Animoto with a Flair for Fashion: What's in Miss Rosenfield's Purse?

Miss Rosenfield's rather unwieldy purse!

I'm thrilled to pieces with how this little video turned out.  Although, I certainly cannot take full credit...Babbling Abbey over at The Inspired Apple (her posts are FABULOUS!) shared this lesson with a rather unique take on inferring.  I have a slight addiction to purses - a collection of sorts if you will - so I couldn't resist taking some inspiration from my fellow bloggers as I designed my newest Animto.

Please take a peak at the Animoto below.  Keep in mind that it will serve as an introduction to the concept of inferring.  Together, we will attempt to generate inferences about ME based on the contents of my bag.  Ladies out there, wouldn't you concur that the state contents of your purse say a mighty lot about yourself!?  I sure do :)




I find that my kiddos are awfully eager to learn more about me, so this might be an ideal hook for introducing the crucial, yet complex skill of inferring.  Here's how I envision the lesson to play out...I hook the little one's interest by sharing this video, and then bring out the real deal!  We review the contents of my purse and create an anchor chart detailing specific items and corresponding inferences.  For example, I am a faithful carrier of Wet Wipes.  A likely inference might be: "Miss Rosenfield likes to keep clean."  [Or, she's totally a germaphobe!]  Both would be accurate.

Afterwards, I'm going to try out this adorable writing activity courtesy of Abbey, where the kiddos have to use all of the clues from my bag to draw conclusions. I'm anticipating some pretty cute responses.  For another take on this activity, perhaps for any male teachers out there, take a look at this FREE resource, What's in My Teacher's Trash? I think this lesson would be a perfect fit for a first, second, or third grade classroom...a strong follow-up lesson might include this impressive "Inferring Investigation" from Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), in which students sort through a pile of clues to determine how each character in a mini-story, spent his/her snow day.   Personally, I don't mind investing in high quality resources that I can strategically implement in the classroom.

As for Animoto, I've already shared just how much I *heart* this resource.  It's so simple to use and offers tons of neat backgrounds and music to select from.  I slowed down the pace of the video, so that my littles will have an opportunity to really investigate each "clue" from my purse.  I can confidently say that Animoto vidoes are engaging for viewers of any age and can serve as the perfect way to set the scene for a lesson.