The Big Chicken Project.

The Principal' s March book-of-the-month was Big Chickens. I wrote about this book at the time the Principal presented it and again recently after Leslie Helakoski, the author of both Big Chickens and Woolbur, visited our school last week.

The Principal challenged us at March's book-of-the-month reading to use some form of technology that we have been learning this year to respond to the book. Many of the classes took the Principal up on her challenge and all or their responses to literature have now been housed on a new blog created by Instructional Technologist, Melanie Holtsman. The blog includes such responses as retellings of this hysterical story with puppets, a Chets Creek version of the story, an extension of the story, persuasive commercials, text-to-self connections, responses to "I'm a big chicken when ___", a video of the students doing the chicken dance, and even a wordle! It's amazing to see the many ways that students can respond to a single book! It reminds me that we so often think that responding to literature is the simple, formal written response to literature but responses can really be a multitude of possibilites. Sometimes our thinking is so limiting. This blog shows us ways to open up our creative minds! Today the blog becomes public, so not only can you take a look at ways that other classes have responded to the book, but you can add a response from your own class! We are hoping that teachers from all over the world will join us in responding to this book so that we can show all of our children how small the world really is.

Directions for participating in this project are at Melanie's blog. Don't be a big chicken! Come join us in the fun!