In the “Why Does Water Matter?” project students explored water’s value, relevance to life, need, elements, cultural meaning and connection to a protest piece. This project was designed for Court/Probation school.
Academic Skills & Content: Collecting information through research, Scientific analysis, understanding bias and opinion, Native American culture, collaboration, critique.
Final Product: an exhibition of student work including PowerPoint presentations, Presentation boards, pamphlets, written pieces, and creative works.
Suggested Duration: 9 to 10 weeks.
Created with the support of the California Department of Education California Career Pathways Trust

The “Why Does Water Matter?” Project culminated in an exhibition of student work including PowerPoint presentations, Presentation boards, pamphlets, written pieces, and creative works.
You can see examples of the products that students created in the “resources” section below
As teachers, we had to adapt to our student population, being a court probation school. Therefore we built in shorter lessons in from the whole scope and focused personalized learning for the various needs of our students.
Through depth of knowledge, we took the surface learning and changed it to an intrinsic experience for life application. This is important for our students as the richness of experience, buy in, and individual exploration allows for them to own their learning and choices.
For students the exhibition displayed the expression of student success and buy in which was witnessed by critical community members within the district which left a lasting impression on them and other attendees. In the process of the exhibition students were shocked by their own learning. The exhibition redefines the identity and labeling that is often associated with our student population, by the students themselves, adults, and community members, ultimately creating a paradigm shift.
- Tags:
- PBLLA2019
More Interdisciplinary PBL Essentials:
- Bias-Busting Obstacles
- Celebrating Culture Through Food
- Project ME
- Shark Tank: The Four Industrial Revolutions
- Stars In The Parks
- The “1619 Project” Project
- The Game Board Project
- The Modernized Media Maker Space
- The Pull Toy Project
- The Story of You and Your Crew
- The Winter Crafts Store
- Ultimate Transformation
- Water Woes