![Creating a magazine to display biographical research Great project on Google Slides. Give the students a template and let them research.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmw0qM4dyKK4v6L1kW7zeUuVqnxS4VmzXgxYxt2JsiSyi4LSTk9sYFVx2eeanmIwVgLd9tyFBnsdRyVNuv32VV-ZuyE9T1sy1XrGELlpYnejJmQkO2gEfn39gYory37QdQ56lHQVtwWbTc/s400/Slide1.png)
Now, if you have followed along with my in the past, you know that I have creatively published this biography before. I LOVE doing these Hanger People biographies but I felt like this year, since we are so into Google Slides and using our chrome books (which I have a class set of thanks to DonorsChoose.org!) we could take these biographies in a different direction. So instead of the hanger people this year, we created magazines.
![Using graphic organizers to help the students make sense of their writing. Organizing the biographical research in the prewriting section helps the students to craft clear paragraphs.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXr3Nd2aVuvXFtUPGnnlr8PMmAif7_3wGHP0PeRC5aSDDr5H4BD_qvM8AFBPx06T2w7j1j4EtXBwoAIsm_fN5vrRKPP_695Ua4tTfbdL3v5UMKEqRfePOh1SoPfTrXPZ4rwHwlI505x2_O/s400/Slide3.png)
Now, at this point in the year, we have done many lessons on research and navigating around Google, so they were able to fill in their organizers pretty quickly. However, I did notice that many of them were focusing on the minute details of the subject's life. They really wanted to talk about how many brothers and sisters the subject had and left out that the person helped to strategically win the American Revolution (or whatever they did that made them famous.) So during the prewriting phase, we started with their middle life FIRST. I wanted them to really focus not on when the person was born, but what he or she did that was vital to this time period. I did A LOT of modeling. This modeling during the prewriting really helped the students to construct nice, research-filled paragraphs that told the basic story of the life of the subject, focusing on the contribution that person made to the Revolution.
Once the writing was done (using all of the organizers), the fun part came. Through Google Classroom, I assigned the students a magazine template that I created (you can get it here.) You should have seen their little faces when I showed it to them! They couldn't wait to get in and put their written work into the space!
![Students type their paragraphs into this Google magazine template to publish. Creative way to publish student writing, using a magazine template instead of a piece of paper.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wx8duI7OiDAqunPzyg5OrmVN3kTjQrmDmMOedBj57iqRWp91sJzHvA1RI_Ix8ny1rgPx2sLH61FHWj2raoTNJxRHWoJqYKRtMKX4NMQRz9U2eIPB7T37aefBoBaoC39JZ7cnvPlme9or/s400/Slide2.png)
![Covers of the American Revolution magazine projects that the fifth graders did. Wonderful way to display biography reports. Use Google to create a magazine template!](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMT92m-DdHwMPdD2orC0G-7tGVnVoHNZ_jwZ20DLy2dTqLmY-euJY7hEg7IZL2QMIMBLYEKHxqTCtWsl9g2Qxog7wWtlj5DA1rTgkPNHuJlBoT__NGdgpPfezgNLC4W3Hzb0HkI_K84SXJ/s400/Slide5.png)
I am very lucky in that I have access to a color printer at school, so we printed them all out, bound it together with some long paper, glue sticks, and a staple gun, and I laminated the cover. OH MY WORD. I could not stop staring at them. They came out GORGEOUS!
![Biography Magazine Research Project Fabulous project on Google Slides that you can have your students complete for any biography subject.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnC7RoSkll0_Jt7-zXrhymMlutPEsQwkzwUl2gkORNpE8R-94E_ewkwdaqRbYDIeYcmK1_AF9GijDV-9CALG0aMrvwWu1QlUhV-c7vpqP8W89w3A6zZbMJEzsvfFeWXjN23WFDwoK_ZjQ/s320/Magazine+Biography+Project+Square+Cover.png)
What is one alternative publishing idea that you have for biography writing? Please share below!
It’s no wonder your students were excited. The magazines look amazing! I wish I were teaching this year, so I could try this. Hopefully next year.
ReplyDeleteThank you :) I couldn't stop staring at them either when they were all put together!
DeleteLOVE this idea! Question: How long would you say this project took your class from start to finish?
ReplyDeleteFrom start to finish, including all the writing and research and everything, was about 2 weeks.
DeleteTerrific project! Excellent combination of ELA and Social Studies standards!!! I just finished an online PD course about using technology/digital tools for assessment and learned about the SAMR Model for Technology Integration, so using that, you've definitely created a project that helps transform a simple biography essay into something greater. And with Google Slides, being able to share with other classes, admin, maybe even sharing with other schools, transforms to the highest level in SAMR. Kudos to you!! Winner winner chicken dinner! Thanks for taking time to blog this project.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I am always looking to improve how I integrate tech in my class, so I am glad to hear the it is on the right track! :)
DeleteI teach 3rd grade, and my students have used Google Docs to publish their Question and Answer books as part of our informational text writing unit. They didn't use a template, though. The magazine template is fantastic. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteJan
Laughter and Consistency