Elementary collaborations

We encourage you to read through some of the great collaborations happening at the elementary level with elementary media specialist(s) and the teachers.

Jill Tyner, Bethel Elementary

Book Trailers (3rd-5th grade) - After reading novels in guided reading groups, small groups worked together to create book trailers using iMovie on iPads.
Inventors/Inventions Research (5th grade) - In previous years, students researched an inventor and his/her invention from the Industrial Revolution era. Then they wrote, directed, and filmed a "commercial" about the invention in front of the green screen. This year, I used a flipped learning approach to teach students several research skills using the acronym S.O.C.K. (which stands for Sources, Own Words, Citations, and Keywords). Students worked independently to create a "S.O.C.K. Notebook". Feel free to make a copy and make it your own!
Biography Research (4th & 5th grades) - I've done biography research projects for several years with various 4th/5th grades. I used my time with students to teach them how to access DISCUS resources and cite their sources. My favorite project involved students creating bottle characters of their chosen person as their final project. Students decorated empty 2-Liter bottles to look like their chosen person, and we displayed them in the library. I love to display any student projects in the library!
Severe Weather Research and Writing (2nd grade) - Students learned how to take basic notes while listening to an ebooks about severe weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.) Then they wrote and filmed a PSA in front of the green screen on how to stay safe during the storm.
Research and Writing Books (2nd-3rd grade) - Students chose a topic (free choice) to research. In 3rd grade, they also wrote their own research questions (I taught them about thick vs. thin questions). They wrote ebooks based on their research using Book Creator. In their books, they had to include informational text features such as table of contents, headings, photos, and captions.
Tableau (any age) - Using the acting method of tableau, students work in small groups to create a "frozen picture" using their bodies to demonstrate a concept, main idea, or to retell part of a story. I have used this method in 1st grade to help students understand story sequencing (students work in small groups to retell the beginning, middle, and end of a story using only their bodies). I've also used this in 4th grade when teaching main idea. Students read a short passage, figured out the main idea, and represented it with their bodies.

Alice Littlejohn, Stone Academy of Communication Arts: I collaborated with 3rd grade teachers during their unit on nonfiction text features. I created a Text Feature Scavenger Hunt using Google Slides with a list of text features and their definitions. Teachers shared the slide show on Google Classroom so that each student could make a copy. Students came to the library and found these features in books selected for them. (They did not share books, and books were quarantined after each lesson.) Students inserted their pictures onto the appropriate slide. Their product was graded and served as a study guide for their final assessment.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Y5X9MQB3H71_rICobo2G2nQkF5e6oirzfxPxWBiB9Ck/edit?usp=sharing

3rd grade Mystery Unit

Another collaboration with 3rd grade was to help students select a mystery novel to read during their mystery unit. I made a hundred or more copies of a "flag" that was a folded piece of paper with a clipart of a magnifying glass over a book, printed on both sides. These were printed on bright yellow paper. Since our novels are arranged by author and not genre, I put the flags in all the mystery books that would an appropriate range of reading levels for 3rd graders. Some flags were just placed within a series and some in individual titles. This allowed students to choose their own mystery that would fit the teachers' requirement for the unit. The flags remained in the books until all classes had checked out. (Books that were examined but not chosen were quarantined.)

Flags for 3rd Grade Mystery Unit

Jessica Zannini, Paris Elementary: I have a unit that we did in person last year on Landforms. I taught the research lessons and the teacher taught the standards. We guided the students through creating "thick" questions to research on the unit standards. The students created a project to show what they learned. This year I made videos of all of the lessons I taught and put them in slides so the classes could do this through eLearning.

I also read books that align with current standards to help enhance what they are learning in the classroom. I created a spreadsheet for each grade level and I have a collection of books linked to each unit they teach so they know all of the books and resources we have available on the unit standards.

Anna Kate Ballinger, Bell's Crossing Elementary:

3rd Grade-

I collaborated with 3rd grade on a mystery unit. After the 3rd graders had been introduced to the mystery genre, I used this google slide https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ixw7VXDwvfSP6NxYMWisxnJVP2sYtg7aVuUkeTpVHvg/edit?usp=sharing to review mystery vocabulary with students. Afterward the students had about 20 minutes to solve a mystery breakout. They read clues and looked at suspects to see who committed the crime. At the end of our sessions we have an area of mystery books students could choose to read for their class project.

5th Grade-

I collaborated with 5th grade on their WWI unit. I read the book Christmas In the Trenches to the students. Before we read the story, we did a background non-fiction reading about the Great War and answered questions on a google slide. We read the story and focused on the author's historical notes at the end and how he heard about the story. Since John McCutcheon, the author, is also a singer and songwriter we also listened to a video of him singing the song which is included in the back of the book.

Page updated

Report abuse