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Kids’ Press: Differentiated Magazine Activities

Name of Participants: Mary Gertsch-Cochran, Jocelyne LaVigne

Overview/Purpose: Kids’ Press is a Type I Odyssey component, open to all students, that provides language arts and visual art enrichment. It focuses on the development of communication skills by furnishing a vehicle for publication of student writing and art. The purpose of this pilot is to create a variety of differentiated magazine activities that students can utilize independently throughout the school year. The following genres are addressed: poetry, fiction and non-fiction, interviews, drawings, games and puzzles, surveys, and comics and cartoons.

Length of instructional time: Twice weekly sessions Sept. - May

Grade/age level: The targeted level would be students in grades 2-5

NYS Learning Standards Addressed:

• ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
• ELA Standard 2: Students will read, write listen and speak for literary response and expression.
• ELA Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction.
• Visual Arts Standard 1: Creating, performing and participating in the arts,

PCSD Standards

• Critical Thinker
• Effective Communicator
• Lifelong Learner
• Healthy Citizen

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What makes a child’s magazine/newspaper engaging?
• What are the components of a popular children’s magazine/newspaper?
• How can our school magazine/newspaper develop a larger circulation?

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Declarative: The students will …

• know the various genres and the differentiated activities they can engage in to produce a magazine or newspaper.
• understand their personal writing and artistic strengths and preferences
• understand that writing and art can be a chosen, creative, expressive activity.

Procedural: The student will be able to:

• successfully write and draw using the Six Traits writing model in various differentiated formats, submitting their work to the quarterly school magazine/newspaper
• take responsibility for their learning by choosing appropriate writing and drawing activities that differentiate their instruction.