Say Cheese!

"My fifth grade classroom is in a Title I school in an urban, lower middle class, diverse environment. One of the ways I try to build class community is with Chuck, our stuffed beaver mascot. He travels home with a student each night to be photographed and written about in his very own journal.

Ye..." more»

"My fifth grade classroom is in a Title I school in an urban, lower middle class, diverse environment. One of the ways I try to build class community is with Chuck, our stuffed beaver mascot. He travels home with a student each night to be photographed and written about in his very own journal.

Yes! I get to take Chuck home! Where is the camera? Each night one fifth grade student gets to take the bedraggled, Canadian cap wearing,stuffed brown beaver named Chuck home. Currently, a disposable camera goes home with a student each night. The pictures are varied; some are good and others are pictures of the ground and dark pictures that are not worth paying for the developing. A digital camera would allow the students to monitor their pictures, take more than 2 or 3 if they want, and give them the opportunity to create illustrated digital stories of Chuck on their computers.

Chuck, a worn brown beaver with a tail transplant, an eye transplant, and a Canadian hat, has become an integral part of my fifth grade classroom. He has been photographed with family pets, on trampolines, at ball games, eating pizza or reading Harry Potter. He is even included in the yearbook and our class picture. The students wait eagerly for their turn and the chance to take pictures. However, since they are fifth graders, some pictures don't turn out, but they have no way of knowing this when they use the disposable cameras. Having a digital camera to take home would allow the students to learn more about digital cameras, be able to take more pictures,and monitor the accurateness of their pictures. The best part of all is we could keep a digital scrapbook of Chuck rather than having to develop all those pictures. My classroom has a lab of laptops, and the students are learning to create power point presentations. Having Chuck's pictures digital would be a great opportunity for the students to practice their writing and technology skills.

I can almost hear Chuck murmuring....."Please donate! I love to get photographed with those kids!" We would be grateful for the opportunity to have Chuck join the technological age. It would be a great motivation to create digital products. We would be delighted to share our Power Point presentations or digital scrapbooks about Chuck's adventures with you. We await your generosity. hide»