Personal Memoir Project

As last school year was drawing to a close, I was wrapping up not only the school year, but also a chapter of my life. I was moving away, stepping out of my job as a middle school special education teacher at the school I'd worked at for 8 years. I had a special year. My students and I had journeyed together from the fear of failure to the triumph of success. A talented aide and friend walked that journey with us. It was wonderful. So I knew I wanted to conclude that chapter in a special way. 

This was our final project. 

Personal memoir projects are commonplace. Kids write about a memory, tell a story about themselves, or write an autobiography. This project, though, extends beyond that to guide students through exploring their unique identities and sharing themselves with their peers. This project utilizes many learning styles and interests and assesses students' abilities in interesting ways.

This was a profound journey. For all of us. 

Here are some pictures of the Museum of Us conclusion:

This project would fit many standards and can be adapted from late elementary through high school. 

Giant Floor Graph City

*Check out more similar ideas on my website! TeachBeyondtheDesk.com

For coordinate graphing, I made a giant floor graph using a sheet of plastic drop cloth and masking tape.  I taped the underside of the plastic and numbered each axis.

For several years now, I've used this graph as a way to get kids up and moving during our graphing unit.  However, this year I noticed some of my students having trouble following the grid lines up to each axis to find the numbers for the ordered pairs (coordinates).  Many of my students have visual/perceptual disabilities, so following a line can be difficult.  To meet that need, we came up with the following activities:

Driving on the Floor Graph

I printed basic clip art images that say "Crash!".  I laminated them and then placed them around the graph.  I brought in some Hot Wheels-style cars (Shh! Don't tell my kids!).  The students placed 2 cars at the crash site and then "drove" out along the "roads" (grid lines) until they reached each axis. 

Have you ever seen 6th grade boys with toy cars? Ha!  They had a blast!  And we solved the problem of students not being able to follow the grid lines.

This idea then morphed or grew into the Floor Graph City Challenge.

Floor Graph City Challenge

This activity has 2 parts.  I printed clip art of basic city locations like a hospital, school, park, church, house, and store.  I laminated these, then affixed a loop of tape on the back of each.  

For the first part of the challenge, I placed the buildings around the graph.  Students used their toy cars to "drive" out from each location to the axis lines.  

For the second part, I listed ordered pairs (coordinates) for each building, and the students had to place them correctly on the graph.  They could use the toy cars to check their work.

You could easily use a floor graph like this for many more activities.  What would you use if for?

UPDATE: here are the Google Docs I use with this activity. Feel free to download and edit!

Challenging version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByGR2YbHvPZdSFA2RW9jUllhc1U/view?usp=docslist_api

Regular version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByGR2YbHvPZdX0NEYlViUG9zZDg/view?usp=docslist_api

Teaching Persuasion

Check out more similar ideas on my website! TeachBeyondtheDesk.com
I LOVE teaching persuasive writing.  Here are some of the activities I've used:

I opened our unit on persuasion with a clip from the movie The Lorax, found on wingclips.com.  In this clip, the characters are pitching their idea of bottled air to their boss.  This clip is familiar to the students but is also a great example of persuasion, so it serves as an effective hook for the unit.

Teaching Target Audience Through Common Products

For this activity, you'll need to gather several examples of one category of product marketed to specific audiences.  For example, you could gather body sprays, shampoos, and soaps for women, men, and kids.  Or you could use cereals: kids' cereal, cereal for extra fiber, cereal for those on a diet.  Regardless of what kind of product you pick, make sure a clear, specific audience is being targeted.  I used health and beauty products.

Label each product with a number.  Use one product as an example and talk about how companies use colors, shapes, characters, fonts, word choices, etc to reach the very specific audience they are trying to reach.  Women's products often use curvy lines, soft or feminine colors, and far more adjectives than you would think a shampoo would warrant.  Men's products often use bold colors, solid shapes, and even use picture directions instead of words (seriously!).  Kids' products are marketed not only at kids (typically using bright colors and familiar characters), but also at their parents (using terms that denote their product as safe, healthy, etc).  

I arranged students into groups of 2-4 and gave each group a product.  I also created an "assignment" with the same number as the product on our MyBigCampus page (similar to edmodo or other virtual classroom platforms).  You could have students hand-write their answers on paper or even just discuss aloud.  Students sought to answer these questions by examining the products together:

1) What is the target audience for this product?

2) What elements of the physical packaging attract that audience?

3) What word choices reach that audience?

When the students realized the men's body spray I brought actually used picture directions, they burst into laughter.  They also thought the overly-dramatic and descriptive language on the women's products was excessive.

This is a great, easy way to teach target audience!

Using Emotion to Persuade

For this lesson, I pulled some favorite commercials off Youtube.  One was an example of using comedy, one was an example of getting the audience to feel a need to help, and one was an infomercial (masters of persuasion!).  Here are the videos I used:

Old Spice http://youtu.be/z-m6Ua9Iqkg
ASPCA http://youtu.be/IO9d2PpP7tQ
Pocket Hose http://youtu.be/87sRVk1f7ik 

After watching all three videos, we discussed how they were different yet equally effective and memorable and what lessons from each we could apply to our own writing.  This tends to be a springboard for helping students understand that it's harder to keep someone's attention or make them feel an emotion in WRITING than it is in person or via video. This gets them to start expanding their writing beyond the basics.

Students are naturally good persuaders.  They try to talk Mom and Dad into letting them do things all the time!  These simple, engaging lessons are a way to tap into that natural ability and guide them to a more academic use for their powers of persuasion.  Consider following these activities with a real-world persuasive assignment like having them persuade you how to spend your classroom funds, to persuade the principal or school board to make a change, to write letters to the editor of the local newspaper, or to write to a government official about an issue they care about.

Preposition Lego Challenge

Check out more similar ideas on my website! http://www.teachbeyondthedesk.com/

I've spent the better part of the last six weeks recovering from the flu (apparently something as mundane as the flu does a real number on someone with chronic illness...), so I'm going to publish a couple posts back-to-back today to update you all on some recent classroom activities I've really enjoyed.

This first one originated out of an attempt to keep my students PHYSICALLY participating in their learning.  Back at my Johnson University days, I was taught that physical activity should be part of every lesson.  Although I don't hit that goal 100% of the time these days, I do try to work multiple active learning opportunities into every unit.

Shortly after Christmas break, I was teaching prepositions.  I was looking for ways to teach prepositions actively without too much prep work since I was still something akin to a zombie thanks to my New Year's Day flu diagnosis.  Here were my ideas:

Preposition Scavenger Hunt

This idea was simple.  I had one student volunteer stand in the hallway outside my room while another hid a designated object somewhere in the room.  I reminded the rest of the class to not give clues with their eyes or body language.  Then I called the volunteer back in.  The rest of the class took turns giving verbal clues using prepositions until the volunteer located the item.  Then we rotated roles.

Preposition Drawings

This is an idea I've used for a few years, and it actually led to the Preposition Lego Challenge idea.  For this activity, students will need to be grouped in partners or small groups.  Each student needs a piece of paper and a pencil.  Students are seated facing away from each other.  One student in each group is designated the original drawer.  Then they draw a simple picture using basic shapes and lines--nothing too complicated.   After completing the drawing, this student uses clear step-by-step directions, with a focus on prepositions, to instruct his or her group members how to recreate their drawing.  When finished, everyone compares their drawings (usually with lots of giggles).

Preposition Lego Challenge

This idea was a new extension of the Preposition Drawing activity.  I have a tub of Legos in my room, and my students LOVE to build with them.  Looking for a way to engage and interest my most reluctant learners, I decided to include Legos in our preposition lessons.  Students were grouped similarly to the preposition drawing activity (groups of 3 or partners, seated back-to-back).  I divided my Legos into plastic cups, one for each student, with identical Lego blocks in each.  One student in each group or partnership was designated the builder.  This student constructed anything they wanted with their Legos, without having to use all the blocks I gave them.  When they were finished, they gave step-by-step directions, using prepositions, so their partner could recreate their design.  When finished, students compared (and giggled).  

I allowed the partners to ask for clarification ("When you said to put the small red block in the middle, did you mean the middle of the short side or the long side?"), and I was delighted to witness the careful, specific communication skills they used.  I have students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities, and even my most reluctant communicators were carefully selecting their words and thinking critically to seek more information.  We know students tend to remember information better when learning is connected to movement, and we also know that building with blocks engages the same areas of the brain needed for mathematical thinking, so by adding these communication and language skills, this was a well-rounded learning activity that could easily be adapted for other skill sets.  

Students were engaged and had a blast.  How many other teachers use Legos for grammar?  Yet another reason why Mrs. Powell's class is one of the best ;)

If you are a teacher, you know how much better your class runs when your students are ACTIVELY learning.  These activities are just a few examples of how easily physical activity and creativity can be added to everyday learning.  What are your favorite preposition activities?