Literature Pocketmod
(click the image for a much larger version)
Once you’ve arranged all the pieces, folded them, cut them up and stapled them back-to-back, you’ll have a nifty 12 page booklet.
All you really need to do now is decide what you want to fill it with. Each little pages should hold quite a bit of information.
You’ll notice I have one topic on each side of my Pocketmod with the same label: Structure and Figurative Language. The only reason for this is that Iwant the students to recognize that these terms aren’t meant only for one or the other — they move back and forth. Therefore, one side will be used for the definition, the other for examples.
HOW TO USE this is completely up to you. The bottom of this pocketmod is stapled together, preventing students from using the backside of that sheet. Therefore, any tab to be used (or read) will have the information printed on that tab, so it works a little differently from normal tabbed organizers.
The kids loved making these, and since we’ve been using them for notetaking, and for writing about literature, the kids have begun to use the words within the organizer. That’s a powerful thing, and it only took about 20 minutes for an entire class to make ‘em.
More later on what keywords we used in filling these pages with information.
Filed under: Fun Stuff (yay!), Lesson Plans, New Stuff, Reflection
That is soooo cool! I love it! And I love your graphics - what do you use to make them?
ooh I was logged into wordpress under a different name - technologyreflections is me :)
Just a little Photoshop, that’s all.
This looks great, but I am apparently challenged in some way. Can you explain it step by step in writing? I feel like I’m missing something. Your pictures are great, but I’m not getting something about how it’s put together.
No problem. Now that I look back at the pictures, I can tell where it would get confusing.
1. Get three sheets of paper (in different colors) and layer them one on top of the other.
2. leave about one inch of the back leaf showing, and one inch of the middle leaf showing.
3. Fold the whole bunch in half — but let that middle sheet fall one inch below the top of its othr half. (this is where using three colors really comes in handy.) You should have what looks like six sheet of paper.
4. Slice it lengthwise down the middle to create two skinny, six-leafed strips of paper.
5. Place them back to back and staple at both ends. You should now have one organizer with twelve leaves of paper, six on each side.
I hope that helps.
Oh. Wow.
I mean, really. Wow.
What a cool way to set up reviews! Structure the — whatchacallit: pocket mod? — and set’em loose on it.
ooo. OOO. It would work for establishing previous knowledge, too.
And note-taking. And jigsaw work. And book reports.
Oh, this is too cool.
Oh gosh, three years ago we started using these, and other “foldables” in our science classes and they are wonderful! We got the ideas out of a book by Dinah Zike (I think that’s the name) and the kids love them, they’re a great way to take notes and to make connections, and they really help them learn the information. Talk about graphic organizers!!! glad to see that others are using them as well.
Yeah, this is the first time I’ve used a graphic organizer, but I’ll tell you this much — the kids haven’t lost (too many of) them yet, and they ask when they can use them, and they take notes on them, and they offer up opportunities to use them in class.
That’s a good thing, right?
Thanks for sharing the GREAT idea :) I’m using it in a history class to do summary organizers (one tab causes - one key people - one timeline/events - one effects - etc. ) sweet!
[...] I do feel that I reflect on my technology use in the classroom, but I’ve also started to blog of technology use in other areas of my life. That’s OK - I can live with that because often the technology that I encounter outside of school impacts the technology that I use in school. An example of this is something that The Reflective Teacher posted a while back - The Literature Pocketmod. I thought it was really cool and I began thinking of ways to use it in my classroom. We have state tests coming up and I decided to use it to review the terms the kids would see on the test. Well, being the geek that I am, I decided that I needed to figure out a way to have the kids do this project on the computer. The challenge was to figure out what went on each page before it was folded and cut so that when it was folded and cut everything would be in the right places. After a few false starts I think I have it figured out. One big obstacle was how to get text upside down. Word does not allow for upside down text - even if you rotate a text box 180 degrees, the text stays right side up! I solved this problem by typing text in Photoshop Elements and inserting it into the word document as an image and then rotating the image. I’m in the process of finalizing the template and instructions and creating a sample of my own. I have found that the kids will be able to understand complex projects like this better when they can see a finished product. I’ll come back to this post and link the template and instructions when they are finished. [...]
Great! — though one of the blue pieces of paper says “Figurative Langauge [sic]” … I hope you can correct the spelling there.
[...] to have them complete a neat thing The Reflective Teacher posted on his blog a while back - The PocketMod. We will discuss themes and symbols and characters and setting and main idea and all those other [...]
[...] do this, I started with having the students make something — The Pocketmod Click the link above to read about my prior experience with the pocketmod, or take a look below to [...]