I don't remember a time when my classroom has been so quiet. Ten pairs of eyes were glued to the screen. The students did not move the entire period, except to get closer to the television.
Yesterday, my co-teacher took our students on a virtual tour of the annex the Frank family hid in for 761 days. We had our students read a Scholastic article about Anne Frank as a background builder for our work with Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. This year, we were able to add to the reading by using an Oculus headset.
They were amazed that the narrated quotes were from her diary and wanted to hear more.
At the end, their hands shot up.
"What happened to Miep Gies?"
"What happened to Anne? How did she die?"
And the last comment before the bell rang, "Mrs. Morris, this seems so long ago, but there could be someone still alive who experienced what Anne did."
We've got them hooked. They are so excited to read our next novel and are begging to start.
We watched the animated Anne Frank's Diary is class a while back. But this virtual tour is an amazing idea. I'll definitely look into this.
ReplyDeleteThis is just amazing. A great learning experience. It reminds me of the effect of an engaging field trip.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun to hook them like that!?! I was not aware of the virtual tour. I may have to check that out for myself!
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