Blog Post #4 - Media Literacy

I Promise, We Don't Hate You

This week we mostly worked on our iBook. We decided to interview a few sixth graders to get their insight on what 6th grade is like. We asked them questions like:

• Does it take you more than an hour to complete your homework?
• In the beginning of 6th grade did you get a lot of homework?
• Were you worried about the older kids in middle school?
• Did/Do you know how to open your locker on your first day?    Photo Credit: photosforclass

 http://photosforclass.com/search?text=stress

Their responses were helpful. They answered all the questions in a way that we could use for our iBook. Their responses were:

• 5/15 sixth graders said it took them more than an hour to complete homework

Most sixth graders completed it in under an hour and those that didn’t said they were taking their time.

• 15/15 sixth graders said they had little to no homework at the beginning of sixth grade

They said that none of the teachers would give them homework on their first few weeks of sixth grade. Now they still don’t get a lot of homework. 5th graders worry that the teachers will dump a load of homework on them

• 6/12 sixth graders said they were worried about the older kids in middle school

• 13/15 sixth graders said they knew how to open their lockers on their first day

Mrs. Callaway and Mr. Everett provide a transitioning opportunity for the upcoming 6th graders where they give them a lock and let them spend time practicing how to open the lock. A lot of the sixth graders used that to learn how to open their lock before they started middle school.

We noticed that the sixth graders think that the eighth graders hate them. In the iBook we want to assure the upcoming 6th graders that’s not the case.

Next we have to create funny skits for each subjects we are mentioning in the iBook. We are going to make the skits as funny as possible so it will be easier for the 5th graders to remember what we are talking about.

http://photosforclass.com/search?text=theater

Photo Credit: photosforclass

Also we are going to create an intro media that is similar to a youtube video we found. We will need to get a video of the teachers that teach classes that 5th graders haven’t experienced yet like drama, band, and health.  In the intro media we will give the 5th graders insight on how middle schoolers go through the day.

When I transitioned from elementary school to middle school I felt kind of brave because I knew I would be taller than most of them and I had a sibling there with me. I was sort of worried about what the older kids would think of me, but it didn’t make me any less excited for middle school. This project is teaching me how to make iBooks and edit videos. It is also helping me understand how the new sixth graders felt when they came to middle school, and that we as the oldest grade should help them feel welcome and at home. I am very excited about the end product of our iBook. I think it will be a fun way for the 5th graders to get a perspective on how middle school is like. I worry that we won’t finish in time though.

Blog Post #3 - Media Literacy

This week we have progressed well in our iBook. We scheduled meetings with Mrs. Callaway and Mr. Everett, and they answered valuable questions for our iBook. After sending a new and improved survey out to the 5th graders we ended up getting 39 responses that can help us tremendously with the iBook. We found out that most of them worried about homework and the older kids. A lot of them are not that worried about middle school and are excited to get here. They are excited to see the new range in sports, go on different Discover Oman options, and the new teachers they are going to have.

Photo credit: Me

Next we have to start our first chapter which will be about the homework middle schooler get compared to elementary schoolers. We also have to interview the 6th graders and ask them about what they have experienced in their first year of middle school and any advice they would give to the upcoming 6th graders.

I feel like our project is progressing really well. We have managed to get responses from 5th graders and I think that they are excited for the challenges of middle school. I feel like this project will turn out very well and will be helpful for the 5th graders.

Blog Post #2 - Media Literacy

This week we finished writing our introduction for the 5th grade guide book. We noticed that in order to start writing chapter one we would have to interview the fifth graders to get their insight on what they are most scared about in transitioning. We came up with the idea of giving them a survey that asks what they find the most scary about transitioning to middle school. We will then use that information to know what to talk about in the next chapters of our iBook.

photo credit: Me https://www.surveymonkey.com/create/?sm=7EjYPusLH6hlNMUtFCRs9k4Y2NH9EO4rTb5VDpLf81U_3D

I feel like this project is coming out really well. We have progressed since the beginning. Now I hope that we get good answers from the 5th graders so we can construct our iBook in a way that will benefit them. I can’t wait to see the results of the survey and see what they think about middle school.