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With nothing left to do but follow my students' lead, I jumped in with both feet. I left my hesitations and fears on the edge and joined my students in their uninhibited quest for learning.
We pulled out the iPads and learned about Book Creator. I used the document camera and projected my iPad to the big screen and led a few step by step lessons. Everyone created their own title page for their "I Wonder" book, and set a few background pages. The children were able to quickly navigate this app and loved knowing that they were on their way to creating their own book for their own inquiry topic!
Next we needed some help. We had the ideas and information on our "thinking pages," but getting the information into the iPads was going to be a challenge. I had decided I was going to leave my inhibitions on the deck. No "yeah buts," so I sought another teacher in my school who is familiar with Genius Hour. Their class agreed to step up and be our big buddies! Thanks Div 4!
So, we met in the library, learned more with our non fiction books, and our big buddies helped us write when we couldn't. Then they helped us type our learning into Book Creator on the iPads and format some of the pages.
Soon we became better with the iPads and were able to format, and change the font, size and colour on our own, too!
Then we talked about illustrating our books. We decided that we could use the non fiction books to help us draw pictures that connected to our writing. We made small illustrations, then took pictures of them with the iPads and uploaded them into our "I Wonder books" on Book Creator, so our illustrations were our own. I was impressed at how the children's art changed. They were drawing and creating for a purpose here too, something I hadn't really thought about before. Their pictures were well thought out. Their perspective, colour choice, size and detail was all to a new standard they had not set for themselves before. They had their topic books out so they could be sure to have their image look as "real" as possible, after all, this was science!
We pulled out the iPads and learned about Book Creator. I used the document camera and projected my iPad to the big screen and led a few step by step lessons. Everyone created their own title page for their "I Wonder" book, and set a few background pages. The children were able to quickly navigate this app and loved knowing that they were on their way to creating their own book for their own inquiry topic!
Next we needed some help. We had the ideas and information on our "thinking pages," but getting the information into the iPads was going to be a challenge. I had decided I was going to leave my inhibitions on the deck. No "yeah buts," so I sought another teacher in my school who is familiar with Genius Hour. Their class agreed to step up and be our big buddies! Thanks Div 4!
So, we met in the library, learned more with our non fiction books, and our big buddies helped us write when we couldn't. Then they helped us type our learning into Book Creator on the iPads and format some of the pages.
Soon we became better with the iPads and were able to format, and change the font, size and colour on our own, too!
Then we talked about illustrating our books. We decided that we could use the non fiction books to help us draw pictures that connected to our writing. We made small illustrations, then took pictures of them with the iPads and uploaded them into our "I Wonder books" on Book Creator, so our illustrations were our own. I was impressed at how the children's art changed. They were drawing and creating for a purpose here too, something I hadn't really thought about before. Their pictures were well thought out. Their perspective, colour choice, size and detail was all to a new standard they had not set for themselves before. They had their topic books out so they could be sure to have their image look as "real" as possible, after all, this was science!
We're done! The children were thrilled to have a book to showcase their learning about THEIR passion. We shared our books with our families during our student-led conferences and with our big buddies. This has been the highlight of our recent learning. I created a short video documenting the process (too big for this site) and shared it with our staff so they too could see how we were learning too.
So what did the "I Wonder" project do for the students in my primary (grade 1/2) classroom?
My students now love non fiction text
My students love reading, finding facts then sharing their learning
My students ask me to bring in specific topics for our class library so they can continue learning more
My students help each other understand what they are reading and buddy read with more authenticity and purpose
My students write life cycles, randomly, and make books about nature, animals, world issues and other facts they are learning about. We have various "fact books" floating around our room so they can document their learning while reading
My students are comfortable with Book Creator and ask regularly when they can make their next book
My students have taken learning to a new level!
Each child learned something different. I do not think I could have elicited this level of enthusiasm and passion for learning by having them all learn the same topic at the same time. The skills learned were all similar, but the inquiry was their own, the passion was their own, so the investment and desire was their own.
Thank you, inspiring, passion filled educators who believe that children's learning matters, for sharing your passion with me. My learning came through Twitter and talking with inspiring educators. I've learned that there is genius all around, I just needed to open my eyes and change my approach!
Passion is contagious. Be caught!
Image from www.freedigitalphotos.net
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