Museum Box

The 5th grade Social Studies teacher asked me to come up with a research project to introduce the Explorers Unit.  I gave her a few options and she liked the idea of having each student create a Museum Box on the explorer they are assigned to research.  The students then presented their boxes on the day that their assigned explorer was going to be studied.

Here is an example of a completed project.  (just a screenshot, not the interactive box)

We used this project as an opportunity to introduce the middle school PLUSS research model.
P - plan
The students brainstormed some keywords they could use in their searches.  We also discussed determining important information and paraphrasing.
L - locate
I showed the students the pathfinder I created for their project and the students began filling out their graphic organizer with the information that they found. 
U - use
We discussed citations and the students continued with their research.
S - show
I  showed the students how to use Museum Box.  In order to to use Museum Box effectively, the students also had to learn about file extensions (jpg vs. bitmap vs. png), how to create a  folder, and how to upload pictures and files to a website.
S - self-reflect
The students completed their project by reflecting on their research.  It provided them with the experience of self-reflection and it provided me with feedback on the research process.

Research Documents

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Publisher Software from YUDU

Graphic Organizer

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

Wordle

Wordle is not a new application, but sometimes it's helpful to remember those little tools in our technology toolbox that don't get used on a regular basis, but are perfect for certain jobs. So, I went right over to Wordle to create a word map of President Obama's speech to students.

I sent this over to my history/social studies teachers to use as an additional resource when discussing the speech with their students.
I think it would be a cool project for students to create their own Wordles, even if just on paper, of the main ideas and messages that they took away from the speech or that inspired them.

Classroom Ideas

• analyze historic documents (Gettysburg Address, Declaration of Independence, etc.)
• analyze students' own writing - show words commonly used/overused and check to see if main idea or theme truly comes through
• create a character description Wordle
  
• create an autobiographical Wordle
  
• DigiGogy's blog post on the Wonders of Wordle
• Slideshare - Ways to use Wordle in the classroom