Final Project Update

My final project is to use VoiceThread to have my middle school students (grades 7 and 8) perform book talks and add comments to classmates' book talks. The overarching purpose is to encourage students to read a variety of books independently and talk about the books they have read. Some benefits along the way along the way are that students will be using reading, writing, and speaking skills to plan and perform their book talks. In the process of creating their book talks students will be practicing literacy skills that will help them meet standards. Reading skills come into play as they select key events to summarize and main characters to introduce. In order to entice readers to try this book, students will use knowledge plot elements to impart enough of the story to draw classmates in without giving away the crucial points. The writing process is the tool students will use to create the spoken text for each image they post. Students will use speaking and fluency to perform reading their text as they record their voices. They will make revisions of text and voice inflection in the process of recording. VoiceThread makes it easy to replay and re-record so that revising seems natural. When the book talk is polished, a student will publish by posting and sharing the final product. An authentic audience is built in as they are creating these book talks as a resource for each other. Students will be collaborating by adding their own impressions about books that are presented that they have already read, or adding comments later if they are inspired by a talk and then read the featured book. There is potential for a wider audience on the web, for instance another class within the school or at another school, broadening the potential for collaboration beyond the classroom.
I have created my own book talk, about a book from their summer reading list, to serve as an introduction to this project. I will expect my students to create their own VoiceThread "show" to give a synopsis about a book they have read recently that will provide their classmates with ideas for new books to read. I will also expect students to add comments to classmates' talks. My intent is to replace more traditional book reports or projects with continuing the VoiceThread book talks throughout the year, as long as the process remains fresh and interesting. I think there is plenty of room for creativity within this medium, and I am wondering what my students will come up with.
After showing students my sample VoiceThread book talk, I will show them a basic rubric, with categories established, that is blank or partially filled in and invite them to collaborate with me to build the criteria for an excellent book talk. I will revise the rubric as needed and bring my changes to them within a day or two. There are many resources online for rubrics on different topics and sites for building your own rubrics: Rubistar, Recipes 4Success's Rubric Maker, Teachnology Teacher Rubric Makers, and Kathy Schrock's Listing of Assessment Rubrics are some examples.The next step is for the students to select a book to read independently. A class period in the library with munchies and some book suggestions from our librarian will be the inspiration for this step. During the time period that the students are reading their books outside of class, we will take a couple of class periods to learn the basics of using VoiceThread. Students will open a VoiceThread account and create their avatar and pseudonym. Another route I can go is to add the students on my VoiceThread account under "switching identities". I plan to discuss the level of security needed with our technology people. This seems like a good opportunity to model identity protection. Once established, the students will create a quick sample project with just one image to practice and post comments on classmates' projects. The stage will be set for the students to create their book talks. The first time through I will provide a couple of class periods with support in the computer lab for students to work on their projects. We will review the rubric we created and make any last minute revisions before they start. The finished book talks will be viewed together as a class. I may ask students to give each other feedback through the rubric. I will require each student to post comments on at least 3 book talks. How to make a constructive comment is another lesson to teach!
After the class has been through one cycle of making book talks on VoiceThread with guidance and support, I will assign the next one as more independent work. I am not sure yet whether I will give them any class time for the subsequent reports. Students will be expected to produce 2 book talks per trimester that will be assessed using the rubric. Differentiation can be built in by adjusting reading level to fit the students' needs on an individual basis.
My hope is that students will read more and talk with each other about their reading on VoiceThread and in person. I think that this book talk project may take on a life of its own and inspire us to connect with other people beyond our school. Who knows what will happen!