This has been an exciting week for the IMA students!  On Monday, we learned about wikis and we set up our own pages at our new wiki called:  IMA Explorers (http://imaexplorers.wikispaces.com.)  Each child now has his/her own username and password, so you can visit the site and see what students are doing.

We discussed how this writing tool and the social networking available through the wiki would help us grow as writers.  Over the course of the week, students have used their personal writing spaces to draft and revise collective current writing  projects:  a literary nonfiction story about an animal living in or near Chapman's Habitat. 

Team S is creating stories about a day in the life of an injured coyote while Team M is busy creating a story documenting a day in the life of a cottontail rabbit.  We plan to share our creations with other Chapman students and the community.  A purposeful project only adds to the enthusiasm!

The students are blending the art of narrative writing with the big ideas and details of nonfiction writing.  Each writer developed a story plan so accurate information could be infused throughout the narrative.  Our biggest focus:  show, don't tell the reader what is happening in the story.  We are already seeing so many amazing drafts from students!  The other evident feature:  the children are SO motivated by digital writing. 

Stay tuned for more exciting learning adventures