“CULTURE SHOCK”

“CULTURE SHOCK”

EXPLORING THE WORLD THROUGH CREATING A MULTIGENRE PORTFOLIOAnne MartinGifted and Talented Program

District 7Spartanburg Writing Project

How Will We Explore the World?

By learning the GEOGRAPHY of different countries of the world.

Definition of Geography

The study of the physical structure and the inhabitants of the earth

Physical and Cultural Geography

Great Geography Quotes

“To understand the earth as the world of man”

J. 0. M. Broek (1965)

“Geography is the study of earth as the home of people” Yi-Fu Tan (1991)

“War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.” Ambrose Pierce

Why Geography?

Year after year of national testing continues to show less than satisfying results of student knowledge and understanding of basic geography skills.

With our planet in peril, there is an almost obligatory wave of support for placing more emphasis on a knowledge of our earth.

At the very base of that knowledge must lie an adequate grasp of geography skills and concepts.

Understanding Our World Though Geography by Jerry Aten

Geography and

Different Cultures

Each country of the world has it’s own unique “personality.”

Those qualities make it different from all other countries.

As human beings we have common needs that are essential to our survival.

Learning about how others in foreign lands live will help us better to understand and appreciate the differences that do exist.

Challenging the Gifted Brain

Differentiating the curriculum means moving students beyond grade-level standards or connecting what is taught to their personal interests.

Differentiating the learning environment means allowing students to work more independently on their own projects, collaborate with other students, or pursue interests outside the regular classroom. (Winebrenner, 2000)

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

This is a celebration of the uniqueness and diversity of our students

MI tells us that our students are not just smart in one or two ways, but in many ways.

To reach all students and to develop the diverse intelligences, we need to teach in many ways, providing varied learning experiences for our students.

Howard Gardner (1983)Frames of Mind: The Theory ofMultiple Intelligences

The Products of Gifted LearnersTo be effective, the products need to be able to

do the following (Tomlinson, 1995)

Offer students opportunities to extend their knowledge, stretch their abilities, and pursue authentic

and challenging learning experiences.

Transform information so that students are not merely repeating information but creating a new idea or product.

Evolve from advanced materials, original research, or primary documents.

Be similar to those created by professionals in that the products address real-world problems and are intended for real audiences.

a Geoquiz is one way to introduce the country topic

Let’s try!

WHO AM I?

Who am I? Riddle

I am on the continent of AfricaI am on the Mediterranean SeaMy longitude is 30 degrees east

The Tropic of Cancer is my latitudeI have the longest river in the world

My flag colors are red, white and blackWho am I?

What is a Multigenre Portfolio?

A multigenre portfolio arises from research, experience and imagination.

A multigenre portfolio is composed of many genres and subgenres, each piece self-contained, making a point of its own yet connected by a theme.

A multigenre portfolio may contain many voices, not just the author’s.

Blending Genre, Altering Style by Tom Romano (2000)

What Is Important to Know About Genres?

Students should be exposed to a wide variety of genres, especially those that are pervasive outside classroom walls.

I f these familiar genres are acknowledged in school, perhaps children will be more successful in literacy achievement and understanding.

Kress (1993)

The “Write” Attitude“Writing is more than a frozen record of

thinking. It is an action and a way of knowing.” William F. Irmscher

“When writers are physically or emotionally involved in their topics, the commitment

to those topics manifests itself in a higher quality product.”

It’s About Writing by Kathy Balsomo

How Should Teachers Teach About Genre and Multigenre Writing?

Teachers should teach writing with explicit instruction about a genre.

Students will see the connections between text and modeling that teach structure in writing.

As children become familiar with and knowledgeable about a certain genre, they are able to create a writing piece of their own adhering to the particular traits of the genre as defined by a mentor or model texts.

Wood Ray (2001) The Writing Workshop: Working Though the Hard Parts(And They’re All Hard Parts) Calkins (1994) The Art of Teaching Writing.

Implementing the Study

The students will thoroughly research the country of their choice using encyclopedia, books and internet.

Individual conferences will be ongoing, by student request, teacher request and on the spot conferences. (as described by Wood Ray, 2001)

The students will complete a proposal for each chosen genre. It moves away from assigning genre and asks students to choose genres for various purposes and effects. (Writing without Boundaries)

An Example of a Multigenre Writing ProposalName: __________ _________________Country: _____________________________________

Reasons for choosing this topic:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1st Genre: _________________________________________

Definition of this Genre: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Perspective: (Who is writing?) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Audience: (Who is reading?)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose for Writing:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Structure of the Multigenre Project

This project will include:

a cover an introduction an outline or table of contents defenses for each piece five pieces (or more) visual designs or graphic elements

Possible Genres for “Culture Shock”

ABC book Brochure Interview Survey Letter Newspaper article Restaurant review Picture Book Essay Comic Strip Top 5 Reasons

Assessment

1. Must be an ongoing process2. Is best when it is authentic 3. Is a collaborative, reflective process4. Is best when it is multidimensional (variety)5. Should be developmentally and culturally

appropriate (no single right answers)6. Is expected to identify student strengths

Writing Without Boundaries by Suzette Youngs and Diane Barone

Sharing Projects and

Celebrating!

Students will publish their portfolios on the internet using a class WIKI.

Parents will be invited to our class

World Writing and Food Festival where students will share writing pieces from

their multigenre portfolio, as well as share food from the country that they have

researched.

Examples and ideas for using a WIKI

http://tep.uoregon.edu/shared/blogswikispodcasts

http://www.slideshare.net/suryaveer/wiki-in-education-2071400

http://world-cultures-6.wikispaces.com/ http://votw.wikispaces.com/May-Scotland