The second graders have embarked on a new PBL project that entails creating a multimedia presentation for the Martin Luther King assembly in January.  Their studies will lead them into large ideas such as fairness and equality, freedom and respect. The project began...

Quite often during a project, families of students see only a beautiful finished product...all polished and shiny and clean.  The messy, complicated, reflective process that has created that final product is not as evident and is often times hidden away from the...

What do crayon bits, beads, shaving cream, paper towel tubes and popsicle sticks all have in common? They are all being transformed by the newest business owners in 2nd grade into sellable product for the annual 2nd Grade Store.  Students from 3rd, 7th, and 8th grades...

A common question when thinking about how to implement Project Based Learning is how the content standards that need to be taught are addressed during a large hands on project.  In a gold standard PBL project, content is interwoven throughout the life of the project. ...

At first glance, things might seem a little crazy.  Students are running all over the room, with raised voices and decked out in full costume.  If you were brave enough to look closer, you would find that the students are all actually very engaged in their math...

This is Spike and he is in need of a new home!  This is how the second graders were introduced to their newest project based learning experience and how the inquiry into how to make the best habitat home for Spike began.  This small project offered lots of room for...

It's a comfortableness, a feeling of acceptance and an overwhelming warmth that comes from knowing you belong.  It's everyone working together to communicate and collaborate every day.  Each classroom at PNA is its own little community, with daily interactions of...

Think back a bit.  How did you learn about the concept of base ten and place value?  How about addition/subtraction facts or how to show your knowledge of multiplication?  Chances are that those memories had some sort of flashbacks of worksheets, worksheets and more...

Lately the second graders have been exploring the needs of seeds.  They learned that seeds only need water to grow but that they need sunlight if they want to survive.  They learned this by looking at data collected from  the light/darkness experiments they started at...

The second graders have been working to build up their reading stamina during reading workshop.  They have learned how to take sneak peeks of books while browsing and that they can also decide how each book wants to be read. During workshop time, the students...