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The Monster Project is a
very quick and easy activity that can be a fun way of practicing communication
skills (reading and writing directions, requiring sequential and logical
thinking, as well as clarity). It can be used with almost any content area,
easily fitting in to your classroom curriculum.
The official Monster
Project website is at http://www.win4edu.com/minds-eye/monster/index.htm
Directions:
Step 1: Drawing your
monster
- Open
a Paint Program (Microsoft Paint for PCs, or ClarisWorks Paint for Apples)
- To
open Microsoft Paint: Start / Programs / Accessories / Paint
- To
open Claris Paint: Open Hard Drive Menu / Applications / ClarisWorks: Open
and choose Paint from the Menu
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Go to Image Menu /
Attributes…(or CTRL + E) and choose to make the image in inches, 4 by 4.
That’s the best size for putting them up on the web later on.
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Use the tools to draw the monster
of your dreams. Be creative. Have fun with this. But just remember one thing:
you’re going to have to describe it in such a way that another person reading
your description can reproduce it as closely as possible to your version.
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This activity should take no
longer than 7 minutes.
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After you are happy with your work
of art, save the file to drive A (your disk). Make sure to save it as MyName’s
monster, where MyName is your name, so we know it’s yours.
Step 2: Describing your
monster
This is the most important
step. This is where the language skills will be applied.
- Open
up a Word Processor.
- Looking
at your monster, describe as precisely as you can how to draw it. Remember,
the more detailed the description, the larger your chance of communicating
well and the person drawing your monster getting it right.
- This
activity should take no longer than 13 minutes.
- When
you’ve finished, save the file as MyName’s monster description.doc. You
should save it to drive A again, to your disk.
- Exchange
disks with someone else who has finished Steps 1 and 2.
Step 3: Following
Directions
- Open
up just the word document MyName’s monster description from drive A (the
other person’s disk).
- Open
a new Paint document, and set it again to 4 X 4.
- Based
on the person’s description, try to reproduce their monster. Read the
instructions very carefully.
- After
you have finished your version of their monster, save it to drive A (their
disk) as YourName’s interpretation of MyName’s monster. (I know it’s a
long name, but it will be very helpful in organizing the material on the web
later on).
- Now
you may open the other person’s picture to see how close you got!
- Leave
both images open (yours and theirs) side by side, so others can see the
results!
Ideas for Using it in
your Classroom:
Some ideas that teachers
have had for using this activity in their classroom are:
- In
Science, you can tie this in with the study of adaptations and ecology,
having the kids make monsters specific for certain environments, and having
them explain what adaptations were necessary to allow them to live there
(for example, ocean monsters: What characteristics would need to be added
for them to survive in that environment?)
- Science:
practice writing procedures for experiments – learn how to give clear
directions that others can follow. Learn how to interpret and follow
directions, a very necessary skill for reproducing science experiments.
- Math:
draw the monster with numbers as body parts, and describe it by having
people solve math problems. Example: The eyes have pupils that are the
number of lives cats have. You can see an example of this in the Cluster 1
Monster Projects, choosing Patrick’s monster. (http://eiffel.ilt.columbia.edu
- Cluster Teachers / Go to Cluster 1 / Monster Projects).
- Language
Arts: communication skills practice (writing, reading and comprehension).
- Social
Studies: instead of a monster, draw a place they are studying and give
directions on how to get around (find a hidden treasure, an archeological
dig…).
- Think
about how this activity could be used in your classroom. Write some ideas in
your logbook, to share with the group later on.
- Discuss
the following:
- What
skills were required to accomplish this activity?
- What
kinds of monsters were easier to reproduce? Why?
- What
made it difficult? Why?
- How
do you define good directions?
- How
did the technology enhance learning? Or did it?
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