PBL Lesson Plans

Delta Project
San Joaquin River Delta Project

Kindergarten PBL Chavez, Boettger, Best, McCormick
1
Lesson # 1A (7 days)
Teacher models and instructs about various natural resources. Students then pick one
natural resource to research. Groups look through magazines to find pictures of evidence
of how humans use the natural resource, e.g. water is used for drinking, pleasure
(swimming, rafting), agriculture, animals, etc. Students then present their findings to the
class as a presentation.
EL Strategies: Teacher models what some possible evidence looks like for their selected
natural resource. Define natural resource, Natural resources are materials from the Earth
that are used to support life and meet peoples needs. Create a list and pictures of what
each natural resource is
Intervention Lesson Focus: N/A

Lesson # 1B (7 days)
Is Water a renewable or nonrenewable resource?
Teacher begins lesson by defining what renewable and nonrenewable resources are and
giving examples of each. Teacher will show the video clips of various types of energy.
Then students are asked to discuss/argue whether they believe if water is a renewable or
nonrenewable resource. The teacher will guide and support both groups. Students will
have to prove their argument with facts that they collect with teachers support. Students
will create a poster with reasons why they believe water is renewable or nonrenewable.
Teacher will assist groups in sharing their information.
EL Strategies: Vocabulary: Renewable resources are those natural resources that can be
replenished at about the same rate at which they are used. Renewable resources, however,
can be depleted if not properly managed or conserved.
Nonrenewable resources are those natural resources that are depleted more quickly than
they can regenerate. Once mined and used completely, nonrenewable resources are gone
forever.
http://youtu.be/1-g73ty9v04 energy lets save it
http://youtu.be/wX2wrXwe8ZM school house rock - energy

Lesson #2 (over the course of the unit)
Students begin to write about the Delta by, journaling our experience having to do with
our study of the delta. Students write and describe what they saw and what they know
about the various animals, plants, or objects we observed. Students continue to journal
about different aspects/ experiences they have had about our Delta unit.
Possible journal entries; What types of trash did you see in the river?
What types of things did the biologist net in from the river water?
If you could create an invention that would destroy trash from our delta waters, what
would it look like?
EL Strategies: Key words lists with pictures and idea starts with lots of teacher modeling.

Lesson # 3 (1 day) Art
Directed draw of an Egret, students follow teachers directions to create/draw a common
bird found in our Delta. (Egret which is part of the Heron family) Informal assessments
of position words and shapes, play a factor in this lesson.
EL Strategies: Following visual directions, teacher modeling and support. Student seating

Delta Project
2
arrangements a factor.

Lesson #4 (4 days over the course of our unit) Art
Watercolor maps beginning with the biggest to smallest. Students watercolor a map of
California. We talk about our state and the various landmarks that make our state special.
Students then watercolor a map of various landforms. We spend some time discussing
what they are and how they affect our area. Last students watercolor a map of our 1,000
miles of Delta River water-ways. We spend an extensive time discussing the various
islands and agricultural qualities of each.
EL Strategies: Following visual directions, modeling by teacher.

Lesson # 5 (10 days)
Describe in various ways what our Earth looks like and the amount of water we have on
our planet and how this effects us all. Students create an Earth clay model of our Earth
with the different levels (core, mantle, crust). Students begin to see that our earth is
covered with water but most of this water is ocean water, which is not drinkable. Teacher
models an experiment where an empty 2-liter soda container is filled almost completely
with water and then only a small amount of cooking oil is added. This model shows
students the difference in amount of ocean water to drinking water. Students learn about
the water cycle, using the water cycle boogie song. It teaches the cycle of precipitation,
evaporation, and condensation. We talk about how water gets to our homes using pipes
and companies that provide these services.
EL Strategies: Clustering/ Webbing/ Mapping, group discussion, pairs, small groups,
graphing.

Lesson #6 (1day)
Create aluminum foil boats, students build a boat, estimate how many bears could fit in
the boat without sinking it, and then test their hypothesis.
EL Strategies: Teacher models, step-by-step visuals charted on board

Lesson #7 (15 days)
Conservation of natural resources. Students learn about the 3 rs reduce, reuse, recycle.
Students learn about how animals are impacted by pollution. We talk about ways we can
reduce pollution in our community. Draw four different things that we can do to take care
of our Earth and share them with someone at your home. Create posters to place around
our school about the importance of reducing and recycling.
EL Strategies: Open mind diagram, whole class chart of student response to reducing
waste, modeling and teacher support.

Lesson #8 (10 days)
Create an ABC book, which contains all things related to what we have learned in our
Delta projects. E for Egret a bird native to our Delta waters.

Delta Project
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EL Strategies: Teacher support and modeling

Lesson# 9 (2 days one at beginning of unit one at end)
Walk to the levee, down the street from our school. Students have clip-boards with a
sheet of animal, plants and other objects that we may observe. Students tally/count each
thing they see on our walk.
At the end of the unit we return to the levee and discuss how things have changed.
At this time we compare our original numbers, did we see more or less of a particular
animal or plant.
EL Strategies: We use a KWL chart to describe what we know and what we want to
know and then continue the chart throughout the unit when we learn something from our
list.

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Delta Project

San Joaquin River Delta Project

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