We enjoyed our visit from the Fifth Graders bright and early this morning. They came bearing iPads that had their Gingerbread Man–inspired e-books books on them!

Mrs. Brown and I divided the students into groups- one kindergartener with two Fifth Graders, so that the story telling could be more personal.

I was amazed with all the hard work that the Fifth Graders put into their original stories. Using an app called Book Creator, some chose to read their books to their kindergarteners, while others had previously recorded their voices reading the different characters and inserted specific sound effects. It was all very entertaining!

Sound Effects (Click on the words Sound Effects to watch this video!)

Accompanying the stories were illustrations, some were original artistic masterpieces! (I wish I had taken a picture of the dragon and castle illustrations! Mrs. Brown is hoping to upload the e-books to her blog in the near future, so you may be able to view them for yourself!)

The Kindergarteners were captivated and loved the opportunity to flip the e-pages on the iPads and touch the sound buttons. Here are some of the Kindergarteners observations:

 

-Evie liked the Sweater Man story because the Sweater Man character spoke like he was tiny with a little voice.

 

 -Nahum says, “Some pictures were real.”  Nahum liked rollercoaster kitty because there were lots -of different colors on the roller coaster.

 

-Charlotte liked the Sweater Man story because it was a short story.  She also liked the one with the pig and the fish and the cheetah because she liked all the animals.

 

-Brandon liked the boy who always lied because he learned a lesson that he should never lie.

 

After each Kindergartener visited each Fifth Grade pair, we did a craft activity. I was thrilled to see the Fifth Graders were interested in creating  their own Gingerbread Glyph in addition to helping their new Kindergarten friend.

A publishing party wouldn’t be complete without a snack to enjoy. Two kindergarteners spent yesterday after school making and decorating gingerbread cookies! for us all to enjoy Yummy!

We thoroughly enjoyed this experience. A very special thank you goes out to Mrs. Brown for creating this cross-curriculum learning opportunity. I truly appreciate how she took my Kindergarten Unit and was able to give my students such an amazing learning experience.  You can take a look at her blog to see more of the incredible learning experience she offers in Fifth Grade at Laguna Blanca School. Visit her blog at:  Mrsbrown5th.edublogs.org

Thanks for coming Fifth Graders!