One of our 6th grade standards requires students to explain how a story’s plot unfolds and reaches a resolution. We have been working on explaining how an author uses indirect characterization to reveal a character’s personality. This week we revisited plot, and students had to retell the main events in Bud, Not Buddy and explain the plot in their own way. Finally, students had to reflect on their project and choose a theme to represent the text; they had to also make sure they could find textual evidence to support their theme.
Here’s the document I shared with students:
J. decided to use an iMovie on his iPad to to create a movie. Here he is editing his movie in class yesterday:
R. used his personal cell phone to create a movie. Notice the open book; it looks like someone was hunting around for textual evidence to support his ideas!
Z. decided to use Scratch (a block-based computer programming site) to create a game. Bud Caldwell hops from the exposition to the resolution, and the game shows major events from the book. It’s difficult to see, but I will most definitely share a link once he’s finished.
A. decided she wanted to make a comic strip because when she reads a book she gets mental images in her mind. She used the site Storyboard That.
B. created a really cool plot diagram in Google Draw. Check it out!
P., O., and M. decided to recreate scenes from the book, record themselves on an iPad, and create a narrated movie in iMovie. Here are O. and M. as Bud Caldwell and Todd Amos. This was a scene from chapter two where Bud and Todd get into a fist fight!
When students are finished with their assignment, they will publish the finished product in a blog post and reflect on their work. Here’s what our class blogging dashboard looks like, and listed below a sample of A.’s finished blog post.
I really believe in giving students choice. I always learn new things about my students, and it’s a great way for students to take charge of their learning.
I can’t wait to show some finished creations with you!