects Upper Elementary

When the second half of the school year comes around, it is officially biography season in my classroom!

That is because when the second half of the year comes we shift our focus during reading and writing to nonfiction and informative text . The engagement is instant as kids just love to read nonfiction. After we get our feet with reading a wide range of informative texts, we begin to closely study biographies.

Students LOVE to read about real people and the impact that they have had on the world . Every year students are always so motivated during our biography research project time. Our biography project is the first research project of the year, so it is important to me that I support them every step of the way.

Over the years I have found that by breaking down the process step by step for our biography reports students are not only successful when writing their first research essay of the year, but they are able to take the skills that they learned throughout the unit and apply it to future research projects that we do, like studying endangered animals and National Parks . 

Continue to read to find out how I approach teaching BEFORE I expect students to research and write an expository research essay .

1. Break Down Biographies

• are one person's telling about another person's life
• can be about people who have died or are still living
• include basic facts about the person of focus
• include information about the person's education and childhood
• usually tell about problems or struggles that they faced
• describe their major life achievements

Once we have gone over the characteristics found in biographies we get reading so that students can find these characteristics in action.

I start by reading a few short biographies like the ones found in anthologies like this one, Herstory written by Katherine Halligan:

We stop and discuss the elements that we listed on our anchor chart.  I have students find examples of struggles, accomplishments, and facts.

Once students have listened to a few biographies, I send them off to annotate a   biography article . 

Students take highlighters and sticky notes and mark up the text , citing where they found elements of biographies. This activity works well in partnerships so that the students can discuss each element with a peer.

At the close of this first lesson on biographies, I send students off with the task to think about a person that they would like to research . While I do like to encourage students to pick someone they are interested in, I do also guide them on who they select.

I tell my students to pick someone who has had an impact on the world and someone who is not a movie/TV/YouTube star. You can make any rules you want to help guide students or set no rules. I have found that spending a few minutes brainstorming appropriate people to research sets the tone for the whole project. That is why before we wrap up the lesson we brainstorm ten people who would be great to research. This brainstorming is just to get students excited and thinking. They do not have to pick from the brainstormed list.

The next day, after students have had time to think, and discuss it with their families, which I like to have them do, they submit their research request . They simply write their name on a piece of paper and the name of who they want to research and why. This is a great way to get students to pick someone intentionally and reduces repeat research projects. I never allow more than two people to pick the same person.

Grab the FREE form I have students use to request a focus person and guide right here.

2. Bring it Through the Writing Process

Once students have a good grasp on how to collect information, they are ready to work independently. I assign one topic for research each day. This helps the students stay focused on the daily task and make a research project manageable for upper elementary students. The breakdown I use for each day's research looks like thi s:

• Day 1: Family Life and Early Childhood
• Day 2: Young Adult Life
• Day 3: Adult Life
• Day 4: Accomplishments
• Day 5: Other Important and Interesting Information

Sometimes days are combined based on what resources students are using to collect information. Once students have collected information for their report, we pause our research and return to the writing process.

Students know that we use the writing process for all of our writing. However, mini-lessons in certain areas specific to informative writing are necessary to help students write their first research project. Mini-lessons I teach before students write that are specific to informative writing include :

• hooking your reader
• paragraph organization
• citing sources
• strong closure to wrap up your writing

Teaching students how to take notes and what to do with their notes helps them successfully write their first research project.

3. Get Student Creative Juices Flowing

• design a PPT presentation
• create a tri-fold handout to teach others
• create a puppet of the person
• design a poster
• prepare a speech as if they were the focus person
• allow students to come up with an idea for their presentation. I have to approve their idea based on the resources and materials we have available in the classroom.

When biography season comes around in your classroom, be sure to follow these tips for success! By breaking down biographies, using what students already know about the writing process , and allowing creative choice when it comes to project displays your students will be engaged, motivated, and write the best biography research projects you have ever seen.

You might be interested in reading:

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Animal Research Project for Kids at the Elementary Level in 2024

Whether you are doing a simple animal study or a fully integrated science, reading, and writing unit, this animal research project for kids includes everything you need. From the graphic organizer worksheets and guided note templates to the writing stationary, printable activities, projects, and rubrics.

Thousands of teachers have used this 5-star resource to have students complete self-guided animal research projects to learn about any animal they choose. The best part is, the resource can be used over and over again all year long by just picking a new animal! Learn all about this animal research project for kids at the elementary level below!

What is the Animal Research Project?

The animal research project is a resource that is packed with printable and digital activities and projects to choose from. It is perfect for elementary teachers doing a simple animal study or a month-long, fully integrated unit. It’s open-ended nature allows it to be used over and over again throughout the school year. In addition, it includes tons of differentiated materials so you can continue to use it even if you change grade levels. Learn about what’s included in it below!

What is Included in the Animal Research Project

The following resources are included in the animal research project :

Teacher’s Guide

The teacher’s guide includes tips and instructions to support you with your lesson planning and delivery.

Parent Letter

The parent communication letter promotes family involvement.

Graphic Organizers

There are graphic organizers for brainstorming a topic, activating schema, taking notes, and drafting writing.

Research Report

There are research report publishing printables including a cover, writing templates, and resource pages.

There is a grading rubric so expectations are clear for students and grading is quick and easy for you.

Research Activities

The research activities include a KWL chart, can have are chart, compare and contrast venn diagram, habitat map, vocabulary pages, illustration page, and life cycle charts.

Animal Flip Book Project

There are animal flip book project printables to give an additional choice of how students can demonstrate their understanding.

Animal Flap Book Project

There is an animal flap book project printables that offers students yet another way to demonstrate their learning.

Animal Research Poster

The animal research poster serves as an additional way to demonstrate student understanding.

Poetry Activities

The resource includes poetry activities to offer students an alternative way to demonstrate their learning.

Digital Versions

There is a digital version of the resource so your students can access this resource in school or at home.

Why Teachers love the Animal Research Project

Teachers love this animal research project because of the following reasons:

• This resource guides students through the research and writing process, so they can confidently work their way through this project.
• It is a great value because it can be used over and over again throughout the school year because the pages can be used to learn about any animal.
• It offers several ways students can demonstrate their learning.
• It includes a ton of resources, so you can pick and choose which ones work best for you and your students.
• It is printable and digital so it can be used for in-class and at-home learning.

This animal research packet is great because it can be used over and over again using absolutely any animal at all. The printables in this packet are ideal to use with your entire class in school, as an at-home learning extension project or as a purposeful, open-ended, independent choice for your students who often finish early and need an enrichment activity that is so much more than “busy work.”

The Research Report Process

This animal research project packet was designed in a manner that allows you to use all of the components when studying any animal. Because the printables can be used over and over, I will often work through the entire researching and writing process with the whole class focusing on one animal together, This allows me to model the procedure and provide them with support as they “get their feet wet” as researchers. Afterwards I then have them work through the process with an animal of choice. You may find it helpful to have them select from a specific category (i.e. ocean animals, rainforest animals, etc) as this will help to streamline the resources you’ll need to obtain.

Step 1: Brainstorm a list of animals to research. Select one animal.

During this stage you may want to provide the students with a collection of books and magazines to explore and help them narrow down their choice.

Step 2: Set a purpose and activate schema.

Students share why they selected the animal and tell what they already know about it. Next, they generate a list of things they are wondering about the animal. This will help to guide their research.

Step 3: Send home the family letter.

To save you time, involve families, and communicate what is happening in the classroom, you may want to send home a copy of the family letter. It’s so helpful when they send in additional research materials for the students.

Step 4: Research and take notes.

The two-column notes template is a research-based tool that helps the kids organize their notes. I added bulleted prompts to guide the students in finding specific information within each category. This method has proven to be highly effective with all students, but is especially useful with writers who need extra support.

I have included two versions of the organizers (with and without lines). I print a copy of the organizer for each student. I also copy the lined paper back to back so it is available to students who need more space.

Step 5: Write a draft.

Using the information gathered through the research process, the students next compose drafts. The draft papers were designed to guide the students through their writing by providing prompts in the form of questions. Answering these questions in complete sentences will result in strong paragraphs. It may be helpful to give them only one page at a time instead of a packet as it make the task more manageable.

Step 6: Edit the draft.

Editing can be done in many ways, but it is most effective when a qualified editor sits 1:1 with a student to provides effective feedback to them while editing.

Step 7: Publish.

Print several copies of the publishing pages. I like to have all my students start with the page that has a large space for an illustration, but then let them pick the pages they want to use in the order they prefer after that. I have them complete all the writing first and then add the illustrations.

Finally, have the children design a cover for the report. Add that to the front and add the resources citation page to the back. Use the criteria for success scoring rubric to assign a grade. The rubric was designed using a 20 point total so you can simply multiply their score by 5 to obtain a percentage grade. The end result is a beautiful product that showcases their new learning as well as documents their reading and writing skills.

In closing, we hope you found this animal research project for kids helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

• How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students
• 15 Animals in Winter Picture Books for Elementary Teachers
• How to Teach Informative Writing at the Elementary Level

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Me on the Map Activities and Printables for Elementary Teachers – 2024

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Tech ed from Teacher-authors

33 Great Research Websites for Kids

Here are quick, safe spots to send students for research:

• BrainPop –with the BrainPop characters, a launchpad to curiosity
• CoolKidFacts –kid-friendly videos, pictures, info, and quizzes–all 100% suitable for children
• Dimensions –academic research geared for college-level
• Fact Monster –help with homework and facts
• Google Earth Timelapse –what changes to the planet over time
• Google Trends –what’s trending in searches
• History Channel –great speeches
• How Stuff Works –the gold standard in explaining stuff to kids
• Info Please –events cataloged year-by-year
• National Geographic for Kids
• Ngram Viewer –analyzes all words in all books on Google Books
• TagGalaxy –search using a cloud
• Wild Wordsmyth –picture dictionary for kids
• World Book –requires membership

Citing Resources

• Citation Machine

Kids Search Engines

• Kiddle –visual search engine for kids

How to Research

• A Google A Day
• How to Search on Google
• Power Searching (with Google)
• Teaching students to search/research
• I nternet Search and Research –a lesson plan for K-8

Lesson Plans

• Image Copyright Do’s and Don’ts
• Internet Search and Research

Resources/Research

• Kids Picture Dictionary
• Primary Source Documents
• Talk to Books –research your topic based on books

Click for a lesson plan on Search and Research .

Click for more search and research websites.

Jacqui Murray  has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a  K-12 technology curriculum ,  K-8 keyboard curriculum,   K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum . She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an  Amazon Vine Voice , freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers,  To Hunt a Sub  and  Twenty-four Days . You can find her resources at  Structured Learning.

Updated 1-16-23

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5 thoughts on “ 33 Great Research Websites for Kids ”

love these websites.

Thanks so much!

• Pingback: How to Teach Argument Writing Step-By-Step - ELA Buffet

they are nice to reach on

They’re a little out of the norm, which makes them more interesting.

Comments are closed.

We are a group of dedicated technology teachers with tons of experience in teaching K-18 t ech, unraveling its problems, and making it exciting for kids (and adults). We blog here, teach online grad school classes, provide curricula (like K-12 Technology curriculum ,  K-8 keyboard curriculum,   K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum ). Jacqui Murray (the face of AATT) also authors tech thrillers,  To Hunt a Sub  and  Twenty-four Days . You can find our resources at  Structured Learning.

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Elementary (Kids!) Resources & Research: Project Ideas & Research Sites

• Project Ideas & Research Sites
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Creek Connections

Independent research projects – frequently asked questions, what is the independent research project component of the project.

These projects are a chance for you and your students to explore watershed related topics that go beyond the ongoing chemical water testing every three weeks. They are a chance for your students to develop research and scientific method skills, analyze data and problem solve, and explore waterway topics that interest them.

What do the independent research projects have to be about?

They should be about a watershed topic (i.e. water quality, pollutants, water issues, watershed mapping/comparisons, watershed history, hydrogeology, stream morphology, watershed creatures/aquatic life, or stream ecology). Stipend money can be spent on equipment to carry out these projects.

Who designs these research projects?

Ideally, the students; however, if you want to cover a certain topic in your curriculum that you could turn into a class research project, go for it. It should be a goal to have the students feel some ownership of the research design and work.

How many independent research projects do we have to do?

At least one involving the entire class must be completed. Some teachers have one entire class project, some divide students up into groups to each work on a different project. Individual students or small groups can study something on their own. Whatever works best for you in your class setting.

How many students have to conduct independent research projects?

Teachers decide parameters of projects. We encourage involvement of as many students as possible even if they all cannot come to the symposium.

When do we start working on these projects?

As soon as you and your students want. They must be complete by April for the Student Research Symposium. The earlier they are completed, the better, and the results / presentation will be more impressive for the Student Research Symposium. Allegheny can purchase materials for you between the Summer Institute and March 1 or provide assistance at any point during the year.

• Have a Story Idea?

Taking steps & building blocks: W&M and K-12 collaborations teach untold stories

Area elementary and middle school students engage in history-making with the william & mary bray school lab.

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In March 2024, W&M Bray School Lab Genealogist Elizabeth Drembus travelled to Norfolk to deliver a genealogy workshop on the Williamsburg Bray School students to members of the ADL Dance Company. (Photo by Grace Helmick ’22)

The William & Mary Bray School Lab and Strategic Cultural Partnerships recently completed two year-long creative research projects with K-12 students in the Hampton Roads area: a choreographed dance event titled “The Williamsburg Bray School: A Story Worth Telling” led by Kristen Hill and the students at the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood and a project called “Turning Points in History” with Christine McBee and fourth grade students at Matthew Whaley Elementary School.

Both projects advanced the lab’s goals to uncover, document, preserve and share broadly the history and legacies of the Williamsburg Bray School; both projects also aligned with William & Mary’s on-going Year of the Arts celebration.

“In Strategic Cultural Partnerships, we seek to connect a broad range of learners and communities to our research and work,” said Ann Marie Stock, presidential liaison for strategic cultural partnerships at William & Mary.

“By engaging K-12 students and teachers with the exciting discoveries being made about the Bray School scholars and their world, we develop together a more nuanced understanding of our nation’s past and a fuller appreciation for the process of research and discovery.”

The Williamsburg Bray School: A story worth telling

It all started with a Facebook message.

The ADL Dance Company, a program for students at the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood (ADL), a Norfolk Public Schools middle school, took center stage at the Norfolk Public Schools Fine Arts Festival at the Chrysler Museum of Art on Saturday, May 4, following a year of research, reflection and rehearsal.

Under the leadership of ADL French teacher Kristen Hill, the students of the ADL Dance Company embarked on a journey through history, creating and delivering a performance titled “The Williamsburg Bray School: A Story Worth Telling,” paying homage to the enslaved and free Black children, known and unknown, who passed through the doors of the Williamsburg Bray School.

When Hill envisioned a year-long project centered on choreographing a recital recounting the narrative of the Williamsburg Bray School, she knew a traditional approach wouldn’t suffice.

Hence, the Facebook message: “I am the faculty sponsor of ADL Dance Company, a small but wonderful group of scholar-dancers who plan to research, create and perform a dance concert to educate our community about the Bray School,” she wrote. “Is there any possibility of arranging a visit to your facility this fall?”

She did not know it would initiate a powerful collaboration.

Hill’s request was met with great enthusiasm by the team at the W&M Bray School Lab and Strategic Cultural Partnerships. Strategic Cultural Partnerships facilitated the field trip and curated a rich educational experience; ADL dancers embarked on a day of learning and discovery at William & Mary under the tutelage of W&M Bray School Lab Director Maureen Elgersman Lee, Oral Historian Tonia Merideth and Genealogist Elizabeth Drembus.

“Making materials about the history and legacies of the Williamsburg Bray School available and accessible to K-12 students and educators allows them to engage in an intellectually creative partnership that produces original works of expression and reflection,” said Elgersman Lee.

The day culminated in a pizza picnic and a lunch-and-learn session led by W&M Bray School Lab Graduate Assistant Nicole Brown ’13, M.A. ’22 held on the lawn in between Travis and Barrett houses.

That might have been enough — more than enough — but the W&M team continued to play a pivotal role throughout the project, from capturing on video their preview performance last November to conducting on-site genealogy workshops for the ADL students to learn more about the scholars they were to embody. The team provided invaluable historical insights whenever Hill sought guidance.

“I could never have imagined how special this experience would turn out to be. Everyone on the Bray School Lab team has been a source of insight, inspiration and knowledge,” Hill said.

The ADL Dance Company’s performance demonstrated the power of artistic expression to not only entertain but also educate; the partnership between the ADL Dance Company and the W&M Bray School Lab demonstrated the power of collaboration to make great, unexpected things happen — even from a simple Facebook message.  

“The Bray School discovery has become a personal thing for us,” Hill reflected. “In a special way, the Bray School scholars have become our friends.”

Other friends were made, too, reported ADL Dance Company member and seventh-grader Anabelle Castillo: “It was challenging but also fun and interesting. I made friends with people that I might not have gotten to know through my regular classes. I feel like I’m less quiet now. …we put so much work into it, and to see the final product felt very good.”

Turning points in history

At the same time, William & Mary Bray School Lab and Strategic Cultural Partnerships staff were engaged in a collaborative project with students from Matthew Whaley Elementary School in Williamsburg. The initiative, aligning with the 2024 National History Day theme, focused on “Turning Points in History.”  

Over the course of several months, Matthew Whaley Elementary School fourth grade teachers and students explored the process of historical research, guided by a team drawn from Bray School Lab and SCP staff, W&M faculty and students, and external partners, including including Nansemond Indian Nation Assistant Chief Dave Hennaman, who discussed the legacy of the Brafferton Indian School in Virginia Indigenous history during the final class presentation.

The team met monthly with Matthew Whaley’s fourth grade teachers and students and dove deep into the histories of the Williamsburg Bray School, the Brafferton Indian School and the namesake of their own school, Matthew Whaley.

“Focusing on the Bray, Brafferton and Matthew Whaley schools was an incredible way for students to become engaged in learning that was relative to their own life experiences,” Matthew Whaley teacher Christine McBee explained. “It connected them through historical empathy to students who lived where they live and had the same hopes and dreams they do.”

The students produced content-rich, creative projects that they showcased to a Matthew Whaley gymnasium packed with students, parents, teachers and WJCC administrators on April 24 at the school’s first History Night showcase.

Each student’s presentation focused on a “turning point” in the history of the Williamsburg Bray School, the Brafferton Indian School or young Matthew Whaley, using media that included paint, cardboard, Legos and Minecraft and demonstrating the students’ newfound knowledge and appreciation for those who helped build the Williamsburg community over centuries.

“Giving students opportunities to become civically involved in their community creates a population that can critically assess their role not just in Williamsburg, but also in Virginia and the United States,” McBee said. “Isn’t that the purpose of public education after all?”

The Williamsburg Bray School will open as an interpreted building at Colonial Williamsburg this fall, informed by the oral histories and genealogical research taking place at the William & Mary Bray School Lab. 

“When we embarked on the journey with the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood and Matthew Whaley Elementary School, we thought that we were helping teachers and students ‘see’ the Williamsburg Bray School and its students. It is safe to say that they helped us see the history and legacies of the Williamsburg Bray School and its students with fresh eyes,” said Elgersman Lee.

Danny Devlin, Strategic Cultural Partnerships

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• Our Mission

PBL in the Early Elementary Grades

Setting up project-based learning with young students can be a challenge, but it’s worth the work, according to first-grade teachers from across the U.S.

Making a change to classroom instruction can be complex, confusing, and even overwhelming. Educators may have reservations about shifting their teaching approach as they consider student response, increased time commitment, or lack of support. They also may not know how to take the leap. But taking the leap to project-based learning is well worth the effort. Moving toward a PBL teaching approach includes many potential benefits for educators and students alike.

Administrators and first-grade teachers from practicing PBL schools across the United States participated in focus-group conversations as part of a project to inform the development of a PBL-based first-grade curriculum. During the conversations, educators offered advice about areas they continue to navigate, what works well, and how to start a conversation about moving toward a PBL approach to teaching.

Anticipated Challenges and How to Address Them

If you’re considering PBL, you might be wondering about potential barriers and how to navigate them. In the course of talking with practicing PBL educators from around the country, some common challenges with PBL implementation emerged.

1. Lack of support from other teachers and/or administrators. Many educators indicated that there’s often a lack of support within the school as well as a general sense that teachers are fundamentally underprepared about how to implement PBL. External support is a crucial factor, so it’s important to talk with teachers and administrators about getting on board before launching PBL efforts. A network of other PBL educators inside and outside of school can provide support and help make the experience successful.

2. Additional time for lesson planning. Time is an important consideration that goes into planning and implementing project work, as a majority of educators mentioned during focus-group conversations. Since integrating PBL takes a substantial amount of time, educators can ask for understanding and flexibility from others in the school with planning, scheduling, and enacting.

3. Shifted role from instructor to facilitator. Successful PBL requires teachers to act as motivators for students in their learning. This shift in classroom control may cause apprehension and a need for adjustment for teachers and learners. Through the use of balanced instruction, increasing the amount of student choice, and providing appropriate scaffolding, this instructional shift becomes much easier to navigate and creates an opportunity to successfully implement PBL.

Successes of Moving Toward PBL

Using a PBL learning approach comes with many benefits and countless opportunities, as the educators we talked with pointed out. These advantages positively impact students, teachers, parents, and communities.

1. Opportunities for collaboration. Collaboration is paramount in PBL and one of the best ways students and educators can further develop soft skills, including communication and problem-solving. Students learn to consider alternative viewpoints, and educators benefit from being able to plan with the support of colleagues, collaborate with teachers from other classes, and think through ideas together.

Collaboration seems to be fundamental to educators’ perspectives with creating successful and meaningful project-based approaches to learning. Through collaboration, students and educators not only develop better project work but also learn important real-world skills that extend beyond their projects and will benefit them in multiple ways.

2. Increased student engagement. By using student voice and choice throughout PBL, educators can create opportunities to engage and motivate students who might otherwise not be interested in actively participating in learning opportunities. Project work requires balance and finesse to maintain engagement over the course of the entire unit. By utilizing PBL curriculum, however, these educators reported greater student connection, particularly for students who are often hard to engage.

When educators take the perspectives of their students into account throughout the learning process, they create engaging ways to keep up with their changing needs. It can be helpful to use formative assessments, including student interviews, as a way to check in with students throughout the PBL process to understand what motivates, engages, and excites them. Increasing student voice by linking student interests and motivations throughout the process can maintain engagement and ensure that students feel connected to the work.

3. Authentic learning opportunities. It’s important to ensure that projects serve a purpose beyond the classroom and allow students to draw real-world connections with the work they’re actively engaged in. When educators provide authentic context for student work through PBL and an authentic audience to present their work to, students feel more connected, excited, and engaged with their project work. Nearly all of the educators in focus-group conversations noted that it’s important for the project work to feel real to students and to remind students of their authentic audience throughout the course of project work.

Starting the Conversation

Previous research shows that PBL can foster intrinsic motivation , increase student engagement, and help develop creative thinking skills. It’s also been proven to be a catalyst that can encourage engagement of student learning , support sustained student interest in exploring novel ideas, and help promote communication and collaboration .   A great place to begin is to familiarize yourself with the essential project design elements of PBL . Next, start small. Think about a project idea you may have once had, dust it off, and start talking with your colleagues about how to bring it to life in your classroom. Then, recognize your capacity.

As demands on teachers increase to equip students with 21st-century skills to help them adapt to a quickly changing society, more educators are turning to teaching methods such as PBL, and it’s essential that administrators know how to support them. Talk with your administrator about your PBL thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Present the evidence, pitch your idea, and prepare for an exciting journey with PBL.