Middle School Research Project Idea: Travel Planning for a Pine Cone Pal

As the school year or semester winds down, students seem to become "antsy." They need something self-directed so there's no time for them to "zone out" or cause a disruption. This is when I like to have students work on project-based learning.

One year, my 6th-grade students worked on a research project with a twist - they researched a trip for their Pine Cone Pals!

You might know about a famous book character known as Flat Stanley that many an elementary student made a version of and sent off to a faraway relative to see what adventures Stanley could have.

"Pine Cone Pals" is based on the same idea, although we won't actually mail off our pals!  Instead, students will research all the ins and outs of where their pal will visit, use a budget with an Excel spreadsheet, and combine their information into a PowerPoint complete with a bibliography!

You might think this is a zany idea, but zany is exactly what middle school students love about this project!  They loved naming, dressing, and making personalities for their pals.

My Procedure:

1.  At least a week ahead of time I surveyed my students and asked them to name one place that they had never visited, but would like to visit in the future.  I also gathered pine cones and glued on googly eyes.

2.  I gathered many travel guides to these places at my local library like Fodor’s Guides, Frommer’s Guides and more to incorporate some reading instead of just "googling".  :)

3.  On Monday, I refreshed their memories of Flat Stanley with a small read-aloud of just the part about when Stanley went on a trip to introduce the Pine Cone Pals.  I explained that groups of students will plan a trip for their new pals.  Then, after the students read the project requirements to themselves, I provided an explanation of how they would be graded with the rubric and my fair grading system.  Next, students formed groups of no more than 3.  The groups chose a destination out of a “hat” (based on my previous survey).  Then I allowed them to just explore the books and name their pals.

4.  On Tuesday, we went over the due dates which are the steps of the research process. These steps are great for chunking for your students with an IEP or 504 plan!  Then I taught a mini-lesson on note-taking and citing sources in a bibliography.  Afterward, students had time to research & take notes.

Note-Taking Mini-Lesson on Biteable.

5.  On Wednesday, students continued to research and take notes.

6.  On Thursday and Friday, we used the computer to begin to assemble the digital products.  

7. The following week, we had another day or so to put it all together, and then it was time to practice presentations.

8.  Finally, students presented.  I graded the entire group using the rubric.

9.  Students reflected and determined points awarded to each group member.

The students LOVED this project.  I think this was mainly because they could unleash their creativity with their pals and their trip plans.  They thoroughly enjoyed investigating new places that they talked about as if it were a competition to see who would have the best trip!  Best of all, they were engaged and learning at the same time!
Get the complete lesson plan with all project directions, rubric, budget spreadsheet, and more here:

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