Project #1: Mo Willems Author Study
Right now kindergarten is doing a Mo Willems author study. To make sure they get the entire Mo Willems experience I collaborated with the technology and art teacher to expand the project. In technology they will visit the Mo Willems website, listen to stories, draw a picture of the pigeon on the computer, and make their own monster (inspired by Leonardo the Terrible Monster) on Build Your Wild Self. In art they will explore the Knuffle Bunny books and recreate the artisitc technique of using real backgrounds with a drawing on top.
Their visits to the Media Center will span 4 weeks which will allow all 6 classes to come.
Week 1: Read Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs and then sort, count, and graph dinosaurs.
Week 2: Pigeon
Listen to Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late and The Duckling Gets a Cookie. They will then use the tablets to explore Don't Let the Run this App.
Week 3: Elephant and Piggie.
Watch Mo Willems make slop and then read I Really Like Slop, Waiting is Not Easy, and We Are in a Book. Students will choose which character is their favorite and make an Elephant or Piggie headband. They will also receive an Elephant and Piggie sticker.
Week 4: Celebration
After exploring so many Mo Willems books it is time to celebrate. Students will listen to I Am Invited to a Party and That is Not a Good Idea. They will also play bingo, receive an activity book made from the numerous activities available from Mo Willems site, and eat a chocolate chip cookie.
Project #2: Stop Motion
I have a 3rd and 4th grade special and see the students about 6 times during a 9 week period. With so much time we are diving into stop motion. Students will work with a partner to make a stop motion to review a science topic they learned about. When I explained to the students what we were doing they were very excited and most had never heard of stop motion. They were even more excited when I shared examples I found on YouTube.
Here is our 6 week plan.
Day 1: Research the topic and find 6-10 facts.
Day 2: Complete the storyboard to plan out the project.
Day 3: Work on background and props.
Day 4: Use Stop Motion Studio to take pictures for the Stop Motion movie.
Day 5: Finish taking pictures and record narration.
Day 6: Finish pictures, narration, and select background music.
Here are a few pictures from the beginning of the projects.
Third and fourth grade using their research and storyboards to create their props and background.