Pinterest for Historical Figures

On the docket today was to read a biography about Jane Addams and practice the skills we've been learning so far in our ELA unit. You know, summarizing, author's view point.... As I planned the lesson, I just couldn't, in good conscience, have them read, take notes and then write yet another summary. I feel that that's all we have been doing lately. Deciding to not do a basic summary was easy; figuring out what to do instead was not. What task can they do that's "real world", tests their comprehension, and encourages connections and higher level thinking? Then it came to me....

To demonstrate their comprehension of Jane Addams, her life, and accomplishments and to give them a chance to synthesize and use this knowledge, I had them create a Pinterest page they think Jane would have if she was alive today. Based on the information they learned, they needed to decide what books, movies, hobbies, organizations, etc. Jane would like and be interested in. They really enjoyed the activity and it made them REALLY think! They drew pictures, symbols, and wrote description, just like a real Pinterest page. I found the above "Pinterest like" template made by Best Teacher Resources on TPT for only a dollar! Her blog can be found here, and a link to this template here. For an extension, students could be asked to justify why they chose the items they did. This would give them the opportunity to cite the text.

Common Core Standards: Reading Informational Text Anchor 1, 2, and 3

Introducing... Quadramas!

What do you get when you take a diorama and multiple it by four? You may be thinking, "It's a nightmare, finding all of those shoe boxes!" But it's not a nightmare, I promise! What you get, my dear reader, is a simple project idea with limitless possibilities!

Take a look at some of the quadramas my students made about their favorite scenes and chapters from A Long Way From Chicago.

 Instead of shoe boxes, simple folding, cutting, and gluing (or stapling or taping) a piece of paper creates each quadrant. After decorating, simply attach each quadrant. (I used a stapler-- it was the quickest and easiest way of attaching them). This simple project could be used for a book project as I did or for science or social studies projects. I had my students construct theirs in class, but it could just as easily be an at-home project. Before you think I am a creative genius, let me make it clear that I did not come up with this idea. I found several different versions of it on Pinterest, but the best site I found to describe and give directions was Blog Hoppin'. Check out the blog for easy to follow directions.Thanks for the inspiration (& directions) Shelley!

After everyone completed their project, we did a gallery walk. This turned out to be a fun & engaging activity that was a great wrap-up to the end of our novel unit.

 

A Peek at my Week

Again this week I'm going to give you a quick look at my week. Some day I hope to post it before the week has begun. One can dream, right?? (For more info on "A Peek at my Week", check out Jennifer's blog .)

I'm being quite ambitious with this project but am giving it a try, and so far, the kids seem to be really enjoying it and doing okay with it. We are reading the novel Out of My Mind, and in an attempt to get them reading some nonfiction and to get them make some connections with the novel, I've created a 'biography blogging' project. Students can choose between OJ Brigance and Stephen Hawking and then given pre-selected articles, interviews, and texts on him. (Both OJ and Stephen have ALS and have limitations and challenges very similar to the main character in the novel). After reading and taking notes, students write a blog entry (minimum 2 paragraphs) about OJ/Stephen's challenges and successes. They must write in complete sentences, include an introduction and conclusion sentence, and include the theme. I'll let you know how it turns out. But yes, my 5th graders are reading Stephen Hawking! How is that for rigorous texts, Common Core? (He just published a brand new autobiography/memoir called A Short History which is a little easier to read and understand although it is NOT all child appropriate.)

 This week I'll be starting A Long Way from Chicago (by Richard Peck) with my GT group. Since we've been reading a collection of short memoirs, I'm excited to get them reading some fun & happy fiction. (Memoirs tend to be quit depressing. They keep begging me to read something happy :))

Take a Peek at My Week

I will be completely honest; I am totally procrastinating. It's only Monday, but it feels like this week has been going on forever already. To aid in my procrastination, I am joining Jennifer over at Mrs. Laffin's Laughings to participate in "Take a Peek at My Week".
Below is a quick look at some of what I've got planned this week.

Today we had a lesson at introducing how authors use 'pace' and 'time' in memoirs. I started by playing music to get them thinking about pace. We started off with some slow Nora Jones to which they declared, "It's so boring!" After a brief discussion, we listened to 'Sigh No More' (Mumsford & Sons) which led to a good discussion about pace, timing, and why artists choose to use different pacing and timing at different times. It led into a smooth transition into discussing pacing and timing in memoirs. 

 Okay, so I actually this lesson today. The goal was to teach the kids about inferring themes from a novel. I knew it was going to be a lofty goal, I just didn't know how lofty. First, since we have been doing tons of hands-on and collaborative activities, they were simply not used to sitting, listening, and learning. After what seemed like forever, the majority of them finally started to get with the program, and we were able to do the fun-ish activity: listening/watching the theme music & opening of the classic 'Full House' (an idea I got from I'm Lovin Lit) and then using a graphic organizer to determine the theme of it. They did seem to enjoy this part and do a fairly good job at the skill, so I guess it was a win... kind of.

Our current reading theme is 'Personal Transformation'. One of my classes is reading Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (wonderful, touching book). In an attempt to get them reading, comprehending, and working with nonfiction texts and giving them a chance to apply the skills of blogging, writing, and inferring theme, I am in the midst of creating a project for them. Don't judge me as it's still in the planning stages... They will have a choice between OJ Brigance and Stephen Hawking (both have physical limitations similar to the main character in our story). They will read preselected articles on the person they select, write an informative blog entry about him, and discuss the themes that can be learned from him. I'll let you know how it turns out :)