MC POP Across The Curriculum - Making Curriculum Pop
2024-03-28T15:24:58Z
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/categories/mc-pop-across-the-curriculum/listForCategory?categoryId=2665237%3ACategory%3A2385&feed=yes&xn_auth=no
PLAYLIST: YEAR VIEW MIRROR REFLECTION PDF
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2011-05-26:2665237:Topic:79711
2011-05-26T13:44:44.390Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
Because everyone here works in education I'm guessing that - like me - you have an infinite "to do" list. Most of us are so caught up in "doing" that we rarely have a chance to stop, breathe, and reflect on what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what we learned in the process.<br></br>
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This practice of "thinking about our thinking" is more often referred to as metacognition. As I'm breaking ground on my dissertation I realized my need for a mini-lit review of quotes explaining the value of…
Because everyone here works in education I'm guessing that - like me - you have an infinite "to do" list. Most of us are so caught up in "doing" that we rarely have a chance to stop, breathe, and reflect on what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what we learned in the process.<br/>
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This practice of "thinking about our thinking" is more often referred to as metacognition. As I'm breaking ground on my dissertation I realized my need for a mini-lit review of quotes explaining the value of metacognition. This is so high on my infinite "to do" list that I recently I made a <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profiles/blogs/question-favorite-quotes-about" target="_blank">crowdsource post</a> on the topic. While I have not yet accumulated all the best scholarly quotes about metacognition, most of us have seen the value of this practice in our classes. Furthermore, I continually find the term "reflective practice" popping up in literature about teaching and learning in many contexts - especially business books.<br/>
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One of the best ways we can help each other and our students develop these reflective practices is by modeling. Today's <strong>"Year View Mirror" Learning Experience Organizer (aka LEO©)</strong> was something I made for one of my final staff meetings at the high school I worked at in the Bronx. With so many testing mandates for teachers to panic about at year's end I thought it would be groovy to pull back and share (in pairs, groups and as a whole) about our most interesting experiences that year. This LEO was created for modeling as I wrote it so that we (the staff) could use it and then instantly Xerox© it for use with students.<br/>
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The questions allow folks to choose from the following prompts, leading off with my favorite end of year question...<br/>
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<strong>1.</strong> What was the funniest thing that happened in your class this year? Please describe it below in 3-5 sentences.<br/>
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<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603513?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603513?profile=original" width="600" class="align-full"/></a><br/>
<strong>3.</strong> What is something you wish you had done differently this year? Please describe it below in 3-5 sentences.<br/>
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654606916?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654606916?profile=original" width="600" class="align-full"/></a><br/>
<strong>5.</strong> Please list 3 things about class that you liked, learned, or surprised you.<br/>
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<strong>6.</strong> Please list two questions you would like to have answered by the end of the year.<br/>
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<strong>7.</strong> Please list your two saddest memories this year. Is there anything you can do to improve these situations?<br/>
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<strong>8.</strong> Please use the space below to reflect in any way you see fit on your learning experiences this year.<br/>
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The "Year View Mirror" LEO© can be used in any discipline and adapted for any audience. Like the <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-three-4-thinking-pdf">"Three 4 Thinking"</a> LEO it is differentiated in that folks can choose what to answer and they have a wide range of ways they can respond - my favorite being the mini cartoon option (like the <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-the-cartoon-did-you">"Cartoon Did You Read Quiz."</a> I also think these open ended questions are fascinating because you can plan greatest teaching objectives and essential questions in the world - a practice I'm in favor of - but unless you create open spaces for feedback you'll never know what students <em>really</em> learned.<center><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654607883?profile=original"><img class="align-full" width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654607883?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></a></center>
Case in point, when Ice-T spoke at our <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/teach-think-play-teachers"><em>Teach, Think, Play</em> conference</a> at Columbia one of the things he learned from his teachers (and I'm paraphrasing here) was that, "I didn't ever want to be a teacher because they dressed like crap." <br/>
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Again, you <em>might</em> know what goes in but you never <em>really know</em> what comes out unless you ask.<br/>
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I think this is great tool for metacognition but I've also taken the "Year View Mirror" questions and used them as prompts for a <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm" target="_blank">Connect the Minds (CTM)</a> year-in-review as well.<br/>
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Note that the "Year View Mirror" is designed so that you can simply use the first two pages. The third page starts off with the "saddest memories" question, which unfortunately, was the type of question that really spoke to the experiences of our teachers and students in the South Bronx. Our school was Title I and located in one of the poorest urban congressional districts in America; "sad" was something we dealt with on a regular basis. That said, sad things happen everywhere and I think it can be a very interesting and revealing question.<br/>
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You can download the full "Year View Mirror" LEO below this post. Hopefully, you'll find this LEO as useful and you'll take a hot minute to share how and when you used it below.<br/>
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As always, any feedback (including info on typos above) is always appreciated!<br/>
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Good Vibes,<br/>
<br/>
Ryan:)
PLAYLIST: THREE 4 THINKING - PDF
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2011-05-25:2665237:Topic:79781
2011-05-25T16:18:19.440Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
<p>Recently, I was coaching some teachers who had shown a very high-interest clip about media constructed fear from Michael Moore's film <em>Bowling in Columbine</em>. The clip they showed had Moore and former USC sociology Professor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Glassner" target="_blank">Barry Glassner</a> talking about the <a href="http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/library/fear/index.php" target="_blank">American "culture of fear"</a> as they stood on a street corner in South…</p>
<p>Recently, I was coaching some teachers who had shown a very high-interest clip about media constructed fear from Michael Moore's film <em>Bowling in Columbine</em>. The clip they showed had Moore and former USC sociology Professor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Glassner" target="_blank">Barry Glassner</a> talking about the <a href="http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/library/fear/index.php" target="_blank">American "culture of fear"</a> as they stood on a street corner in South Central L.A.. The video is not available online <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eclecticinspiration.com/quotes/bowlingcolumbine.html">transcript of their dialogue</a> goes like this...</p>
<blockquote><strong>Prof. Barry Glassner:</strong> I love these boulevards; you just don’t get this in most of L.A. <br/> <em>(Professor Barry Glassner (Author, "The Culture of Fear") walking down a tree lined South Central street with Michael).</em><br/> <br/> <strong>M. Moore:</strong> How come when I turn on the 11 o’clock news all I hear is “Tonight in South Central.” Tonight in South Central there was a drive by shooting. This, that, or whatever – they’re not making that up, are they?<b><br/></b></blockquote>
<blockquote><strong>Prof. Barry Glassner:</strong> No, they’re not making it up, but they’re choosing what they’re covering. If you turn on the TV, look at the news, what are you going to hear about? Dangerous black guys, right? Unnamed black guy who is accused of some crime.</blockquote>
<blockquote><strong>M. Moore:</strong> Right.</blockquote>
<blockquote><strong>Prof. Barry Glassner:</strong> You’re going to see black guys doing bad things, or hear stories about black guys doing bad things. And we’ve heard this our whole lives.</blockquote>
<blockquote>News coverage clips from various U.S. cities<br/> <br/> <strong>News Audio (1):</strong> The suspect is a black male in his twenties, we are told he has a large afro, side burns, and he was wearing a silver chain at the time.<br/> <strong>News Audio (2)</strong>: The suspect is African-American, police believe…suspect… black man, black man.<br/> <br/> <strong>M. Moore:</strong> Susan Smith drowns her two children; she tells her people that a black guy did it. Stole the car and stole the kids. And everyone at first bought it.<b><br/></b></blockquote>
<blockquote><strong>Prof. Barry Glassner:</strong> The anonymous, urban… which usually means black male, comes by and does this, is the excuse for all kinds of things.<strong> </strong></blockquote>
<blockquote><strong>M. Moore:</strong> Charles Stewart, the lawyer in Boston, kills his pregnant wife, says a black guy did it. Everybody buys it.</blockquote>
<p><br/> With this intro you can imagine that the sequence they showed was at times shocking and sarcastic. By the end the clip Moore's argument becomes clear (I'll let you see the film if you have not). After screening this sequence teachers tried to run a discussion and they said it fell a bit flat. The students thought the clip was interesting - end of discussion. <br/> <br/> I asked the teachers what they did before, during and after the clip in terms of creating flexible structures for student engagement. They had done some pre-viewing work about fear but it did not seem to do the trick for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p><br/> This led me to suggest that these teachers use one of my favorite tools that I had never written up, called "Three 4 Thinking." I usually hand out a bunch of Post-Its and ask that each student have at least three on their desk during a class. As we're exploring a text (could be audio, visual, print or a class discussion) I would pause and ask students to do a "Three 4 Thinking" Post-It. On their Post-It they need to write down a question, quote or idea about the text. In the PDF attached below I have finally written up the "Three 4 Thinking" tool a Learning Experience Organizer (aka LEO©).</p>
<p> </p>
<center><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603591?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603591?profile=original" width="576" class="align-full align-center"/></a> <br/> Sometimes, to mix it up I would ask students to write an Ah-Ha, Connection or ? on their Post-It.<br/> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603631?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603631?profile=original" width="572" class="align-full"/></a><br/> <br/> Here are the explanations of each prompt.<br/> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603686?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603686?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><br/> <br/>
</center>
<p>In the classic literacy coach sense you can check for understandings (the "s" is very important here) before, during and after any text. I'm quick to remind folks (and the core standards are echoing this theme) is that tools like this are even more important for "texts" like science labs or math problems.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is certainly not rocket science. The tool has always worked well for me, I think, because the prompts are differentiated in the sense that that students choose the question to answer and the question is open ended (content, process and product are all subject to great variation). It also lets you get at what I like to call "the data that matters." You go "under the hood" of student brains to see how they are processing content and class discussion. After each thinking prompt they can pair share, share with <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-beyond-pair-sharing">Quadrant Partners</a> or you can have students share what they wrote with the whole group. Anyway you cut it EVERY student is given individualized processing time as they "write to learn."<br/> <br/> I always like NOT sharing with a larger group until each students do 3 to 4 of these Post-Its/squares on the attached LEO©. Why you ask? Because when students are done, you can ask them to cut the squares out and lay them all on the floor (those of you who have read my <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm">Connect the Minds (CTM)</a> article probably know by know that I think the floor is more magical than DISNEY). From there students can have a kinesthetic whole group discussion where they affinity sort the squares into themes. Because there are so many voices on the floor every student gets a chance to participate and again, we move away from this type of class...</p>
<center><p> </p>
<div><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1798929357?profile=original"/></div>
<div>toward this type of class...</div>
<div><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1798929348?profile=original"/></div>
</center>
<div>As you've probably gathered, the "Three 4 Thinking" LEO© is in line with the obsession that drives a many of my <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/the-mc-pop-playlist">playlsit posts</a>. I'm really interested in creating "flexible structures" that teachers can use at almost any grade level and discipline - including college.</div>
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<div>My mother, a middle school teacher and my first teaching mentor, got me started on this path as she is the O.G. - no, not the "Original Gangsta" but the "Original Graphic Organizer." Once she showed me how to think about organizing teaching in terms of these universal cognitive challenges - how to process, uncover, explore, explain and connect content I haven't stopped creating LEOs© that can help students and teachers learn together. Yeah <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/PamGoble">Mom</a>, you're the best - happy belated Mother's Day :)</div>
<p> </p>
<p>Since I typed up this LEO© two weeks ago I've used it in 5 different settings:<br/> 1. With the high school literature teachers I mentioned above<br/> 2. With college professors<br/> 3. At a high school staff development meeting<br/> 4. With a group of high school literature and science teachers<br/> and<br/> 5. At a workshop for administrators<br/> <br/>
I now keep 30 copies of this PDF in my backback along with my Post-It stash incase I need to make something engaging and active on the fly.<br/>
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You can download the full "Three 4 Thinking" LEO© below this post. Hopefully, you'll find this LEO© as useful as I have and you'll take a hot minute to share how and when you used it below.<br/>
<br/>As always, any feedback (including info on typos above) is always appreciated!<br/>
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Good Vibes,<br/>
<br/>
Ryan:)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Ed. Aug. 1, 2011</strong> - Great photo of the "Three 4 Thinking" in action from from MC POPPER <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/KathleenCumberland?xg_source=msg_mes_network">Kathleen Cumberland</a> in Damascus, Maryland. Kathleen used the <a target="_blank" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-three-4-thinking-pdf?xg_source=msg_mes_network">"Three 4 Thinking"</a> PDF right away and sent a note saying, "I used the Three 4 Thinking activity from your playlist today with my fifth graders. We are reading the <em>Atherton Trilogy</em> by Patrick Carmen. The kids loved the activity. Thanks for sharing this one!"<br/><br/>Check out this excellent photo and get a load of the blond student who is right out of central casting - it certainly looks like they are doing a lot of great work.</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603856?profile=original"><img class="align-center" width="562" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654603856?profile=original"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
Math reflections
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2011-02-03:2665237:Topic:52674
2011-02-03T17:52:14.613Z
Jill L. Schuepfer
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/JillLSchuepfer
I found the assessement tool, using math in reflections, very unique. It is making me think "outside the box" in terms of how I could apply this in all my classes. I never thought of dividing words to equal a concept - perhaps, this could be used for defining vocabulary words, or representing food preparation terms in my Foods classes.
I found the assessement tool, using math in reflections, very unique. It is making me think "outside the box" in terms of how I could apply this in all my classes. I never thought of dividing words to equal a concept - perhaps, this could be used for defining vocabulary words, or representing food preparation terms in my Foods classes.
I just discovered the Brain Pickings site, but have some questions.
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2010-12-02:2665237:Topic:48417
2010-12-02T15:28:22.494Z
Suzanne Lustie
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/SuzanneLustie
I've enjoyed exploring the Brain Pickings site (billed as "curating eclectic interestingness from culture's collective brain"). There are many ads on the site. Perhaps that means it would not pass the appropriate for the popper site test--I wasn't sure.<br />
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Advise--opinions--how should this be handled? I don't want to open a Pandora's box.
I've enjoyed exploring the Brain Pickings site (billed as "curating eclectic interestingness from culture's collective brain"). There are many ads on the site. Perhaps that means it would not pass the appropriate for the popper site test--I wasn't sure.<br />
<br />
Advise--opinions--how should this be handled? I don't want to open a Pandora's box.
PLAYLIST: Reading Reflections + Mathematical Expression Fun LEO© - K-College PDFs
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2010-03-03:2665237:Topic:25503
2010-03-03T18:24:40.872Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
As most of y'all know I started my work in education as a high school English teacher and college social studies teacher. Since then I have branched out into every discipline as an instructional coach in the Bronx and teacher trainer. I suppose that's why I'm getting a doctorate in something named <a href="https://www.tc.columbia.edu/admissions/programs/index.htm?id=138">Interdisciplinary Studies</a>.<br></br>
<div><br></br><div>You've also probably gathered that I get excited about articulating…</div>
</div>
As most of y'all know I started my work in education as a high school English teacher and college social studies teacher. Since then I have branched out into every discipline as an instructional coach in the Bronx and teacher trainer. I suppose that's why I'm getting a doctorate in something named <a href="https://www.tc.columbia.edu/admissions/programs/index.htm?id=138">Interdisciplinary Studies</a>.<br/>
<div><br/><div>You've also probably gathered that I get excited about articulating cool, interesting and differentiated ways for students to interact with texts and learning experiences.<br/> <br/><div>Multiple choice tests and essays will always be part of our repertoire but I'm constantly looking for new ways we can process and reflect on learning.</div>
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<div>You may have a sense of how I operate from other playlist entries like:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Gill Sans', 'Gill Sans MT', Gill, 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600; font-size: 1em;" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-the-cartoon-did-you">DID YOU READ QUIZ?" - CARTOON EDITION</a></span></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Gill Sans', 'Gill Sans MT', Gill, 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600; font-size: 1em;" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-annotation-reading">ANNOTATION & READING WITH YOUR PEN</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Gill Sans', 'Gill Sans MT', Gill, 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600; font-size: 1em;" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm">PLAYLIST: CONNECT THE MINDS (CTM) ACTIVITY + ARTICLE PDF!!!</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Gill Sans', 'Gill Sans MT', Gill, 'Century Gothic', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600; font-size: 1em;" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm-1">PLAYLIST: CONNECT THE MINDS (CTM) QUIZ - PDFs for College, HS, MS, and a try at Elementary</a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><font face="'Gill Sans', 'Gill Sans MT', Gill, 'Century Gothic', sans-serif" color="#000000"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600; font-size: 1em;" href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-text-reflection-fun">PLAYLIST: TEXT REFLECTION FUN LEO©</a></span></font></div>
<div>As you may have noticed, a lot of these ideas are informed by popular culture. Today's playlist addition is no exception to that rule. The advent of new and more powerful technologies for processing mathematical and visual data has created an bit of a pop culture sensation around infographics - a genre <i>Wired</i> Magazine <a href="http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/15-07/st_infoporn">gleefully refers to as "Infoporn."</a> </div>
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<div>This artistic & mathematical mode of expression that entered American popular culture through <i>USA Today </i>is now so pervasive that there are International Infographic Awards and the <i>New York Times</i> maintains a mind blowing Infographics department - see <a href="http://flowingdata.com/2009/03/31/new-york-times-shines-at-international-infographics-awards/">these samples</a> and this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/02/business/economy/20090705-cycles-graphic.html">wild interactive graph.</a><br/> <br/></div>
<div>Pop books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Miscellaneum-Colorful-Worlds-Consequential/dp/0061748366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267639745&sr=8-1">The Visual Miscellaneum</a> - a book given to me by homeboy and MC POP chemistry teacher <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/A">Alexander</a> - are using mathematical expressions to explore "the worlds must consequential trivia" (BTW - if you don't own this book, buy it, it is super fun and useful for the classroom).</div>
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<div>Magazines like <i>Fast Company </i>have a monthly section of the magazine called "Numerology" where they add cool grapics to a "number story" like this one:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"></div>
<div><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654597472?profile=original"/></p>
</div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>
Academics like <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/index">Edward Tufte</a> (Yale), are collecting and popularizing their visual data in books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0961392126/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0961392177&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1M1VF1SWTQT23V0JEJ2Z"><i>Visual Explanations</i></a> & <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Evidence-Edward-R-Tufte/dp/0961392177"><i>Beautiful Evidence</i></a>. Other academics, like my former professor <a href="http://www.sagepub.com/authorDetails.nav?contribId=530049">Graeme Sullivan</a> (Columbia) is busy articulating ways that visual representations <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1412974518/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1412905354&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1442RHDHXNR0CM00QFS4">can be viewed as research.</a> The qualataive and quantitative are finding ways to <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm">"connect the minds!"</a><br/> <br/>This exciting merge of visual and mathematical culture is slowly becoming an integral part of TV and online humor. If you want a quick mathematical insight or laugh visit <a href="http://thisisindexed.com/">Indexed</a>, <a href="http://graphjam.com/">Graph Jam</a>, or <a href="http://www.morenewmath.com/">More New Math</a>. Maybe you were watching Comedy Central and caught mathematical expressions on television shows like <i>Dimitri Martin's Important Things</i> - note the graphs used in this montage from season 1:</div>
<div><br/><table width="360" cellspacing="0" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal arial; color: #333333; background-color: #f5f5f5;">
<tbody><tr valign="middle" style="background-color: #e5e5e5;"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/important_things/index.jhtml" style="color: #333; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Important Things with Demetri Martin</a></td>
<td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Thursday, 10:00pm / 9:00c</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="middle" style="height: 14px;"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=264242&title=exclusive-visual-aids" style="color: #333; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Exclusive - Visual Aids</a></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="middle" style="height: 14px; background-color: #353535;"><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px 5px; width: 360px; overflow: hidden; text-align: right;" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/" style="color: #96deff; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">www.comedycentral.com</a></td>
</tr>
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<br/>Naturally, this pop culture phenomenon was something I thought we could use to MAKE CURRICULUM POP!</div>
<div><br/> To those ends, I created the <b>Mathematical Expression Fun LEO©</b> as a way for Logical/Mathematical students to strut their stuff in humanities classrooms.<br/> <br/> When you have a learning experience or reading you want students to reflect on YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO ASSIGN A TRADITIONAL STUDY GUIDE, JOURNAL, ESSAY OR TEST! You can have students create mathematical expressions about the things they've learned using this LEO©<br/> <br/> I designed four versions of this LEO©'s first page - one each for post-seconday, high school, middle school and elementary school (although this will probably only work for the upper elementary set) teachers.</div>
<div><br/> I bundled the post-secondary and high school first pages into one PDF and the middle school and elementary into another (attached below). I tried to select age appropriate mathematical expressions for each group - and yes, it took a while.<br/> <br/><div style="text-align: center;">Here are first page samples:</div>
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<div><p style="text-align: center;"><img width="557" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654597878?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></p>
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<div><p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img width="557" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598153?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></p>
<p> </p>
Better yet, here's a sample of "student" work from <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/Kim?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Kim</a> an MC POPPER, and Jr. High Social Studies teacher who is in my Differentiation of Instruction class this term:</div>
<div><p style="text-align: left;"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598321?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></p>
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She was reflecting on the first three chapters of one of our textbooks - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Differentiating-Instruction-Regular-Classroom-Learners/dp/1575423286/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267639068&sr=8-1"><i>Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom.</i></a><br/>
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Pretty cool, eh? Like the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-the-cartoon-did-you">Cartoon "Did You Read?" Quiz</a> and the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-connect-the-minds-ctm-1">CTM Quiz</a>, this bad boy is easy to grade and allows for an infinite number of "right answers." </div>
<div>I'm into assessments that tell us "what students know" as opposed to "what they don't know" - as such this bad boy fits the bill.<br/> <br/> I'm proud of this creation, because I DO NOT lean toward mathematical thinking - but that is the point, isn't it? I want students that AREN'T LIKE ME to find ways into whatever curriculum we're studying.<br/> <br/> I hope you enjoy this <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/the-mc-pop-playlist">playlist</a> addition. if you USE it please do scan some of your coolest student work an share it with folks here at MC POP. Student models are extremely helpful to all of us!</div>
<div>As always comments, suggestions and general discussion are always appreciated!</div>
<div>Enjoy your <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/popularmusic/forum/topics/filmhowto-article-it-might-get">journey to Math Magic Land!</a> (scroll to second video on this link if you REALLY want to go to Math Magic Land!</div>
<div><br/> RRG:)</div>
<div><strong>ED ADDITION 5.25.11</strong></div>
<div>MC POPPER <strong><a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/camillenapierbernstein">Camille Napier Bernstein</a></strong> (no known relation to the bears of the same last name) shared / attached a rubric she developed for this as well as some student samples from the novels <em>Into the Wild</em> and <em>The Great Gatsby</em> below. I thought that they were so cool that they needed to become a permanant part of this post. Talk about higher-level thinking!!! Enjoy...</div>
<center><div><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598342?profile=original"><img class="align-full" width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598342?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></a></div>
<div><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598486?profile=original"><img class="align-full" width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598486?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></a></div>
<div><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598681?profile=original"><img class="align-full" width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654598681?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></a></div>
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PLAYLIST: 'MORE' SHORT FILM LEO© for Science, Music, Art, ESL, Language Arts & Social Studies
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2010-01-13:2665237:Topic:22131
2010-01-13T15:31:33.023Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
<p>As most of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of using short films and clips in classrooms. Posts like<br></br> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/viewing-strategies-a-case">VIEWING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY</a>, <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/short-film-visual-poetry">SHORT FILM & VISUAL POETRY MOTHERLOAD OF RESOURCE</a>, and <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/viewing-strategies-a-case">VIEWING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY</a> are worth a gander if you recently joined…</p>
<p>As most of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of using short films and clips in classrooms. Posts like<br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/viewing-strategies-a-case">VIEWING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY</a>, <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/short-film-visual-poetry">SHORT FILM & VISUAL POETRY MOTHERLOAD OF RESOURCE</a>, and <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/viewing-strategies-a-case">VIEWING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY</a> are worth a gander if you recently joined MC POP.<br/> <br/> Today, I'm adding a Learning Experience Organizer (LEO) to the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/the-mc-pop-playlist">playlist</a> for Mark Osbourne's 5- minute short film "More."</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Ed. Note 8.5.11 - they pulled the short film from YouTube BUT iTunes just released a reg def and hi def version of short film for those of you who would like to own a pro copy of the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/more/id450923764" target="_blank">short click HERE.</a></strong><br/> <br/> This is the first in a series of short film LEOs I'll be sharing here over the course of the year. This film, like the others, was chosen because it is a great work of art that can be used in multiple disciplines.<br/> <br/> "More" can be used to in teach in science, art, music, ESL, foreign language, health, social studies or language arts classrooms.<br/> <br/> First, watch the film from iTunes - it is about five minutes long:<br/></p>
<p>If you would rather have a DVD of the short <b>consider purchasing the short on any of the following DVD collections:</b></p>
<p><br/> • <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Wholphin-Issues-1-5/dp/B001KO1BBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1263394623&sr=8-1-fkmr1">The Best of Wholphin: Issues 1-5 (2008</a>) also at <a target="_blank" href="http://store.mcsweeneys.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.detail/object_id/dc79b072-3f4d-48bb-9415-266571670f39/BestofWholphinVol1.cfm">David Egger's McSweeney's site.</a><br/> • <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Resfest-Shorts-Vol-2/dp/B00049QQMS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1263394702&sr=1-3">Best of Resfest Shorts, Vol. 2 (2005)</a><br/> • <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Short-7-Utopia-Mark-Mothersbaugh/dp/B00003JRCL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1263394747&sr=1-1">Short 7 - Utopia (2000)</a> The upside to this version is that it has a cool interview with the director. The downside? Because this was an early attempt at a DVD magazine you have to watch annoying commercials before viewing the short.<br/></p>
<center><b>THE "MORE" LEO</b></center>
<p><br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/Nicole?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Nicole</a> and I suggested these as <b>possible essential questions</b> for the film:<br/></p>
<center>1. What intellectual and emotional effects do “More’s” cinematic elements (setting, set design, color, lighting, camera angles, etc.) have on the viewer? 2. Do all scientific innovations represent progress? 3. Do dreams and visions come at a cost? 4. Can one buy happiness and bliss? 5. Does “the invention” serve as a metaphor for other ways people seek escape? <br/> 6. Is childhood a place of pure happiness?<br/> <br/> 7. How are “happiness” and “bliss” marketed to us on a daily basis?<br/> <br/> 8. What does “the fire in the belly” mean historically, culturally and personally?<br/> <br/> 9. Is conformity positive or negative?<br/> <br/> 10. What is the relationship between isolation, connection and success?</center>
<p><br/> The short film LEO's I'm creating are designed to be one page of background, essential questions and connections and a graphic organizer to help students with close/repeated viewing.<br/> <br/> Recenly, I presented this LEO as part of a session on short film at NCTE with <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/MaryChristel?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Mary T. Christel</a> (<i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Believing-Literacy-English-Classroom/dp/0867095733/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263394977&sr=8-1">Seeing & Believing: How to Teach Media Literacy in the English Classroom</a></i> & <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-Plans-Creating-Media-Rich-Classrooms/dp/0814130488/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263395021&sr=8-2"><i>Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms</i></a>) and <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/ElizabethStanley?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Elizabeth Stanley</a> of <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/ushistory/forum/topics/legacy-and-lessons-of-the?xg_source=activity">Bullfrog Films</a>.<br/> <br/> Short films and clips lend themselves to multiple viewings during which students can peel layers off the film. They allow you to do at least three viewings of the film in a class period. At our presentation Mary recommended teachers allow for at least three viewings. The first viewing allows students to “take it all in, and form a first impression.” The second viewing allows students to view with a specific focus and the third viewing allows the class to “put it all together.”<br/> <br/> Shorts build students’ familiarity with close viewing and repeated viewing; these skills transfer to (and from) print texts if you model and explore their similarity to re-reading and close reading. (Again see this science class example - <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/viewing-strategies-a-case">VIEWING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY</a>).<br/> <br/> I love "More" because there is no dialogue, so students are forced to concentrate on the visual (and the soundtrack) in their search for meanings. The graphic organizer I put together for the film (attached below) is all about making claims and supporting those claims with textual evidence.<br/> <br/> Unlike the massive - and extremely specific - differentiated lesson plans we create for the <a href="http://www.mindblue.com/store" target="_blank">Mindblue Music LEOs</a>, the PDF below makes suggestions for how you might connect this short to your teaching.<br/> <br/> If you check out the strategies outlined in <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-how-to-make">PLAYLIST: How To Make Curriculum Pop - A Philosophy</a> you can go to town with this text as it has so many possibilities for teachers.<br/> <br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/Nicole?xg_source=profiles_memberList">Nicole</a> and I came up with a bunch of connections and then I added suggestions from teachers who caught the presentation at NCTE.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2060641041?profile=original"/></p>
<p><br/> Looking at the list now, it might be cool for foreign language or ESL teachers to have students add subtitles to the film! Perhaps we need more language and vocabulary ideas?<br/> <br/> Additionally, people always mention that the "Happy" & "Bliss" products are like drugs. If you used that direct-link approach you could use the short in Health classes with a great song like The Verve's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Verve%20Lyrics/THE%20DRUGS%20DON'T%20WORK%20Lyrics.html">"The Drugs Don't Work."</a> Note the children playing in The Verve's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fERekxzkjFE">video</a> for the song. Very strong connection.<br/> <br/> I'd like to do another edit of this LEO where I add suggestions and edits from MC POP people - <b>what would you use "More" to teach in your classroom?<br/> <br/> Please share your ideas below!</b><br/> <br/> Thanks for reading!<br/> <br/> Ryan:)<br/> <br/> <b>DON'T FORGET</b> - the PDF is attached below. This version comes with the short film resource guide - that way if you share the doc with colleagues they will have a list of resources to help them find cool short films!<br/> <br/> RELATED POSTS:<br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-decoding-symbolic-1">PLAYLIST: Decoding Symbolic Language Part 1</a><br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-decoding-symbolic">PLAYLIST: Decoding Symbolic Language Part 2 - 10 PDF PAGES OF FUN!</a><br/> <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/artteachers/forum/topics/resource-art-inst-of-chicago">RESOURCE: Art Inst of Chicago Lesson Plan "We Will Not Become What We Mean to You" (1983) by Barbara Kruger (grades 6–12</a>)</p>
PLAYLIST: TEXT REFLECTION FUN LEO©
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-11-02:2665237:Topic:19124
2009-11-02T20:47:51.338Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
<center><i>Did we remember 2 water the plants today?
<br></br> Eye 4got 2 look up at the moon because
<br></br> Eye was 2 busy, said Eye was 2 busy
<br></br>Eye was 2 busy<br></br> Looking at you babe<br></br><br></br> from “Reflections” by Prince</i></center>
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When I originally conceived the tag line “Making Curriculum Pop” for <a href="http://mindblue.com/" target="_blank">Mindblue</a> it was - like the name Mindblue - an intentional double entendre. All this work is designed to look at ways to use…
<center><i>Did we remember 2 water the plants today?
<br/> Eye 4got 2 look up at the moon because
<br/> Eye was 2 busy, said Eye was 2 busy
<br/>Eye was 2 busy<br/> Looking at you babe<br/><br/> from “Reflections” by Prince</i></center>
<br/>
When I originally conceived the tag line “Making Curriculum Pop” for <a href="http://mindblue.com/" target="_blank">Mindblue</a> it was - like the name Mindblue - an intentional double entendre. All this work is designed to look at ways to use pop/common cultures AND ways to use best/better/cool practices to make sure students engage with the exciting world around them.<br/>
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As you have seen over the last few months I’ve been trying to share some of my best tools and tricks via this blog while collecting them in the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/the-mc-pop-playlist" target="_blank">MC Pop Playbook.</a>*<br/>
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Just like the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-the-cartoon-did-you">Cartoon ‘Did You Read?’ Quiz</a> and the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-peer-feedback-fun">Peer Feedback Fun</a> slips today’s post is another attempt at a universal tool you can rock in any discipline.<br/>
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The early evolution of this Learning Experience Organizer (LEO)© was completely developed by my superstar mom, <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/PamGoble?xg_source=profiles_memberList" target="_blank">Pam Goble</a>. During the aughts we (my mom, Nicole and me) have been teaching graduate courses in education in the Chicago suburbs. The regional office of education in DuPage County works with local universities to offer a battery of courses that give teachers three credits for six 8AM – 4:30 PM class days. Although the hours can be grueling we enjoy the format much more than regular classes.<br/>
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In order to conserve time and energy my mom developed a lunch break practice for these graduate courses called "read and feed." We extended the thirty minutes allocated for lunch into a 60-minute working session where teachers/students read and reflect on 2-3 journal articles while they grub. We always differentiate the task by offering a choice of six articles; we require them to read and respond to two.<br/>
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In my opinion, one of the most common teaching mistakes is assigning reading without any guide to create a footprint for learning and interaction with a text. I have certainly been guilty of this practice in the past. These days when I do classroom observations and watch the teacher assign a reading or show a film with out any reflection tools for students my heart sinks. This is a sure fire way to make sure students won't interact with a text beyond the surface content.<br/>
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As we all know, there are a million great ways to respond to reading – journals, Mind Maps, graphic organizers and drawings to name a few – but the one we’ve used most consistently in the aforementioned graduate course setting is this simple Article Reflection Guide. It creates a strong focus and deeper reading of a text without taking epic amounts of in-class instructional time.<br/>
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Here’s my mother’s original PDF - used without fail for about six years:<br/>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588289?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
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Over the years we kept talking about how we needed to expand from the article reflections into audio, speaker, and chapter reflections. We may still create a series of more specialized guides. In the meantime, this fall, I had another one of those “duh” moments and decided we could get all post-modern, call all the different forms of media “texts” and create a universal “Text Reflection Guide.” Here’s that PDF (also attached below for your use):<br/>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588375?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
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Like the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-peer-feedback-fun">Peer Feedback Fun</a> slips and the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-the-cartoon-did-you">Cartoon ‘Did You Read?’ Quiz</a> this LEO© is designed to test students not on what they don’t know <b>but what they do know</b>. Questions are open ended and not lower level like most chapter review questions - do any of these look familiar?<br/>
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<center><br/> Who is Atticus Finch? <br/><br/> What is an atom?<br/><br/> Whose assassination was considered a major cause of World War I?<br/><br/> What is a fraction?</center>
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These type of questions have their place, but it should be a small place in relation to more open-ended. interactive questions. Students are so familiar with the lower level "chapter review" questions and generally know how to skim texts for those answers. By definition skimming <b>will not</b> get you below the surface of a text.<br/>
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Like other tools in the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/page/the-mc-pop-playlist" target="_blank">MC POP Playlist</a> this LEO©:<br/>
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<b>1. Is differentiated.</b> Remember, <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/groundhog-class">differentiation</a> can be done by offering choices around <b>content, processes and product.</b> Most of this LEO© allows students to choose what <b>content</b> they are going to respond to and how they are going to <b>process</b> that content. This allows each student to create slightly differentiated <b>product</b> (aka learning footprints).<br/>
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<b>2. Creates footprints of student learning.</b> When my undergrads asked practicing teachers how they know students are learning at least three teachers said, “I just know from the look in their eyes.”<br/>
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If we want folks - especially policy makers - to take our profession seriously we need to be able to show evidence of student learning. If you’re an administrator you might like to call these LEOs© “data.” These little learning footprints will capture feedback about students’ successes, struggles and ideas that can be used to adjust instruction.<br/>
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<b>3. Shift students from passive to active learning.</b> Instead of passive reading students now have a focus for interacting with a text.<br/>
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<b>4. Holds students and teachers accountable for learning outcomes.</b> Oh, snap! I used the "A" word again!<br/>
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We’ve had the most success using this with short articles but I think the remixed version should work well with a myriad of texts.<br/>
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The documents have been extremely useful in high school and college settings. I suspect they could be easily modified/simplified for the K-8 set.<br/>
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We hope you enjoy this track and it becomes one of your greatest hits!<br/>
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Good Vibes,<br/>
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Ryan<br/>
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PS- Remember, the PDF is attached below.<br/>
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* “Standing In the Shower, Thinking” I realized, for a bunch of reasons, that I don’t like the playbook metaphor. In the coming weeks I’ll be reinventing the playbook as a playlist – a more meaningful musical metaphor. Stay tuned for revisions.
PLAYLIST: Decoding Symbolic Language Part 2 - 9 PDF PAGES OF FUN!
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-10-09:2665237:Topic:18288
2009-10-09T10:24:03.041Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
In yesterday's <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-decoding-symbolic-1">post</a> I talked about symbols in life and art. We're constantly encoding and decoding symbols every time we send or receive a "message."<br></br>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654586818?profile=original"></img></p>
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This is even more intense for students because they are bombarded by new and different messages every time they change classes. They might need to decode an equation in math, a paining in art, a word problem…
In yesterday's <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playlist-decoding-symbolic-1">post</a> I talked about symbols in life and art. We're constantly encoding and decoding symbols every time we send or receive a "message."<br/>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654586818?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
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This is even more intense for students because they are bombarded by new and different messages every time they change classes. They might need to decode an equation in math, a paining in art, a word problem in science, a primary source document in history, sheet music during band or the facial expressions of their best friend in between periods. We're all living in a symbolic world loaded with <b>culturally constructed and contested meanings.</b><br/>
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How can we teach students to make meanings? Many folks are trying to help us do this by talking about literacy. In the last thirty years this print-centric word has been used to refer to the act of encoding and decoding in every discipline - have you heard about scientific literacy, media literacy, historical literacy, or my favorite, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Innumeracy-Mathematical-Illiteracy-Its-Consequences/dp/0809058405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255127972&sr=8-1" target="_blank">innumeracy</a> - the fancy work for mathematical Illiteracy? Everyone is working on making meanings.<br/>
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How does one teach students literacy strategies that are transferrable to all the disciplines that are a part of our daily lives?<br/>
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The first answer might be to find a good literacy specialist - these folks are pros at teaching readers to be meta-cognitive about the act of reading.<br/>
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The second answer might be to use some simple strategy like the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playbook-annotation-reading" target="_blank">"reading with your pen"</a> moves showcased in the playbook. This tool scaffolds "active reading."<br/>
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But what kind of lesson can you do to teach students strategies for decoding texts they might not understand? The artwork of Xu Bing (showcased <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/playbook-decoding-symbolic" target="_blank">yesterday</a>) gave Nicole and I excuse to create a fun lesson to deal with this challenge.<br/><div><br/><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587350?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br/>
This text is part of artist Xu Bing’s novel <i>Book from the Ground</i>. Bing has written this story in a “language of icons” that he has collected. In his artist’s statement Bing says, “regardless of cultural background, one should be able understand the text as long as one is thoroughly entangled in modern life.”<br/>
<br/>
You probably have some ideas what this story might be about. If you want to explore the icons on your own - skip ahead, don't read the translation.<br/>
<br/>
Due to the size restrictions of this web page you might have a hard time reading the translation below. If it is too small for you to read I suggest you go read the interactive (and slightly different) online translation <a href="http://www.bookfromtheground.com/momastory_.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.<br/>
<br/>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588015?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">At the bottom of this post I have uploaded a BETA Learning Experience Organizer (LEO) should you want to use this text in your class to talk about making meaning, codes, symbols, reading, writing, and understanding. The LEO is ten pages long and it is loaded with graphic organizers to scaffold your instruction.</p>
<br/>
I used this LEO in my "Literacy Across the Curriculum" class for undergrads. In that class Bing's story was a model for what students might experience when they're asked to process a challenging text. From there we were able to develop reading strategies that would apply in any discipline.<br/>
<br/>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588390?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588821?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br/>
Nicole used the same LEO in her high school classes to talk about:<br/>
1. symbolism in writing<br/>
2. symbolism in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem <i>Beowulf</i><br/>
3. the evolution of Middle English into Modern English.<br/>
<br/>
Her students, being quite gifted, spent a lot of time "talking back" to Xu Bing's <a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2007/automatic_update/subs_wrapper.php?section=xubing_interview.html" target="_blank">artist's statement</a>.<br/>
<br/>
<table>
<tbody><tr><td><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654589043?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654589253?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br/>
Please check out the LEO below if you're interested in creating a learning experience for students using Xu Bing's art. Additionally, please post any feedback on the LEO in the discussion forum below - especially if you catch any typos! We will happily update the document based on your feedback and ideas.<br/>
<br/>
<b>Additional references:</b><br/>
<a href="http://www.xubing.com/index.php" target="_blank">Xu Bing's Website</a><br/>
Xu Bing's <a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2007/automatic_update/subs_wrapper.php?section=xubing_interview.html" target="_blank">artist's statement</a> for "Book From The Ground"<br/>
The "Book From the Ground" <a href="http://www.bookfromtheground.com/home_language.htm" target="_blank">homepage</a><br/>
The "Book from the Ground" <a href="http://www.bookfromtheground.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page" target="_blank">wiki</a> - Contains the full index of Xu Bing's icon dictionary.<div><br/></div>
<div><b>EDITOR'S NOTE 4.21.10:</b> </div>
<div>• PDF was updated on 4.21.10</div>
<div>• On 4.20.10 <i><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2010/04/xu-bing.html">The New Yorker</a></i> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2010/04/xu-bing.html">did an exculsive online interview with Mr. Bing</a> about his decision to move back to China in 2008. Very interesting for those interested in learning more about Xu</div>
<div><br/><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654589227?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</div>
</div>
PLAYLIST: Decoding Symbolic Language Part 1
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-10-08:2665237:Topic:18232
2009-10-08T16:41:47.926Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
Like those famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics" target="_blank">semioticians</a>, I'd argue that we’re all living in a <b>symbolic world</b> loaded with <b>culturally constructed and contested meanings</b>. I'd also argue that decoding and encoding symbols for meaning is the essence of this thing we call literacy.<br></br>
<br></br>
In the 80's when E.D. Hirsch was busy defining…
Like those famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics" target="_blank">semioticians</a>, I'd argue that we’re all living in a <b>symbolic world</b> loaded with <b>culturally constructed and contested meanings</b>. I'd also argue that decoding and encoding symbols for meaning is the essence of this thing we call literacy.<br/>
<br/>
In the 80's when E.D. Hirsch was busy defining <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Literacy-Every-American-Needs/dp/0394758439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255016126&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Cultural Literacy</a>, Paulo Freire was taking about literacy as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Literacy-Reading-World-Paulo-Freire/dp/0710214170/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_6" target="_blank">“reading the word and the world.”</a> Long before either of these literacies were popularized medieval monks articulated the same metaphor through the phrase <i>liber munti</i> - the "book of the world."<br/>
<br/>
By the late 1980's "reading and writing" transformed into a panoply of literacies; economic, political, social, emotional, historical, mathematical, visual and media literacy are just a few of the terms that have become a part of our educational lexicon over the last twenty-five years.<br/>
<br/>
Whether your trying to teach students the names of colors, how to read an equation, how to understand the periodic table, or how to understand a blog, educators are always engaging students in the work of decoding and encoding symbols. These actions, oft referred to as literacy, are at the heart of education.<br/>
<br/>
Below is a short story called “Book from the Ground” created by the artist Chinese American Artist Xu Bing:<br/>
<br/>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587350?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
Image ©Xu Bing courtesy of Xu Bing Studio<br/>
<br/>
Can you make sense of it? Some of the symbols look familiar, but is there a story here?<br/>
<br/>
Maybe you need some guidance? Here’s a little blurb from Bing’s statement about his work, “Regarding Book from the Ground”...<br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>Book from the Ground is a novel written in a "language of icons" that I have been collecting and organizing over the last few years. Regardless of cultural background, one should be able understand the text as long as one is thoroughly entangled in modern life. We have also created a "font library" computer program to accompany the book. The user can type English sentences (we are still limited in this way, but the next step will include Chinese and other major languages) and the computer will instantaneously translate them into this language of icons. It can function as a "dictionary," and in the future it will have practical applications.
</blockquote>
<br/>
Nicole and I first saw this piece at an exhibit called <a href="http://collections.madmuseum.org/code/emuseum.asp?style=browse&currentrecord=1&page=seealso&profile=exhibitions&searchdesc=Past%20Exhibitions&searchstring=Past/,/greater%20than/,/0/,/false/,/true&action=searchrequest&style=single&currentrecord=6" target="_blank">“Second Lives: Remixing The Ordinary”</a> at the museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York. MAD builds on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement" target="_blank">arts and crafts movement</a> made famous by William Morris in the late 19th Century by carefully blurring the hierarchies among art, craft, and design.<br/>
<br/>
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<br/>
The three pieces above are also from the "Second Lives" exhibit. The vinyl records morphing into butterflies (<i>My Back Pages</i> by Paul Villinski) were featured in advertisements - that image was intriguing enough to convince us to head down to Columbus Circle to see the works in person.<br/>
<br/>
The other images require deeper viewing to understand what materials are being remixed in their "second lives." Terese Agnew’s <i>Portrait of a Textile Worker</i> is a wall size tapestry. As you walk closer to the wall hanging you suddenly notice that the entire image was created by stitching clothing labels together.<br/>
<center><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587563?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</center>
Deeply seeing this piece suddenly makes you think carefully about the people and labor that brings your clothing to life. A wall of clothing labels and the larger image they create become "symbolic" of <a href="http://www.tardart.com/html/ptw.php" target="_blank">much larger ideas</a>.<br/>
<br/>
The “Quarter Lounge” is made entirely of – you guessed it – "over 5000 Quarters, which required 27,000 welds to a substructure made of stainless steel." What does the use of this media/currency become symbolic of for you?<br/>
<center><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587755?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</center>
For the artist and the art teacher, these types of works open up a world of possibility. Joe Fusaro over at PBS's <a href="http://www.pbs.org/art21/" target="_blank">Art:21</a> talks about the educational power of these works in his blog <a href="http://blog.art21.org/2009/03/25/remixing-transformation/" target="_blank">“Remixing. Transformation.”</a><br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>Works like these teach students to think beyond conventional art media. They teach students that you do not need expensive art supplies to create beautiful and unique objects that become something else in the hands of an artist…. And since so much in the world of contemporary art deals with transformation, this museum visit is an important step for my students to take in order to understand the breadth of visual possibilities in materials they encounter each and every day.</blockquote>
<br/>
But most of us aren’t art teachers, so what do artworks like this have to teach us and our students?<br/>
<br/>
"Culturally constructed symbolic codes" are commonly refereed to as "symbols" or "languages." Whenever I teach a novel, play or short story there is always, without fail, some student who asks, “do you really think the author intended to use <i>that thing</i> as a symbol?”<br/>
<br/>
This question becomes an excuse to ask students if there were any symbols that had an impact on their lives. They often talk about clothing, traffic signals or musicians. They know about symbols in social groups - symbols and styles indigenous to Goths are different from the ones embraced by Hip-Hoppers, Metalheads, or Emo kids.<br/>
<br/>
After they discuss symbols in their immediate environment I like move discussion to a symbol that is getting a lot of national media attention. Here are some interesting case studies from the last decade that might be give you some ideas...<br/>
<br/>
In roughly cronological order:<br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate4.html" target="_blank">"South Carolina's Confederate Flag Comes Down"</a> - From Infoplease.com<br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/28/ING2J5QFT81.DTL" target="_blank">"Bush and art: way beyond Mapplethorpe"</a> = From <i>The SanFrancisco Gate</i><br/>
<br/>
NCAA Executive Committee Issues <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/NCAA/Media%20and%20Events/Press%20Room/News%20Release%20Archive/2005/Announcements/NCAA%20Executive%20Committee%20Issues%20Guidelines%20for%20Use%20of%20Native%20American%20Mascots%20at%20Championship%20Events" target="_blank">Guidelines For Use Of Native American Mascots</a> At Championship Events - From NCAA.org<br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.ur.umich.edu/0506/Feb06_06/13.shtml" target="_blank">"Activist says eliminating Native mascots 'an issue of dignity'"</a> - From the <i>University of Michigan Record</i><br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16637019/" target="_blank">"Dems want confederate flag off S.C. grounds"</a> - From MSNBC<br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-02-14/news/the-cartoons-conspiracy/" target="_blank">"The Cartoons Conspiracy</a> - The story behind the story of the furor over the Muhammad cartoons" - from <i>The Village Voice</i><br/>
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<a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1779544,00.html" target="_blank">Obama's Flag Pin Flip-Flop?</a> - Time Magazine<br/>
<br/>
From here it is easy to talk with students about the practical and political power of symbols. It takes a long time for societies and cultures to agree on the meaning of codes and symbols - consensus can be formal, in informal or nonexistent when it comes to meaning.<br/>
<br/>
The first three colored traffic lights were introduced in 1920. Creating common traffic signs and symbols became such a big international issue that the League of Nations (now the United Nations) created within the Ministry of Transport the Permanent Committee on Road Traffic in 1927. By 1934 the League’s Ministry of Transport <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3884/is_200609/ai_n17189350/" target="_blank">issued a law</a> that urged all municipalities and other road authorities to adapt the three-color system in traffic lights. Shared symbolic meaning became essential to ensure trans-national road safety in a decentralized Europe.<br/>
<br/>
Looking carefully at symbols, their history and impact is not limited to those working in big disciplines like cultural studies and semiotics at the post-secondary level. We're constantly asked to decode symbols.<br/>
<br/>
Can you decode this?<br/>
<center><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587836?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</center>
Additional info on this code here: <a href="http://www.timestar.org/ccchilbolton.htm">http://www.timestar.org/ccchilbolton.htm</a><br/>
<br/>
How about this?<br/>
<center><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654592726?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
</center>
<br/>
How about some outdated symbols? Here are the first lines of the <a href="http://www8.georgetown.edu/departments/medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html" target="_blank">famous epic poem <i>Beowulf</i></a> in Middle English aka Indeterminate Saxon.<br/>
<blockquote>Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, <br/>þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,<br/> hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. <br/>Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,<br/><br/> monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,<br/>
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,<br/>
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra<br/>
</blockquote>
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Everyday, we have students in our classes who look at handouts, films or textbooks and feel as daunted as some of us are by as the symbolic codes above.<br/>
<br/>
This is where Xu Bing’s “Book from the Ground” comes in as a powerful teaching tool.<br/>
<br/>
<b>Stay tuned for our tomorrow’s Decoding Symbolic Language/“Book From Above” lesson plan/PDF!</b><br/>
<br/>
Happy Decoding,<br/>
<br/>
RRG:)
SPOTLIGHT: INTERNATIONAL COMICS EXCHANGE EXCITEMENT!
tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-10-05:2665237:Topic:18115
2009-10-05T20:40:34.029Z
Ryan Goble
http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
There are so many talents to be envious of. For me, I guess I’m most jealous of artists, as their skills seem like magic above all others – even Harry Potter's magic! I feel like I have deep understandings of art and visual culture but any aptitude I had in this domain vanished after my last high school art class.<br />
<br />
To celebrate this oft overlooked discipline that is always in danger of being cut from school budgets this week will be all about ways to use art, artists and visual culture in K-12…
There are so many talents to be envious of. For me, I guess I’m most jealous of artists, as their skills seem like magic above all others – even Harry Potter's magic! I feel like I have deep understandings of art and visual culture but any aptitude I had in this domain vanished after my last high school art class.<br />
<br />
To celebrate this oft overlooked discipline that is always in danger of being cut from school budgets this week will be all about ways to use art, artists and visual culture in K-12 classrooms.<br />
<br />
You might have seen today’s artist poking around the special interest groups making interesting comments with his wacky one-eyed avatar...<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587050?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br />
MC POPPER <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/MarekBennett" target="_blank">Marek Bennett</a> teaches music in elementary schools two days a week and spends the remainder of his time as an artist-in-residence in elementary classrooms around New England and the world.<br />
<br />
In addition to this work Marek runs the <a href="http://comicsinternational.ning.com/" target="_blank">Comics International Ning</a>. At first the title was a bit confusing to me as “Comics International” could be interpreted so many ways. After poking around the site a bit I started to get a sense of Marek’s unique, adventurous and trans-national ideas.<br />
<br />
Marek has a vision of kids all over the world communicating with each other about their lives via comics. Ambitious, you bet. The scale of his vision didn’t quite hit me until I started reading sample pages from his recently published <i><a href="http://www.marekbennett.com/blog/2009/08/nicaragua-comics-travel-journal/" target="_blank">Nicaragua Travel Journal</a></i>.<br />
<br />
The concept is something like this:<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587416?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587553?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br />
Students in his New Hampshire comics workshops drew stories about their lives, town and things they care about. He brought those comics to Nicaragua and taught the students the international language … of Comics!<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587804?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br />
He scraped together relatively small amounts of cash (explained in the full sample pages) including an NEA grant. He was able to do this:<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587844?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br />
It is one thing to dream these type of projects - to realize them is an extremely impressive feat. They say you can tell something about an artist from their use of line – I found a slightly spazzy energy and excitement to Marek's lines that must have been essential to making this project take flight.<br />
<br />
I recently bought the entire <i>Nicaragua Travel Journal</i> from Marek’s website for a mere ten clams. At <a href="http://www.marekbennett.com/blog/2009/08/nicaragua-comics-travel-journal/" target="_blank">this site</a> you can download a 24-page <a href="http://www.marekbennett.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/HSR-CE-SAMPLE-090821.pdf" target="_blank">PDF sample</a> of his journal. I pulled all the comic excerpts that you're reading in this blog from that PDF.<br />
<br />
What I find to be incredible about Marek's work is how useful this could be in so many disciplines. What a great way to share language, culture, geography, and ideas while bringing kids into the wonderful world of visual communication and comic art. Parts of his journal are really touching.<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654587995?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2654588304?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br />
The emotional range of his comic is one of many reasons I would suggest using Marek’s journal in an English class.<br />
<br />
Beyond that, his concept is more interactive and "connected" than a similar, and also impressive project that started at Teachers College Columbia University - <a href="http://www.comicbookproject.org/historynf.htm" target="_blank">The Comic Book Project.</a> Comics exchanges could clearly be utilized at different levels for different purposes. It is not a stretch to think about having the prompts being about local history, environment, economy, schools, or entertainment. It seems to me that his project has infinite possibilities and I certainly look forward to more updates about Marek's energetic and inspiring work with elementary students.<br />
<br />
To read more about the Marek’s project check and Comics Workshops check out:<br />
<br />
The Henniker San Ramon Sister Community Website:<br />
<a href="http://hennikersanramon.blogspot.com/search/label/projects">http://hennikersanramon.blogspot.com/search/label/projects</a><br />
<br />
Marek’s blogs and photos from the trip are at his website:<br />
<a href="http://www.marekbennett.com/comicsworkshop/comics-workshops/henniker-san-ramon-comics-exchange/">http://www.marekbennett.com/comicsworkshop/comics-workshops/henniker-san-ramon-comics-exchange/</a><br />
<br />
Info about Marek's Comics Workshop:<br />
<a href="http://www.marekbennett.com/comicsworkshop/">http://www.marekbennett.com/comicsworkshop/</a><br />
<br />
In many ways Marek's work is a nice sister project to MC POPPER <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/HilaryBehrman" target="_blank">Hilary Behrman’s</a> impressive "<a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/profiles/blogs/final-project-making" target="_blank">Journey Home"</a> video exchange between her middle school students in Darien, Connecticut and kids in Darién, Panamá. Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the blog so you can watch the very high quality student videos.<br />
<br />
As a reminder, if you like to use visual things and “art” in your classroom you might want to join the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/artteachers" target="_blank">Art and Visual Culture</a> group here on MC POP.<br />
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If you love graphic novels and comics, be sure to join the <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/graphicnovelscomics" target="_blank">Graphic Novels & Comics</a> group.<br />
<br />
If you're more interested in digital storytelling perhaps you can join Hilary's <a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/digitalstorytelling" target="_blank">Digital Storytelling Group</a>.<br />
<br />
All these groups are exciting places for you to add ideas and share resources!<br />
<br />
Merry Monday!<br />
<br />
RRG:)