Survivor MD 2013: A New Twist!

Survivor MD has been and continues to be the most liked project by my students. Now in it's fourth year, two of the fifth grade classes (Ms. Ruggiano's class and Mr. Soloway's class) are now deep into this project-based learning unit. Last week I added a new twist to it and the students are definitely psyched! I learned about a web 2.0 tool called ThingLink, a nifty little tool that allows you to make images interactive by tagging spots on the image with text, links, videos, and audio. Students now are working on Challenge 3 of Survivor MD -- "Your Gross and Cool Body" -- where they are researching the functions of the different parts and organs of the body system they are assigned. Originally, they were going to present their information as life-sized diagrams; however, I received an email from Rosen Publishing about a contest for K-12, announcing that Rosen Digital has joined ThingLink to host a contest that encourages creativity and 21st-century learning skills. SO... last week I presented this as an option for their final project. Most of the groups decided to give it a try and are pretty excited about it! Whether one of the groups wins the contest or not, this is a fabulous way to show what they learned while using technology.

Additionally, it hits the Common Core Standards (not to mention a slew of AASL Information Literacy Standards!):

Production and Distribution of Writing

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

and

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

I am so excited to see what my amazing fifth graders come up with over the next few weeks!! 

Online Safety 4th Grade Presentations

In January, I was able to obtain a free trial to an Internet Safety interactive eBook from Rosen Publishing (I loved it and we will order it for next year). All three fourth grade classes read the book; in two of the classes, students  partnered up and took notes in a storyboard I created (thanks to Iowa librarian, Shannon McClintock-Miller, for the idea). Students were told that they would be creating presentations on online safety. They had to deduce what was most important from each section of the eBook, write it on their storyboard, and then find an image using the Virtual Library's Image Finder page to visually represent the idea.

I had Mr. Dugger/Ms. Soriento/Ms. Smythe's class create their presentations in Animoto. I created accounts for them and then let them fly. The computer lab was rocking with the sounds of excited kids having a blast while learning something that is so important in today's world. These kids also had the challenge of editing their text to fit the text limits in Animoto.

See the rest of their Animotos by going to Fourth Grade Student Work page.

Mrs. Taliercio's students created their presentations using our Herricks Google Apps accounts! Just as engaged as the other class, students mastered the art of creating collaborative slideshows in spite of browser and network glitches. Their presentations will be available shortly.

So, what exactly did all of these students accomplish? Here's a short list, drawn from the CCSS (ELA, Grade 4), AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, and ISTE Technology standards--

• Determining the main idea of a text; summarizing the text; using precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about a topic.
• Interpreting information from interactive elements on a web page (eBooks).
• Using digital tools to gather, organize, synthesize and ethically use.
• Collaborate and publish with peers in a digital environment.