Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom

“Samuel has 786 loaves of bread and 549 tomatoes…” “Uhm… Mrs. Aguilu, why would anyone have 786 loaves of bread?”

We’ve all been there. Your students are working on math problem and come across the most unrealistic scenario ever. We all know Samuel does NOT have that much bread. As teachers, we want to prepare our students for the real world! Therefore, we want to expose them to real-life scenarios in our everyday instruction.

So, that leads me to today’s post. Let’s chat a little bit about Project-Based Learning and why it has been such a game changer in my math classroom.

What is Project-Based Learning? (PBL)

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching approach in which students explore real-world problems and scenarios. Students work on a series of open-ended challenges to arrive at a solution for their problem.

The Benefits of Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom:

Students apply the content and skills that they’ve learned to real-world examples.

Develops problem-solving skills

Encourages critical thinking

Provides opportunities for team work and collaboration

Promotes self-directed learning and exploration

Instills leadership in young learners

Project-based learning activities increase student engagement.

Planning a Math Project-Based Learning in the Classroom:

When planning a collaborative project-based learning activity for your students, you’ll want to start with the end in mind. What do you want your students to learn or be able to do by the end of the activity?

Create a problem that students will encounter in the future. Do you want them to work with money? Have them start their own business! Give students an allotted budget and have them design their own restaurant. Some elements of PBL might seem like “role playing” since students will be shifting their perspective to that of a business owner.

Then, decide how you will evaluate students on the solution to their problem. Your PBL activity might not necessarily have a right or wrong answer. You’ll want to evaluate students based on their creativity, ability to think critically, and overall application of skills.

What are Some Examples of Project-Based Learning?

Pet Groomer PBL

Challenge:

Your students are opening up their own pet grooming business! Students will explore a business-owner mindset to manage and maintain their grooming center.

Real-World Math Scenarios Included:

Plan and design the grooming center layout

Hire a company to place turf in their playground area

Purchase supplies for their center while staying within their budget

Hire employees to run their business

Calculate employee salaries

Plan out advertisements for their business

Calculate daily sales 

Create employee schedules

Analyze monthly sales & graph data

Standards & Skills Targeted:

This PBL targets third and fourth grade standards. Students will need to apply addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measurement (area), data, and elapsed time skills for this activity. For a complete list of targeted standards, check out the full resource listing here.

This Pet Grooming Project-Based Learning activity is now available in DIGITAL format!

Build and Manage a Diner Restaurant PBL

Challenge:

In this project-based learning activity, students are building and running their own diner restaurant. This PBL is perfect for the month of February!

Real-World Math Scenarios Included:

Plan and design the layout of the diner restaurant

Write Checks to the contractors

Hire employees

Calculate employee salaries and hours worked

Plan out advertisements

Calculate daily sales using receipts

Count customer money and provide change

Analyze monthly sales and graph data

Standards & Skills Targeted:

This PBL targets third and fourth grade standards. Students will need to apply addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measurement (area), data, and elapsed time skills for this activity. For a complete list of targeted standards, check out the full resource listing here.

This Diner Resturant Project-Based Learning activity is now available in DIGITAL format!

Camping PBL

Challenge:

Your students have decided to go on a camping trip! They will use real-life math skills to plan, design, and explore on their trip.

Real-World Math Scenarios Included:

Create a park map

Brainstorming and plan out camping essentials

Use time cards to create a camping schedule

Purchase camping supplies with a budget in mind

Use a compass to design the campground

Analyze photos of animals and create graphs with the data

Measuring animals & plotting the data

Solving different word problems with camping scenarios

Writing a s’more recipe

Extension Activities Included:

Shoe box diorama model of the park

STEM Challenge- Build your own tent

Animal Research

Standards & Skills Targeted:

This PBL targets 2nd-3rd grade standards. Students will need to apply addition, subtraction, graphing, measurement, money, telling time, and direction skills to complete this camping project-based learning activity. For a complete list of targeted standards, check out the full resource here.

Organizing a PBL:

As you can see, a PBL can be a long-term project. However, they are designed so that students can work collaboratively on different elements during short periods of time. The project may take a total of 1-2 weeks to complete since they are working on each section for about 30 minutes per day. The beauty of it is that each activity builds on the previous activity

On Monday, they might work on designing the layout of their business.

Tuesday, they’ll work on purchasing supplies for their business.

Wednesday, they’ll brainstorm ways to hire employees and calculate salaries.

etc…

You’ll want to create some kind of organizational system where students can keep their activities and can easily access them each day. I like to create PBL Booklets with all of the pages the students will be working on each day. This binding machine is a life saver! I use it to bind everything for my students.

I hope this post inspires you to try out a project-based learning activity in your math classroom. PBL is a great student-centered approach that targets those high-achieving learners in your classroom.

Want to do a Classroom Transformation with these project-based learning activities? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to plan a classroom transformation!

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