Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

PBL Essential Elements Checklist

Names of Group Members:
Jennifer Marion
Frances Takemoto

Project Title:
My Restaurant Project

Project Source:
Buck Institute for Education
http://bie.org/object/video/my_restauran
t_project

Grade Level:
Middle School - Grade will be modified to 4th

Does the project?

Yes

No

Focus on Significant Content

The students are given an opportunity to learn and

improve on real life skills, and an opportunity to
explore career options throughout the process.
Different standards are met in the different steps in
the process. For example, English Language Arts
Standards are used in the grant-writing portion of
the project. Math standards are used in operations
and algebraic thinking for the budget calculations
and different graphs. Technology literacy was used
in making Prezis, the commercials, and the Excel
spreadsheet.

Students must come up with their own restaurant

learning skills like designing, communication,
problem solving throughout the steps of this
process. It does not incorporate group work. We
would like to change this by assigning or choosing
partners or creating a class commercial. The
students learned formal communication by writing
grant letters and more casual communication
through the commercials they made. The students
problem solve when deciding which food items to
keep based on how healthy they were.

At its core, the project is focused on

teaching students important knowledge
and skills, derived from standards and
key concepts at the heart of academic
subjects.

Develop 21st Century Skills

Students build skills valuable for
todays world, such as creativity, critical
thinking and problem solving,
collaboration, and communication,
which are taught, practiced and
assessed.

Engage Student in In-Depth Inquiry

(For 397 Focus on Global Competence)

Students are engaged in rigorous,

extended process of asking questions,
using resources, and developing
answers.

Explain Reasoning and Offer

Possible Modifications

Students comments on the process were positive.

The project itself contained multiple steps that
required student research and inquiry along the
way, along with the need for students making their
own decisions. However, the video did not specify
whether or not the students themselves were asking
questions to engage themselves. We would make it

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

less complicated for 4th grade by taking out certain
tasks and focusing on their skill level. We are
taking out the commercial, the grant writing,
changed the budgeting of the furniture into food
budget, and made a less technology based
presentation at the end.
Organize Tasks Around an Essential
Driving

Essential Question: How would you design your

own restaurant? We want to make the essential
question focus more on the students life and
incorporate culture, not just business.

Project work is focused by an openended question that students explore or

that capture the task they are
completing.
Establish Need to Know

Students see the need to gain

knowledge, understand concepts, and
apply skills in order to answer the
Driving Question and create project
products, beginning with an ENTRY
EVENT that generates interest and
curiosity.
Encourage Voice and Choice

Students had choice on how they used their time to

create the products, and they used a lot of voice in
their Prezis and commercials. They also had
choice on how to design their menu. We plan to add
more student choice by allowing them to decide on
their country of interest, deciding on if they want to
work with a partner or not, and deciding on how
they want to incorporate the cultural elements into
their restaurant. Lastly, they have choice on final
presentation. They can make a tangible item that
they would use in their restaurant and they can
decide on that item.

Students are allowed to make some

choices about the products to be created,
how they work, and how they use their
time, guided by the teacher and
depending on age level and PBL
experience.

Incorporate Revision and Reflection

The project includes processes for
students to use feedback to consider
additions and changes that lead to highquality projects, and think about what
and how they are learning.

The essential question was: How would you design

your own restaurant? However, there was no Entry
Event. To add an entry event, we plan to bring in
take-out menus from restaurants in the community
for students to look through and at. Students will
form groups and compare the menus they have to
see what similarities they have and what
differences they have.

There were no opportunities that were outlined in

the video for feedback to think about what and how
they are learning. We would have them complete
peer reviews, teacher reviews, and self-reflections.
They would reflect on each part of the process in
the menu making. Questions they would reflect on
include: did you enjoy this experience? How will
you use these skills in the future? What would you
have changed? What did you have difficulties with?

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

What was particularly easy for you?
Include a Public Audience
Students present their work to other
people, beyond their classmates and
teacher.

They used Prezi for their public audience, but they

did not present to people beyond their classmates
and teacher. To include a public audience, students
could address letters to current restaurants in the
community and invite them to come see their final
products.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Global Mini-Project Project Overview

Names of Group Members: Jennifer Marion and Frances Takemoto
Project Title: My Latino/Latina Restaurant
Grade level: 4TH
Project Length: 4 weeks
Links to Online Resources:
1. http://bie.org/object/video/my_restaurant_project (video)
2. http://bie.org/project_search/results/search&ps_search_type=keywords&channel=
project_search&keywords=restaurant+/ (link)

Projects Essential Driving Question

How can we portray a specific Latino/Latina culture through or in a restaurant setting?

Project Overview
In the first week, we have the entry event. Then, we have the students looking at the demographics of
Maryland and based of the Latino/Latina demographics, the students will decide which Spanishspeaking country they want to research through the choices listed in the demographics researched. The
students will then conduct research on the country of their choice, including research on the countrys
food, music, clothing, and language/dialect. Week two the students will start the menu making process.
This week, the students will create a name and a description for their restaurant, find 10 items they
want to be on their menu from the country along with the recipes, create a description of each dish,
format and type a menu adding pictures; all decisions take the country they researched into account.
Week three, the students will decide on the ambience they want their restaurant to have, including what
the waiters and waitresses will wear and what music they will play. They will design a layout by
drawing what they want the inside/outside of their restaurant to look like, and they will work with a
budget to figure out how much it would cost to make the dish for the members of their class. Week four
will be the exit event where the students make a trifold presentation and create an item they would have
in their restaurant and share with the other students, parents, and school staff.

Project Product
The students will produce a menu that represents the Latino/Latina culture that surrounds them in their
environment, along with an electronic presentation and an item, of their choice; they would have in
their restaurant. An example is a placemat they would use in their restaurant. A filled-in spreadsheet
will be produced that compares the prices of different ingredients of a recipe from the researched
country at different stores. The spreadsheet will also include ingredient amounts of the original recipe
and the converted ingredient amounts for a specified amount of people. A bar graph of the
demographics will be created. Country research notes sheet. They will create a name of the restaurant
and a description of restaurant and dishes on menu. They will have 10 useable recipes from the
researched countries.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Global Awareness
The essential question and planned learning experience focuses on global awareness by engaging
students in research about demographic and cultural research of Latino/Latina culture that will cause
them to become more aware and knowledgeable about their fellow classmates, school faculty, and
community as a whole. This is a dynamic experience for students because they take part in
understanding and creating a restaurant that incorporates all aspects of Latino/Latina culture,
including the food, music, language, costume, and art. The students will investigate the world beyond
their own classroom environment by becoming familiar with the business world through creating a
menu and budgeting for recipes. In addition, they will also be investigating beyond their classroom by
looking into different cultural factors of Latino/Latina countries. Students will recognize their own
perspective when they use their creativity to format and design the menu for their restaurant. Students
will recognize their own perspectives when communicating their thoughts and opinions to their partner,
if they choose to complete the project with a partner. Students will recognize multiple perspectives when
researching Latino/Latina countries, working with their potential partner, and receiving feedback
through the peer review process. Students communicate their ideas with diverse audiences when they
present their project to staff, students, teachers, and community restaurant staff. Students are taking
action by sharing their inspirational ideas to current community restaurant staff to inspire a more
culturally representative restaurant.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Curriculum Alignment Matrix

Projects Essential Driving Question
How can we portray a specific Latino/Latina culture through or in a restaurant setting?

English Language Arts Standards Alignment

Standards for Writing (W)
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
W3 CCR Anchor Standard
W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques,
descriptive details, and clear even sequences.
Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing
W4 CCR Anchor Standard
W4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
W5 CCR Anchor Standard
W5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by
planning, revising
W6 CCR Anchor Standard
W6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce
and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command
of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge
W7 CCR Anchor Standard
W7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of
a topic.
W8 CCR Anchor Standard
W8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital
sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
Cluster: Range of Writing
W10 CCR Anchor Standard
W10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes,
and audiences.
Standards for Reading Informational Text (RI)
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

R17 CCR Anchor Standard
R17 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain how the information
contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
Standards for Language (L)
Cluster: Conventions of Standard English
L1 CCR Anchor Standard
L1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
L2 CCR Anchor Standard
L2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
L3 CCR Anchor Standard
L3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L4 CCR Anchor Standard
L4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on
grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibility from a range of strategies.
Standards for Speaking and Listening (SL)
Cluster: Comprehension and Collaboration
SL1 CCR Anchor Standard
SL 1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher
led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
Cluster: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL5 CCR Anchor Standard
SL5 Add audio recording and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the
development of main ideas or themes.
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Using technology to research terms in Spanish for the restaurant menu
Creating and designing a menu.
Writing a reflection on their feelings of the assignment and how useful the students feel it
was/will be in the future.
Peer reviews and teacher reviews will be made on all writing, including menu and letter.
Using the Internet to search the Latino/Latina demographics in Maryland.
Typing a letter in word document for the purpose inviting owners of restaurants in the
community inviting them to see their final presentations.
Sending letter via email to the community restaurants.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Research the music, food, and attire of a specific Latino/Latina country.

Keep track of research information.
Research charts and written information to find demographics of Latino/Latina population in
Maryland.
Group and peer discussion about what goes into a menu and restaurant, along with their thoughts
regarding the menu and restaurant they will be creating.
End presentation of menu and restaurant in prezi or PowerPoint.

Mathematics Standards Alignment

Number and Operations in Base Ten
Cluster: Generalize Place Value Understanding for Multi-Digit Whole Numbers
4.NBT.2 Read and write multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numeral, number names, and
expanded form. Compare two multi-digit numbers based on meanings of the digits in each place using
>, =, < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
4.NBT.3 Using place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place.
Cluster: Use Place Value Understanding and Properties of Operations to Perform Multi-Digit
Arithmetic.
4.NBT.4 Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
Number and Operations Fractions
Cluster: Build Fractions from Unit Fractions by Applying and Extending Previous Understandings of
Operations on Whole Numbers.
4.NF.4 Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction by a whole
number.
4.NF.4a Understand a fraction a/b as a multiple of 1/b.
4.NF.4b Understand a multiple of a/b as a multiple of 1/b, and use this understanding to multiply a
fraction by a whole number.
Cluster: Understand Decimal Notation for Fractions, and Compare Decimal Fractions
4.NF.6 Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 and 100.
4.NF.7 Compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size, recognize that comparisons
are valid only when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with
the symbols >, =, <, and justify the conclusions.
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Using demographics to create a bar graph.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Using budgeting skills to create a dish to share with classmates.

The students will compare prices. The prices will give the opportunity to see the change in
decimal and fraction form. Students will also have to look at the whole numbers of the money
portion to start the comparison of which price is greater than the other. They will get practice in
writing the numbers in different forms.
Students will round prices to get estimates after figuring out which price they will be using.
Students will find the total price to make a certain dish for a specific amount of people.
Students will change the ingredient amounts to make sure the recipe will make enough for a
specific amount of people. Recipes typically use fractions.

Music Standards Alignment

Standard 2.0 Historical, Cultural, and Social Context
Indicator 1 Develop the ability to recognize music as a form of individual and cultural expression
through experiencing music as both personal and societal expression.
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Students will decide on music for their restaurant and be able to hear the songs of the other
students choices for their particular country.

Social Studies Standards Alignment

Standard 2.0 Peoples of the Nation and World
Cultural Diffusion
Indicator 2 Describe cultural characteristics of various groups of people in Maryland
Standard 4.0 Economics
Scarcity and Economic Decision Making
Indicator 1 Explain that people must make choices because resources are limited relative to the
economic wants for goods and services in Maryland, past and present.
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Students will be researching different Latino/Latina groups that live in Maryland and identify
key points about their cultural, including food, music, clothing, and language/dialect.
Students will see which recipe they could make for their class given a certain budget. They will
see they have to make choices regarding which foods and brands of foods they can use.

MD Technology Literacy for Students Standards Alignment

Standards: 2.0 Digital Citizenship
Discuss the importance of having current, accurate information.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

3.0 Technology for Learning and Collaboration
Create new documents to create learning assignments.
Collect, analyze, and display data and information using tools, such as calculators, spreadsheets,
graphing programs, and database.
5.0 Technology for Information Use and Management
Select relevant information from appropriate technology resources.
Apply evaluation strategies when using electronic resources.
Understand search strategies for age-appropriate web search engines/directories.
6.0 Technology for Problem Solving and Decision Making
Collect data and information using technology tools,
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Students will cover these standards by researching the Latino/Latina culture, evaluating the
sources they find, and learning how to search for information.
Students will collect demographics data of the Latino/Latina population for Maryland and use
excel and graphing programs to display their data.

World Languages Standards Alignment

Standards 2 Culture
1. Practices and Perspectives Students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of another peoples
way of life.
Standard 5 Communities
1. Practical Applications Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
Learning Experiences/Activities:
Students will learn about the Latino/Latina cultures way of life through their research.
Latino/Latina language will be reflected in the students menu and presentation.

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

Projects Essential Driving Question:

How can we portray a specific Latino/Latina culture through or in a restaurant setting?
ENTRY EVENT
Overview: Explore take-out menus from restaurants in the community.
Instructional Materials: Take-Out Menus, Paper, Chart Paper
Technology: Computer, Internet
Time Duration: 45 minutes
Instructional Sequence:
Event
Segments

Approximate
time per
segment

Detailed Steps/Procedure

Menus at
Desk

10 minutes

When the students walk into the classroom, each

group of desks will have a pile of take-out menus from
restaurants around the community on them. We have a
lot of menus on our desks. Why dont we take a look at
them? Pick a partner youre sitting next to and talk
about what you all like about the menus and what you
dislike about the menus. You can write on them or
highlight them. Really think about how it looks and
how they describe their food. Give the students about
8 minutes to talk with their partner about what they
like and dislike about their menus. All right, so weve
looked at take-out menus, but what about menus
online? Why dont we try and Google some of our
favorite restaurants and see their menus. Grab your
partner and walk to one of your assigned computers
and sit together. Ready, go.

Menus on
the
Computer

25 minutes

We will have about 25 minutes to look up the menus of

our favorite restaurants. To keep track of what we do
and do not like about the menus, lets take notes in a
word document. Try and come up with 5 likes and 5
dislikes. Go ahead and search for different menus. The
teacher will allow the students to work. The teacher
should monitor the students work and walk around to
make sure the students dont have any questions or
technical issues with the computer.

Discussion

10 minutes

After 23 minutes, hand each student a sticky note.

Lets write one thing we liked or disliked about the
menus we looked at today. After you know what you

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

want to write, save your work on the computer, log
out, and go back to your seat and write it down! Give
students time to do this. While students are doing this,
draw a dividing line on the chalkboard and on one side
write Likes and on the other side write Dislikes.
Did everyone get a chance to write their idea down?
Give a thumbs up if you need another minute. The
teacher will make sure there are no thumbs up, but if
there is, the teacher will give another minute for the
last few students to finish writing their ideas. Lets
share with the class our opinions about the menus.
Who wants to share theirs? Make sure you tell us why
you wrote what you did. The teacher will call on
someone. After the student shares, ask do the rest of
you agree with that or did you like something else?
Why? The teacher will keep calling on students asking
them to share and give their thoughts on their peers
likes and dislikes about the menus they searched for.
Lets make sure we keep these in mind because we are
going to be making our own menus! Keep these
thoughts in the back of your mind, but now lets switch
gears and go to our reading blocks. (or whatever
block/class is next)

Frances Takemoto & Jennifer Marion

EXIT EVENT
Overview: Travel Around the Latino/Latina Restaurants
Instructional Materials: Laptop, Restaurant Item, Menu, Food (optional)
Technology: Laptops for cultural background music and presentation
Time Duration: 1 hour
Instructional Sequence:
Event
Segments

Approximate
time per
segment

Detailed Steps/Procedure

Introduction
of Restaurant
Staff

15 min

Teacher: Good morning/afternoon class! Today we

have a very special guest/guests. They are experts in
what you have been working on for the past weeks.
Please give your undivided attention and feel free to
share differences/similarities between your
restaurant and his/hers! A representative from a
local Latino/Latina restaurant will come to the front
of the class to share information about their
restaurant, including how it operates, staff, food,
business, typical customers, challenges, etc.

Introduction
of Student
Restaurants

30 min

Each student/partner group will come to the front of

the class to share their restaurant project with their
class. They will wear the cultural dress or show
pictures, inform their classmates of any interesting
facts about their country, explain the items on their
menu, and describe the feel of the restaurant they
hope to capture using their research on cultural
elements of the country!

Show and Tell 15 min

Teacher: Now it is time to have a

auditory/kinesthetic experience of your classmates
restaurants. Walk around the classroom to listen to
the different types of music the restaurants will play
in the background, check out the
placemats/restaurant dcor your classmates have
created, and try some of the food that your
classmates will serve in the restaurant!