Middle Mosaic-Paula Danziger
Middle Mosaic
Paula Danzinger-Motivating Middle Schoolers
Admonition to visit scbwi.org for those are interested in writing books for kids.
No one correct way to teach writing or to write.
Keeping that in mind…to motivate students:
- Sometimes students do know best
- Know your students
- Have a sense of humor
- Respect them—give them the respect you want in return.
How to use scrapbooking in a classroom:
- Thinking about quilting
- Thinking about connection the meaning making in quilting/scrapbooking and writing—creation, making meaning.
Tells the story about how she was attacked and almost killed
Scrapbooking is a way to tell your own story, creating a sense of community with shared stories in the classroom. Many students may not have experience with scrapbooks, and we as teachers might not either. That’s a good thing. It helps to remind us that trying new things can be hard.
Scrapbook pages don’t have to be fancy, although there is a seller on EBAY who sells stickers cheap. (I don't know if that's the right one or not...I don't know much about scrapbooking) Watch the sales at places like Michaels and get scissors, stamps, papers, etc, cheaply. Ask parents and students to help with supplies.
- Students can create scrapbook pages for themselves. As they share the pages with the rest of the class, a sense of community begins to develop. (great beginning of year activity)
- Students can create scrapbook pages for characters in stories they are reading. What would a character put on a page?
- Would be a good reading activity to help students make explicit their understanding of a character in a story.
- Students can create scrapbook pages for the plot of the story…what happened when?
- Students can create a scrapbook page to represent what they learned in class that year.
Click here for a list of links on scrapbooking.
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Last Updated April 11, 2011
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