Cat Condos

In our new PBL, Walk on the Wild Side, our first big project is making cat condos to donate to the Spartanburg animal shelter. This requires students to make a blueprint of their design, then construct the actual cat condo. Students have to first measure the dimensions of their box, transfer these measurements to scale on grid paper, decide the size and location of their doors and windows, add the doors and windows to their blueprint, then finally use their blue print to help them measure and mark where the doors and windows will be on their cat condo box. This calls for the students to use many skills including: problem solving, critical thinking, logical reasoning, precise and accurate measurement, and rounding to the nearest inch when measuring. But, that's not all! Next week, after the doors and windows are cut out (by Mr. Carroll!) we will be finding the area and perimeter of the ground level of our cat condo, along with adding any "extras" to our condos according to cat preferences. Students already have in mind what they want to add to their cat condos (for example, a scratching post), as earlier this week they conducted some simple research using the iPads and Symbaloo app. During this investigation, they learned about cat likes and dislikes, fears, do-it-yourself cat toys, and how the cats will use their senses with our cat condo (rubbing up against it to mark their territory, using whiskers to safely move through the small spaces, etc.). In just ONE week, this engaging PBL project has integrated key reading, math, AND science standards! Wow! 

I have been SO impressed with the students' performance so far in this project. After my initial teaching and modeling of how to make the blueprints and cat condos, students have needed very little assistance. Below are some pictures of the students in action and an explanatory video of the blueprint process. Enjoy! 

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