Merging Learning
Animal life cycles… research… story writing… art… digital citizenship and etiquette… what do all of these things have in common? In Mrs. Whitley’s 1st grade class, everything! Her 1st graders took all of these elements and merged them into digital stories and online feedback. Students learned:
- How to conduct research
- About the life cycles of different animals
- How to apply writing skills to create a story
- How to apply art skills to illustrate a story
- How to constructively critique peers’ stories
- How to act responsibly in an online publishing environment
- How to publish critiques online
After learning about the life cycle of the butterfly, each student was challenged to write and illustrate their own book about the butterfly life cycle. Once the books were finished, students participated in a “walk” where they took turns presenting their stories to others and viewing others’ stories. During this time students were to choose one book and think of at least one detailed constructive comment about that book. Students then posted those comments on a Padlet “wall”. Mrs. Whitley and the students then discussed all the books and comments and how things remain forever online. As Mrs. Whitley said,
Using the Padlet app was a great way to teach digital citizenship. With prior writing walks we have left feedback on post-it notes. A picture is worth a thousand words to a first-grader. I took a few post-it notes and easily tossed them in the trash. We then talked about our digital footprint staying out there for all to see. It was exciting to see the students read the real-time feedback.
Click the icons below to view samples.