This year I wanted to do a get to know you activity with my students that fit my technology themed classroom. I searched Pinterest and online blogs and could not find an idea that suited my theme.
Then a week before school it came to me – I’ll have my students decorate old LPs (records) with their photo and magazine cut outs that represent them.
Many of my students had never seen an LP before, and they loved cutting out items that represented them. In previous years, I have had students decorate paper bags, but this idea seemed so much cooler and engaging for middle school students.
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| This is my exemplar for the students. |
Materials Needed:
-white glue
-paint brushes to push the glue onto the paper
-variety of magazines and glossy flyers
-scissors
-old records (can be found at most thrift stores for free or cheap)
-Ziploc bags to keep cut outs safe between classes
To extend this activity:
- have the students choose five items they glued to their LP and explain in writing why they chose to put them on their record and how this item is important to their lives.
- have students present their records formally to the class in a presentation format or informally during a class meeting
- have students mingle around the classroom and classify themselves into pairs, triads and groups based on the items they glued to their LPs. This helps students think critically about the types of groups they could make: interests, colours, photo type etc.
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Kristy, that's a great idea! I bet you could cover an entire wall with them; it would look like an old record store. I think I'd probably play the music on the albums while they worked-downloaded, of course. 🙂
Pam
Desktop Learning Adventures
I will need to do this next year. My classroom is a "rockstar" theme and I actually have records hanging as my curtains. Lots of kids don't know what they are when they come in the first day.
Alison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
My kids enjoyed learning about records and what they were. I would love to own a working record player and have the students be DJs with the records.
So excited that your classroom is rock star theme! Mine is technology theme but it is so hard to keep up the theme.