Virtual visits are always a treat, but they take on extra value and depth when students lead the lesson. Such was the case with Laurie Ann Moore’s Copper Hill Elementary (Ringoes, NJ) 3rd-grade class. The students’ readings of their thoughtful and personal poems and presentation of their related artwork not only made for a most-memorable 30-minute visit but also provided a perfect example of just one more way picture books can be used as powerful teaching tools!
Inspired by Light Up the Night to be Creative Communicators
by Laurie Ann Moore
As a teacher who believes in the power of using mentor texts to inspire student writing, one of my favorite projects this year involved using Jean Reidy’s beautiful book Light Up the Night. After I read the book aloud to my students, we talked about the rhythm, rhyme and mood of the prose. We shared how we all have certain places that make us feel happy and secure just like the boy in the book. We brainstormed places that make us feel this way and then each student wrote a poem about their “own little piece of the universe” with the similar rhyme scheme, rhythm and mood we enjoyed in Light Up the Night. We used a creative presentation app called Wixie by Tech4 Learning to illustrate our poems and put them together into a class slide show using Google Slides. This project was perfect for meeting ISTE standard #6, Creative Communicator- “Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.” Our work is proudly displayed on our class website for all the world to see!
What made this project extra special was that we SKYPED with Jean! Each of the students had a one on one moment to share their poem and artwork with Jean. She celebrated each student’s successes in a remarkably warm, enthusiastic and genuine way. Her words filled them (and me!) with pride. That was a day I am sure my students will remember and cherish for a long time!
To see more of the students’ artwork and read more of their poems go to – https://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/Page/11289
Laurie Ann Moore has been an educator for 27 years and has enjoyed working with students of all ages. Her passion is technology integration in the classroom. She leads workshops and gives presentations on a variety of technology topics and works with educators inspiring them to effectively use technology in their own classrooms. Follow Laurie Ann on Twitter: @MrsMooreFRSD and see her students’ work at: http://tinyurl.com/MrsMooreCopperHill
Teachers and librarians – Check out my page just for you. There you’ll find FREE classroom resources – including Curriculum Guides linked to learning standards – as well as information on my high-energy, educational and interactive school visits.
Interested in a virtual visit? Check out my Time Out for Teachers page!
