Second grade students in my district study biographies and holidays related to the United States. We also have research skills to teach. During the month of February I combine all of those skills into one project. Students chose a president to study. They chose a biography to read during our reading time. They also use a variety of online sources during our computer time to find information about their president. They record that information on a template. They use the facts to create a script that gives clues about who their president is. They also create a portrait of their president. Students take a photograph of their portrait and upload it to VoiceThread and then record themselves reading their script. We post the finished VoiceThread on our class blog and hang the clues and the portraits in the hall outside our classroom.
This project ties in so many curriculum skills that it really is a good use of class time. Watching the finished product allows students to learn information about other presidents. The project is flexible enough to allow students to work at various levels. It also incorporates beginning technology skills like using a digital camera, uploading a picture, online searches, and navigating websites.
As I think back on the project their are a few changes I could make. Adding a few more websites with lower reading levels to our second grade home page would allow those students with reading difficulties easier access to sites they could read. I would also like to find a way to share this project with parents who do not have internet access. Simply inviting them to stop by and see the VoiceThread at school was not enough encouragement to get them through the door.
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