Even though it can be a challenge, there are certainly tools that a teacher can use to assist them in the process. One of the most helpful tools I have used is Pinterest. Pinterest is simply a website that is designed to help you bookmark other websites so you can easily find the website that you need in them future. What is unique about Pinterest is that it uses pictures as a basis for an entire website. It saves a picture from the website as a way for you to remember what was on that website without having to go and spend a lot of time trying to figure out what you liked about a particular website and how it can be useful to you. In addition to saving websites through pictures, Pinterest also allows you to see other websites that other users have pinned. You can search a random topic, or follow a particular person to see what they have pinned. Pinterest also allows you to save your pins in group or categories to your choosing so that everything is not one big jumbled mess. It's organized, and easily accessible.
Pinterest is a great tool for the classroom! It allows you to search lesson plans, projects, and even techniques for teaching based on your subject. You can follow other teachers and see some of the things they are doing in their classrooms, or even what websites they have marked as useful for the classroom. In a way, Pinterest acts as a collaborating tool for teachers.
Personally, I have found Pinterest to be a great tool, and I have used it to find lesson plans and academic projects that could be adapted to fit whatever I will be teaching. Specifically, I have recently created a project based learning assignment through suggestions from various websites I found through Pinterest. Using the two Language Arts Framework, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4 , I designed a project that puts a twist on the typical book report. This assignment is one that is designed to follow a discussion over modern classic novels. Prior to this assignment, a lecture/discussion will take place where the class decides what a modern classic is. For the Project Based Learning Assignment, students will have the opportunity to explore some of the modern classics and also be introduced to some in a way that is both informative and intriguing.
A Quick Overview
Step 1: Choose a modern classic
- Student needs to be familiar with the work (something they have read)
Step 2: Write a general synopsis of the book that you can use in your video.
- It is your job to get people interested in the book. DON'T SPOIL IT!!!
Step 3: Research the major themes of the book and the relevance in real life, then and now
Step 4: Research the author of the book.
Step 5: Create your video
Please note that this assignment will require class time. Students will need access to technology for creating a video as well as in depth instruction on how to create and edit a video.
I hope you have found this lesson to be a unique alternative to a standard book report. It is an assignment that I believe students will enjoy doing and also one that will encourage them read more modern classics. Below I have posted my example video as well as a pdf attachment to my written instructions that I would hand out to my students.
-Peyton Harris
