Thanksgiving at Fuller Meadow

"Why you don't want to eat me for Thanksgiving." 

Students at Fuller Meadow School have had turkeys on the brain.  When you walk down the hallways, you see turkeys that are in disguise, mathematical turkeys, poetic turkeys, and turkeys in tutus.  I had the opportunity to help some of these turkeys TALK.  In Kindergarten and 2nd Grade, students have been working on a very important project.  Students worked with their family on designing a turkey that you won't want to eat, then they wrote about the turkey in the first person. In 1st grade, students worked on alliteration as well as improving their writing skills as they told what their turkey would do if he came to visit the student's home.  

2nd Grade Project

Letter to 2nd Grade families about the Turkey Project.

To enhance the writing lesson and work on their speaking and presentation skills, we used the app 'Chatterpix' and 'iMovie' to make each turkey come to life.  To start, Kindergarten and 2nd grade students created their picture with their family and wrote a few sentences explaining why they shouldn't be 'eaten' for Thanksgiving.  In 1st grade, students made their turkeys at school.  Then, Mrs. Baker used Chatterpix to record the student's voice.  After the recording session, students reflected on the process.

Check out these Turkey Project videos

2nd Grade:

Mrs. Begin's 2nd Grade Class

Mrs. Kennedy's 2nd Grade Class

Mrs. Kennedy's Reader's Theater

Mrs. Kennedy's Class is Thankful for...

Mrs. Ochoa's 2nd Grade Class

Ms. Simonelli's 2nd Grade Class

Mrs. Vickerman's 2nd Grade Class

1st Grade:

Mrs. Anderson's Class Makes Butter

Mrs. Fuller's 1st Grade Class

Mrs. Fuller's Class gives a "Cranberry Challenge"

Mrs. Thomson's Kindergarten Class

Kindergarten

Mrs. Scharffenberg's 1st Grade Class

Mrs. Baker works in Scharffenberg's Class

Students reflected on the process of making their class video.

The Massachusetts Common Core Standards describe the integration of technology into lessons as "New technologies have broadened and expanded the role that speaking and listening play in acquiring and sharing knowledge and have tightened their link to other forms of communication. Digital texts confront students with the potential for continually updated content and dynamically changing combinations of words, graphics, images, hyperlinks, and embedded video and audio."

Common Core Standard for Grade K: SL. K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.  Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Common Core Standard for Grade 1: SL. 1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.  Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Common Core Standard for Grade 2:  SL. 2.5 for Language Arts states, " Students will Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings."