We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language."
Oscar Wilde, "The Canterville Ghost", 1877
Exploring Idioms in the english speaking world
Students will create a multimedia dictionary of American idioms in order to teach their meanings to students in other countries. Students in other countries will create their own multimedia idiom dictionaries for American students to learn from.
Creators:
Laura French and Rebecca Kurz-Rigby
Course/Level of learners:
11th and 12th Grade High School Language Arts students, aged 16-18
Timeline:
One month; students will work on this project in addition to regular curricular content. This time period also allows for the fact that partner schools or classes will have differing schedules and the greater amount of time will smooth out any difficulties with technology or other academic requirements. This project assumes that digital citizenship and how to use the technology tools has been previously taught. If not, teachers would need to allow 2-5 days each to master the concepts of digital citizenship, how to use Flipgrid, how to use Canva or Piktochart, how to use Voice Thread, and how to identify images that are labelled for non-commercial reuse. This process would have to take place before any work began on the project.
One lesson will be allotted to reteaching of the concept of idioms. Students of this age have learned about them before, but will need to be reminded. Students will be encouraged to collect idioms, then sign up on a shared document for the ones they will research. Students will independently research the history and meaning of the idioms. They will have a week to develop their content. The content will be turned in to the teacher, who will check for quality and accuracy. If the product does not require editing, the image will be uploaded to the project website. After approximately a week, students will read the dictionaries of the partner classes. The teacher will discuss their learning with the class. For the final element, a student must create a video talking about their favorite 3-5 idioms from the partner classes, and tell why they like them. Students will be given a week to produce this as well.
Creators:
Laura French and Rebecca Kurz-Rigby
Course/Level of learners:
11th and 12th Grade High School Language Arts students, aged 16-18
Timeline:
One month; students will work on this project in addition to regular curricular content. This time period also allows for the fact that partner schools or classes will have differing schedules and the greater amount of time will smooth out any difficulties with technology or other academic requirements. This project assumes that digital citizenship and how to use the technology tools has been previously taught. If not, teachers would need to allow 2-5 days each to master the concepts of digital citizenship, how to use Flipgrid, how to use Canva or Piktochart, how to use Voice Thread, and how to identify images that are labelled for non-commercial reuse. This process would have to take place before any work began on the project.
One lesson will be allotted to reteaching of the concept of idioms. Students of this age have learned about them before, but will need to be reminded. Students will be encouraged to collect idioms, then sign up on a shared document for the ones they will research. Students will independently research the history and meaning of the idioms. They will have a week to develop their content. The content will be turned in to the teacher, who will check for quality and accuracy. If the product does not require editing, the image will be uploaded to the project website. After approximately a week, students will read the dictionaries of the partner classes. The teacher will discuss their learning with the class. For the final element, a student must create a video talking about their favorite 3-5 idioms from the partner classes, and tell why they like them. Students will be given a week to produce this as well.
Tools and Communication
Students will use:
Chromebooks and Google applications for learning, Flip grid, VoiceThread, NowComment, and free versions of Canva or Piktochart.
The learners will communicate with each other using flipgrid to record video. Students can also use, VoiceThread, which is a way for students to share media, whether video, image, or voice recording with other students. NowComment is a free application that allows collaboration and discussion among students and teachers. Teachers are able to monitor student behavior through Blocksi, the school platform for monitoring internet usage.
Teachers will use:
Chromebooks, internet search engines, and Google applications for learning, Flip grid, VoiceThread, and free versions of Canva or Piktochart. The internet monitoring application, Blocksi, will be used to monitor student input. Teachers will upload content to the Weebly website, in order to control for quality, accuracy, and appropriateness.
Chromebooks and Google applications for learning, Flip grid, VoiceThread, NowComment, and free versions of Canva or Piktochart.
The learners will communicate with each other using flipgrid to record video. Students can also use, VoiceThread, which is a way for students to share media, whether video, image, or voice recording with other students. NowComment is a free application that allows collaboration and discussion among students and teachers. Teachers are able to monitor student behavior through Blocksi, the school platform for monitoring internet usage.
Teachers will use:
Chromebooks, internet search engines, and Google applications for learning, Flip grid, VoiceThread, and free versions of Canva or Piktochart. The internet monitoring application, Blocksi, will be used to monitor student input. Teachers will upload content to the Weebly website, in order to control for quality, accuracy, and appropriateness.
What will the learners do?
Students will identify the idioms they hear and use the most. They will then select three idioms to research and illustrate. They must list these idioms on a classroom page to ensure that each person has three different idioms.
Once a student has selected his or her idioms, he or she will research the origin of the idiom and its meaning. The student will then create a brief video recording explaining what the idiom means and where it came from. Each student will create a visual to accompany his or her idiom, with the idiom clearly written, an image that depicts the meaning of the idiom, and embedded video of the student explaining the meaning of the idiom.
Once students have created their online "dictionary" of American or local idioms, this collection will be uploaded to the collaborative website. Partner classes in other English speaking countries will create and upload their idiom dictionaries as well. The American students will learn about idioms in other countries by viewing the online dictionaries created by their international peers. The final element of the project is a video that each student will create identifying his or her top 3-5 idioms from each country involved in the project. They will record video of themselves sharing their favorites, and these videos will be posted to a response page on the collaborative website.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated using a cumulative rubric that details their work on the project, the progression of their project, their contribution to the project, and the created end result.