Motivation Monday and Game Review

I have never been able to draw.  I have a standard stick person (which covers both genders and all ages), a stick animal (which encompasses animals of the land, see, and air), and a basic house, tree, and flower.  Any time I play a game with my own children that requires drawing, I just groan.  And silently question why Santa brought those games to begin with - what WAS he thinking?

This winter, Santa brought an independent drawing game that both the kids and I LOVE.  Not because I can draw now, but because it requires creative thought!  (And, one person can play by themselves, relieving me from a drawing requirement.)


It is called The Extraordinaires Design Studio.

The Extraordinaire Design Studio (affiliate link)

The Extraordinaire Design Studio is described as "a creative thinking game for problem solvers. If you've ever wondered what it's like to invent a music player for a robot, a remote control for a pirate, or a cooking utensil for a vampire teen, this game is for you."  This is an amazing opportunity for children to be creative!

In the above image, my daughter drew the Extraordinaire  card "future child" and the project  card "ceremony place".  Her design title is China's New Year, and she has created a transportation tube, reusable fireworks (maybe because our family describes fireworks as watching your money burn up in front of you), a hover board, a floating dragon, and the future child with flaps and rocket boots.

As for me, I still can't draw.  But, I am trying.  I have been working on developing a Growth Mindset along with my students, grades kindergarten through eighth.  In most areas, I do have a growth mindset, but when it comes to drawing, I have a fixed mindset.  Fixed as in "set in concrete and never going to change type of mindset".  So, as an example to my students, I am working on drawing.  I know that I will never be great at drawing, but I can get better.

Here is a "before" example:

We were playing Who What Where Jr. The Funny Drawing Game for Kids.  In this game, you draw three cards: a who, a what, and a where, and combine them into a picture.  Using my interpretive skills, I think this example was a snake/worm, flying a kite, in a barn.  My family always lets me draw multiple cards of each category, knowing that I need to find something that I can make halfway recognizable for them.

I recently discovered the book You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less.  I am actually only on day seven in the book, it has been about four months, but I am learning to draw!

You Can Draw in 30 Days (affiliate link)

Here are my "learning to draw" examples:

Day 3 Advanced Level Spheres

Day 6 Stacking Tables

While my drawings are more recognizable (my goal), and a huge step forward from the snake/worm flying a kite in a barn, I still need the heavily structured advice of the book.  I can work step-by-step through a lesson and draw a picture that my family can recognize.  I am not yet able to transfer my skills to a random drawing situation (which I still avoid at all costs).  But, I have only completed seven lessons (in four months).  And, as I tell my students, a growth mindset means "I can work hard and improve", so I will keep working.

What are you working on?

Chasing Vermeer

This weekend, my daughter and I attended the Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt & Vermeer exhibit at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.  My goal was to see A Lady Writing, painted by Johannes Vermeer around 1665.  It was on loan from The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. for this special exhibit.

For those who have read Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, you know that Petra and Calder are searching for A Lady Writing on the campus of the University of Chicago.  Liz Szabla of Scholastic described Chasing Vermeer as "a puzzle, wrapped in mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art."  It is one of my favorite books to read with my sixth grade reading class, because we are able to work across curriculum areas.

Chasing Vermeer (affiliate link)

My favorite resource for Chasing Vermeer was previously hosted on a website titled "A Different Place".  However, I believe that teacher has retired, and the website is no longer active.  Some other websites have useful material as well:

Chasing Vermeer Teacher's Guide by Scholastic
Chasing Vermeer Sixth Grade Unit by ReadWorks.org

Great Supporting Websites:

Author Blue Balliett Website for Chasing Vermeer - It took Blue five years to write Chasing Vermeer, because she was still a classroom teacher.  The website includes a slideshow of the actual places that inspired the locations in the book.

Find A Lady Writing on Google Art Project
Visit Essential Vermeer for artist information
Writing lesson by Writing Fix: Writing Like an Artist Paints
Wikipedia article about Chasing Vermeer
University of Chicago Map
Powell's Books website
Art Institute of Chicago
Write a message in Secret Code or create your own
Go on an art adventure or play Vermeer games 
Learn more about the Camera Obscura which experts believe Vermeer used

PENTOMINOES

Calder always carries pentominoes in his pocket, and he uses them to work through some mysterious questions.  I give each student a set of pentominoes to "carry around" while they are reading Chasing Vermeer.  They will often have the pentominoes out, just as Calder does, trying to figure out answers to the mysteries in the book.  If you don't have pentominoes available, you can print some out, or you can use virtual pentominoes.

Enjoy the mystery!

Using Plot Maps With Stop Motion Animation

Shorts of the Week


We are currently reviewing "No Excuse" Literary Terms in my middle school reading class.  When I dropped the subject of Plot Maps, they acted like they had never heard of them.  I am pretty sure they have seen them repeatedly in their educational careers.  However, since it was one more topic they appear to never have been exposed to, I decided we needed something catchy.

My fourth and fifth grade students happen to be working on creating Stop Motion Animation (more on that later).  We had been watching some pretty cool Shorts of the Week as examples.  I decided to pull these gems in for my middle school students to analyze and complete plot maps.

The Process:

I walked them through a short Stop Motion Animation clip called Gulp.  In it, a Jonah-style fisherman gets caught in the belly of a giant fish.  At 1:45, it is an easy one to view, discuss, and repeat as needed.  The beauty of Stop Motion Animation is that when you are scrolling through the video, you can see clip by clip progress, and stop just where needed. 

The first time I tell the kids to watch and just enjoy.  Afterwards, we jot down everything they can remember about the clip.  In most cases, that includes the title, creator's name, protagonist, antagonist, a few rising actions, and the resolution.

After a second viewing, we are able to fill in more pieces.  During the third viewing, we stop many times and had an in-depth conversation.

While not part of our Plot Map, we did discuss the foreshadowing evident in the video, and the connection some students made to the story of Jonah.

Be sure to check out the Gulp.  The Making of

Free Plot Map

The next day, we repeated the process with another Stop Motion Animation piece called Back to the Start.  This one clocks in at 2:21, and is branded content for Chipotle.  It is a touching story about sustainable agriculture.  It is a more complex piece than Gulp, and a great one to take kids to the next level. 

After viewing the clip many times and discussing it, the kids completed a Plot Map.  This time, we were able to have a discussion about symbolism in the video, and ventured into an ethics discussion on sustainable agriculture and the environment.  

We also talked about how Willie Nelson's version of "The Scientist" impacted the mood of the video.  We then listened to Coldplay's version of "The Scientist" and inferred how the mood would have been different if the creator would have chosen it to accompany the video.

While we didn't compare a written text to a multimedia version, we were able to analyze how the plot plays out just the same way it would in a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

On December 28, 2014, there was an article available on The Atlantic called "Cracking the Sitcom Code".  It's interesting how sitcoms all follow the same simple formula.  It appears as though many Stop Motion Animation films follow the typical Plot Map my middle school student claim to have never seen before...

Hopefully, this time they will remember.

Choice Boards for Early Finishers

Choice is a powerful tool for the classroom.

Students feel empowered when we offer choices for their learning.  Providing students who finish their work early with options that require higher order thinking is meaningful and motivating.  This year, I am giving my fourth and fifth grade students monthly Choice Boards.  The tasks utilize creative options from the top two levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (create and evaluate) and from the SCAMPER mnemonic, developed by Bob Eberle (substitute, combine, add something, magnify/minify, put to other uses, eliminate, and rearrange).

Simple pocket folders decorated by the students hold the choice boards and "projects in process."  Students choose activities from the board that reflect their strengths, interests, or new areas they would like to try.  

*We also talk about other options that are always great choices when they have free time ~ the perennial favorites of reading and writing stories, poetry, and research.

Free Download: 
August Choice Board for Early Finishers

TPT

The tasks for August focus on timely "back to school" topics!

Teachers: Click through the link of your choice above to find the free August Choice Board and try it with your students.  You will find a color version and a black line version. Enjoy!