Free Create Bravely Poster By Peter H. Reynolds!

For all our FableFriends here is a new downloadable poster by Peter H. Reynolds for your classroom or home! Originally as a gift for our booth visitors at ISTE* 2014, this poster should spark the imagination of all who see it. For those of you who got a copy at ISTE we thank you for sharing your ideas with us and we hope to connect the dots with all of you again.

* International Society For Technology and Education

3 Creative Activities For Ending Your School Year

The end of the year is here! We would like to share some fun and memorable end-of-the-year activities. At the bottom of the post, please share your ideas for great ways to end the year.

Review-tionary:

The Review Game of the Quick Draw!

Reviewing what you’ve learned over an entire year can be a daunting task. Engage your entire class with this playful activity:

1. Write the names of major concepts covered on strips of paper.

2. Place the strips of paper into a hat or a bowl.

3. Have the students pick from the papers blindly..

4. Ask students to illustrate the concept without using words in their drawing. (Tip: To get the creative juices flowing, try reading one of the books from Peter H. Reynolds' Creatrilogy — The Dot, Ish and Sky Color.)

5. After drawings are finished (or time is up), the students should gather to present their work,Pictionary-style. They can act out the subject a little — but challenge them to not talk during the presentation.

6. Have the students in the audience guess what the drawing depicts.

7. Once a student guesses correctly, the class can then have a group discussion on the subject that will cover even more material.

8. After a discussion on the lesson the next student will go up and present their drawing, etc. It is an exciting way to break up a long review!

An alternative to the Pictionary game is to have the students illustrate their favorite lesson or subject from the year. Have the student write a short “artist statement” about the work. Things that could be included in the artist statement are:

• A description of the lesson or activity and what they learned.

• An explanation of the concept taught in the lesson.

• An anecdote about the activity done in class.

• A poem to accompany the piece about the subject.

• An explanation as to why they enjoyed this project in particular.

After writing the statement is presented to the class. After each presentation, other students can share their thoughts on the lesson the student chose to depict. If students pick the same lesson, it is OK because different points can be raised with each illustration depending on how the student chose to represent the activity.  The students will appreciate sharing and explaining their art and writing. This will also provide helpful insight as to which lessons are popular and particularly resonated with students. The students will also enjoy the trip down memory lane while looking though old projects.

Review the lessons taught in the past year. Do a quick summary of the topics covered in each subject. The students will pick a lesson and write a haiku about the topic or how the lesson was taught. Then present the poems with a poetry jam! Each student reads their poem to the class (snaps encouraged). This is a fun way to fit in one last lesson and a review — all in one.

SHAVING CREAM JEOPARDYCreative Cleanup and Reflective Fun!

Get your students involved in cleaning their desks at the end of the year. Usually wiping away marks can call for lots of cleaning supplies and elbow grease — but there is an easy and fun way to get your students involved in the clean up.

Shaving cream actually lifts dirt and grease from the textured surfaces of desks. Since shaving cream is also extremely manipulatable, students love to get their hands in it!

This activity is simple, First distribute dollops of shaving cream onto the desks. Make sure it is the white fluffy original kind NOT the gel. Gel creams will just leave a sticky residue and grease.

Have students rub it around, covering the entire surface of the desk. After they have their fun manipulating the cream and completely covering the desk, you can introduce the game.

The layout of this game can mimic the configuration of Jeopardy. Use topics covering the main subjects learned throughout the year (i.e. math, science, literature). Each topic will contain five questions (more can be added, it is a very flexible game). These questions will have point values ranging from 100 to 500 (or beyond). Usually 100 point questions will be recently covered topics or easy-to-remember topics, and 500 point questions will be more difficult topics, or topics from the very beginning of the year.

Much like final Jeopardy, students must answer the questions by using their fingers to write in the shaving cream on their desk. Students can either work in teams or individually. When working in teams it is best to require everyone in the group to write the answer on their desk. You don’t want to leave anyone out of the fun of writing in the cream. After answers are checked and points are distributed, the students should “erase their boards” by rubbing away the words in the cream.  Cream refills may be required, so consider this when purchasing your supplies. After the game the shaving cream can simply be wiped off with a paper towel.

Not only will you have a fresh clean set of desks, but you will have sent your students home with a better understanding of the materials covered during the year!

We would like to thank each and every educator out there for inspiring and motivating students to create bravely and make their mark this year! We hope you enjoy your summer and continue to innovate in life, as well as the classroom.

Gallery and paintbox illustrations from THE DOT, copyright 2003 Peter H. Reynolds (Candlewick Press)

Above and Beyond: The Story of the 4C's

  FableVision in collaboration with Partnership for 21st Century Skills has produced a short, animated film called Above & Beyond. Help your students go "above & beyond", by embracing the 4Cs - communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.  Enjoy & share this video and poster!

above_and_beyond_poster

Download the 4C's Poster

The Mark Maker Movement!

New poster by Peter H. Reynolds: Join the Mark Maker Movement!

Maker Movement

Maker Movement

We are Making a FAB Future Together

Here's a copy of the "Fab" poster the FableVision team gave out at the recent USA Science and Engineering Festival in D.C.  We love the message and hope you do to!

Make a FAB Future Together

Make a FAB Future Together

Celebrate School Library Month With These Two New Posters by Peter H. Reynolds!

Here are two posters Peter created for the American Association of School Librarians. Enjoy!

Your Library is Where It's at

Lives Change at Your Library

March is Creativity Month!

March is here! We are happy to re-release one of our popular classroom posters: March is Creativity Month. You'll find great tips for celebrating creativity month. Our lead ambassador (and dear educator friend) Terry Shay wrote the tips, while Peter H. Reynolds provided the illustrations. Keep in mind — you can take these tips and apply them to celebrate creativity in ANY month!

March (2014) is creativity month!

Download this poster.

New Poster from Peter H. Reynolds — Let's Share This Wonderful Message All Year Long

We encourage you to print this beautiful new poster by Peter H. Reynolds and hang it on your wall to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his powerful message all year long. Wishing you all an amazing Martin Luther King Day!

New Peter H. Reynolds Poster! Creativity, Courage, Collaboration

As a special thanks to all the amazing educators who joined us in celebrating International Dot Day this year — and to ALL the creative, courageous, and collaborative educators moving the world to a better place — Peter H. Reynolds, the Reynolds Center for Teaching Learning, and Creativity, and FableVision Learning are happy to offer this new downloadable poster.

Enjoy! Please let us know how you inspire students to develop these essential 21st Century skills in your classroom.

Another Great Resource for the National Day on Writing - Peter H. Reynolds' "Finding the Words That Feel 'Write'"

Do you sometimes feel "stuck" when it comes to writing? Download a PDF of this article by New York Times best-selling illustrator and author Peter H. Reynolds — he offers great advice on "finding the words that feel write" and reclaiming the joy of writing just for oneself.

Happy National Day on Writing! 8 Tips to Inspire Students to Write & Other Resources

In honor of the National Day on Writing (October 20), we are re-posting these helpful writing resources for you! Be sure to comment below and let us know how you're inspiring your students to write — we love hearing what creative educators are doing in the classroom.

Peter H. Reynolds' 8 Tips for Inspiring Students to Write

Celebrate-writing

In his post "The Brave Heart: Protecting the Passion, Keeping Wings Outstretched for a Daring Journey," NY Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds discusses how the pressure to write "correctly" can cause many beginning writers to pack up their creative wings. Encourage your students to write with wings outstretched! Here are a few quick tips from Peter to inspire bravery in your students.

1. Step off the path and write with your wings outstretched. Break a rule or two as you go.

2. Don't let a jumbled thought stop you — plant it and keep going.

3. Don't let a misspelled word slow you down. Go back and attend to it later.

4. Listen to your inner voice and transcribe what you hear without trying to edit it.

5. Try writing for yourself. Not for your audience. Try to ignore the critics' voices you may hear.

6. Invent a word.

7. Skip punctuation or invent your own ...__...> and see what it feels like.

8. Borrow an idea from your favorite author and twist it a few times. Turn it inside out. Make it your own!

What do you do to encourage your students to write? Let us know!

New Peter H. Reynolds Posters! The Most Creative Year The World Has Ever Seen

At FableVision Learning, we're more confident than ever that the educational climate is changing for the better — with more creativity in the classroom, more outside-the-box thinking, and more self-directed learning. In that spirit, Peter H. Reynolds whipped up these two posters. Inspire your students to make this the most creative year the world has ever seen! Here's a ready-to-go colored poster from Peter:

With this black and white version, have students add their own colors and art — and be sure to have them sign it, too!