Monday, December 26, 2011

Tool #7: Reaching Outside your Classroom: Online Digital Projects

Ok, so here is what I'm thinking...
1.  As you saw in my last post, I LOVE to Skype.  My kids are obsessed with Skype and want me to call my bf, Clay, everyday. 
2.  When I taught 4th grade last year, we did LOTS of writing.  We had author Phil Bildner come to our school for a writing camp.  After the camp, the 4th graders were SO excited to write.  It helped put some fire under their belts to write!

Light bulb!  Combine those and you get.... Skype with an author!

I think a Skype visit with a cool author will help tremendously with first graders writing.  We are going to be studying author Mo Willems in the spring, and I would love to have him Skype with us. I think a "real author" getting the kids excited is much more effective than me, a "fake author" telling them how to write.  They would feel so special and much more willing to produce work since Mo Willems, their favorite author gave them advice on writing!

Content objective: The learner will converse online with published authors to discuss the writing process and give students ideas on what they can write about.

Implementation:  Ideally, I would like to start this in the beginning of the school year.  I would like to start out with the basics of writing and getting someone to speak about that would be amazing.  I want to find authors who write different genres that we study as mentor texts to Skype with us, so that it is continued throughout the school year.

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