Take a Trip PBL & Airport Transformation

I'll be honest- my time, temperature, and calendar unit is my least favorite math unit to teach each year. I wanted to create a more authentic and engaging way for students to learn and apply these skills. So I decided....my students would take a trip!

This driving question guided my students throughout our PBL. Students worked in groups of four, researched a country, chose a flight, recorded the high and low temperatures in the country, wrote a nonfiction brochure about the country, and created three 3D models of places they wanted to visit in the country. They ultimately created a travel itinerary for the specific country they were visiting.

My favorite lesson during this project was when we researched flights using Google Flights. We had conversations about the difference between one way and round trip tickets. My students also learned what a layover was...and that a 12 hour layover in Beijing didn't sound like a great idea! Haha!

Their culminating activity was a Travel Agency Fair, where each group presented their trip to our audience. Our audience consisted of families, fellow teachers, and administration. Next time I would like to invite another class from our school to join us.

If you are interested in the lessons I taught during this PBL and the templates my students used, feel free to check out the link to my TPT product below.

We did a small transformation in our room during this project, which didn't cost a thing! Here are some things that I did to add small touches to our classroom.

Had students create their own airplane before starting our PBL
Arranged the furniture so it looked like a terminal.
Created hand-drawn posters (Departure/Arrival Board, Starbucks Menu, and Airline Posters)
Put smooth jazz music on in the background
Created simple signs to hang in the room (baggage claim by the backpacks, terminal, information desk by the teacher's table, etc.)
Put up Free Airport Role play Signs