Create a Thanksgiving Day Obstacle Course Race PBL

Your grade 3 learners are going to enjoy this set of Thanksgiving themed PBL (Project Based Learning) activities. Set on Farmer Brown’s farm, this bundle of learning activities poses to your learners, the task of planning and designing a Thanksgiving Day obstacle course for 7 barnyard animals. Proceeds from the “Thanks-a-Thon” will be donated to a charity of each learners choosing. Throughout the project they will focus on organizing, planning, designing, and implementing all components of Farmer Brown’s charity event. Learners will strengthen their math skills in budgeting, elapsed time, place value, and measurement. They’ll also work on ELA skills such as writing a letter, parts of speech, opinion writing, descriptive writing, and critical thinking skills. In the final activity of the PBL, learners will write about their own personal Thanksgiving traditions. As a bonus, you can set aside time for your learners to participate in a whole group obstacle course made up of events learners created during the PBL process. It’s a great way to tie everything together and build learning connections. There is something for all types of learners in this PBL. The best part is that you can tailor the product to fit the needs of your individual learners. Use all the activities throughout the month of November or shorten the learning time to include only a handful of activities the week prior to Thanksgiving. Most pages of this product are available in both color, as well as black & white versions. A set of Power Point slides is included in the event you want to use some activities in whole group learning. For your convenience, an answer key is also provided. Below are details of each activity included in this PBL product.

PAGES 1-2: Learners will read an explanation of the PBL and fill-in the graphic organizer with details of the charity event.

PAGES 3-8: Learners will use information about each race participant to complete the registration cards for the event.

PAGE 9: Learners will use clues to fill-in a monthly calendar which focuses on when specific tasks need to be completed for the race.

PAGES 10-11: Learners will ask volunteers for help with the Thanks-a-Thon. They can fill-in a text message conversation or request help via a traditional letter format.

PAGE 12: Learners will choose a charity to which they will donate race proceeds. They will write the name of the charity and explain why they chose it.

PAGES 13-15: Using the provided information, learners will choose their race gear for each participant and budget the total amount of money needed for each race participant.

PAGES 16-17: Learners will use the “Fan Gear” pricing page to complete the budget form to calculate sales profits.

PAGES 18-19: Learners will use the “Gobble Up These Snacks” pricing page to complete the budget form to calculate sales profits.

PAGES 20-21: Learners will calculate the total profit from the race and write a check to the charity of their choice.

PAGES 22-23: Learners will decorate or design a shoe for each participant to wear in the race. After decorating/designing, learners will write a brief description of the shoe.

PAGE 24: Learners will measure each race participant’s shoe to the nearest ½ inch.

PAGES 25-28: Learners will complete 12 task cards focusing on math skills such as place value, rounding, and multiplication.

PAGES 29-32: Learners will create 4 obstacle course events and write instructions for race participants to follow.

PAGES 33-35: Learners will use the provides shapes to create a poster-size map of the obstacle course.

PAGE 36: Learners will design and draw a motivational/encouraging banner to display along the path of the obstacle course.

PAGE 37: Learners will use critical thinking skills to solve problems that arise during the race day events.

PAGES 38-39: Learners will use analog clocks to calculate the race time of each participant. After each time is calculated, learners will complete the winners’ podium.

PAGES 40-41: Learners will decorate or design a trophy for the winner of the obstacle course race.

PAGE 42: Learners will use the provided stationery to write about their personal Thanksgiving traditions.

ANSWER KEY

POWER POINT SLIDES:22 full-color slides to use in conjunction with the following activities: registration cards, budgeting, task cards