Jane Krauss, Curriculum Specialist

Because teachers seldom get the chance to watch their colleagues at work, some of the best teaching ideas never leave the classroom where they were developed. A collection of ideas worth borrowing is being developed as a free resource on the Intel® Innovation in Education Web site. Here, teachers who have participated in the Intel® Teach to the Future program share their exemplary unit plans for project-based learning that integrates technology.

Covering all disciplines and grade levels, the exemplary plans at intel.com/education/unitplans offer something for everyone. Teachers can download the unit plans and use them "by the book," just as they are presented. Or, teachers can use the plans or as a springboard for developing their own innovative projects.

Unit titles show the wide range of projects, from "The Physics of Phlying" and "Living Large in Metric" to "Monster Swap" and "Music of the Westward Expansion." Each unit presents the complete cycle of instruction, from planning to final assessment. Each is mapped to specific content standards and includes assessment tools and illustrative samples of student work. A "From the Classroom" profile introduces the reader to the teacher who developed each unit and describes the context in which the project originated.

What Makes Them Useful
The plans exhibited on the Web site have been selected because they exemplify a project-based approach to instruction and employ technology in meaningful ways. In "Red Light, Green Light," fifth-grade students collect and analyze traffic and pedestrian data in the area around their school (even using radar guns to track vehicle speeds!), and think of ways to make everyone safer. Using charts and multimedia, students illustrate their research as they make recommendations to their city council at a public hearing.

In some unit plans, teachers use technology to take learning in new, otherwise inaccessible directions. In "Monster Swap," primary students use scanners and e-mail to send their drawings of scary monsters to e-pals in another country. Under separate cover, they send carefully written descriptions of their awesome beasts, and challenge their pals to match the essays to the pictures. What could have been a dull lesson on descriptive writing becomes amazing and unforgettable as students are given a new reason to communicate and a new way of expressing themselves.

The collection of unit plans will continue to expand, making this a site worth returning to for teachers in search of fresh ideas for creating meaningful learning experiences.