Recently one of our 3rd grade teachers, Mrs. McCollough, asked for my help giving students an opportunity to digitally share their learning about Planets. We decided to have students share their learning using the cooperative learning jigsaw approach. (This is when each student specializes by learning one topic to teach the class. Once everyone is done teaching, they all know the information about all of the topics.) We gave every student the responsibility of finding four - six facts about their assigned planet/moon/sun. Based on the size of the class, two students would get the same planet but would begin by working independently. Students used our newest paid digital tool, Scholastic's Trueflix eBooks, though any resource on the solar system could be used.
Once students were done with their research, they found the classmate with the same topic and shared their facts. I created a Google Slideshow and shared it with the students. I had already created a slide for each planet. Students worked in pairs to add their facts to their slide. They learned how to add images and give credit (with a URL) when using a photo. Once students were done, I downloaded the slideshow as a PDF, and uploaded the PDF to the FlipSnack website to create a class eBook. (I also use Anyflip.com to create ebooks. Both are free, but the embed code from Flipsnack works a little better with my blog.)
The final product made this project especially a fun collaboration for students. I really like this lesson because it blended individual and collaborative efforts of students. It provided an opportunity to learn about fair use, work in Google Slide and the solar system!
