Infographics - Hang on Tight!!!

Today we are going to dive into the world of infographics.  What is an infographic? Well, here's a few pictures of examples . . .

What do you think people use infographics for? How can they be beneficial? What are their limitations? How are infographics similar or different to graphic novels?

Today you are going to evaluate a few different sites that offer the ability to create interesting and engaging infographics.  There are tons and tons of websites and apps that offer this service but they often come with a limited amount of resources, graphics, capabilities within their free version.  Still, you may only need the tools that are in the free version, so then you are ok!  Also, they may want you to sign up with an email or a Facebook or Google account, which may mean you are signing up to be added to spam lists, newsletters, and advertisements either for the company itself or other companies they sell your information to.

With all of that in mind, let's take a look at a few possibilities we can use . . .

1) Piktochart

2) Infogram

3) Easelly **** This may be my favourite based on the amount of capabilities you get for free. 

4) One that you discover!

I also really like the app Pic Collage, which isn't fantastic for lots of text, but can be fun to spice up regular photos.  

Take some time to play around with these websites and see which one you'd like to use to create your Comparison Infographic you will be creating regarding your life here in Canada verses if you lived in either Australia, Asia or Africa.

If all of this seems too complicated, or if you just like working with something more familiar, you can use the ideas from the sites above, and head over to Word, Powerpoint or Publisher and create an infographic there. 

Learning how to share information with others is an incredibly important skill. It allows you to make and share personal connections to the world around you. It allows you to voice your opinion, inform specific or general audiences, persuade others to think from other perspectives and the list goes on.

I am REALLY looking forward to what you can come up with! Be sure to reference the Writing Checklist in the classroom (and on this blog) to be sure you have all the info you need.

Good luck and happy creating! 

Australia, Africa and Asia - Let's Take a Closer Look

Here are links to the Lonely Planet websites which gave give us a starting point to compare our lives as Canadians to those in a different county.

Australia

Asia

Africa

Keep our Learning Goal, Guiding Questions, Purpose, Writing Form, Topic, Audience and Writing Checklist in mind when using these sites as research tools.

Graphic Novels - How do they come alive?

January 23-27 is "Teach Graphix" week so it is a perfect time to take a closer look at how the books we are currently studying come to life.  There is a previously live broadcast with the authors of some of Scholastic's most successful graphic novels, as well as a link to information, games, and interactive sites that give you a chance to learn more about this growing literary genre.  Let's take a look!

Scholastic Graphic Novelists - How does it all work?

Teaching Graphics Week Information

Interview with the Authors

Build Your Own Graphic

Here's an example of  a comic I created! Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

So how do you begin? Let's list some strategies!

- make the end first, then go back

- write it out first, then add pictures

- write words and pictures at the same time

-draw pictures, then words

- have a clear beginning, middle, climax and end

How To Help the Syrian Refuges - Swimming Lesson Fundraising

UPDATE!!! We have now decided to sell Candygrams for Valentine's Day! We will have sales every Friday, starting Friday, January 27, leading up to Valentine's Day.  Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for newcomers to have access to swimming lessons.  We'd like to help at least 4 children, roughly working out to $360, but if possible, we'd like to help even more! Today we will put our plan into action to help people new to Canada have the opportunity to take swimming lessons. As we saw in various news articles and videos, there were multiple drownings this past summer in Manitoba and many of them were young people new to Canada. After our "Please Help Us Help Our Country Unit" Syria was nominated as the place needing the most help. Being that this country is in crisis, it may make more sense to help people who have moved to Canada, looking for a new start in a new country.

This weekend, I headed to the story to pick up the supplies.  Today we work on our posters, letters and announcements so we are ready for this Friday.


 Today you will make a choice of how you will help our cause.

 1) Write a letter to a nearby business organization to ask for money and or donations we can use to create Candy Sticks and/or Tim Bits Sticks to sell.

 2) Create a poster advertising the Candy Stick/TimBit Stick Sale.

 3) Write an announcement we can include in the daily announcements to let Chief Peguis staff and students what we are doing and when it is happening. We will break off into groups to be efficient. 

All letters, posters and announcements need to be as close to completed as possible today. We have a bit of time tomorrow to finish up, with all posters, letters and announcements ready for distribution by Friday.

Graphic Novels - Short Story Samples

Winnipeg Jets - Link

Jets - Please Come Read to Us!

Want to Make Your Own Graphic Novel?

This is an amazing site! Click here or on the image below to reach the Scholastic site that lets you create your very own Bone, Smile Amulet or Nnewts Graphic Novels!  There are also tons of interactive activities you can do to learn more about characters, plot and upcoming books.

Here is also a link to an interesting article about why Graphic Novels are so popular!