BlueNose Edutainment, Putting the Energy of Today's Entertainment into Reading and Writing

Students Voluntarily Wrote Extra Songs Just For Fun!

October 06, 2008

Last spring, my junior-level student teacher from Bradley University and I were looking for a unit that she could do for Language Arts that would fit the time period she had to complete her requirements.  A postcard had arrived, promoting the Blue Nose Edutainment contest.

When we looked on-line, we saw the lesson plans that went along with the songs and got really excited.  We felt this type of unit would be highly motivational to the students and would pull together some of the writing components and poetry components the students had been learning throughout the year.

So, my student teacher created lessons based off the lessons provided on the website.  The students were told up front that they could enter this national contest.  The teacher led the students through lessons on brainstorming and voice and elaboration and word choice — all using popular singers such as the Jonas Brothers, Miley Ray Cyrus, Aly and AJ and others.

While the students vied to hear their favorite singers more and their less favorite singers less, they were motivated by being able to work on a project that was very current and related to their world.  Many students were excited to have an authentic forum for their writing and went right to work.  In fact, some of the students voluntarily wrote extra songs just for fun and turned them in.

One of the students who went the extra mile in writing was Kelly Mulhern.  She came in with three songs, all of which she submitted to the contest.  One of them won the grand prize!

I think one of the most exciting parts about being able to do this project is that students, like Kelly, are able to get recognition for their hard work and talent.  We often encourage students to strive toward goals, and while getting her work published is just one of many goals for this talented young lady, she has already begun to see that it does pay to reach for dreams.  Putting forth extra effort does reap benefits.

I am proud of Kelly’s accomplishments, as well as all the other winners.  I am also proud of all those who worked hard and turned in their best work but didn’t win — maybe next year!

Thank you to BlueNose Edutainment for providing easy-to-follow, highly motivational lessons and an authentic forum for students to be recognized for their work.

Mrs. Elaine Winkler
East Peoria Central Junior High
East Peoria, Illinois
 

From Left to Right:  Teacher Mrs. Elaine Winkler, First Place Winner Kelly Lynn Mulhern, Principal Mr. Sander (back), Hewlett-Packard representative Jason Smith, Novice Teacher Miss Johnson.