Why to use CrowdRise for Student Fundraising

How cool is this note from CrowdRise?

I enjoy activities that allow students to show their work outside of the classroom. Even better is when the work has the possibility to change!

One project my students do is create crowdfunding pages. They select a charity and create a website and video fundraising for the nonprofit. This really helps them understand audience, hone their research skills, practice public speaking, and

There are many crowdfunding pages out there; some have very specific audiences that don’t quite match what we do. Kickstarter for example helps people fundraise for something, like a book launch or product creation.

Here are the main reasons I love using CrowdRise for fundraising activities in my classroom:

1. Students should be thirteen with parental consent and guidance

Be a Decent Human!

•  Some crowdfunding sites require users to be 18. This can be doable, students give their texts to a teacher (or parent) who creates the page. However, it is much easier that the site permits teenagers to create their own profiles.

2. Students (and teachers) NEVER touch the money

•  I like this project because I can be a decent human, without having to understand the money side of things.
• A lot of other sites give you the money which you transfer to the charity. This can create issues. Who handles the money? The teacher? The student? Does it go through your school? What paperwork do you need to avoid paying taxes? Gah! You’re trying to show your students that their actions can have a positive change in the world, not that fundraising is crazy chaotic.
• The website does charge fee, but it is less than 10%

3. The site is very easy to use!

Screenshot explaining how the site works

• Most charities are already set up, so there's no need to track down tax ID numbers, or accounts payable, etc.
• This is great for students who like to have options, but can never think of anything. Just have them scroll through the charities on the site. Or, since so many charities are there, have them search for their favorite charity! There’s no getting the charity’s number, or inputting the information. Just click and voila, it is there.
• The basic set up is already there, and students just add text, graphics, and a video. No coding, or web design skills are needed.

4.  The staff is AWESOME 

Tattoo and Flag

• They respond to Facebook posts, tweets, and emails with record time! This is from me AND my students.
• If you send them an e-mail and ask really nicely, they’ll send some CrowdRise swag (maybe stickers, maybe temporary tattoos, maybe something else!). I don’t know about your students, but my students get INCREDIBLY excited about little tidbits. This gives them a little extra focus on the project.

If you have any plans on doing a schoolwide event or want to try a fundraising project similar to the one my students did, then I suggest you look into CrowdRise.

Great Gatsby house of cards

I love how their deck ended up mimicking the book cover colors

I'm sure you've noticed that I referred to a website called teachers pay teachers a lot. This is a great website because when I start to teach a new story or a new book. It lets me see what other teachers are doing and in many cases teachers will offer freebies.

In this case I found an great activity where students make a House of Cards for The Great Gatsby. This awesome activity comes from Brynn, who is a teacher in Kansas.

I have students do this in groups so it provides natural scaffolding.  My groups are hand selected and I take great pride in my groups right now. My juniors as a class started out not speaking a lot of English, constantly going with their own clique, and straying off task. It was difficult but I finally got them in small groups of 3 to 4 and they really work with each other. They get things done their productive it's amazing.

That being said, while I love them in their small groups, you could do it in pairs or on their own.

BEFORE 

• Prepping Students: 
• Symbols: We have prepped for this activity in a way since we started reading. Basically, they were reall familiar with sybols. We had talked about the eyes on the billboard and we talked about the greenlight. We also did an activity where students got to "Beauty and the Beast" it/ Where they turned the characters of the great Gatsby into nonhuman figures (e.g. sports, coffee, etc). 
• The American Dream: I teach many non-native students, so we usually have a journal entry, and mini class discussion about what they think the American Dream is, what they think that other people think the American Dream is, and what they think Gatsby's version is.
• Text: This could be done at many points, but I like to do it right after chapter 5.
• Teacher Prep:  I went to Target to buy a deck of cards, but one deck costs $3.00 and two decks costs $5.00. I am all for spending money on my students when I need to, but I knew the Dollar Tree had them as well, so to the Dollar Tree (two packs for one dollar!). I have eight groups in my class. Each group needs 7 cards, but I gave them nine in case they made mistakes. That means two decks was perfect for my class. 

DURING

I draw this on the board to help my students

Materials: I used glue, paper, scissors, and markers. However, you could use sharpies, magazines, etc. Really anything as long as each "house" has seven cards.

Before I give them this assignment I show them a clip from the movie so they can see Gatsby's house. If you don't want to or can't show the movie, find a mansion for sale and show that. The key point is to make sure that they understand the opulence.

Finally, pass out the assignment, to create a House of Cards symbolizing Gatsby's house, where each card symbolizes something.I permitted the use of cell phones to pull up samples (e.g. one student wanted a specific rose to symbolize Daisy and she wanted to see a picture), but I emphasized that the explanation would be graded more than artistic ability.

My students did struggle a bit understanding which cards were supposed to go where, so I made this diagram and numbered the cards. This is an optional step, but it made their lives' easier and let me focus on helping people dig deeper into the text (instead of answering questions about directions).

The original assignment was to create a house of cards. I made this optional (for extra credit). After students had made the cards, and explained it, they could create a house of cards and send me a picture to receive extra credit (about half of a homework assignment)

POST

I love this assignment because it works on a higher level of understanding. Not only are they really grasping the ideas of symbols and metaphors. The coolest about this is that we're really working the metaphor figuratively and literally. 

After the assignment, their homework is to read Chapter 6 and answer the following questions:

1. Why are Gatsby's attributes the base of the house?

2. Why is Daisy's card between Gatsby and his dreams?

3. Now that you've read Chapter 6, how do you feel Gatsby's life like a house of cards?

4. Have your idea of Gatsby's version of the American dream changed? Why or Why not?

Answers will vary, but most of them show that they actually understood the project (which is the goal after all).

So there it is, I linked the product earlier, but again you can check out her freebie here It is free to sign up if you don't already have an account, just go here and get started on finding lots of great stuff!

Finally, I leave you with some pictures of my students who completed the house of cards. I swear they had fun, and there was learning going on as well.

Creative Character Quizzes

These aren't the quizzes that your students have to study for! These quizzes make your students use their critical thinking skills, inference skills, grammar skills and technology skills...what more could you want?

If your students like taking Buzzfeed quizzes or any quiz online then they will appreciate this assignment.

My students were reading the Crucible, but it can be easily adapted to any book (or even classmates, teachers, local politicians, etc.). For classes that don't read literature I've also used quizzes to review vocabulary.

As a class we discussed what types of questions we could ask. There were two types we discussed:

1. The literal question.

• These questions asked about things we could literally see. 
• For example: Would you cheat on your significant other?
• Never! I am a good honest person.
• Yes, but I would feel awful later!
• If they were cute and I liked them.
• I am very religious so of course not!
• In this questions we can tell who the answers refer to based on actions or words stated.
• Elizabeth is a good and honest woman who never cheated.
• John cheated, but he felt bad.
• Abigail had an affair with John,so she would be OK with cheating.
• Hale is a reverend, so he is religious.

2. The symbolic question

• These questions require more interpretation.
• For example: What is your favorite color?
• Black
• White
• Red
• Grey
• In these question the answer may depend based on who is writing the quiz
• John Proctor is depressed so he is black.
• Elizabeth is very innocent so she is white
• Abigail is passionate so she is read.
• Hale is grey because he is confused by what is happening in the town and getting more and more depressed.

Once the students understand the differences I gave their requirements.They had to create a 10 question quiz involving four characters. In addition to the quiz they needed to give me a paper that explained their answers.

Once they completed their quizzes they put them online (tryinteract.com is a great site for this) and take at least two other quizzes.

It is a fun project that makes students cite evidence from the text and shows how well they understand the characters.

You can buy the directions and worksheets that go with this for The Crucible on Teachers Pay Teachers at this link

Otherwise be inspired and make your own! Here are two examples from my students

Powered by Interact

Powered by Interact

Peer Learning- We're better together

One of the first things I learned when I started teaching English was the importance of pair work. This guest post makes some suggestion on when to embrace learners working together, and why it is best to not rely on it constantly.

Helping someone is a way to cement your own knowledge

Have you ever witnessed one student leaning over to lend some help another student better understand a problem or dilemma? 

If so, you have likely seen peer learning. When students get together to help one another learn a difficult subject or think critically about a problem, they take their education to a deeper level opening their minds to a new thought process. This new level of learning can help peers open up their minds and encourage them to work well with other students, regardless of which side of the learning curve they are on.

Yet there are some struggles that come along with peer to peer learning that can make this typically highly effective way of learning a challenge. The following are some of the do’s and don’ts for teachers to help encourage peer learning in the right way.

The Do’s of Peer Learning

Learning to work together is a lifelong skill!

• Do encourage teamwork –
  Teamwork is something that people experience throughout their lives. In some cases they will be the leader in the group, or in the case of peer learning the person doing the teaching. In other cases, they will be the person sitting back taking instruction, or the student. In either case, knowing how to work well with one another is a crucial. When you allow peer learning in the classroom you not only help students learn the material but you set them up for an important inherent life lesson that they will need in a variety of situations.
• Do allow students to work together on problems –
  Sometimes there will not be a clear leader in a peer learning. When students come together in peer groups to brainstorm solutions to problems, they can work together equally to come up with the best solution. This teamwork is another common occurrence in daily life even after students are finished with their schooling.
• Do let peers assess each other’s achievements –
  Another form of peer learning is to grade each other’s work. This is beneficial because it allows students to see and learn from the mistakes other students made as well as how they were able to solve certain problems. By doing this, they learn what their peers are doing and can find new ways to conquer challenges that they may not have learned about before. When they learn from like-minded individuals on how they solve problems, then they are able to use these skills in other situations to advance their education even further.

The Don’ts of Peer Learning

Working together is great, but the teacher should still be a part of the class

• Don’t allow bullying –
  In some cases peer learning can lead to one person bullying another. This typically happens when one student is struggling with a particular subject and is being tutored by a peer who is better able to grasp it. When one student becomes frustrated with the other, they can begin to bully the student which can have adverse effects. As a teacher, it is important to watch for these signs and stop the peer learning before it gets worse.
• Don’t rely solely on peer learning –
  Teachers sometimes rely too heavily on peer learning and step back from their role as administrator of the classroom. This can also have adverse effects because students will not receive knowledge from the teacher that they need to get the most out of their education. A good balance is imperative with peer learning and classroom learning with a teacher.

As a teacher, finding a way to incorporate peer learning into the classroom is a good way to mix up the curriculum and teaching methods so students can work together more and enjoy their classroom time. To do this most effectively it is important to balance between lectures and one-on-one lessons with a teacher and work in peer groups. 

This guest post was written by Aileen Pablo who actively blogs about education. She uses research from: davecormier.com

"The Body" Final Project!

For most of the higher high school English classes the school has them read three short stories each semester. Rather than read three short stories this year I talked to my supervisor and had them read the abridged version of Stephen King's The Body throughout the semester.

I chose this story because the students are familiar with King, and this is one of his more unique works. I also felt the boys, who tend to be less interested in English, would get into the story, yet it wasn't "overly manly" in a way that would ostracize the girls.

I liked this version because it was at a level that was suitable for my students, did not contain the R rated language King's full length novella does(short of pussy which it does use often), and was short enough to be easily read during a semester (usually less than 1,500 words a week).

We did a lot of questions and projects throughout the semester, but my favorite was their final project. Throughout the semester we watched the movie Stand By Me which is based off the novella and discussed the differences and similarities between the movie and the story. (Note: the students and their parents were warned about the movie as the language earned the film an R rating.) When we finished the story and movie we watched other short adaptations (The Simpsons, The Family Guy and several other student made versions I found online). Then I gave them their final assignment where they essentially would make their own adaptation!

The "Storyboard" for the original story

This included: Storyboards / Timelines, Descriptions of character changes, a description of their overall concept and of course: the final project: a 5 minute adaptation!

The "storyboard" for their adaptation

First students made a timeline of the novella highlighting what they felt were the key scenes in the plot they would want to reproduce.

Then, Students were encouraged to create a "What if" question to make the adaptation:

What if the main characters were fish?

What if the main characters were female?

What if they lived nowadays?

What if they were all superheroes?

After they'd chosen their main "change" they'd extend this to the characters, setting, etc. 

Finally, they made their project and shared it with the class! Here's one example that lost points for being too short (I think due to time they left out a few parts they had previously planned on including), but still ended up being the class' favorite video when it came to voting!

What if it took place in space?
They adapted the characters and setting, but most of the overall plot stayed the same. If you've read "The Body" or seen "Stand by Me" you should be able to see the similarities in the video below (I suggest you watch it on the full screen setting). 

 

Why there's a train on the moon... I am still not sure, but this received FULL points for creativity!

You can see how they changed many things from the story; they explained this separately: For example they replaced the deer with a shooting star because: "instead of a deer, a shooting star will appear. Shooting stars are pretty and peaceful and a beautiful moment, just as the deer is for Gordie."

If your students are doing book reports these are great! In addition, I think, they are going higher up Bloom's taxonomy (creating, extrapolating, etc) instead of just telling. They have to understand why the deer is important to the plot, and find a relevant way to convert this to their plot. 


Want to try this yourself? You can download a freebie (including the rubric and the assignment) here and the full assignment here 

What about YOU? Have you used adaptations in the class before for a text or film? How have your students reacted? I'd love to hear about it.