We've completed our march through the regions of the US and will take a test on the 50 Nifty tomorrow (blank map, 2-letter abbreviations).
Now it's time to bring focus to our research. Make it meaningful.
I began by thinking about what kind of final product I want my students to create. They've worked lots in Keynote, so that wasn't an option. We don't have enough time to learn a new tool like Prezi or ThingLink.
BEGIN AT THE END.
I decided on the tri-fold brochure templates in Pages. Looking over the templates, I saw there would be room enough for information about People, Places, the Past, the Present, and a Spotlight on one unique thing about the state.
But I didn't want them to simply copy the information we'd already gathered into a new format.
That's when I realized, as I scanned the brochure templates, that brochures are created for so many different audiences.
AUDIENCE was the missing piece.
Today, each student chose a state AND chose the audience they would write for in their brochure. Some of the audiences are: tourism, history, come live here, and sports. Energy is high because not only did each student get to pick their state, but they have a real focus for their research. Several states have been chosen by more than one student, but it's not a problem because their audiences are different.
CHOICE -- always important.
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Hi Mary Lee,
ReplyDeleteYour students might enjoy the "States Song/Rap" which we use. (Written by a local teacher) It is fun to say (ALL the kids here love it) and it also allows you to locate each state with ease. I can send if you want to share. It won't take long. It might even be on my blog...not a real one, just one with recorded poems. Let me know! They learn it quickly, love to say it over and over, and are impressed that I can name all 50 states in a little less than 30 seconds. Goes nicely with the 50 Nifty Song.
Janet F.
Mary Lee,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of thinking more about audience. It helps them think about what kinds of information to include. For instance, we've just completed a learning unit on immigration. I can imagine a cool brochure from a different time period written for folks back home (there were ones like that!), or for some other audience/purpose. Which just made me think...I wonder if the kids could also think about purpose. Would the purpose be to warn the audience? Entice them? To inform of the positives/negatives? Hmmm....