I wanted a new writing "hook" to motivate and engage my 3-5 students in the new year. Even though the majority of my students are identified as academically and/or intellectually gifted, I still have some very, (and I mean VERY), reluctant writers.

So, here's my thought . . . pictures! A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So, I created a series of visual writing prompts to engage my little learners. Each writing prompt includes 4-6 pictures with purposefully open-ended labels, such as "a science experiment," "an explosion," "an unexpected outcome," and "a bewildered student." Students combine the 4-6 elements to craft an original story. Simple, easy, and engaging. And the best part - the activity is naturally differentiated. Writers at all levels can access and interact with the prompts in the way that is most appropriate for their unique strengths and abilities.




My hope is that these visual prompts will not only motivate my students, but also help to scaffold and support the writing process. It is also an opportunity for students to look at familiar objects and events in new ways (aka: a forced association). A forced association asks students to find similarities among items/ideas that are seemingly unrelated. By combining words that appear to be dissimilar, students are encouraged to think in new ways and to develop new perspectives and understandings. Forced associations are a great way to promote critical and creative thinking. (You can read more about forced associations here.)

Hi All! I am checking in today to share one of my favorite K-2 activities - Animal Soup! Animal Soup, by Paul Doodler, is a short, lift-the-flap book that combines everyday animals to create silly outcomes.


Let's check out how it works! Below are two sample pages from the book. After considering the question, students can lift the flap to see the 3rd page. Give it a try:






Seriously, this book cracks me up every year! My favorite combination is the flamingo and monkey. (A flamonkey :-)

Once we read the story as a class, I give students the task of creating their own animal. Each student selects two animal cards. (I cut the cards and put them in a "magic box" prior to the lesson. Students randomly select their animals from the magic box; it makes the selection of the animals for their soup a little dramatic and a lot of fun!)

Students then glue the cards to the activity sheet below.



From here, students combine elements of each animal's name to create a new animal species. Some examples might include:

Our presenters shared a series of short videos about maps, including their history, uses, and global applications. Students learned that maps not only provide information about our geographic location, but also about our climate, economy, and humanitarian needs and efforts - just to name a few. Below are links to the videos shared. Each one is under 4 minutes and totally worth watching!

• What is GIS?
• Dr. Richard Alley - Using GIS to teach the world about Global Warming & Climate Change
• Geospatial Revolution - Food Deserts

Then students were given guidance to explore maps using an interactive tool designed by National Geographic. You can check it out here! This website is a PBL project waiting to happen! My wheels are definitely turning . . .



Using GIS, students were asked to make a map. They could select from the a series of choices or design their own challenge. Students explored everything from Carbon Dioxide production to global electricity use to trends in food consumption.




It was an eye opening experience for the students (and their teacher)! The visual power of GIS is astounding, on a personal, local, and global level!

I think this tool has great potential for classroom learning. For those of you who are already implementing interactive mapping in the classroom, how do you use it with your students? What works best for you and your class? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

I am so proud of my students who participated in last year's 3rd grade film academy!!! And I am infinitely grateful to the parents, particularly our director/producer Chip Hackler, who made the entire opportunity possible!

Because of my talented students and parents, we are headed to the 20th annual Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington, NC in two weeks! :-)

Among the thousands of films that were entered, our short film "Shot Reverse Shot" was selected as a favorite! Based on Jack Johnson's song, the music video is about point of view and perspective in both film and life. The festival will take place November 12-16th. Our film will "premiere" Sunday, November 16th at 1:00. Tickets are only $10, so I hope you will come join us to enjoy and celebrate!!!!



Click HERE to watch our short film. Check out the following link to learn more about the 3rd grade film academy! Some day I promise to post about all of the Elementary Academies in detail!! They have become one of my favorite aspects of teaching.

Stay tuned :-)