Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Writing4History

Four of my students took part in the Student Showcase at PETE&C today at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. They demonstrated a project entitled Writing4History. W4H is an attempt to get my students to:

  1. WRITE for an authentic audience.
  2. CREATE something so interesting that someone (other than just their parents) will purchase it.
  3. THINK creatively and be persistent in solving ambiguous problems.
  4. COLLABORATE with their classmates so the collective talents of the class allows the creation of something that no one student, no matter how talented, could create on their own.
  5. OWN the process and outcome.
  6. BENEFIT others by contributing all proceeds to charity.
Now, understand that I realize that#2 is a lofty goal. However, we need to have teachers and students THINK BIG.

If only parents and grandparents purchase the books then at the very least students will get a sense of accomplishment for publishing their own book, the book will last years longer than typical school work, and a charity will get a few extra bucks from the mental perspiration of teenagers.

Here is the slideshow that was used at the Student Showcase.

1 comment:

Sarah Kennon said...

Mr. T, Thanks for all the love -- and we love you right back! I want to let you know that while we were busy creating the brand-new look and feel, a better viewing experience, and more ways to share videos, we had to temporarily disable access to MyFORA and the ThinkTanks, videos and friends you've saved there.

But don't worry - they'll be back and better than ever, soon. None of your saved videos, ThinkTanks or friendships you created will be lost in the transition.

We'll be rolling out new profile pages, new ways to upload your own videos, and new ways to create cool mashups of your favorite videos on FORA.tv, save videos and manage friendships.

I'd better get back to work, there's lots to do.