I recently found out about the app, ChatterPix by Duck, Duck, Goose and looked around to figure out how we could incorporate this into some grade level’s curriculum. The fourth grade students were preparing to study the American Revolutionary War and they are required to know about seven different historical figures from that time period.
Duck Duck Goose ChatterPix
I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for these students to practice their research and note-taking skills. I wanted to design it so the students would avoid plagiarizing, so I decided they would write their “speeches” in first person.
Graphic Organizer
First I looked at what the students are responsible for knowing about these American Revolutionary figures and designed a graphic organizer to help the students focus their research.
Livebinder
Next, I created a Livebinder to gather internet sources for the students so everything would be in one place. If you are not familiar with Livebinders, check it out. It is a neat, graphic way to organize websites and it is called a binder because the organizational design looks like the tabs of folders in a binder. Here is the link to the one I created for this assignment http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1249911&backurl=/shelf/my.
Students using Livebinder to guide research
Assisting the Research Process
I introduced the project at the first library visit and the students had a short time to conduct research. I had non-fiction books pulled and put out on tables, so the students could spread out. They researched during one more library visit and after that I worked with groups who had been assigned the same person at the end of the school day.
Writing First Person Scripts
After the students completed their research, I pulled them during their lunch time to assist them in writing their first person script. I had books pulled that had portraits of all of the figures (George Washington, Patrick Henry, Benedict Arnold, etc.).
ChatterPix App
The ChatterPix app allows you to let anything “talk” by drawing on a mouth on an image. The students took a photo of their person, drew the mouth across and then recorded their 29 second script (that is the time limit of the app).
Student recording their ChatterPix from script.
They then added a title and I exported them to my YouTube channel.
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