On the Red Carpet

Students became movie stars recently when they presented the information they found while researching background topics for their book club novels.

Students began their research by thinking of questions about their topic they wanted to answer. They divided the questions up and used a custom search engine I had designed that helped narrow their results. We spent time discussing how to review the search results and decide which link would be the best choise for their needs and how to skim an article for the information rather than read the entire page.

They did a great job and were able to find some interesting facts. From there each group of students wrote a script. We did not have as much time to polish the scripts as I had planned for, but they had a great time recording their work.

There were many reading and writing skills incorporated into this project:

* Using informational text features to choose which website to find their information.

* Skimming for important information that answers their questions.

* Organizing their research to write a script with similar information grouped together.

* Fluent reading, which reflects good phrasing (smoothness), accuracy and expression.

* Developing questions about a topic

* Using technology to research, write and record their information.

* Revising and editing their work.

Click on the image below to navigate to the videos.

Writing: Students have been working hard at persuasive writing project as well. After choosing a topic, students were asked to do a small amount of research to find accurate reasons for their opinion. They needed to include at least three reasons along with a short explanation of each reason. Once they finished their work, students began creating an animated video to share. A few students are finished, but many are completing their videos, so we will wait until everyone is done before letting you see them.