Meta tags:
description=Posts about innovation written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.;

Headings (most frequently used words):

this, of, the, for, share, learners, learning, education, maker, standards, to, day, dead, imagination, skulls, posts, writing, character, development, top, displays, addressed, about, reflection, choice, beyond, can, do, camp, skills, with, paper, from, materials, di, focus, on, help, their, and, as, opportunities, build, mastery, blog, user, generated, tagged, innovation, enhanced, workshop, my, list, ten, videos, 2018, dia, de, los, muertos, project, getting, started, gaining, attention, story, artifacts, student, fantastic, results, specific, ideas, intentional, creativity, helping, move, cardboard, creations, national, novel, writer, month, young, novelist, workbook, 21st, century, next, generation, science, common, core, state, ela, decorated, circuits, eyes, sugar, modeling, chocolate, micro, bit, lit, skull, tissue, marigolds, edible, slime, miscellaneous, mission, principles, destination, instant, challenges, write, minute, mysteries, rebus, puzzles, classroom, icebreakers, yet, teach, strategies, dealing, frustration, encourage, ask, peers, emphasize, processes, rather, than, its, product, reframe, mistakes, difficulties, scaffold, provide, multiple, learn, upon, previous, give, tasks, little, above, ability, levels, avoid, urge, rescue, them, may, need, push, self, perceived, limits, into, process, accept, an, it, okay, when, task, really, is, too, hard, only, last, resort, rationale, using, no, tech, minimal, cost, some, pedagogical, perspectives, summer, projects, jackie, gerstein, ed, stats, follow, via, email,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (356), and (276), for (116), with (90), that (83), #learning (80), this (73), their (68), education (62), are (62), new (60), students (60), they (55), can (52), learners (49), window (43), maker (42), opens (42), them (38), student (36), share (36), about (34), have (31), from (31), when (29), cardboard (28), com (27), one (27), you (26), https (25), how (25), help (24), skills (23), what (23), creativity (22), using (22), out (22), then (22), all (21), paper (20), making (20), more (20), makey (20), email (19), make (19), each (18), time (18), part (18), choice (17), like (17), but (17), materials (17), these (17), into (17), ideas (16), see (16), your (15), should (15), day (15), school (14), classroom (14), linkedin (14), print (14), tumblr (14), facebook (14), create (14), use (14), not (14), tasks (14), writing (14), character (14), www (13), process (13), need (13), dead (13), based (12), design (12), projects (12), own (12), kids (12), learn (12), get (12), work (12), less (12), creative (12), blog (11), tape (11), things (11), also (11), concepts (11), activities (11), gifted (11), build (11), her (11), skulls (11), steam (10), innovation (10), challenges (10), was (10), given (10), were (10), often (10), failure (10), will (10), through (10), 2018 (10), skull (10), wordpress (9), other (9), teacher (9), stem (9), who (9), than (9), schools (9), jackie (9), gerstein (9), written (9), here (9), creations (9), project (9), most (9), task (9), made (9), opportunities (9), where (9), messy (9), might (9), frustration (9), some (9), little (9), experiences (9), well (9), has (9), success (9), bit (9), want (9), sugar (9), write (8), loading (8), voice (8), self (8), science (8), hands (8), year (8), tagged (8), challenge (8), link (8), found (8), http (8), slideshow (8), over (8), cut (8), end (8), imagination (8), step (8), such (8), difficult (8), talk (8), just (8), his (8), develop (8), mastery (8), focus (8), standards (8), teaching (7), educator (7), strategies (7), experiential (7), engagement (7), thinking (7), top (7), posted (7), friend (7), summer (7), usergeneratededucation (7), cost (7), requires (7), javascript (7), campers (7), set (7), goal (7), solar (7), high (7), elementary (7), camp (7), world (7), much (7), both (7), class (7), too (7), next (7), beyond (7), giving (7), upon (7), yet (7), description (7), battery (7), comment (6), building (6), social (6), reflection (6), language (6), rather (6), post (6), our (6), last (6), few (6), golf (6), had (6), box (6), following (6), which (6), level (6), during (6), many (6), trying (6), very (6), think (6), fun (6), ways (6), material (6), provide (6), old (6), leds (6), order (6), only (6), after (6), may (6), being (6), 6th (6), master (6), khan (6), problem (6), curriculum (6), multiple (6), real (6), creating (6), different (6), possibilities (6), ask (6), core (6), improve (6), answer (6), intentional (6), show (6), chocolate (6), displays (6), los (6), evaluate (6), scratch (6), comments (5), user (5), generated (5), technology (5), practice (5), development (5), technologies (5), posts (5), via (5), interdisciplinary (5), 2017 (5), piece (5), area (5), directions (5), explore (5), come (5), story (5), example (5), something (5), authentic (5), free (5), thing (5), really (5), adam (5), related (5), led (5), five (5), helps (5), push (5), first (5), perceived (5), effective (5), give (5), constraints (5), before (5), mistakes (5), those (5), human (5), within (5), getting (5), another (5), connections (5), common (5), onto (5), know (5), community (5), instant (5), below (5), connect (5), org (5), two (5), dia (5), muertos (5), micro (5), circuits (5), copper (5), national (5), analyze (5), criteria (5), young (5), content (4), ted (4), team (4), online (4), arts (4), inspiration (4), growth (4), global (4), educational (4), 21st (4), century (4), follow (4), address (4), model (4), needs (4), doing (4), activity (4), includes (4), 2016 (4), resources (4), html (4), left (4), created (4), kid (4), big (4), ovens (4), easy (4), idea (4), did (4), becomes (4), waiting (4), designed (4), stories (4), why (4), understanding (4), taking (4), solutions (4), problems (4), several (4), knowledge (4), happen (4), working (4), access (4), let (4), robots (4), important (4), images (4), computer (4), tech (4), though (4), three (4), period (4), reflect (4), information (4), encourage (4), sometimes (4), must (4), even (4), grade (4), educators (4), rescue (4), learner (4), above (4), ability (4), levels (4), take (4), product (4), approach (4), having (4), lesson (4), simple (4), confidence (4), struggles (4), processes (4), its (4), bottom (4), tell (4), been (4), words (4), helping (4), feelings (4), teach (4), mindsets (4), used (4), including (4), way (4), don (4), because (4), writer (4), destination (4), videos (4), slime (4), side (4), modeling (4), decorated (4), parallel (4), outline (4), elaborate (4), refine (4), maximize (4), efforts (4), arrow (4), workbook (4), ywp (4), nanowrimo (4), month (4), view (3), now (3), talks (3), centric (3), reform (3), play (3), passion (3), mindset (3), makerspace (3), movement (3), space (3), english (3), assessment (3), context (3), lessons (3), beginning (3), picture (3), code (3), car (3), anything (3), boxes (3), engaging (3), girls (3), creation (3), small (3), miniature (3), course (3), hole (3), holes (3), foosball (3), simply (3), face (3), viewed (3), smores (3), there (3), lots (3), capture (3), flag (3), short (3), children (3), toy (3), expectations (3), products (3), same (3), asking (3), needed (3), embedded (3), occurred (3), business (3), excitement (3), seem (3), best (3), classrooms (3), seemingly (3), nature (3), makes (3), perspectives (3), every (3), home (3), scissors (3), potential (3), art (3), drones (3), didn (3), savage (3), middle (3), white (3), discussed (3), low (3), around (3), camps (3), taught (3), resort (3), hard (3), great (3), questions (3), practices (3), overcome (3), good (3), understand (3), down (3), avoid (3), actually (3), instruction (3), people (3), always (3), challenging (3), likely (3), gives (3), sense (3), says (3), types (3), allow (3), isn (3), capability (3), attempts (3), require (3), skill (3), together (3), powerful (3), correct (3), reframe (3), experience (3), finding (3), attention (3), critical (3), stuck (3), look (3), form (3), yelling (3), future (3), study (3), power (3), personal (3), participants (3), past (3), results (3), leads (3), structured (3), asked (3), minute (3), mysteries (3), solve (3), believe (3), between (3), specific (3), text (3), works (3), find (3), fly (3), pdf (3), cultural (3), along (3), recipe (3), jello (3), edible (3), languages (3), started (3), alligator (3), molds (3), decorate (3), markers (3), circuit (3), coin (3), place (3), positive (3), legs (3), eyes (3), watch (3), details (3), state (3), determine (3), worthwhile (3), incremental (3), radical (3), bring (3), 2019 (3), fasteners (3), button (3), clip (3), ground (3), program (3), biography (3), facts (3), fact (3), artistic (3), characters (3), novel (3), required (2), collapse (2), site (2), log (2), sign (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), join (2), 617 (2), subscribers (2), web (2), video (2), games (2), agency (2), emotional (2), mobile (2), flipped (2), entrepreneurship (2), youth (2), connected (2), rss (2), motivational (2), communicating (2), perspective (2), hot (2), told (2), duct (2), tracks (2), garages (2), makedo (2), long (2), card (2), available (2), completed (2), placed (2), poked (2), shoebox (2), pieces (2), poster (2), photo (2), energy (2), tutorials (2), internet (2), diy (2), experiment (2), shields (2), instructables (2), follows (2), blank (2), palette (2), especially (2), doesn (2), instructions (2), film (2), toys (2), defined (2), imagining (2), came (2), does (2), case (2), true (2), demonstrated (2), connecting (2), soft (2), others (2), interest (2), angle (2), discussions (2), helped (2), better (2), trial (2), error (2), ever (2), still (2), flash (2), traditional (2), completing (2), loud (2), chaotic (2), creates (2), engaged (2), pedagogical (2), america (2), puts (2), playing (2), field (2), cannot (2), afford (2), craft (2), additional (2), offset (2), term (2), printing (2), raspberry (2), laser (2), cutters (2), single (2), empowering (2), bay (2), faire (2), printers (2), culture (2), moves (2), equity (2), issues (2), regardless (2), except (2), whiteboard (2), center (2), interactive (2), facilitate (2), motivation (2), rationale (2), minimal (2), hours (2), accept (2), okay (2), built (2), opportunity (2), barriers (2), possible (2), similar (2), successful (2), interests (2), limits (2), cry (2), possibility (2), urge (2), occur (2), limitations (2), done (2), motivate (2), feedback (2), throughout (2), instead (2), fixed (2), grasp (2), performance (2), lack (2), support (2), concept (2), complex (2), transition (2), sorts (2), perseverance (2), beautiful (2), sal (2), scores (2), block (2), usually (2), pick (2), focuses (2), allowing (2), try (2), move (2), scaffolding (2), assistance (2), importance (2), complete (2), current (2), errors (2), achieve (2), engage (2), scaffold (2), previous (2), mistake (2), procedures (2), strive (2), open (2), setbacks (2), natural (2), parts (2), blogged (2), difficulties (2), implement (2), environment (2), completion (2), innovating (2), alternative (2), changes (2), apt (2), feel (2), quality (2), research (2), emphasize (2), outside (2), remind (2), times (2), peers (2), succeed (2), never (2), she (2), deal (2), while (2), feeling (2), choices (2), dealing (2), add (2), greater (2), change (2), carol (2), dweck (2), manageable (2), risk (2), programs (2), life (2), shot (2), worksheets (2), answers (2), useful (2), transform (2), icebreakers (2), rebus (2), puzzles (2), riddles (2), word (2), interact (2), riddle (2), audience (2), digital (2), physical (2), visual (2), group (2), teamwork (2), spark (2), recently (2), wrote (2), graphic (2), writers (2), significant (2), decades (2), become (2), expressive (2), imaginative (2), imaginations (2), ten (2), years (2), udl (2), means (2), action (2), media (2), silence (2), revelation (2), focused (2), cartoon (2), green (2), amusement (2), park (2), selected (2), fortune (2), teller (2), graders (2), mission (2), differences (2), communication (2), choose (2), cards (2), could (2), would (2), candy (2), combining (2), food (2), starch (2), water (2), flavor (2), red (2), marigolds (2), tissue (2), lights (2), programming (2), number (2), across (2), servo (2), control (2), microbit (2), clips (2), right (2), consistency (2), meringue (2), least (2), mexicansugarskull (2), sugar_skulls (2), examples (2), template (2), taped (2), longer (2), folded (2), itself (2), batteries (2), artifacts (2), latino (2), element (2), youtu (2), traditions (2), narratives (2), imagined (2), events (2), technique (2), relevant (2), descriptive (2), event (2), sequences (2), ela (2), substances (2), competing (2), systematic (2), meet (2), define (2), reflecting (2), specified (2), generation (2), cultures (2), contexts (2), addressed (2), living (2), town (2), hispanic (2), halloween (2), wars (2), off (2), movie (2), beauty (2), rights (2), speaks (2), giertz (2), shares (2), useless (2), michelle (2), communities (2), large (2), institutions (2), worlds (2), lives (2), gun (2), violence (2), brass (2), sure (2), hold (2), touch (2), bottles (2), speech (2), blocks (2), pages (2), 3rd (2), novelist (2), variety (2), thoughts (2), effectively (2), enhanced (2), workshop (2), magic (2), imperative (2), website, name, bar, manage, subscriptions, reader, report, privacy, already, account, unschooling, tinkering, integration, technolgy, learrning, networking, directed, reflective, professional, networked, heutagogy, game, empathy, emerging, disrupting, cross, curricular, cooperative, collaboration, coding, menus, byod, artificial, intelligence, enter, receive, notifications, 934, 666, hits, stats, search, grammar, approaching, marginalized, populations, asset, deficit, setting, texting, communications, exercise, full, talking, planning, sustainable, city, zoom, book, june, webpage, makereducation, techlow, camper, wheels, equally, boys, screws, wheel, gave, club, ball, bought, toilet, towel, rolls, pool, noodles, playground, grassy, carnivalsource, store, 194472, areas, ahead, dowels, pointy, safe, saw, muminthemadhouse, table, football, paints, desertchica, oven, swords, helmets, played, got, age, sword, handles, fortress, battle, knight, costumes, alive, mind, beautifully, illustrated, unfortunately, today, leave, room, pre, identities, rob, joy, leaves, figure, fail, invent, becoming, informed, companies, designers, exploration, letting, promoted, sold, motivated, attentive, certain, folding, techniques, included, collaborating, genuine, desire, became, highest, introduced, talked, direction, sun, rays, lean, reason, naturally, discovery, controlled, fashion, matter, preposterous, excruciating, stand, unusual, besides, staining, clothes, carpet, sink, memory, learningismessy, quotes, marked, quietly, desks, opposite, went, cutting, mess, mac, cheese, thin, stuff, score, corrugated, pair, safety, cheap, enough, send, partial, roll, families, clay, kits, money, supplies, imagine, belong, equals, among, adequate, creators, reusing, promoting, associated, costs, clear, lino, vinyl, carpentry, welding, sculpting, dance, filmmaking, singing, photography, cosplay, exist, invigorating, adequately, speak, broader, terms, mythbusters, notes, purview, mostly, upper, teachers, whose, recent, npr, article, providing, income, utilized, projecting, actions, integrating, environments, components, seen, crafts, hacking, robotics, spheros, ozobots, dash, dot, arduinos, pis, discusses, fifteen, days, morning, split, sections, july, yep, absolutely, meaning, processing, reconcile, prior, stick, clarified, sought, extended, rescuing, cajole, coax, persuade, wheedle, thought, coach, pushes, athletes, appears, mean, callous, caveat, strategy, relationship, leaners, heart, angry, sit, helpers, tendency, stress, reaching, unsurmountable, away, achieving, definition, differentiated, insure, challenged, grow, constantly, provides, major, encourages, persevere, previously, reframes, responsibility, believes, moving, ensuring, tackle, wouldn, second, floor, house, shaky, foundation, otherwise, forward, notion, rushed, without, foundational, successfully, pace, neat, start, actual, urges, test, builds, supposed, learns, expect, section, academy, fame, philosophy, applicable, circling, back, put, say, initially, unable, independently, offers, unassisted, expected, prompting, able, putting, enjoy, scaffolded, repeated, contrary, guess, corrected, absorb, retain, wrong, hasten, appropriate, interpreted, americans, situations, err, prelude, oftentimes, ended, ill, originally, planned, explain, improving, normalizing, promotion, biggest, oriented, risks, tolerating, attempting, routes, route, whats, hows, pressure, increases, motivates, higher, promotes, meaningful, line, facilitating, reliance, knowing, transfer, going, coming, classmates, policy, speaking, socialized, recognize, involves, mastering, takes, patience, recognizing, temporary, concludes, encouragement, far, gift, frustrated, dejection, seriously, differently, reply, awfully, eventually, encouraging, herself, fight, basic, frustrating, observe, themselves, midst, experiencing, narrative, situation, conscious, behavior, express, tips, parents, managing, precedes, gotten, frustrations, opened, iterations, ones, path, persistence, comfort, zone, neurons, brain, stronger, smarter, believing, drawn, attitude, include, arise, ultimately, outward, bound, type, defeating, behaviors, result, beginnings, orientation, behavioral, cycle, wonder, struggle, mimics, assessments, almost, aren, partially, blame, quick, comparable, chapter, essays, math, fill, blanks, graded, percentage, relationships, september, toward, semester, introduction, breaking, ice, dramatically, dynamics, pinterest, climate, whimsy, essentially, pictures, letters, cryptically, represent, phrase, saying, playful, symbolic, yes, called, average, reality, platform, publishing, genre, purpose, length, balance, healthy, pencil, notebooks, whole, heartedly, empower, sparks, leverage, multi, modal, tools, audio, primed, solved, everyday, friends, innovative, hundreds, combinations, endless, divergent, sparking, titles, links, october, embedding, strong, component, plan, integral, professionals, scientists, mathematicians, artists, expertise, scientist, artist, person, according, conducted, kyung, hee, kim, professor, college, william, mary, aspects, decline, torrance, tests, reveals, emotionally, energetic, talkative, verbally, humorous, unconventional, lively, passionate, perceptive, irrelevant, synthesizing, kills, contain, sadly, sir, ken, robinson, noted, ago, killing, tour, guide, 2015, topics, facilitates, fuels, effortless, learned, multimedia, presentation, expression, podcasts, modules, interactions, representation, facilitated, accessibility, permit, unlimited, unaccessed, unknown, voices, poignantly, describes, transformation, act, flexibility, assist, edutopia, joshua, audre, lorde, 100, staying, recorded, front, screen, added, background, imovie, finished, commercial, song, pet, fishbowl, hungry, concert, four, particular, interestingly, versions, destination_imagination_ic_makers, developed, destinationimagination, vision, celebrate, diversity, teams, reach, stars, rooting, friendly, competition, energize, decisions, powered, driven, solving, principles, extraordinary, recommended, supervisor, title, fantastic, awareness, november, randomly, deck, discard, totally, elated, seven, screenshots, reflections, provided, board, bones, gravestones, animal, crackers, crushed, dirt, items, described, again, reminding, directly, miscellaneous, colors, determined, lime, strawberry, visit, thesoccermomblog, silly, putty, tinkerlab, yellow, pipe, cleaners, mini, half, size, credit, equipped, messages, features, compass, accelerometer, capabilities, compatible, editors, message, rotate, arc, sites, google, microbitofthings, motor, authuser, makecode, sparkfun, heavy, stock, servos, jumper, wires, lit, although, tricky, once, sculpt, artisancakecompany, perfect, morsels, corn, syrup, purchased, incredibly, dry, ingredients, adding, dampened, beach, sand, amounts, harden, royal, icing, powder, projected, trace, containing, wired, shorter, placeholder, inches, near, extra, reminded, polarities, leg, larger, diameter, insuring, lead, visa, versa, stapled, makerspaces, light, skeleton, printed, joined, pupils, 5mm, transparent, groups, decide, theme, option, alone, partner, smithsonian, theater, alter, ofrenda, edu, dayofthedead, 1wfezm0, geographic, _ssawpu81ci, tradition, youtube, rdll45ljkey, introduce, shown, gaining, interpret, data, properties, chemical, reaction, nations, non, collaboratively, individuals, representing, diverse, religions, lifestyles, spirit, mutual, respect, dialogue, lived, santa, mexico, favorite, celebrates, embraces, mexican, privilege, channel, heritage, holiday, intriguing, masses, decided, coco, december, parting, joyful, heartfelt, featuring, demos, wonderfully, wacky, simone, inventions, chop, vegetables, hair, apply, lipstick, rarely, point, acknowledgment, turns, head, tells, exactly, maybe, toothbrush, helmet, question, maria, keynote, nation, conference, persons, disabilities, obama, tracee, ellis, ross, conversation, united, women, summit, angeles, overstate, admiration, woman, emily, pilloton, purposeful, any, furthermore, bringing, leaders, prepare, shows, initiative, uses, amplify, raw, brilliance, public, annual, sunday, sermon, essential, aspect, generosity, sharing, explains, soar, award, winning, animated, girl, tiny, boy, pilot, late, king, conundrums, empathetic, humanity, justice, inhabit, embrace, march, rally, washington, african, american, discussion, wadler, walkout, country, author, luis, perez, impairment, forced, him, live, betwixt, inspiring, covers, journey, disability, role, amazing, whereby, favorites, selection, laugh, cheer, inspired, hopeful, mentions, schooling, aspire, list, february, ready, protrude, conductive, plate, mark, trigger, key, press, matching, input, attached, run, touching, metal, lightly, upload, keys, accents, touched, verbalized, extensions, glued, cardstock, file, folders, punched, wire, inserted, fastener, bent, hangs, edge, permits, connection, object, programmed, labz, makeymakey, cwists, preview, 1506, bottlesx, describe, main, characteristics, posting, image, kidblog, version, drawing, describing, introductory, jumps, begin, developing, since, formatted, places, insert, elementary_school_workbook_ed4_interior, libraries, centers, virtual, spaces, workbooks, aligned, curricula, allows, under, reasonable, individual, count, goals, identify, iste, generate, conceptualize, articulate, oral, nonverbal, forms, communicate, preach, enhance, inventing, readers, blogs,

Text of the page (random words):
m within watch michelle obama and tracee ellis ross in conversation at the 2018 united state of women summit on may 5 2018 los angeles i cannot overstate how much admiration i have for this woman maria town s keynote at the maker of nation s conference where she talks about the rights of persons with disabilities especially from a maker s perspective in this joyful heartfelt talk featuring demos of her wonderfully wacky creations simone giertz shares her craft making useless robots her inventions designed to chop vegetables cut hair apply lipstick and more rarely if ever succeed and that s the point the true beauty of making useless things is this acknowledgment that you don t always know what the best answer is giertz says it turns off that voice in your head that tells you that you know exactly how the world works maybe a toothbrush helmet isn t the answer but at least you re asking the question and my parting shot speaks for itself share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading written by jackie gerstein ed d december 22 2018 at 9 32 pm posted in education maker education tagged with educational reform human rights innovation inspiration day of the dead dia de los muertos displays a maker education project with one comment i have lived in santa fe new mexico for a few decades one of my favorite things about living here is that my town celebrates and embraces hispanic and mexican cultural traditions i have the privilege of working with gifted kids at two elementary schools with over 80 hispanic students for the past two years i did halloween wars based off of the food channel show see halloween wars an interdisciplinary lesson with a stem steam maker education focus for more about this because of the cultural heritage of my students and because i find the day of the dead holiday so intriguing and beautiful the movie coco helped bring its beauty to the masses i decided to focus on having the students create dia de los muertos displays this year standards addressed 21st century skills using 21st century skills to understand and address global issues learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures religions and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue in personal work and community contexts understanding other nations and cultures including the use of non english languages create new and worthwhile ideas both incremental and radical concepts elaborate refine analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts create new and worthwhile ideas both incremental and radical concepts elaborate refine analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts next generation science standards define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials time or cost evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred common core state standards ela write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique relevant descriptive details and well structured event sequences getting started gaining attention to introduce and show students the traditions related to day of the dead they are shown the following videos day of the dead flavor and tradition https www youtube com watch v rdll45ljkey what is day of the dead national geographic https youtu be _ssawpu81ci dia de los muertos short film https youtu be v4 1wfezm0 as well as given time to explore the smithsonian latino center s theater of the dead http latino si edu dayofthedead which includes an interactive element to build their own alter or ofrenda writing a story about day of the dead students write a story with a day of the dead theme they are given the option to write it alone or with a partner here is an example from one of my 6th grade students artifacts for the day of the dead displays students make the following artifacts and then in small groups of three students decide if and how they want to use them in their day of the dead displays to reflect the stories they wrote decorated skulls with paper circuits for eyes materials skull outline and parallel circuit outline one for each student 5mm led lights copper tape coin batteries transparent tape markers students decorate their paper skulls and then make parallel paper circuits to light up the eyes of these skulls i found a template of a skeleton skull online i printed these out one for each student i then made an outline of a parallel circuit so that when connected and joined with the top part the leds would show up as pupils of the decorated skull see below students first cut out and decorate their skulls with markers images of decorated day of the dead skulls can be projected via a whiteboard so students can see examples they then trace their cut out skulls onto the paper circuits template and cut that out the bottom piece containing the parallel circuit design is then wired with the copper tape the shorter copper tape is taped down from the battery placeholder to the end of its outline so that the coin battery can be placed on top of that for the longer piece of copper tape about 1 5 inches is left at the end near the battery this extra is folded onto itself so that after the battery is in place this part of the copper tape can be taped on top of the battery having a folded over end piece makes it more manageable students should be reminded how to find the polarities of both the leds the longer leg is positive and the coin battery it has a on the top that side with a little bit larger diameter students then tape their batteries and leds in place insuring that the positive legs of the led lead to positive side of the battery and visa versa for more about paper circuits see https www makerspaces com paper circuits the leds are then poked through the eyes of the decorated skull the top and bottom pieces are then stapled together sugar skulls materials sugar meringue powder sugar skull molds sugar skull molds can be purchased from https www mexicansugarskull com sugar_skulls sugar skull molds html sugar skulls are incredibly easy to make just combining the dry ingredients of sugar and meringue power and adding a little water so it becomes the consistency of dampened beach sand more directions along with amounts can be found at https www mexicansugarskull com sugar_skulls instructions html after waiting at least 24 hours for the skulls to harden students can then decorate them using edible markers or royal icing skulls from modeling chocolate materials white chocolate morsels corn syrup this is another easy recipe to make see http artisancakecompany com recipe how to make perfect modeling chocolate for specific directions although it is a bit tricky to get the modeling chocolate to the right consistency once the modeling chocolate is made students sculpt it into 3d skulls micro bit lit skull materials micro bit one for each team heavy stock cardboard servos with jumper wires and alligator clips if movement is designed a micro bit is mini computer half the size of a credit card equipped with 25 red led lights that can flash messages the micro bit features an embedded compass accelerometer mobile and web based programming capabilities it is compatible with a number of online code editors across a number of different languages https learn sparkfun com tutorials getting started with the microbit for this activity students cut out a skull with a window in the middle for the micro bit see below they then use https makecode microbit org to 1 create a message on the leds about day of the dead and 2 code the servo to rotate the skull in a small arc from side to side see https sites google com view microbitofthings 7 motor control 11 servo control authuser 0 for how to do this tissue paper marigolds materials yellow tissue paper pipe cleaners the directions for how to make these can be found at https tinkerlab com simple paper marigolds dia de los muertos edible slime materials sugar free jello starch this is an easy recipe with the slime made by combining sugar free jello food starch and water colors are determined by the flavor of the jello i like using lime for green slime and strawberry for red slime for more information visit https thesoccermomblog com edible silly putty miscellaneous materials students are provided with core board and also given candy bones candy gravestones and chocolate animal crackers to be crushed into dirt so that these items along with the projects described above can be used for their displays again reminding students that the displays should directly reflect their stories about dead of the day dia de los muertos this slideshow requires javascript student reflection students were asked to randomly choose five cards from the deck of my maker reflection cards to reflect on their experiences with this project they were told that they could discard two of them but would need to answer three of them via a blog post and i was totally elated when one asked if he could answer more seven of them here are screenshots of his and another student s reflections share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin like loading written by jackie gerstein ed d november 6 2018 at 1 55 am posted in education maker education tagged with creativity cultural awareness innovation maker education maker movement science steam stem choice imagination fantastic results with one comment destination imagination di has been recommended by my supervisor for use with gifted students i teach gifted students at two title 1 elementary schools di mission to engage participants in project based challenges that are designed to build confidence and develop extraordinary creativity critical thinking communication and teamwork skills di principles fun learning explore stem steam concepts in a hands on environment creative problem solving learn how to think not what to think kid powered team driven energize students to own all decisions creations and results friendly competition motivate teams to reach for the stars while also rooting for each other global diversity encourage and celebrate differences in each other and differences in ideas https www destinationimagination org vision mission destination imagination has developed instant challenges to help spark student creativity recently i had one class of gifted 6th graders do the fortune teller instant challenge see below here is a pdf that leads to the several versions of the destination imagination fortune teller destination_imagination_ic_makers pdf i only have four students in this particular class and interestingly each selected a different project tell a story about being very very hungry at a concert make a cartoon about getting a new pet in a fishbowl create a song about trying to fly at an amusement park create a commercial about trying to fly at an amusement park they except for the cartoon recorded their projects in front a green screen and then added background images using imovie here are their finished creations they had 100 engagement throughout the project this is significant as two of the girls sometimes have a difficult time getting and staying focused on their projects during class i believe this occurred because they were given a choice and they had to use their imaginations choice i have blogged about giving student voice and choice in the past education works when people have opportunities to find and develop unaccessed or unknown voices and skills audre lorde poignantly describes this transformation of silence into language and action as an act of self revelation opportunities for flexibility and choice assist learners in finding passion voice and revelation through their work http www edutopia org blog student choice leads to voice joshua block internet accessibility technologies that permit the user generated media and social media allow for unlimited potential for learner choice and voice learner choice can be facilitated through giving learners choice in how they want to learn content including through videos text based resources podcasts hands on modules or human interactions see udl s multiple means of representation giving learners choices to show what they know what they learned through anything from writing a paper to creating a multimedia presentation to creating a performance art work see udl s multiple means of action and expression giving learners choice to study topics based on personal interests as it facilitates natural engagement in learning see interest fuels effortless engagement being a tour guide of learning possibilities show learners the possibilities and then get out of the way see https usergeneratededucation wordpress com 2015 07 26 show learners the possibilities and then get out of the way imagination i believe that most of student learning should contain some form of them using their imaginations sadly though as sir ken robinson noted over ten years ago schools are killing creativity according to research conducted by kyung hee kim professor of education at the college of william and mary all aspects of student creativity at the k 12 level have been in significant decline for the last few decades based on scores from the torrance tests of creative thinking her study reveals that children have become less emotionally expressive less energetic less talkative and verbally expressive less humorous less imaginative less unconventional less lively and passionate less perceptive less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things less synthesizing and less likely to see things from a different angle how america s education model kills creativity and entrepreneurship from my blog post intentional creativity embedding creativity into the curriculum can and should be a strong component of content area teaching and learning in other words educators don t need to plan to teach creativity as another part of curriculum creativity is often an integral part of the practices of professionals including scientists mathematicians business people artists writers and is an important part of their content area expertise it follow then that learners should be taught in ways that help them think like a scientist like an artist like a writer like a business person share this...