Project PLACE Units

These units were developed for Project PLACE (Project-approach to Literacy and Civic Engagement), an initiative at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. They are project-based units designed for second-grade students. Support for the development of the materials was provided by the Spencer Foundation and support for their testing was provided by the Spencer Foundation and the George Lucas Educational Foundation. The materials have been modified somewhat from the versions tested to be more useful for educators in a wider range of contexts. We recommend that you teach the units/projects in the order in which they appear below. Please note that materials are copyrighted.

Click here for a blog post that provides an introduction to the units.

Click here for a blog post that provides more information about the Project PLACE Study

Click here for an article reporting on a design experiment that involved development on two of the units below (in earlier forms)

Click here for an article reporting on a randomized controlled trial that involved all four of the units below (in somewhat earlier forms).

For additional articles related to the development and implementation of these units and pedagogy like it, please see the Project PLACE Papers tab.

Please note: If unit plans appear to have formatting problems, please try viewing them in a newer version of Microsoft Word.

Project PLACE Units

Economics Unit

Geography Unit

History Unit

Civics and Government Unit