Raining Poetry: Street Art with a Social Message
QR Code Adventure
Part 1
Part 2
Magic Realism 101

The Magic Realism 101 Project is designed as an entry level project for students and teachers. I created this unit deliberately for asynchronous instruction, although it can be used synchronously. The assignments align with the Common Core Standards for English language arts grades 11-12. The assignments can be adapted for younger grade levels.
- For a PDF of the project outline (for teachers): https://bit.ly/3ms41fU
- Make a copy of the Google Doc version of the outline (for teachers): https://bit.ly/3hH14Vz
- Make a copy of the calendar: https://bit.ly/2Fb1tlM
- YouTube intro for students: https://youtu.be/nEvVX6zEaLk
- Link to entire Magic Realism 101 Playlist you can share with students: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBtbYBynyGOq2ShU2CnGUYlUk00LxgRb5
Below are a few examples of past projects I've done with high school language arts students.
Day of Play
This project was designed with the intention of having fun. And man, did we have fun! Our driving question was: How can we use the design process to create cardboard constructions that have been wired for light/sound and/or motorized that we can use to inspire 4th graders during a day of play that we facilitate at Wright Elementary?
My students love hands-on projects, and I love to foster their creativity (and to make them write). I wrote this project, based on one I'd done previously. In the original project I had freshmen use the design process to build cardboard games/toys that second graders could play with and then write about the whole thing. It was a blast. In the most recent (October 2018) version of the project I had my students create their products and use them to inspire fourth graders to create their own products. My students walked the fourthies through the design process as they built their own cardboard games while students from an industrial maintenance class that I collaborated with walked the younger kids through how to use basic circuitry to wire their creations with LEDs and switches to enhance the games. After we made the games we used a large space at the elementary school to set them up and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day playing with them. The spirit of collaboration was strong and the joy of play was palpable. This is a project I would do again and again and again.
My students wrote about it in a four-part blog post series on their individual blogs. Check out what this student had to say in her Cardboard Challenge Articles: https://alexusbotner.blogspot.com/
My students love hands-on projects, and I love to foster their creativity (and to make them write). I wrote this project, based on one I'd done previously. In the original project I had freshmen use the design process to build cardboard games/toys that second graders could play with and then write about the whole thing. It was a blast. In the most recent (October 2018) version of the project I had my students create their products and use them to inspire fourth graders to create their own products. My students walked the fourthies through the design process as they built their own cardboard games while students from an industrial maintenance class that I collaborated with walked the younger kids through how to use basic circuitry to wire their creations with LEDs and switches to enhance the games. After we made the games we used a large space at the elementary school to set them up and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day playing with them. The spirit of collaboration was strong and the joy of play was palpable. This is a project I would do again and again and again.
My students wrote about it in a four-part blog post series on their individual blogs. Check out what this student had to say in her Cardboard Challenge Articles: https://alexusbotner.blogspot.com/
Perception vs. Reality
This was one of the coolest and most ambitious projects I've ever asked students to do. Our driving question was: How can we create original shadow-art for an exhibition at the SCATC to help explain to the audience that their perception shapes their umwelt? (Umwelt is a German word psychologists use to indicate one's subjective experience of reality.)
I armed my students with the "Allegory of the Cave" and other texts and videos about reality and perception. They used the design process to create original works of shadow art, and they each wrote about it in a four part blog post series.
I armed my students with the "Allegory of the Cave" and other texts and videos about reality and perception. They used the design process to create original works of shadow art, and they each wrote about it in a four part blog post series.
The Thin Line between Love and Hate
Freshmen English language arts students used the play Romeo and Juliet to analyze the biological causes of love and hate. Using the characters as examples, they created artwork to depict what is going on in the brains and bodies of the characters when they experience various emotions. The goal of this project is to show what is happening internally that causes us to feel love and hate and to discover potential ways to reduce impulsive behavior related to these strong emotions.
Creature Creation
Sophomores in my English II class engaged in a narrative writing unit featuring creatures of their own creation. Inspired by the horror genre, the students sculpted with air dry clay to create their own creepy creation they wrote a story about. They also analyzed some eerie short stories to determine how an author manipulates a reader's emotions and creates a desired effect.