December Traditions

December Traditions - Collaboration Project

Project Activity

1. Create your FREE upgraded teacher account. Use this Smilebox link which will take you to the "Teacher's Toolbox." Here you can register for a free premium account. This will let you create public or private slide shows without ads. The slide shows can be emailed or viewed online.

You can follow this direct link to the Teacher's Toolbox page.
http://media.smilebox.com/tt/teachersToolboxHome.html (You can also find the page's link by scrolling ALL the way to the VERY bottom of their home page.) Scroll down towards the bottom of the page, find the "Get Teacher's Toolbox Now" link and click on it. Complete the application form. Smilebox provides you with the detailed instruction of what to do next within the application page. Something to keep in mind, if you are using your school email address, there is a chance that the confirmation info might get caught in your spam folder, so be sure to look for it there if you don't receive the confirmation in your inbox.

You will have to download the program. The program works for both PC and Mac! (note for Mac users - it integrates with iPhoto!)
Note: this program may not work on an older computer or if you have dial up internet - it seems to require a lot of "juice"!

2. Students will create a picture that illustrates one of their December holiday traditions. "December Holiday Traditions" could be anything that involves a December or winter holiday. This was purposely left vague so that it could apply to a variety of cultures and countries. You could interpret this so that the child shares their individual family traditions or that the class works together to share the traditions that are unique to their community, country, or culture. Of course, you will likely need to preface this assignment with a discussion of what the word "tradition" means. One way you could organize this project would be to have the class brainstorm a list of holiday customs or traditions and then assign each child to illustrate a custom. While introducing your students to the project, I would recommend going to a page from the previous project and view some of the previous work with students. http://decemberholiday.wikispaces.com/Project+Page

3. Students are ready to create their picture. This could be done using digital drawing tools such as Kidpix or with any artistic medium (crayon, marker, construction paper) or a combination. Here are some suggestions for your pictures:

• Have the paper in horizontal position - the pictures will fit better into the Smilebox slide show.
• Encourage students to use lots of dark bright color - it will photograph better.
• Keep text simple and dark. It will be difficult to read in the slide show if there is too much or if it is too light. (You might want to go over the text with a black permanent marker if it is hard to read.)
• Students should only put first names on their pictures.

4. If your students' work is not already in a digital format, you will need to convert their pictures to digital images. This can be done a number of different ways. Click HERE to download the "Directions for turning your pictures into digital images" PDF document. As you are working, I would recommend creating a new folder where you save all your digital images. This will make it easier when you go to upload them at Smilebox. It would be wonderful if you could include a class photo in your slide show. Just remember that if you choose to do this, you will need to ensure that they students have the appropriate media-release forms signed. See the Q&A section.

5. Once you have all of the digital images ready to go, you and your class are ready to share your work with the world! Making a Slide show in Smilebox is not difficult! You can download the step-by-step directions HERE if you have any questions. Just be sure to pick an appropriate theme and music!

6. You are almost done! Remember to email me with the link to your Smilebox so I can post it on our "Showcase" page. Finally, you will want to visit at least two other Smilebox slide shows with your students to comment on their work. To do this, all you need to do is click on the link of the slide show you want to visit. Once the Smilebox show loads, you will see a comment box at the bottom of the page.

ACTIVITY PRINTABLES
Directions for turning your pictures into digital images. (PDF document)
Directions for uploading your digital images to Smilebox. (PDF document)

Printable Directions for the Activity

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