What Happened to Simple Book Reports

[undercoverbrother]

So I was speaking to my daughter. She is in Grade 6. She has to complete a book report, awesome she love reading and is full or ideas & opinions.


But here is the odd part.

She has to complete her book report in the form of a cereal box. The book report must be presented in on a cereal box, and in a cereal box format, including a "game" on the back.

I am struggling to figure out why. What are the positive(s) from this approach?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

So I was speaking to my daughter. She is in Grade 6. She has to complete a book report, awesome she love reading and is full or ideas & opinions.


But here is the odd part.

She has to complete her book report in the form of a cereal box. The book report must be presented in on a cereal box, and in a cereal box format, including a "game" on the back.

I am struggling to figure out why. What are the positive(s) from this approach?

My daughter in grade 2 has a cereal box book report due on Monday.

Generally the reason is:

-kids like to do crafts
-kids do not like to sit down and write a few pages. Many kids feel threatened by the prospect of a multi-paragraph multi-page report.

By doing the cereal box you can have the child convey the necessary information that they read and understood book but it is done in a fun manner that doesn't seem so laborious for the child.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by ernie

My daughter in grade 2 has a cereal box book report due on Monday.

Generally the reason is:

-kids like to do crafts
-kids do not like to sit down and write a few pages. Many kids feel threatened by the prospect of a multi-paragraph multi-page report.

By doing the cereal box you can have the child convey the necessary information that they read and understood book but it is done in a fun manner that doesn't seem so laborious for the child.

I can see it with a grade 2 class, but this is grade 6. Big difference.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I can see it with a grade 2 class, but this is grade 6. Big difference.

Not really. Grade 6 is still going to have a lot of kids that may know the material very well and are quite smart but are intimidated by a standard book report. Essay writing etc will come.

It reminds me of the new math thread. Elementary school shouldn't be about just performing algorithms but rather about fundamentals. Even in grade 6. And for literature those fundamentals are primarily reading comprehension. They'll get the fundamentals of grammar and sentence structure at other points in the curriculum. They'll learn how to write a good report. They'll learn how to write poems and stories etc. They may even have to write a traditional report in the same year (my daughter had to on the first book report this year). But different students learn and need to be evaluated in different ways. It may not be your daughters forte to do a project like this but it will be some daughters forte. This gives a chance for that second student who has the same understanding level to perhaps better display that understanding. It exposes the students to different ways to learn and present knowledge.

This isn't a bad thing...you only have to go to a conference or business meeting and watch 98% of presenters. You have to learn how to present information in a variety of ways to get your point across. Doing so can only make the world a better place (speaking as someone who has the misfortune of spending about 25% of my time at conferences).

And these creative projects aren't likely to end. My kids attend a pre-K to grade 12 school in the states. They'll be doing dioramas and other crafty projects for literature studies the entire way through. It's part of keeping the student interested and engaged and that is the most important thing when it comes to learning. It's not the material level. It's not the subject matter. It's engagement.

[DataDoxy]

Teachers devise creative ways for kids to display their work to foster excitement, maintain engagement and to challenge kids to think in different ways. The cereal box project allows kids to get creative while forcing them to analyze their book to make decisions like what is the most important message or point they want to get across and where should this information go? Front? Additionally, students will have to think about how to get their message across as concisely as possible there is not a lot of space on the front (or wherever) of a cereal box. Not only will students' messages have to be concise, they will also have to be engaging to capture their target audience's interest, much like the cover of a cereal box. In addition to the writing skills and critical thinking skills, this activity also fosters creativity. When thinking of how you would share information about a book, kids can get creative and make the "ingredients list" become the "character list". Of course, the game on the back also screams creativity which is a buzz word in the 21st Century curriculum. Finally, doing activities like the cereal box project allows reluctant writers to participate in the project as vehemently as great writers, and kids that need more of a hands-on activity will also enjoy a high level of participation. Additionally, kids that need to develop their creativity and do more hands-on work will be challenged while the. On the other hand, if all assignments were like this and kids do not know how to read or write traditional reports, this would impact their future work and schooling. So, in the end I personally think it is a great idea to do creative projects like the cereal box, however I also think it is important to teach students to how to write formal pieces like expository essays, reports and stories as well as informal pieces like blog posts and even tweets. Any other thoughts?

[Barnet Flame]

I'm struggling with an audit report right now. A cereal box is a great idea!

Tomorrow I'm buying a box of All Bran.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DataDoxy

Teachers devise creative ways for kids to display their work to foster excitement, maintain engagement and to challenge kids to think in different ways. The cereal box project allows kids to get creative while forcing them to analyze their book to make decisions like what is the most important message or point they want to get across and where should this information go? Front? Additionally, students will have to think about how to get their message across as concisely as possible there is not a lot of space on the front (or wherever) of a cereal box. Not only will students' messages have to be concise, they will also have to be engaging to capture their target audience's interest, much like the cover of a cereal box. In addition to the writing skills and critical thinking skills, this activity also fosters creativity. When thinking of how you would share information about a book, kids can get creative and make the "ingredients list" become the "character list". Of course, the game on the back also screams creativity which is a buzz word in the 21st Century curriculum. Finally, doing activities like the cereal box project allows reluctant writers to participate in the project as vehemently as great writers, and kids that need more of a hands-on activity will also enjoy a high level of participation. Additionally, kids that need to develop their creativity and do more hands-on work will be challenged while the. On the other hand, if all assignments were like this and kids do not know how to read or write traditional reports, this would impact their future work and schooling. So, in the end I personally think it is a great idea to do creative projects like the cereal box, however I also think it is important to teach students to how to write formal pieces like expository essays, reports and stories as well as informal pieces like blog posts and even tweets. Any other thoughts?

I can see both sides, but by grade 6 students need to be developing writting skills. I am not saying they need to produce the next great Americian novel, but they should be able to put their thoughts/opinions on a topic into a short essay (as in 1-2 pages).

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by DataDoxy

Teachers devise creative ways for kids to display their work to foster excitement, maintain engagement and to challenge kids to think in different ways. The cereal box project allows kids to get creative while forcing them to analyze their book to make decisions like what is the most important message or point they want to get across and where should this information go? Front? Additionally, students will have to think about how to get their message across as concisely as possible there is not a lot of space on the front (or wherever) of a cereal box. Not only will students' messages have to be concise, they will also have to be engaging to capture their target audience's interest, much like the cover of a cereal box. In addition to the writing skills and critical thinking skills, this activity also fosters creativity. When thinking of how you would share information about a book, kids can get creative and make the "ingredients list" become the "character list". Of course, the game on the back also screams creativity which is a buzz word in the 21st Century curriculum. Finally, doing activities like the cereal box project allows reluctant writers to participate in the project as vehemently as great writers, and kids that need more of a hands-on activity will also enjoy a high level of participation. Additionally, kids that need to develop their creativity and do more hands-on work will be challenged while the. On the other hand, if all assignments were like this and kids do not know how to read or write traditional reports, this would impact their future work and schooling. So, in the end I personally think it is a great idea to do creative projects like the cereal box, however I also think it is important to teach students to how to write formal pieces like expository essays, reports and stories as well as informal pieces like blog posts and even tweets. Any other thoughts?

What happened to paragraphs?

[edslunch]

I assume these kids aren't doing crafts for every assignment and there is plenty of opportunity to practice writing skills too.

[DataDoxy]

Absolutely. I am sure they are doing some traditional/formal writing as well as creative writing activities as it is part of the curriculum.

However, there is research that suggest writing skills are declining

Another interesting trend in education is that some schools are removing cursive writing from their curriculum. What will happen if kids do not learn to write by hand and all the work they do is via computer?

http://www.inquisitr.com/1030809/cur...-it-in-school/

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DataDoxy

Absolutely. I am sure they are doing some traditional/formal writing as well as creative writing activities as it is part of the curriculum.

However, there is research that suggest writing skills are declining

Another interesting trend in education is that some schools are removing cursive writing from their curriculum. What will happen if kids do not learn to write by hand and all the work they do is via computer?

http://www.inquisitr.com/1030809/cur...-it-in-school/

We have nephews in Denver and they do not take writing in school, have no idea how to write. They can print but not write.

Both my kids are/did writing in school. Both enjoyed it.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by DataDoxy

Absolutely. I am sure they are doing some traditional/formal writing as well as creative writing activities as it is part of the curriculum.

However, there is research that suggest writing skills are declining

Another interesting trend in education is that some schools are removing cursive writing from their curriculum. What will happen if kids do not learn to write by hand and all the work they do is via computer?

http://www.inquisitr.com/1030809/cur...-it-in-school/

Why is cursive important? It's just a kind of old fashioned font, really. The only modern use for cursive is signatures and bad doctors prescriptions. It's not even really faster to use, all it does is prevent the pen from lifting off the page, which is important for fountain pens, and that's about it. I personally abandoned cursive as soon as I was allowed, and this was before all school work was done by computer, so I had many reports and notes and such written in plain old print style handwriting.

[edslunch]

I'm embarrassed to say I can barely write cursive and pretty much only print. Over the years I've developed a rapid and fluid printing style that borders on my own version of cursive though most might just call it messy.

Despite this I think handwriting is an important skill that will never be fully replaced by typing

[Boblobla]

I was terrible at cursive in school but I think it is important to learn. I did not learn how to print neatly until I was at SAIT and discovered printing in all caps.