Creative and Engaging Projects to Foster Writing and Other Literacy Skills and LIGHT A FIRE! (Inspire, Engage, Motivate, Provoke. Etc.)

5 Bullet Friday… (Errrrr… didn’t get this done till early Saturday) Creative and Engaging Projects to Foster Writing and Other Literacy Skills and LIGHT A FIRE! (Inspire, Engage, Motivate, Provoke. Etc.) by Mark Gura Years ago, while teaching at a school in East Harlem that served as the district’s ‘discipline academy’ (for students who were chronically defiant, non-compliant, and disruptive) I hit upon the idea of having my students create messages to go into a bottle that we would send out into the world. The activity was a great success as it launched my students and me into a genuinely sincere discussion about what their lives were like in Inner City NYC and what they wanted the world to know about life from the perspective their neighborhood. This was followed by the full on writing process (as best as my students could managed – brainstormed outlines, several drafts leading to a ‘finished’ piece, etc. Each kid created his own message which one afternoon after school we stuffed into an empty wine bottle that was sealed with candle wax before we all walked down to the shoreline walkway (FDR Drive) and hurled out into the swift current of the East River, which carried it away quickly. I never got a response although the bottle surely traveled places (that river empties out into Long Island Sound, which in turn connects with the Atlantic Ocean. In my inbox this morning, though, is a news story about a very similar class project (I don’t know that mine is a great mind, but apparently  a number of us literacy educators do think alike)… 1) N.C. student gets reply to message in a bottle  (reading may require a few seconds answering a survey question or two before article is presented) “Students of North Carolina teacher Susan Schambach drop messages into old wine bottles and set them adrift in the Atlantic Ocean each year as part of a project to study the Gulf Stream and oceanic currents. Of 70 bottles released since 2013, five have yielded responses -- locations of which are depicted on a classroom map -- including the latest from three children in Ireland, where a grandmother found the bottle on a beach” 1a) Here’s another news item about a very similar project: Scottish kids sent a message in a bottle decades ago. It just showed up in the Keys. “More than 30 years ago, a class of children likely between the ages of 6 and 8 put a message in a bottle for a school project in their hometown of Forfar, Scotland…” Story @: https://www.tampabay.com/news/Scottish-kids-sent-a-message-in-a-bottle-decades-ago-It-just-showed-up-in-the-Keys-_164890323 I love this sort of authentic, real-world, “Light the Fire” in the kids’ minds and spirits variety of learning activity. If you Google this idea you should find many more examples of actual implementation. The activities may vary in numerous ways, but running through all of them are reflection, discussion, writing and related forms of communication. All of that with the remarkable level of engagement and excitement that comes with doing something deliciously special in the real world and that may produce an unexpected authentic result or response… I always found this to be classroom magic. 2) Here’s an example of a write up/lesson plan for this approach. This one I found floating around on the web (bad joke, I know… couldn’t resist! :). Regardless of the specific content area designation of the class these activities are done in, the approach is full of Literacy Learning Potential being chock full of reflection and writing - easy to apply the writing process to this as students must go from brainstorming ideas and outlining, through a series of drafts, to publishing, which in this case is acceptance for insertion into the class’ bottle to be launched into the world. Message in a Bottle Writing Activity for Kids .https://classroom.synonym.com/message-bottle-writing-activity-kids-7883024.html Updating the idea to feature technology… Digital Message in a Bottle: 15 Steps (with Pictures) – Instructables https://www.instructables.com/id/Digital-Message-in-a-Bottle/ “…Digital Message in a Bottle: Communication is a fundamental ... 2200 miles from home and tools realizing that my project wasn't going to work…”  No doubt there are other ways that bring the Message In a Bottle idea into the digital age… 3)  On a similar note, I feel this project offers a great deal of the same approach and spirit: TIME CAPSULE PROJECT:  I am reminded of an episode of what was in the 1960s a very popular TV Situation Comedy show ‘The many loves of Dobie Gillis.’ In episode S03E07 - Eat Drink and be Merry for Tomorrow Kerboom (full episode @ https://youtu.be/hitLQv7gp98 - I dare you to watch it.. J Our hero and his high school classmates are engaged in a Time Capsule project by their teacher for which the students must decide on things that are most representative of their age so that people in the future who open the capsule will understand them. Great project, I think, and not surprisingly this, too, is something of a perennial that pops up here and there, time and again. Here’s plan for it I found… easily modified for specific classroom goals and concerns. Time Capsule Activity: First Day of School Fun! https://englishteaching101.com/time-capsule-activity/ “First, I make sure that students understand what a time capsule means .... Name Art Project will help not only the teacher but also the students ...” 4) Translating this approach for the digital age? Here’s one take on that Digital Time Capsule | Get to Know Your Students | Education Closet https://educationcloset.com/2016/09/23/digital-time-capsules-get-know-students/ “We created our Digital Time Capsule using Google Slides, but any ... in their Senior year of High School, I will send them their time capsule after it has been hidden from them for 6 years. Project Outline: ... Virtual Workshops…” 5) Another approach to using technology to extend the reach and depth of the above would be to have students do the physical, non-digital/virtual version, but  have them document the projects as documentarians, Learning Journalists, if you will, to coin a name…. Using digital still or video, perhaps from a phone (hard to be anywhere these days where this isn’t available) and then as an activity related to the project, have the students tell the story as well as share their work through an online slide show, blog post, PDF e-book, or other format. This will add a deep layer rich in a variety of communication skills to the original project. The article below gives some good additional ideas. 24 Ways for Students to Showcase Their Best Work (With Tech) https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/25-ways-for-students-to-showcase-their-best-work-with-tech/ “Why Choose Tech? ... Using technology motivated students to “complete work more ... But which tools are best for student learning? ... Each project can include text in addition to the media that you upload to it. ... On Populr you can quickly create a stylish webpage with pictures, text, and document uploads…”