Once the students were given the graphic organizer that we provided, they narrowed down their search to only 2-3 websites.  Next, I spent a couple of classes reteaching the students how to take notes.  I really wanted to focus on writing the information in their own words, writing phrases rather than complete sentences, looking up unknown words, and organizing the information to match the graphic organizer.  This took a lot more time than I initially had planned, but it was worth it.  Most of the students were able to write a nice four paragraph essay explaining his/her Floridian.  Some students required more editing than others, but overall, it was a success.

Once the essays were complete, Mrs. Hallett introduced us to the thinglinks.  The students really enjoyed finding images, videos, quotes, and other biographical sites to add to their reports.  Mrs. Hallett did a spectacular job teaching the importance of citing the images properly. The students are really proud of the finished products, and will be adding them to their blogs. Please take a look at one of the finished products below:

Ariella’s thinglink