Showcasing Voice & Choice by Creating a Stargirl Character Poster
Students were given a choice menu where they had to choose two criteria to include on a character poster. They were given four options to choose from to create their poster: Google Drawing, EduCreations, Smore, and art supplies. Below are some examples of the unique work that was created.
Examples using Smore:
Examples using EduCreations
Examples using Google Drawing
Examples using Art Supplies
Allie Gonino, Thirst Project, & Opinion Essays
Actress, Allie Gonino, from ABC's The Lying Game came to visit 4th grade students at Pleasant Run Elementary to discuss The Thirst Project. I connected with Allie through Twitter. The students were so immersed in the content, they wanted to write to convince our building leader to develop a relationship with the Thirst Project. We didn't stop there. We shared our writing with Allie and Seth Maxwell, CEO of The Thirst Project. My students were able to demonstrate their mastery for writing in the genre of opinion while showcasing voice and choice.
Jerry Spinelli Character Poster
Students made character posters after our Jerry Spinelli author study. The students read "I Can be Anything", "Maniac Magee", and "Knots in My Yo-Yo String". Students found they could connect with Jerry Spinelli on many levels and have enjoyed reading his novels... so much so that we are now on our 4th: Stargirl!
Build with Chrome
Students learned the design process in STEM and built a blueprint model of a house based on a list of constraints. Once they built their prototype, peers critiqued it. Students then revised their prototype and then created their final version to be voted on for the best blueprint. The winner got to re-create their design using actual Legos.
Ides of March: A Wonderopolis Prompt
Students had no prior knowledge of the Ides of March, so when it appeared on Wonderopolis today, we explored it further during our Close Reading routine. Students used Padlet to create KWL slides. The following slide is an example of the information students collected after a superficial first read. I was pleased with the the information that was pulled with such high vocabulary in the content. :)
Deeper Shades of Meaning: Vocabulary Development
Students work together using resources to discover shades of meaning of synonyms for happy. Students had to rank words from "most happy" to "least happy" using a dictionary and a Chromebook for resources.
Google Drawing
Living in the Drive has so many benefits for students! One of the benefits is the use of Google Docs, Forms, Drawings, etc. In my attempt to go completely DIGITAL for writing, students conducted their pre-writing on Google Drawing. The assignment was to pull inspiration from a photo splash board that contained pictures of autumn. Students were then to create their own splash boards with 5 topics they could use to generate their next personal narrative. Here is an example of one student's work.