Project-Based Learning: Real-World Student-Produced Ideas That Make a Difference

Project-based learning activity is entitled "Make a Difference" because it challenges students to select an issue in their school, community, nation, or world that concerns them. They research this issue and write a report explaining statistics and logical information to support the need for their project to be implemented, how their project will be carried out in detail, the desired outcomes, and how they will measure the project’s success. Then, they fill out a grant proposal, create two artifacts to use for their project, and write a follow-up email thanking the fictitious funding agency for its consideration. Students do not actually have to carry out the projects because this is more of a critical thinking exercise, but some students may want to go through with the project and earn some volunteer hours or just give back to the community.

This can be done as individuals, partners, or groups. It gets students thinking, researching, writing, and creating.

This is a no-prep for the teacher. All handouts are ready to go. If you wish to change any of the expectations, an editable PowerPoint is included.

This project was adapted from The Secret Life of Bees Unit.

Remote learning: You may upload these activities to a secure, password-protected online platform. To upload only the student pages, open the PDF, click Print to PDF, and select the pages you need to upload. The pages you select will be saved in a separate PDF file.