Slideshow programs, like Microsoft PowerPoint, are not just for use in the business world. Allow your students to put these programs to use by having them create picture books. Begin by asking students to write simple stories. Ask them to illustrate these stories using a paint program or select pictures from the internet that serve as fitting images. Help your students create slide shows in which they pair their words with the pictures, making a digital book that they can share with their friends. Print paper copies for students to take home.
Allow students to show you how they see the world by creating a digital pictures wall. Give your students digital cameras to use for the day or allow them to take them home overnight. If you don’t have enough cameras for every student, rotate between students, having them take turns. When students come back with their cameras full of pictures, download these images and print them. Ask students to help you create a collage featuring these images to display on a classroom wall. Allow each student to explain what each image means to him as he puts it on the wall.
Put a tech-rich spin on the classic practice of composing and sending pen pal letters by pairing your students with digital pen pals. Partner with a school across the country, or one in another state, and connect your students with the pupils from this institution of learning. Set up email accounts for your students using a free email service and allow them to exchange digital letters with these students, learning more about the world and getting to know people they never would have met otherwise.
Provide your students with an opportunity to learn more about the state they call home by having them create “My State” flyers. To begin this activity, help each student research his state. Next, guide them through the use of a desktop publishing program, such as Microsoft Publisher, helping them put their information into brochure form. For an alternative option, assign each student a different state or country in which to design a brochure, encouraging students to learn about places outside of their own backyards.