Lisa Wilbanks, Library Media Specialist at South Jackson Elementary School in Jackson County,
works with students in the media center to not only conduct research and read, but to also design, build, and create meaningful projects and inventions. She encourages critical thinking and helps to develop essential 21st century skills through carefully designed projects that are hands-on and engaging for her students.
She believes that student choice is important to maintaining engagement and works to help students connect the curriculum with their current interests in a way that reinforces their classroom lessons.
One project she is most proud of is utilizing Conquest of the Realm as a means to celebrate reading and encourage students to apply high-order thinking skills when reflecting and sharing their independent reading. This game also serves as a way to develop a thriving school-wide reading community.
Working within kingdoms, students complete projects based on their reading that opens up creative dialogue. Students then earn territory for their kingdom by completing projects based on books they read. Students may choose from the following: movie trailer, reenactment, novel engineering, songwriting, book talk, expressive oral reading, 3d-model creation, author study, research project, wordless book narrative, compare/contrast art, or illustrated dictionary. Territory hexagons, as well as new sashes and buttons, are awarded each week at Friday Morning Celebration that takes place with the whole school about 15 minutes before school starts each Friday. Each kingdom meets all together with the students in K-5 each month for one hour to discuss projects, reading, and a specified character trait.
For more information on this amazing project, contact Ms. Wilbanks!
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