Introducing the Newest Contestants on Cupcake Wars!

Just try to keep yourself from drooling when you take a peak at my little one's tasty submissions for The Food Network's sinfully delicious show, Cupcake Wars!  We've been hard at work since mid March, trying to sneak in any time we can find in the "kitchen."  How I wish I could actually bring my little one's cupcake creations to fruition :)  For now, we'll just have to settle on our crafty representations.  Or, maybe I'll just have to sneak in a special treat. Shhh!

Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress. I intended to have each student supply at least one comment for a peer's cupcake, but time has gotten the best of us.  Not to worry!  We will revisit our Voice Thread ASAP, and practice how to give appropriate feedback, such as providing a compliment, asking a question, or offering constructive feedback (i.e. a suggestion).

For now, I am thrilled that we've completed at least the initial phase of this digitally based project.  Anything involving food (and sweet treats, at that!) gives my littles the perfect opportunity to try their hand at descriptive writing, chock full of sensory details. With all of this CMT testing, complete with structured narrative writing, they need an opportunity to spice things up a bit!  You'll notice that some of us will benefit from a review of transition words and sensory vocabulary.  Yep, that's on the agenda too :)

Lucky for us teachers, instruction and assessment go hand-in-hand, with one driving the other.  

Cupcake Wars: A Competition in Progress

I seem to have a thing for baked goods, or maybe just a really big sweet tooth.  I know, we're supposed  to encourage healthy, balanced eating in the classroom, but I've got to infuse a little sweetness into our day.  Plus, it's the perfect platform to discuss descriptive writing and sensory details.  No, I did not bring in cupcakes for my kiddos to sample :(  I try to stick to our healthy snack policy, but I may have to slightly bend the rules when it comes time to celebrate the culmination of this project.  Shhhh, don't tell!

I'm sure you're all wondering, What exactly is she doing for her literacy project? Well, I took some inspiration from The Food Network's hit show, "Cupcake Wars."  I already gave a shout out to TLC's "Cake Boss" in my digital story, so why not give some attention to one of my other guilty pleasures?!  The show is all about four different bakers competing to design the best tasting and most attractive cupcake.  They are provided with a theme and a list of required ingredients to work with.  After sharing several short clips from this series, I asked my kiddos to imagine themselves as bakers, faced with the task of designing a cupcake to fit a particular theme:

• Saint Patrick's Day (We started back in March, so the theme fit at the time!)
• Spring has Sprung!
• A 9 year-old's Birthday Party (I figured this would open up many possibilities...)

Currently, we're in the midst of writing a detailed description of our cupcake.  Then, we're going to get crafty and design a visual representation of our tasty  oh-so-decadent treat.  Finally, I'm going to post our cupcakes onto Voice Thread, and let the kiddos narrate their cupcake creation, just as the contestants do on the show.  Yep, their peers will have a chance to respond!  I can't wait to share the finished product :)  Keep your fingers crossed for me that all goes well!


photo credit: yvestown via photopin cc

Ready to Get Crafty?

All I need is an assortment of glitter, some freshly sharpened pencils, a stash of sweet smelling markers, and a few sheets of glossy paper (maybe some embellishments too...) and I'm ready to get crafty!  Our students, though, are more than just your typical "crafters;" try authors and composers, too!  Hicks (2009) encourages educators to view students as multimedia authors who must consider how text, images, audio, and video  come together to leave a lasting impression.  And, yes, students are creating said digital products for genuine audiences!

Consider the sweet "MAPS" heuristic that Hicks shares with his readers -- mode/media, audience, purpose, and situation.  These are the elements that our kiddos must reflect upon as they navigate new texts, select a presentation form, identify the needs/ characteristics of their audience, determine the underlying purpose of their piece, and examine the needs/strengths/weaknesses of the writer (themselves!) and any demands necessitated by the digital platform.  Gets a little tricky, huh?

How I wish I could call this art closet mine...

Now, let's move onto the real goodies of this little post: Photo-Essays!  Remember, I'm an aspiring scrapbooker, so I can't help but get giddy at the thought of using photographs to depict stories :)  With the modern convenience of smartphones, tablets, screenshots, and affordable digital cameras, students can begin to ponder over how meaning is derived from images.  Consider the function of light, angle, focus, staging, and movement.  Sometimes it's all about capturing the small moments that have the potential to elicit a very strong emotional response.  Didn't I hear somewhere that a picture is often worth a 1,000 words?

I had such fun exploring Flickr's Tell a Story in 5 Frames, in which participants are instructed to depict a story in 5 frames with only a title to aid in the interpretation.  Group members might respond with poetry, suggestions on how to improve the ordering of photos, tips to support stylistic choices, or any other sort of constructive feedback.  I got a good giggle out of this one, "The Daily Grind," with 5 different beverages documenting the course of one's day.  A must see for any adult!

I'd imagine that our kiddos would have a blast creating said projects, but I think we'd really have to emphasize the underlying purpose.  After all, it's not about choosing any random picture and tacking it up onto a story board for future publication.  And just like other forms of online publication, the conversation only begins once the story is published.  As authors, we can only seek to improve our craft by engaging in some peer feedback and self-reflection.  Speaking of commentary, I highly recommend that anyone interested in annotating photos via recorded messages, heads on over to VoiceThread.  For a helpful tutorial, make sure to read Judy Arzt's post on what makes  VoiceThread unique!  She has some fabulous examples of how this tool can be implemented in the classroom...

Here's the million dollar question: Can you see yourself making time in the classroom for a project of this nature?  Or, is there even any extra time to be had?

photo credit: theperplexingparadox via photopin cc

photo credit: AForestFrolic via photopin cc