One of my librarian courses this semester was about instructional technology, and I loved getting to try new apps and tools. I have asked my students to use Book Creator before, but I had never made a complete project myself.
I'm sharing this short book, which can be read aloud to you if you use Chrome. I borrowed some vocal talent from a semi-reluctant teen for the complaining relatives in the story! I'm thinking of giving students the option to choose one of the four design challenges presented in this book for a maker exercise this week . . . and then extend it by having them design their own maker challenges in digital twisted fairy tales that they create. It might be a great exchange idea for our Canadian buddy class, too.
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Digital storytelling is incredibly hard for fifth graders to do well, as it involves so many decisions. Topics, research and content, organization, voice, presentation, and editing all involve choices that can quickly become overwhelming. That's why I waited until the end of the school year to ask students to create a TED Talk, applying skills such as research, organization, and the use of digital tools. Students were invited to choose any topic that was appropriate for school that they cared about. The message needed to have at least one goal: to make others understand, to make others care, or to inspire others to change (take action). Our topics included the appeal of graphic novels, the importance of art in our lives, how people treat each other, and why bees should matter to humans. See some examples below! We don't have great audio tools to easily record students, so even though we watched some TED talks to get the feel of the experience, we weren't able to stand up and speak and get a good quality recording. Instead, students introduced their short films in class and let those pieces do the speaking, and then we took questions and comments afterward. Our revision process included "consultation time" with class experts who offered feedback about messaging, presentation (visuals or sound), and editing. Although the final products contain some errors and places that could be refined, student ownership is strong in these works, and each one has improved from its original version. We are still considering how we might be able to present our pieces to a live audience, but for now, we're excited to share ideas online. We hope you enjoy the work! The Importance of Art You Should Probably Have a Chicken Gratitude Adopt a Dog Why Bees Matter to Humans
I recently created a movie to explain Exhibition to students, teachers, and parents. This was my first time using WeVideo (you may notice the free version tag gracing the upper right hand corner), and I was glad to explore the tool.
I very much wanted to include student interviews and reflections in this film, but access to good sound equipment is still a struggle: our iPads pick up a lot of background noise and can't record soft-spoken students well, even just a few feet away. Next time, I hope to capture student reflection quotes throughout the process. Natural breaks in the school year prompt reflection, and my students examined their independent reading habits and progress so far. This month, I asked students to create infographics to tell the story of their independent reading for the first semester. This was our first attempt to examine and create infographics, and we found it challenging to distill pieces of information into a clear visual format, but the challenge required us to think carefully about what was true and what we want to be true.
Context As winter break approached, our district math unit had us exploring decimal relationships (including addition and subtraction of decimals). Our PYP unit was Sharing the Planet, and our central idea for the unit was "Power depends on available resources." I've been wanting to do some LARP (Live Action Role Playing) all year, but haven't been able to write anything amazing. My Dream Vacation project was a short, pulled-together activity that addressed the decimal practice, the unit theme, and a smidgen of LARP (I sort of love using that as its own noun).
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Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
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