Winter in the Deep South - we are serious, but still making things!

 

I know I'm not alone when I say it's kind of busy around here.  The end of the second term in the deep south of the South Island of New Zealand is around the shortest day of the year - tomorrow.  We'll be celebrating around these parts with the Midwinter Carnival on Saturday night, and I may just crack out the mulled wine recipe.  It is, after all, pretty cold.  

And what does that mean for school? Tired, sick students.  Not all of them, of course, but a decent throng are out each day - 'M' code (for 'medical') is well used.  I'm downing Vitamin D, multivitamins and Vitamin C as required, but, still, everything can feel quite serious.

I'm continuing on with 'maker culture' - I'll admit to having temporarily left Twitter and the excellent professional dialogue I was fervently following for a while because the practical day-to-day has been persistently and incessantly calling.  But that's okay - it is my job and I love it a lot (yesterday I taught, whipped off to a Spelling Quiz and raced back to school for parent teacher interviews.  Just a 12 hour day there.  I'm almost pleased that my daughter has chickenpox and I am on parent duty today). So maker culture is still in my head.

I'm realising that I do a lot of this in classes anyway, and have throughout the years. The example in this blog entry is of straightfoward posters - but it's still an effective tool in my arsenal.

Here are my Year 10's producing their interpretations of 'hamburger essays'.  Their brief (and we discussed this word in relation to having a client; this approach was interesting to them as they were the 'knowledgeable' class providing information for other students) - and I was the client - was to design and produce posters to explain essay writing to all other students who use my room. They could work in groups of two or three.  Or alone, if they were that way inclined (none were).

But first, they had to write an essay with the right structure.  Then they had to 'reconstruct' essays that I choose with the best structure (I had cut the paragraphs up - it was a simple ordering exercise, but they loved showing how they knew the order).  Finally, they had to use those paragraphs within the hamburger poster, and label (introduction, body paragraphs with S.E.X.Y. parts).

I am really pleased with how students engaged with this activity.  And I guarantee they now know how to write an essay, too. Plus I get pretty things on my walls.  I love that part, too.  Their work, their room.

 These students chose collage.

 The early design stage!


 

 Making. Stay hydrated.

 One body paragraph as lettuce.  As with real hamburgers, they could choose their fillings.

 My reluctant students deciding on font.  Gangsta - engaged!


 

 Sesame bun or no sesame bun?  Forrest Gump essay in progress.

 Unidentifiable red filling.  Just like McDonalds, then.

Intricate lettuce details.