Learning to Wonder
Wonder to Learn
E.L.A. & Makerspace
Links
Linking it together
How do I understand what I hear, read, and view?
How do I communicate to others when I write, represent, and speak?
E.L.A. Curriculum & Makerspace
With the new Manitoba E.L.A curriculum rolling out this fall I thought it would be helpful to start linking the ways maker education can fit into our new document. The three images below are my student friendly interpretation of 3 of the 4 practices found in the new curriculum.
The reflection questions for practice 1 are excellent for guiding our students. Give them choice to show you how they understand & communicate.
Practice 3 takes students through design thinking. This is the easiest are to connect to maker education, particularly at the creating phase.
Power & Agency (Practice 4) connects best to the reflective process that goes with the makerspace.
The reflection questions for practice 1 are excellent for guiding our students. Give them choice to show you how they understand & communicate.
Power & Agency (Practice 4) connects best to the reflective process that goes with the makerspace.
Practice 3 takes students through design thinking. This is the easiest one to connect to maker education, particularly at the creating phase.
Key Elements to keep in mind when planning:
Voice
Choice
Reflection
Opportunities for Innovation
Critical Thinkers
Problem Solvers
Self-Assessment
Connected Learning
Understanding
How do I understand what I hear, read, and view?
Students encounter various texts when listening, reading, and viewing daily. As teachers we want to know how much students are actually understanding.
I love how this reflection question, "how do I understand what I hear, read, and view?" guides students to really analyze their understanding.
Below are lists of ideas to give students choice in displaying their understanding. The first section is maker ideas with technology, followed by ideas without technology.
CoSpaces
All devices
CoSpaces has quickly become a favourite for my students. It allows for students to visualize and recreate any setting or story line. They can label items/characters and add dialogue. More adventurous students can code using Blockly or Java Script. When they are done making their creations they can view them using Virtual Reality.
Cost: Free, in-app purchaces
Kodu
PC & X-Box
Have students create a game around their learning. Kodu uses a simple visual programming language that is simple to learn. There are endless possibilities to the types of games you can create. It can also be used to create a world based around a story.
Cost: Free
Edublogs
All devices
Instead of the classic paper and pen, have students share their understanding and ideas through blogging. Edublogs is a free blogging platform for students. Teachers can leave private comments and students can set their privacy settings. A great way to collaborate with a larger audience.
Cost: Free
Tinkercad
All devices
Tinkercad is a free 3D design tool. Students can practice their visualizations by making models or solve problems by creating new, innovative solutions. If you have access to a 3D printer they can also print their creations.
Cost: Free
Explee
All devices
Explee is a whiteboard animation maker. Students can create their own popular whiteboard drawing video. This works great for summarizing or explaining opinions.
Cost: $7/month, free 14-day trial
iMovie
All iOS devices
Have students create a book/movie trailer illustrating key themes.
Cost: Free
Green Screen
All iOS devices
Using a Green Screen is a great addition to any video project. It will transform students to anywhere in the world and help make their videos more realistic.
Cost: $3.99
Stop Motion
All iOS devices
A great tool to use after students have built a setting and characters. They can then take multiple photos to re-create a story line.
Cost: Free
Scratch
All devices
A student friendly coding language. Students can use this website to create story based games or recreate something they just read, viewed, or heard.
Cost: Free
ipadio
Any iOS device
Have students create a podcast where they can talk about their thinking, interview others, and debate with classmates. Endless possibilities. ipadio is an easy to use app to help students create professional sounding podcasts.
Cost: Free
Chatterpix
Any iOS device
A fun app where you can take a picture and make it talk. Here students can share their learning in a silly way that is simple and easy.
Cost: Free
Meme Generator
All devices
Have students create clever memes showing the perspective of various characters or themes.
Cost: Free
Picktochart
All devices
Have students organize their ideas into an infographic using Picktochart. It's free, easy to use, and looks super professional.
Cost: Free
Quizizz
All devices
Instead of giving students a quiz or test on what they have learned, have them create their own with this fun multiplayer quiz maker. They can then have the rest of the class complete them and compete for top scores.
Cost: Free
Kahoot!
All devices
Another online quiz creator. That's easy to use and fun to play.
Cost: Free
WeVideo
All devices
A free video editing program that is slightly more advanced than iMovie. Great for students who love to create videos to show their learning.
Cost: Free
Plotagon
Any device
Plotagon allows students to design characters and create an animated movie with them. Great for visualizing!
Cost: Free, in-app purchases
with technology
without technology
The hardest part to get students making it having the supplies. The pictures below are some of our schools favourite making supplies.
Once you have the stuff, the possibilities are limitless. I give my students a list similar to the one below and they are immediately filled with ideas. Guaranteed they will come up with some of their own ideas as well! Remember, choice is key.
cardboard, lego, Plus Plus
clay, paint, puppets
comic, poetry, children's book, manga
inventions, apps, toys
cast it, stage it, design it
acting, tableau, mime, reader's theatre
twist it, re-write, 5 years later
talk show, research, survey
card game, board game, group game
communication
How do I communicate to others when I write, represent, and speak?
When I first started thinking about using makerspaces in my E.L.A. classroom I felt stumped as to how I would ever connect the two. Then it dawned on me... writing, representing, and speaking are making. It's all about changing perspective a bit. I have found that students are much more willing to write, represent, or speak when they have choice, so that's step 1. Step 2 is giving them an audience to make the learning relevant and authentic.
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Journal Entries
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Personal Letter
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Greeting Card
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Schedule/Things to Do List
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Inner Monologue Representing Internal Conflicts
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Classified or Personal Ads
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Personal Essay or Philosophical Questions
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Top Ten List/Glossary or Dictionary
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Poetry
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Song Lyrics
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Autobiographical Essay
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Contest Entry Application
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Business Letter or Correspondence/Persuasive or Advocacy Letter
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Biographical Summary
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Critique of a Published Source
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Speech or Debate
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Historical Times Context Essay
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Textbook Article
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Science Article or Report/Business Article or Report
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Lesson Plan
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Encyclopedia Article
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Short Scene from a Play with Notes for Stage Directions
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Short Scene from a Movie with Notes for Camera Shots
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Dialogue of a Conversation among Two or More People
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Short Story
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Adventure Magazine Story
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Ghost Story
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Myth, Tall Tale, or Fairy Tale
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News Program Story or Announcement
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Tabloid Article
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Talk Show Interview or Panel
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Recipe and Description of Traditional Holiday Events
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Classroom Discussion
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Character Analysis or Case Study
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Comedy Routine or Parody
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Liner Notes
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Picture book
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Chart or Diagram with Explanation and Analysis
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Brochure or Newsletter
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Time Line or Chain of Events
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Map with Explanation and Analysis
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Magazine or TV Advertisement or Infomercial
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Restaurant Description and Menu
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Travel Brochure Description
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How-To or Directions Booklet
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Receipts, Applications, Deeds, Budgets or Other Documents
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Wedding, Graduation or Special Event Invitation
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Birth Certificate
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Local News Report
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Pop-Up book
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Review and Poster for a Movie, Book, or TV Program
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Board Game or Trivial Pursuit with Answers and Rules
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Comic Strip or Graphic Novel excerpt
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Power Point Presentation
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Informational Video
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Web Site
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Future News Story
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Letter to the Editor
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Newspaper or Magazine Feature/Human Interest Story
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Obituary, Eulogy or Tribute
Any of the ideas listed in my with technology and without technology lists can also be used for students to communicate with others. Instead have students create things based on their own stories or ideas. For example, create a character and then write a story about that character using iPadio. The possibilities are endless.
ideas
When it comes to writing my students consistently tell me the hardest part is coming up with ideas.
If coming up with ideas is all that is stopping our students from creating amazing stories, then lets help them think of things!
Story Ideas
Poetry Stations
Picture Book Engineering
Credit: Renee Sanguin (Victoria Albert School)
Step 1: Read the book
Step 2: Create character profile: how does your character feel? act? think?
Step 3: Identify a "problem" your character faces
Step 4: Ideate 3-5 radical solutions for your character's problem
Step 5: Share your solution
Step 6: Create a prototype
A good book to use!
Design Thinking challenge: Using picture books/novels
Credit: Shauna Cornwell, Enrichment & Innovation Consultant Winnipeg School Division
1. Toy
Design a brand new toy for your character
Option: give the toy one magical power that only the character will know about
2. Clothing
Design a new item of clothing that your character will love and that will help the character in some way
Option: Use electronics to make the clothing light up or display sounds
3. Helping Others
Design a gadget that will help the character to help others
Option: Make the gadget pocket sized so it's portable
4. Cover Creation
Design an item that will change the character's life and become the feature of a whole new story
Option: Give the new story a title and describe it
5. Edible Incredible
Design something new for your character that they can also eat.
Option: a grocery store wants to put you item on it's shelves. Create the packaging and describe what section of the store it would go in
6. Wild Card!
Choose 1-5. Have Fun!
E.L.A. Challenges
Often the first thing people think of when they hear the word makerspace is "instant challenges". Instant challenges are great ways to get kids collaborating and thinking critically. Usually they tie to the science curriculum, but they are totally doable with E.L.A. as well.
The best part about instant challenges is how well they tie into the 6 C's.
Collaboration
Critical Thinking
Creativity
Character
Citizen
Communication
I like to do E.L.A. challenges by grouping my students into teams that they keep for a period of time. They have to create a team name, chant, and a poster. They then compete for points against the other teams. This is a great way to get students committed to always improving. Amazing how much power arbitrary points have!
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Check out Destination Imagination for more great challenge ideas!
Reflection
Learning should not stop after a project is complete. There is so much to learn looking back on the process and throughout the process. Here is a list of reflection tools that make the process fun and engaging for students.
ReCap
All Devices
A Q&A platform where students record their responses.
Cost: Free
iMovie
All iOS devices
Have students create a video where they reflect on their learning.
Cost: Free
Padlet
All devices
The digital form of a post it note on the wall. A shared space for students to share their thoughts and ideas.
Cost: Free
Answer Garden
iPad
Great for class wide reflection prompts. Similar to Padlet, have students respond to reflection questions.
Cost: Free
Voice Thread
All Devices
Allows students to talk, type, and draw on the screen of their documents, photos, and videos. Easy to share.
Cost: Free
Seesaw
All Devices
Student driven digital portfolios with parent access. Use it to share your learning and give feedback to others
Cost: Free, Seesaw Plus is $120 per teacher, per year
Explain Everything
All devices
An interactive whiteboard app. Use it to share knowledge, build understanding and track productivity.
Cost: $4.99 per user, per year
Fotobabble
iPhone, iPad
An app where students take a photo of their learning and add an audio track to the image.
Cost: Free