Spanish Pen Pals with Flipgrid

It's always wonderful to bring new teachers and subject areas into the library!  Ms. Marcinkowski, Iroquois Middle School's new seventh grade Spanish teacher, was eager to bring her students into the library for a special project.

The purpose of this project was to allow students to use their Spanish speaking and listening skills in an authentic context while appropriately using technology.  The objective of this project was met by crafting a pen pal project through the use of Flipgrid.  Flipgrid is a safe, educational platform which hosts audio and video.  Educators are able to post a prompt and then students are able to record video and audio responses. 

For this project, Spanish 7 students at Pioneer Middle School in Yorkshire, NY would be viewing the Iroquois students' videos.  Iroquois students would also have the opportunity to view videos created by the Pioneer students.  The Flipgrid resource provided a great way to facilitate a digital pen pal project!

The Flipgrid prompt was created by Ms. Marcinkowski.  The requirements of the prompt allowed students to showcase their knowledge of vocabulary from previous units.  Students used their vocabulary packets in order to prepare a written script as a response to the prompt.

Students prepared a script to use for the Flipgrid prompt.

Once students had their scripts approved by Ms. Marcinkowski, it was nearly time to begin the recording on Flipgrid.  However, before students began recording, this was a perfect time to review some internet safety and overall privacy tips.  Although Flipgrid is a safe platform due to its use of passwords and unique URL links, there are many instances where students may be in an unsafe environment online.  Through utilizing digital safety flyers I had created, we held class discussions on internet safety concerns.  It is important that students understand how to protect their personal information while online.

One of the tech tip flyers used to facilitate a digital safety conversation.

It was now time to begin recording.  At this point in the project, there was some level of differentiation.  A handful of students did not receive permission to use Flipgrid, so they instead created postcards using their script.  Other students were allowed to record audio, but not a video of their face.  These students either covered their laptop's camera or pointed it to another object.  It took students a few tries to get the hang of using Flipgrid.  Seeing and hearing yourself on video can be a little unnerving, but they powered through the awkwardness and recorded some outstanding videos.

Students found a quiet space in the library to record their Flipgrid videos.

Listening to yourself on video led to some giggles!

Ms. Marcinkowski helps a student troubleshoot some recording issues.

After students were satisfied with their recordings and saved them to Flipgrid, they moved on to Part 2 of the project.  For Part 2, students visited the Pioneer Middle School Flipgrid page to view the recordings from the Pioneer students.  As a test of their listening skills, the Iroquois students wrote down (in English) what they believed the Pioneer students said in their videos.

Students recorded their interpretation of what the Pioneer students expressed in their videos.

There were many positive outcomes from this project.  Students gained a familiarity with the Flipgrid platform, which will allow them a safe space on the internet to record their thoughts.  They also had a chance to practice their vocabulary in a way that was interactive and fun.  The Iroquois students loved viewing the videos posted by the Pioneer students.

Ms. Marcinkowski and I would like to thank Ms. McKenzie and Mrs. Racitano, the Spanish teacher and librarian at Pioneer Middle School, for their willingness to partner with us for this project.  We're looking forward to creating more opportunities for the Iroquois and Pioneer students to communicate as pen pals!

Sixth Grade Mythology Project

During January and February 2018, many class periods were devoted to visits from Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Whalen, and their fantastic sixth grade ELA students.  The purpose of the library visits was to perform research on a variety of figures from Greek Mythology.   An in-class reading of The Lightning Thief, a fictional story rooted in mythology, led to many students having a keen interest in the subject matter.  I have even overheard sixth grade students debate about the gods' powers during their library study hall periods!  This degree of personal interest made the research process all the more fascinating for the sixth grade students.

Upon entering the library, students were assigned a specific god or goddess from Greek Mythology that would serve as the focus of their research.  Some students did not receive their first choice for research, but this provided an opportunity for students to learn about figures they may not have knowledge about.  Mrs. Whalen and Mrs. Webb provided their students with a project overview, deadlines for specific portions of the project, and a folder in which to organize their resources.

Each student needed to find information about their god or goddess, including family structure, symbols, and specific myths where their figure was mentioned.  When in the library, the classes would begin with a mini-lesson on research resources and strategies.  For the first three days, we focused on using a single type of resource.  Day 1 was devoted to books, day 2 was devoted to online databases, and day 3 was reserved for website research.  By breaking the research process down by type of resource, it helped the students to understand the benefits and challenges of each specific type of resource.

Research sources helped students to complete their graphic organizer.

As students moved through the research process, they were required to use MLA-formatted Note Sheets in order to keep track of the sources used.  These Note Sheets helped students to organize their research and avoid plagiarism.

Completed Note Sheets for research sources used.

Once students had completed their research in the library, they spent their ELA classes working on writing their essays.  The graphic organizer also served as the outline for their essay!  Students were able to directly apply their research into the essay, since their organizer served as the overall structure for the essay.

When the essays were completed, the students returned to the library for two final activities: a mythology gallery walk and presentation.  For the gallery walk, students brought in their finished essay (complete with beautifully illustrated cover) and an object with symbolized their god or goddess.  Students were exceptionally creative when it came to choosing a symbolic object.  One student even used a 3D printer to make a model of his god's helmet.

Essay covers and objects from sixth grade mythology projects.

A 3D-printed helmet was especially awesome!

More artifacts and covers from the mythology gallery walk.

Students were able to walk through the area containing the artifacts and covers.  This allowed the students to see their peers' hard work and the creativity used when finding a symbolic object for their god or goddess.

After the gallery walk, students then gave a brief presentation about their god or goddess.  They explained the basics of their figure, retold an associated myth, and explained why they brought in the object they chose.  These presentations made it clear that students had learned from their research!

A homemade sword and shield to represent Ares!

Hades' homemade helmet.

A homemade, winged cap.

Homemade ax (don't worry, it wasn't sharp).

Zeus costume!

Bow and arrow.

Testing a bow and arrow in the library!

Overall, the goals of this project were met.  Students were introduced to the different research offerings available through the library.  This will help students as they move up through the grade levels, as books, databases, and websites will continually be used for research.  The MLA Note Sheets also introduced students to the fundamentals of note taking, citing sources, and avoiding plagiarism.  The structured outline provided by Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Whalen helped guide students' note taking and set them up for success when they began writing their essays.

The best part of the project by far was the gallery walk with accompanying presentations!  It was such a treat to witness the students' creativity and hard work.