I have been reading a few picture book biographies in preparation for an upcoming nonfiction unit. A good biography has the ability to foster new interests and can be inspiring to children. They especially enjoy reading information about a subject’s childhood. After reading a biography, many children love to share their knowledge about the person with others. The following “top five” prompts can be used as a choice menu for children. Have them select their favorite prompt to identify, summarize, and highlight the person’s significance and life experiences.
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A few years ago, my fifth grade gifted and talented students completed a unique research project. Specifically, we sent letters to museum directors asking for input about one object, artifact, work of art, or a creative selection from their museum's collections. The selection could be a personal favorite, possess significant cultural relevance, be a "best" example of its kind, tell a story, promote a new idea, or expose students to a new experience.
The purpose of the project was to provide resources for interdisciplinary learning, to present opportunities to think in new ways, and to enhance subject matter with activities that promote creativity and provide cultural relevance. Most directors were eager to participate, and many provided supplemental information and resources. Their thorough responses are best characterized by the words of one director, "Thank you for reaching out."
Below are the four questions we asked. (Since some respondents have moved on to different institutions, I share only the museum position, instead of the person's name.)
- Marcia Brown was the winner of three Caldecott medals and six Caldecott honors.
- "Marcia Brown’s books have unquestionably stood the test of time." Janet Loranger, From the August 1983 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
- "People often ask how much time it takes to make a book. Five days, five months, three years — as long as is necessary to get down one’s ideas and feelings about the book." Marcia Brown
In the past, I have used Evernote and Delicious to organize my online resources, but thanks to the expertise of edtech teachers, I recently started experimenting with another online tool,
Padlet
. Social bookmarking services, (Delicious, Diigo, LiveBinders) allow users to “tag” their bookmarks and search for additional resources and are useful when collecting a set of resources to share with others.
For example, in an art class, students can bookmark online museum collections and add their favorite artworks to share with other students. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers more than 400,000 digital images that can be downloaded for free.) The use of tags makes it easy to filter the artworks by medium or genre (history, portraits, still life etc.). Students can then use these images to collaboratively curate their own virtual museums. Working in small groups, they would select a theme and images and write the descriptive/interpretive information. This activity encourages engagement, analysis, and various perspectives.
Padlet is a collaborative resource that enhances student engagement in many ways. It functions like an online bulletin board that can be shared with others, and it’s easy to use. Students don’t need an account to start adding to the teacher created “wall.” Padlet also works well for small group projects. Instead of students creating a display board (like those used during science fairs), they can create an online posterboard with text, images, and video. It is a creative way to curate and collaborate. Read More...
For example, in an art class, students can bookmark online museum collections and add their favorite artworks to share with other students. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers more than 400,000 digital images that can be downloaded for free.) The use of tags makes it easy to filter the artworks by medium or genre (history, portraits, still life etc.). Students can then use these images to collaboratively curate their own virtual museums. Working in small groups, they would select a theme and images and write the descriptive/interpretive information. This activity encourages engagement, analysis, and various perspectives.
Padlet is a collaborative resource that enhances student engagement in many ways. It functions like an online bulletin board that can be shared with others, and it’s easy to use. Students don’t need an account to start adding to the teacher created “wall.” Padlet also works well for small group projects. Instead of students creating a display board (like those used during science fairs), they can create an online posterboard with text, images, and video. It is a creative way to curate and collaborate. Read More...
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