I hear it all the time from teachers just like you, “I want something different,” or “I need something to make this less boring”. Most of the time, teachers turn to projects! Projects are a great way for students to synthesize knowledge from multiple standards into one product. 

From my experience as an instructional coach, I’ve seen teachers make some mistakes when implementing projects. Sometimes the connection to the standards was far-fetched. Sometimes the classroom management was so bad that it was basically like giving students a week's worth of free time. Other times, the project only hit one small piece of a standard but took multiple weeks to complete. 

I am excited to share my top tips for implementing projects in middle school! 

Planning

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of implementing projects in your classroom. The more thorough you are in planning, the more effective your project will be. Plus, you’ll be the star teacher of the hallway!

You need to consider these things during your project planning. 

What are your Learning Targets? Try to incorporate as many Learning Targets as you can into one project. This will make the project worth your instructional class time. However, you may want to categorize these learning targets as “Must-Haves” and “On the Wishlist”. Your project timing may not go as planned. You might need to cut down midway through the project in order to stay in your pacing guide. Knowing which activities/learning targets were on your “Wishlist” will help you decide what to cut out last minute. You could also choose to keep the “Wishlist” items as separate fast-finisher or extra credit activities. 

Digital, Non-Digital, or Hybrid? Most teachers choose a hybrid model because there is usually a research component in the project. Either way, it’s important to make note of this during your planning. If you’re planning to go digital or hybrid, you’ll need to make sure you schedule access to the internet. Similarly, if you go non-digital, you’ll need to make sure you have all the supplies students will need. 

Will you offer students any choices? Most often, students are more engaged if they have a choice. You can offer a choice in the presentation of information and/or a choice in the expression of information. You could give students the option to choose their topic from your list. You could give students the option to choose where to find their research from your curated list of sites. You could give students the option to record a video of their findings or present their findings in front of the class. You don’t have to let students choose all of these, but it’s important to allow student choice when you can - even in small amounts.

How much time can you spend on this project? Reference your planner, school schedule, and pacing guide. If your school is having a school-wide assembly or a planned fire drill, add in some extra time! Also, consider whether or not students are actually able to work on this project at home. I always planned around this and never expected them to work at home. If they did, it was a plus! I recommend adding at least an additional half class period to whatever you think you’ll need. 

What if students don’t finish or are absent? I know, this is the dreaded question. You really need to have a plan for this before you implement it. Will you deduct 5 points per day late (for non-absent students)? Will you take it as-is? 

Planning for your absent students are where your “must haves” and your “wishlist” will also play a role in your planning. You can assign a smaller project based on your “must-haves” learning targets for students who are absent. If a student is absent throughout most of the project time, you could give them an alternate assignment. This could be a worksheet that hits the same learning targets as the project. 

Best-Case Scenario

The best projects are those that hit multiple domains and have a writing component. I encourage you to try to incorporate other domains, even if it’s just in a small way. Same with a writing component. Try to have at least one paragraph as part of your project. 

While planning this, be aware of your “must haves” list, your “wishlist”, and the amount of time you have. Know what you can cut if you start to run short on time. You can always repurpose small pieces of your project later! 

List of Project Ideas 

Here is a generic list of project ideas for your middle school social studies classroom. 

Create maps using map skills (cardinal directions, grid maps, resource maps, map keys, map scales)

photo scrapbook (place or time travel)

recipe book

blueprints of houses

interviews

write a blog 

comic strips

brochure

collage

illustrated glossary

flags

flashcards

hieroglyphics

ID badges for historical figures

Map journey or war

postcards

pen-pal writing both sides

stamps honoring people of importance

soundtrack with reasoning for choices