Medea E. Lamberti-Sanchez
Objectives:
Students will use technology and a social media website, Tumblr to create a photo-essay/slideshow and present using their own recorded voices.
Materials: Photos, pencils, paper, construction paper, crayons, markers
Preparations:
Prior to the activity, students will be asked to bring in photos to share with others. The students can bring in family photos or any other photos that explain who they are. Students can reveal the pictures without providing any commentary or explanation of the photos. Other students can ask questions about the photos or ask for a closer explanation of the photo.
Discussion:
In smaller groups, the students can share their photos and talk about their experiences and talk in small groups about what identifies then and makes them unique. Shared discussions on related experiences can help ignite questions about what kinds of things they value or believe in. Students, will then, create their photo collage. They can help each other on the website Tumblr, to upload their photos and proceed to record their voices. The students can share using descriptive details and sensory images that define their experiences.
Synthesis:
A rubric should be provided so students know what to include in their personal stories or collages. Each student should be ready to present their project and the teacher now has an audio document to share with others in the community.
Conclusion
The definition of community is one that can mean many different things. There is no exact definition that I can come up with to explain what it means. The classroom community needs to be stable, consistent, fair, and nurturing because without those characteristics, learning cannot take place; teaching and learning needs to happen in a supportive classroom community where differences and individuality is welcomed by other students and shared. The following definition fits the goals of this unit and is the best one that I can find to explain what community means to me. This is according to David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis of the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University:
"Community is a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members' needs will be met through their commitment to be together (McMillan, 1976).
