The Intersection of Creation, Collaboration & Chrome

Having the Chromebooks in my classroom has really afforded me some interesting opportunities the past six months. I've had the students taking online quizzes, visiting websites for information on traveling and collaborating on chapter summaries. I am only now beginning to understand the power of technology to facilitate true collaboration and creation in my classroom.

I have long been interested in the project-based learning models. Certainly when the possibility of Chromebooks was presented to the faculty, project-based learning was mentioned as a use of the technology. Though I have not studied extensively about it, I had considered it but never found the time to think about what it would look like in the classroom. The presence of the Chromebooks and my desire to have my students create something complimented each other perfectly.

My Spanish 4 classes, a combination of sophomores and juniors, were approaching the second part of the environment unit in which the vocabulary lends itself to social activism. I gave the students a double-sided sheet, that I dubbed their "Trash Journal," on which they were to record anything they discarded. They were to keep track of their trash items until both sides were filled. They wrote the item, where they were when they discarded it and where it went (ex: trash, recycle bin, compost, or reuse). When I created the trash journal, I hadn't even decided what the project was. I knew I wanted them to analyze their trash in some way but I hadn't thought that far ahead. I avoided writing the project description until the last minute because I had no idea what it would be. When I finally sat down to write it, the night before I wanted to give it out, I still had no idea but needed to get something down for the following day. The description that I wrote can be found here.

The Single Story

I have once again, for the third year in a row, embarked upon The Single Story. This two day lesson is a product of my summer spent with the Capital District Writing Project. Each year, a layer has been added based on what I've learned from previous years and new experienced I've had. This year, it begins with some journaling and then will move to the Chromebooks.

It is my hope that you might use this lesson as a guide. If you are an educator reading this, please feel free to use this lesson plan exactly or take it and change it to meet the needs of your learners. Please comment or email me any changes you make so that I might learn from those experiences.


It starts with the first prompt wherein my students receive three minutes to journal a "sound off". I told them to sound off in English about anything on their minds, anything bothering them, anything they're looking forward to- anything swimming around in their head. I told them to swear if they needed to and if they don't want me to read it later, to color it over in black crayon or marker. Then I asked them to set those things aside and bring their full attention and thought to our work today.