Are you considering trying a STEAM-infused student-choice-driven product into a curriculum that is usually paper and pen based? Ms. Brown and I use these talking points to introduce Maker Movement STEAM-infused learning into her sevent grade English Language Arts class for a novel project.  



Here is the basic gist of how we introduced it together that you can adapt to suit your needs:

• Say:

 "A new project is coming."

• Show photos of maker projects from last year's Whirligig unit
  
• Discuss why each is special (use of Minecraft redstone to power, battery power instead of wind, recycled materials, artistic theme...)
  
• Ask students:
  

"Does each person in this classroom in back and in front and on side of you know what you are amazing at?" Does Ms Brown? Do you?

• Explain the Maker Movement and why you assigning a maker project in your class:

"The Maker Movement is something teachers are excited about in education because it gives you an opportunity to use your gifts that may not be traditionally gifts you can use or show off in school.
Now some of you are straight A students (is it cool to be straight A? Yes it is!) and for you writing might be your gift. You should choose to re write the ending. 
Maybe writing is your thing but you are usually a songwriter - then write a song.
Maybe you struggle with words but you are good at building. This is your chance to use that skill. Many people say that the future will need you to use your skills for entrepreneurship more than we had to in Ms. Brown and my's day.  So you need to know what your good at and how to sell yourself as a brand so people will want to hire you.  
Don't choose the art choice if you don't have still in drawing. Don't wait til the last day and try to draw something on the bus when you have no skill, haven't made it special. 
If you know what makes you special, then do that. If you don't know come see me in the media center and I'll help you choose. 
One skill that is becoming more and more important is the skill of videography. (Tell story of $75,000 Belk Video Contest) If you'd like to do a video trailer of the book, I will be back next week to show you how. You need to really tell the story with video. Make a trailer, but don't make a video that doesn't really speak to the book or show your knowledge of the characters.  
Maybe you'd like to create a 3D Object- Choose the whirligig building choice. If you know someone who is good with tools and that is something you'd like to do ask them to help you build with wood. You can also just cut paper and straws. But whatever you do make it great. 
One of the points of maker movement is to use skills we don't always give you a chance to develop in school.  You can code a whirligig in Scratch, engineer one to move, anything you want. But start work early so you have time to do a good job, or to fail and decide you want to change. Don't wait unitl the due date. Show off so I can post it and make you famous! Hopefully what you make will inspire other students to be their best and other teachers to try more projects like this. 

• Remind students of the content goal:
  

Don't forget to pay attention as your read so you can find themes and details to make your work amazing. 

• Offer support:
  

Don't be frustrated by false starts and prototype failures that are part of the maker process. If you can't start or get overwhelmed,  see me for help.


RELATED POSTS:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/celebrating-piedmont/whirligigs-an-example-of-maker-movement-in-education
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/have-students-make-a-movie
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/makerspace-resources4pbl
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/celebrating-piedmont/love-of-learning-at-piedmont

In light of us going 1:1 at Piedmont, here is a great site with plenty of lessons on digital citizenship for your to reinforce with your students.   If you want a subject-specific lesson, see Lisa Gurthie and she can run one or help you embed it into  your curriculum.
 
http://wikieducator.org/Digital_Citizenship

Select from one of these 10 topics then choose intermediate level for middle school lessons.

1. Defining digital citizenshipPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
2. Basic ICT skillsPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
3. Online safety, privacy and sharing Primary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
4. Copyright, copyleft & plagiarism Primary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary5. Online relationshipsPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
6. Online researchPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
7. Critical thinkingPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
8. Honesty, integrity and ethical behaviourPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
9. Developing portfoliosPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary
10. Promoting digital citizenshipPrimary  |  Intermediate  |  Secondary

Related Posts:
More Digital Citizenship Resources:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/digital-citizenship
The lesson 7th grade science uses to introduce Digital Citizenship with an emphasis on Website Assessment:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/intro-to-digital-citizenship-swim-theme

Click the image to go to a list of great resources on the internet and privacy.

Many teachers here at Piedmont have used student-created movies to teach their content. Above are just two examples - a stop motion film of an scene from Seedfolks for Language arts and a video of a student created Minecraft Pyramid from Mrs. Kay's social studies Ancient Egypt unit. 

Try these lesson plans to get started 

• Example of Instructions to Students: Coach Ashley's Dance Movie Assignment
• http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/vocabulary-learning-filmmaking-vocabulary-30683.html?tab=4#session7
  
• http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/movie-making-classroom
  

Our School Resources:

1. Student BYOT devices with a camera and free or paid video editing app 
   
2. our iPads have Movie Maker, Action Movie HD, and iMotionHD loaded
   
3. Our Makerspace's Video SteamCart http://piratesteamship.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/STEAMshipCarts Tech Theater: Photography and Videography STEAMcart Contains:
   

• Greenscreen
• Video slapboard

• How to Book and How to Videos http://video.klutz.com/animation/
• Various cameras- video and still (students may also use their phones and BYOT devices)
• Paper and markers for paper slide videos
• 37 beanie babies for puppet theater or stop motion videos
• lego bricks and figures for stop motion videos
• How to Make RSA animate Style Videos
• Goal Setting, Goal Achieving, and Bulldog puppets

Recommended BYOT apps for movie making :

1. iMovie  Videolicious if students cannot get iMovie
   
2. Action Movie HD
   
3. Lego Movie
   
4. Do Ink App - (costs $2.99) Do Ink  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/green-screen-by-do-ink/id730091131?mt=8
   

If using a shared ipad, you can upload and download the video as needed from Google Drive:
(Sorry I ironically broke the cardinal rule of movie making - NEVER HOLD  YOUR DEVICE LONGWAYS Learn from my mistake!)

This video shows how to upload and share from your device

This video shows how to turn in a video link for an assigment on Google Classroom

Modern life is caught up in media. We receive both and good and bad messages from many different mediums: TV Movies, Social Media and other internet sources.

One job of 21st century schooling is to teach students to be media savvy both in critically assessing what comes to them ("Fight the media!") and in being able to share their own clear positive message across different platforms  for their "digital footprint" ("Don't fight the media!") With that in mind here are a few ways to integrate media messages into your content:

Old School Meets New School
Google Docs Newspaper Templates- Super easy now with Google Drive-- All students do to make a realistic newspaper is choose one of these templates while signed into google docs, then replace the "boilerplate" text and images with their own. done!
More here http://www.scoop.it/t/creating-newspapers-in-the-classroom

New School Gets Even More Fresh:

Social Media and Movie Making
Mrs. Stevenson is chock full of amazing ideas to freshen up content. Her history classes are full of modern life. Steal the following ideas from her like I did:

• Make an emoji sentence to express today's lesson
  
• Make a meme to express today's lesson
  
• Write a Tweet or a hashtag to summarize today's content.
  

Basically any content you cover in class can be used by students to create humorous, moving and informational Vines, movies, gifs...allow students to create their own messages and then share what makes the best ones work. Let students know that all art is deriviative and you can "steal" the best ideas and make them your own and even better!  That is what is considered growth.  Not only are they motivated to learn when they are creating, they will also learn important lessons about visual literacy and persuasion that will serve them in any career they choose!

Related:
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/intro-to-digital-citizenship-swim-theme
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/credible-sources-lesson
http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/have-students-make-a-movie

Many ready-made lessons on Diigital Citizenship here http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/web/curriculum/

• Class 1: Become an Online Sleuth
  • In this class, students will identify guidelines for evaluating the credibility of content online.
  • Students will be able to answer the essential question: Why is it important to be alert and check sources while exploring online?
  • This class includes pre and post-assessments and several activities for students.
• Class 2: Manage your Digital Footprint
  • Students will be empowered with the information to make safe and appropriate decisions online by learning the importance of online citizenship, how to manage and create a positive reputation online and how to always explore the Internet and other digital communication in a safe manner.
  • This class is divided into three lessons: Protect Your Stuff, Be Respectful to Yourself and Others, and “Street Smart”.
  • Each lesson includes pre and post-assessments, guidelines, and several fun activities for students.
• Class 3: Identify Tricks and Scams Online
  • In this lesson, students will learn how to avoid online tricks and scams, and learn best practices of how to conduct themselves online.
  • Students will be able to answer the essential question: How do I protect myself against online tricks?
  • This class includes pre and post-assessments, tips on spotting scams, and an activity to reinforce guidelines on avoiding scams and cyber tricks.

Searchable database of resources here

• https://sites.google.com/a/cms.k12.nc.us/digital-citizenship/

My Ready-Made Lessons here

• http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/intro-to-digital-citizenship-swim-theme
  
• http://piedmontpd.weebly.com/lesson-ideas/credible-sources-lesson

Digital Citizenship Online Youtube Channel Curriculum here

•  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8TjVyuBdsCnH82lLePgGdbFmc-C-CjQe
  

Digital Footprint Resources

• Students who need toclean up their digital footprints can go here.
  
• Digital Footprint lesson here- Or see Ms. Lyttle and Ms. Burick http://msgurthie.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Your+Digital+Footprint

Note - one's didgital foo

Do you know that IQ is a myth? That the test was never meant to be given to neurologically healthy individuals and especially for it not to be used for ranking. Yes, there is such a thing as talent, but IQ is not fixed and everyone is gifted at something. Do your students know this? It's time to tell them because students who believe there is such a thing as "smart" or "dumb" do not try as hard as those who believe that smart can be achieved with effort. 

For more on growth mindset google Carol Dweck

Following is a Youtube Playlist of videos that explain growth mindset. I am in a training right now that says we should explicitly teach students growth mindset. The video they used (in the playlist) is called Austin's Butterfly and it shows the butterfly images in the photo below. It illustrates how students can all get better over time with focused effort and constructive feedback.  If you take time to show how this first grader improved his butterfly drawings from drawing one to drawing six,  students will be more likely to trust that they will improve equally stunningly in your class. 

Another growth mindset example students might understand is the video game example. When a student starts out on level one and they die, they are not sad about it, they just keep going knowing full well that they will improve with practice. Help them transfer that surety and confidence to the effort they put into your classroom. 

See me if you want to connect this to your actual content lesson in a more direct way or if you want me to come speak as a former psych teacher to your students about neuroplasticity (I can even tell them about the student I taught who LITERALLY had half a brain- and her entire brain rewired so you would never even notice!)

1. Go to Classroom at classroom.google.com or click the icon as in the photo above.
   
2. Log in as you would from a school chromebook.    First time logging into classroom? See below *
3. From the home page, click the + icon.
4. Enter the code that your teacher gave you in the box and click JOIN. (see photo below)

* first time logging in scroll down the "welcome" page until you see the box that says "I'm a student" Click it and then you will see the plus sign (a chalk arrow points to it!)

• make sure you Log in to Google Drive using your SCHOOL (gaggle.net) email address
  
• Your Google Drive and Google Classroom login is the same as your school chromebook login. 
  
• Classroom is totally glitchy now so don't freak out if something doesn't work the first time. Wait. Re read these instructions. Refresh the page. it will get better and we are sending in suggestions each day.

Thank you for helping us test it out! This will all make an amazing story to tell your grandkids when you are old "back in my day we used to have to turn in assigments by writing on paper! I remember when we first got Google Classroom..."

Dont forget to sign out:

b22238Thanks to @btcostello05 on Twitter who pointed out to me that that this is the last year any k-8 students would have been born before 9/11. His school event and the members of his Voxer group also inspired this post. And thanks to@artlaflamme for suggesting the documentary.

The following lesson was created after reading the children's book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein.  

It tells the true story (nonfiction alert for your Common Core needs!) of Mr. Phillipe Petit walking the wires between the Twin Towers when the World Trade Center was first built.
Documentary footage here

The stunt embodies beautiful messages of hope in humanity and of optimism and creativity.
It should inspire some good conversations if you read it and discuss with your class.

It can be an accompaniment to a more traditional memorial lesson or a good note to end on that may help heal hurts.

5 Steps Lesson :

1- intro 

Introduce the purpose. "Today is 9/11 and on this day in history we memorialize those who died in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City among other locations.
The Twin towers were the tallest towers in the world - a quarter of a mile high. One little-known fact about them is that when they were first built, a high rope walker actually walked on a wire between them! He snuck up to their roof, shot an arrow with a wire on it across to his friends on the other tower and then performed for amazed onlookers for more than an hour in the sky!

That daredevil's name is Phillipe Petit and he has some inspiring words for you about how to follow your dreams and achieve the impossible. 

2- Read storybook and/or show one of the following video clips, depending on the ages or interests of your students:

• Tightrope walk with a million views - http://youtu.be/6ddpV1GvF7E
  
• Movie Trailer - http://youtu.be/EIawNRm9NWM
• Picture book read aloud (it is great to share with students however his French name is mispronounced): 
  

3- Discussion Questions and larger lesson tie ins:

"He looked not at the towers but at the space between them"
Issue: Thinking "outside the box" and an artist temperament:
 Have you ever seen something totally differently than most people would? Do you see yourself as an artist in how you see things? Why or why not?              

"Of course he knew that ...the police and the owners of the towers would never allow it. You must be crazy! they would say. You'd fall for sure"
Issue: Positive Deviance:
Was he wrong to break the law? What is the role of public and private safety versus an artistic dream...          

Issue: How far should you go for a friend? for your job?:
Would you have helped Phillipe carry the 440 lb reel of cable up 180 stairs to the roof if he was your friend?
Would you have walked on the wire to stop him if you'd been a cop then?

"Bad luck" thought Phillipe but he did not quit. 
Would you have quit trying amidst his setbacks? Should he have?  How do you motivate yourself past your strings of 'bad luck?' do you believe in bad luck? good luck?

"Though during his performance some boys playing on his wire jerked it and Phillipe fell...but caught himself"
Have you ever done something accidental or on purpose that messed up someone else? How did you react?
Have you ever "caught yourself" and fixed a problem that was about to be big?

"He could feel the towers breathing. 
He was not afraid.
He felt alone and happy and absolutely free" 
Issue: Figurative language: Why does the author say 'he could feel the towers breathing" when we all know towers don't breathe?
He was not afraid Have you ever felt unafraid when others would be scared?
When have you felt absolutely free?

Issue: metacognition and taking another's point of view: Why do you think I read this book with you today? Why did we spend this time discussing it? How would you commemorate 9/11 if you were a teacher?

4- Physical activities:

•  Draw 7/8 of an inch thick rope on your paper. Cut it out. Would you walk on it?
  
• Try to walk a completely straight line
  
• Walk along a straight line on the wood or tile seams of your floor, 
• Walk along anything narrow - a yardstick or a board placed on the ground, a raised curb of a garden or balance beam. 

Did you get a feel for Phillipe's bravery (see the added talks below for more on that) doing all that up in the air so high! Would you try high wire walking? What physical feats are you proud of/impressed by?

5- Conclusion and/ Links to Further Exploration: 

Let's all try to honor the victims of 9/11 today by not giving up when things seem hard and by believing in ourselves and our dreams.

To learn more about what Mr. Petit can teach us, 
 Click below To view Mr.Petit speaking (some adult language- please preview and show clips as needed) TED Talk-style on the highly educational topics of:

• Problem Solving
  
• Fear "fear is lack of knowledge" "I don't like animals with too many legs"  
  
• Mistakes and Learning (failure as part of learning)
• The Magic of Wirewalking
• His Philosophy of Life  (Angela Maiers type universal genius)"we are born with the impossible in us" If you are passionate about something you're going to do it day and night and you're going to be tenacious" Believe in yourself, what you love, don't take no for an answer. Don't try once and give up! If you do you're already dead.  "I have no discipline"  (great answer to "Grit" obsession!) 
  

 

The days of teachers spouting simplistic short-sighted shortcuts like " No citing .com's -they are not respected academically"  (shudder) or "Wikipedia can never be used for research" or even "there is nothing of academic value on Youtube" are thankfully over! This a lesson in credible sources relating it to real life scam awareness and digital citizenship on social media

Lesson Plan:

http://msgurthie.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/CriticalEvaluating

Game -Dig Cit  Forced Choices- both  in social media and in academics
Have you ever copied and pasted - words? -images into a slideshow?  Used an entire song? (show google  search by usage rights)
Started a project at the last minute?
Used easybib or other auto citation generator?
Did you see any drama this summer? You liked it? You spoke out against it?
Favorite social media site is instagram? etc
LOL'd at a Vine this summer? (which one?)


Living Life Online magazine 
The lap giraffe -discuss scams the sugar glider - real life animal but site is not credible- purpose

the tree octopus -discuss capow 

To prevent being scammed, go "CAPOW!" to knock out" a bad website.

Unlike "Kaboom!", "CAPOW" is an acronym to remind you to check a site against other reputable sites and google  for...

C-CURRENCY- is the info on the site recent? has it been maintained? You can tell by the "look" of it, by dates it has been updated, etc, by googling the info to see if it has been adjusted etc.

A-AUTHORITY- Is this website one from an authoritative institution? Is it peer reviewed? is it well respected source? Google the exact web address--what kinds of other sites refer to this site?

P-PURPOSE- Is this site trying to inform, persuade, argue? If the site is trying to sell you something, be aware.

O-OBJECTIVITY-Is this site covering all sides of the topic fairly? If not that is fine, you can still use it, but your research is not done-be sure to go to a site that supports other points of view.

W-WRITING STYLE: Misspellings, poor grammar, slang, are all signs that a site is not academic or may be a scam or a trick by someone not educated. If it is sloppy, it may have errors in its info or thinking as well.

LET's CAPOW these together right now in class:

 
DHM0 -discuss not taking the site's word for it and the difference between a lie and a bias
RYThospital -discuss not taking shortcuts

Emoji, hashtag webpage or superhero summary

Create your own emoji or Emoji Sentence or instagram hashtag summarizing the best advice of today.
#checkyourselfbeforeyouwreckyourself

http://msgurthie.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Your+Digital+Footprint

Online your  digital footprint is like a footprint in cement, not like water or sand!

People WILL stalk your digital footprint and what you do never goes away. 
future schools
future employers
future sports teams
parents of potential bofirends and girlfriends

avoid negative and accentuate the positive

better to not make the mess than to try to have to clean it up.-nothing is ever truly deleted (wayback machine, cache, screenshots, stolen passwords etc)

Make sure that you are following digital citizenship guidelines so you can show off your best work as part of your digital footprint without a billl or a letter from a lawyer. Google image search, royalty free music etc.
More in the Olympic section below