Benjamin Franklin gave my students awesome advice: Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. My seventh graders are taking this to heart; they want to DO and WRITE by publishing an instructional manual on how new families can effortlessly adjust to our school.
I teach seventh and eighth grade at a 7-12 School of Choice in Florida; we value academics first and foremost, with sports a close second and fine arts not far behind.
Rigorous scholarly performance and high achievement are expected here, which often throws our new students for a loop (especially if they are just coming out of elementary school). Many new students and their families are not sure of what to expect or how to react to our demanding curriculum and comprehensive procedures. New students are often self-conscious and many will not risk drawing attention to themselves by asking newbie questions, for fear they are the only ones who do not know the answer. However, my kids are creative, hard-working, and eager to please their teachers and new school friends. They will gladly share experiences to help future new students.
My Project
We have no student computers in our classroom; labs are often booked for required testing. A Samsung tablet will allow students to research publishing/technical writing and email potential contributors/vendors. It is a student-led process; they'll choose the theme/format and will interview teachers, parents, peers to obtain content that will benefit those who have not experienced procedures and expectations of a complex curriculum. In Common Core, analyzing and writing in response to non-fiction texts tops the curriculum checklist; researching, outlining, writing the actual non-fiction text will compel kids to read differently. I also request funds for publishing costs. Students will choose physical details of the book and obtain deals from vendors. This addresses cross-curricular needs: math: making effective financial decisions; civics: clearing district policy "red tape;" character ed: easing the transition from student to businessperson by using problem-solving and communication.
If we are funded, 132 kids will make history that we will use for years to come.
By publishing a school users manual, students draw from their experiences, understand how to channel empathy into service & show off how much they have learned about our school community in their time here. They will get comfortable talking to peers, teachers, parents about how things work at our school & they will gain experience in financial/practical mathematics, community service, public relations & journalism.
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