I think the best thing about this project was making the pictures and actually seeing them on the webpage. It was very cool knowing you did it and actually seeing them. I learned a lot of new words, and now I'll probably know them forever. I learned how to make tips to remember them. I can still remember the tips too! The most memorable thing was seeing something I drew online. It was neat knowing I drew it! I loved this project! It was fun working with the laptops and making a website. Knowing people might see it gives you a good feeling. I would love to do it again!
- Kurt, age 12
TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE
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YOU TOO can make an online talking picture dictionary!! You can adapt this project to any language that your students are learning and also use this for English as a Second Language classes. Here you will find a suggested time line to complete the project, necessary materials, a few translation dictionary sites to help you get started, and a few ideas for follow-on projects.
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SUGGESTED TIME LINE
September
* Break students into groups. Four or five students work best. Try to divide students into groups of various abilities and talents (i.e. prior computer knowledge, art skills, organization practices) and with a common interest in both language and topic (German animals, French food, etc.). This will permit better group dynamics because everybody can use their strengths and they are all working on something they're interested in.
* Create folders on your school server for students to put computer work in.
* Distribute language and topic to each group. Ask students to start thinking about what words and pictures they would like to see on their website.
* Teach students about what makes a successful translation. They should remember to look up words in their singular form, make sure their English spelling is accurate, and to look up the word in the English-target language section as opposed to the target language-English section, etc.).
October
* Ask students in their groups to generate a list of 25 words. Each site here originally featured 20 words (we've added twelve words per page since then), but the extra words serve as a back-up in case they have difficulty in translating all of their first 20. You can modify this assignment to include more or less words depending on your grade level and subject.
*Introduce students to basic Internet operation (how to search, click, go back, etc.)
* Review successful translation strategies from last month. Sometimes hearing things twice helps a lot. Students should make sure their lists comply with these tips.
November
Students should translate words as a group. Provide students with a list of dictionary websites. I have provided a few below for you. You will want to give them several as different dictionaries may carry different words. As students find words, they should copy and paste these into a word processing document to make sure they have accurate spelling. Some sites give multiple entries, such as for different parts of speech. You may need to assist students as to which one they should use depending on language experience of the class. Students should print their lists and give you one copy to hold onto and put another in their group folder.
December
Now that all words are translated, students should draw pictures. Be careful of using copyrighted material from other places. While copyright-free clip art does exist, kids enjoy making their own pictures. Pictures will come out better if they are in color and on blank paper. Divide up the pictures among students and give this to them as homework or have them work on this in class. Divide a blank piece of paper into several blank squares for them to draw their pictures in. This will cut down on the amount of scanning necessary. Students should include their name, language, and category on this page so you know who has done their assignment. There will be many pictures coming in. You may want to have students drop them in a box when finished.
January
* Scan drawings and save in the images folder of each website. Students enjoy scanning their own pictures. If possible, allow them to do so.
* Begin creating the webpage. Using your website design program, have students choose their background color, write their title and create a grid where they will insert the words and pictures.
* Students should copy words from the word processing document where they recorded their translation and insert them into the grid as well. It is helpful to have the target language be bolder than the English. For this project, I asked that the translations be written in upper case and the English in lower case.
February
* Students insert scanned drawings into the grid above the translations.
* Each group should write a 5+ sentence paragraph to welcome viewers to their website. This paragraph should also state why it is important to learn their vocabulary topic and language. This gives the page a purpose and reinforces thousands of reasons why foreign languages are important. Have students brainstorm ideas first for five minutes before writing. Students should type these into their webpages and save.
March
* Students should write mnemonic devices to remember the words. These can come in many forms (a catchy tune, a poem, correlations to English, a story, etc.) and you can choose how many you would like students to include. Our pages have a minimum of seven tips (at least 1/4 of the words on each page), but you could do more or less. Also, where we have been studying cognates (words similar to English) this year, many of the tips address similarities to English. This is an essential part of the project. Students gain an appreciation for teaching and also end up learning the words better themselves. This section will help kids remember some of the more difficult words or differences in spelling before taking a quiz at school. Students should type these into their webpages and save.
* Begin recording words.
April
Students create a game or a quiz this month for their website. This is the assessment piece. Once kids have showed and taught the words, other students can practice what they learned. You can have students do word searches, word scrambles, multiple choice, fill-ins, etc. Games/quizzes should also include answers.
May
* Proofread all sites and give feedback. Ask students to correct anything missing.
* View the websites at the end of May and invite other teachers and parents to visit your students' dictionary pages. Kids will love to see themselves published on the Internet.
June
* Do follow-on projects (optional). See below for more details.
MATERIALS
* Creativity
* A folder for each group to keep hardcopies of their computer work.
* Computers
* A scanner
* Access to the Internet
* Word processing application
* Markers, colored pencils, crayons (for drawings)
* Blank paper
* Website design program - We used Claris Home Page, but you can use a different one.
* Sound recording program - We used Sound Studio.
TRANSLATION WEBSITES
There are many translation websites out there. If you use a search engine and type in the name of the language you are studying as well as the word "dictionary", chances are you will find several sources to help you with your project. There are even dictionaries in less common languages like Hungarian, Icelandic, and Romanian. We used several sites, but here are a few of the sites we used to help you get started.
www.wordreference.com
IDEAS FOR FOLLOW-ON
This project allows students to continue learning long after the project has been completed. Not only do the students become experts in their twenty words, but by viewing other students' pages, they end up learning those words as well. Have students play the games and take the quizzes found on each page. You can also use this in a multi-level language program to review vocabulary from the year before. There are also ways to expand the project even more, two of those being a class presentation and a poster project for display. Here are a few general requirements for the two to help you get started.
STUDENT POSTER REQUIREMENTS
Use this as a checklist to make sure you complete the assignment!!
1. Use white poster board.
2. You should show 8-10 words from your lesson.
3. All words must have a picture. Be creative here. You can draw pictures, take photos, use magazines, etc.
4. Each picture must be labeled in both English and your new language. Make sure viewers can clearly see the words. Use dark lettering, preferably at least one inch tall.
5. Double check spelling.
STUDENT CLASS LESSON AND PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS
Use this as a checklist to make sure you complete the assignment!!
1. Presentations must be between 5 and 10 minutes. Please observe these limits.
2. All students must speak a new word or phrase in the language of that lesson at least once.
3. The group must use at least one visual other than the poster during the presentation (Ideas: charades, bring in objects, etc.). In addition, you should show the website you have worked so hard on!! We will have a computer available.
4. The group must pass in a list of all group members and how they contributed towards the overall project. Include how each helped in the computer lesson, class lesson, and poster.
Connection to State Standards
This project has worked towards meeting many of the State Standards. These are taken directly from the State of Maine Learning Results, and some of these include:
1. Investigate the languages of other cultures and compare/contrast them to English.
2. Consult pertinent information sources on language use.
3. Improve their finished product by revising content from draft to final piece.
4. Identify familiar people and objects through clues and illustrations.
5. Use and react to gestures, intonation, and other visual or auditory clues.
6. Read and interpret multi-step directions.
7. Recognize that languages are interrelated and belong to language families.
8. Identify how tangible products of the culture such as toys, dress, housing, food, currency reflect life in that culture. (Maine sites)
9. Demonstrate an understanding, in the second language, of terms and concepts learned in other subject areas, such as weather, math facts, measurements, plants and animals, and geography.
10. Demonstrate ways in which the arts can be used in interdisciplinary activities.
11. Create original works using different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, feelings, and meaning.
12. Use a variety of resources, materials, and techniques to design and execute art works.
13. Gather and effectively present information, using a variety of media including computers.
14. Evaluate individual and group communication for clarity, and work to improve communication.
15. Use computers to organize data, generate models, and do research for problem solving.
16. Identify and perform roles necessary to accomplish group tasks.
SPECIAL NOTES
If you choose to repeat the project with new groups of students, like I do, you can have students build upon the sites each year. Students like to see their work continue and revisit the sites to see what additions have been made. Since the first year for example we have added twelve new words to each page. Each page now has 32 words.
This project works well for other subjects too. Two of the seven multiple intelligences are interpersonal communication and artistic learning. Kids will remember the words because they do so many things with them. Why not try this out in history, science, and so on?
HAVE FUN WITH THE PROJECT! Please email me at WILLETTEJ@LINK75.ORG if you have any questions or want to share any comments. Thanks! Jeremy Willette