![]() Shout out to the 4 awesome classroom who gave up their time! This was vital because it changed a lot of kids’ interesest, topics, and also their process. Students were able to ask questions to 1st and 2nd graders via Google Meet to do market research, and incorporate that feedback into their project.Mini-lessons have centered around features of nonfiction, how to take notes ( I showed them several different ways as well as had examples of how actual acthors take their notes), how to research in a way that works for your project, how to find reliable sources (review) and discuss why they might be reliable, how to write paragraphs, how to rewrite information, and anything else we have had to address.This is a 3-week long project, anchored by a 10 or so minute mini-lessons every day and then work time the rest of class.How to do design and layout on a page to make it inviting.How to rewrite research in our own words, quote, paraphrase and summarize.How to conduct market research using Google Meet to ask the intended audience what they want to read and how they want to read it.How to consider bias and tie that in with reliability.How to uncover reliable sources (yes, there is a place for Wikipedia in our research) and discuss why somethng may or not be reliable. ![]() How to cite sources, including images, books, and websites.How to write a paragraph and all of the myriads of lessons that are attached to that.Students develop their own note taking tools, with help from me, rather than be forced to take notes one signle way. How to take organized notes in a way that works for them.Why this project? Because within it we have been able to work on: Throughout this project we have been able to successfully marry tech tools with writing, as well as use Google Meet, Padlet, Twitter, and other interactive tools. The goal of the project is rather simple create a 25 to 35 slide/page nonfiction picture book meant for a 1st or 2nd-grade audience on anything nonfiction you wish to write about. ![]() The entire unit lesson plan for the project can be found here but note that updating it is still a work in progress. They told me they would love to have a chance to express themselves creatively to audiences around the world, to explore topics of their choosing, and also play with formatting, rather than write another speech. But this year, it felt right to bring it back and after conferring with my students, they agreed. We did it for a few years, then our curriculum changed and we moved from this to TED talks instead, a project I still love. We wanted a project that was filled with choice, accessible for many developmental stages, that connected us with the world, and also honored students’ creative desires and voices. When I first moved to 7th grade eight years ago, one of the first projects we created was the writing of a nonfiction picture book. ![]()
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