Greg again. I hope everyone splurged on the recent TPT sale and got what they needed for the beginning of the year!
I want to share a project completed by my AP US History students this past fall (2013). One of the major elements of the course is the integration of primary source documents. I will spare most of the details (you can read more here), but the final product was a fully-researched non-fiction children's story.
Story cover artwork created by the 3-D design students
One of the biggest goals in my classroom is to make the learning as authentic as possible. I want the students to know that their work doesn't end with me - the world is their audience. As they developed their children's stories, I worked to pull in English teachers and professionals to help them improve their work.
After the second draft, however, I wanted them to hear a different perspective on their story. I teamed up with Mrs. Musone's third grade class to be our top secret, surprise editors (my students knew they were being read by "professionals", but they didn't know who it was going to be.) When my students finally received their edited drafts, they were overwhelmed by the attention and focus demonstrated by the third graders.
After the second draft, however, I wanted them to hear a different perspective on their story. I teamed up with Mrs. Musone's third grade class to be our top secret, surprise editors (my students knew they were being read by "professionals", but they didn't know who it was going to be.) When my students finally received their edited drafts, they were overwhelmed by the attention and focus demonstrated by the third graders.
In the end, my students were able to understand which words or phrases worked for their target audience, how to tie together story elements with facts (so that they made sense), and how to add author's notes.
This small collaboration was a meaningful and important addition to the project. For Mrs. Musone's third graders, they received a lesson in editing, primary source integration, and the elements of storytelling. Her students also received the final draft of the stories and did a Skype chat with the authors (my students). Later in the year, they also ended up working on book reviews with my student's stories!
This small collaboration was a meaningful and important addition to the project. For Mrs. Musone's third graders, they received a lesson in editing, primary source integration, and the elements of storytelling. Her students also received the final draft of the stories and did a Skype chat with the authors (my students). Later in the year, they also ended up working on book reviews with my student's stories!
These types of cross-grade collaboration are valuable and something that both groups of students will not easily forget. For me, all it took was a simple e-mail. Mrs. Musone was more than willing to participate.
If you have examples of cross-grade collaboration, I'd love to hear them!
If you have examples of cross-grade collaboration, I'd love to hear them!
To read more from Mrs. Musone's class, please click here.
