Sharon Sossin – Adlai E. Stevenson High School – ssossin@d125.org 1

Focus on Education Sharon Sossin – ssossin@d125.org

ICE-COLD - Mini Conference - April 25, 2009 http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/~ssossin

“DIGITAL CAMERA + COMPUTER = CREATIVE WORKS OF ART”

Magnets/Paper Weights Print pictures (small faces) Cut out shape (trace along bottom of stone) glue to bottom of stone attach magnet (optional) -Picture ideas: students pictures, vocabulary words, math facts, faces in history, numbers, colors, foreign language words, etc. -Activity ideas:

1. Student picture magnets can be used to identify leaders, or job responsibilities for the day or week (elementary).

2. Vocabulary stones can be placed in a bag and students can pick a stone and give the definition of that word.

3. Math facts (2+8), (5x2), (24-14), (90-80) can be displayed on the top of the stone while the answer (number 10) can be written on the back of the stone. Stones can be placed face up on a table and students can select a stone and recite the answer. They can then check the back to be sure they are correct.

4. Faces of different people in history, inventors, politicians, movie stars, authors, presidents, etc, can be placed on the stones. The names of the people can be written on the back of the stone. Other information might also be included on the back of the stones, such as date of birth, date of death, book they wrote, movie they starred in, etc.

5. Colors can be placed on the stones and the name of the color can be written on the back of the stone. Young students can identify the color or spell the word and check the answer on the back.

6. For a foreign language class, you could have the word written on the top of the stone in the foreign language and the same word written in English on the bottom. This could be used in place of flash cards for a vocabulary

Sharon Sossin – Adlai E. Stevenson High School – ssossin@d125.org 2

review. You might also want to have a picture of an item on the top of the stone and the word printed out (in English or a foreign language) on the bottom.

7. These stones can also be used as gifts for Mother’s Day with a small note or saying on the bottom. When a magnet is added to the back, the stone can be placed on a metal filing cabinet as a cute way to display a small photo.

8. Larger glass or clear stones can be used as paperweights. These stones can be purchased at a local craft store or dollar store.

Candy Bars Hershey Kisses: A “small” picture and/or words can be added to a template and copied onto Avery “circle” labels to be placed on the bottom of Hershey’s Kisses. These treats can be handed out as rewards or scattered around a table at an event. I have used these at presentations (handed them out to attendees) scattered them around the table at a retirement party with a picture of the guest of honor on the sticker and even used them at my daughter’s wedding (some displaying pictures of the bride and groom, and other stickers displaying their monogram, a wine glass, the date with wedding bells, etc.). Circle templates are used for the Kisses and the rectangle templates are used for the miniature Hershey’s candy bars. I use the mini-bars and usually put our school logo or mascot on it along with the school name. I have also printed various statements such as “you’re a sweet kid” or “sweet job” or “keep up the great work!” I then pass them out to my students when appropriate. Hershey’s Bar: For a ”larger” treat or award, I use the 5oz Hershey’s bar. This bar offers a much larger print area. There is so much you can do with this candy bar. I have used them for end of the semester awards wishing my students a “sweet new year” and I have given them out as awards at the end of the year. I always include the name of our school, the year, a photo of our school (winter picture for December and Spring picture for June), some images I grab from creativecommons.org

Sharon Sossin – Adlai E. Stevenson High School – ssossin@d125.org 3

(books, pencils, snow man, school mascot, etc.) and each student’s name. On the back I include the nutrition facts that I usually relate to the subject or activity I am teaching. I also list some creative ingredients. I add a bar code that I grab from the Internet. Sometimes I will even change the numbers on the barcode to reflect the phone number of our school. Always remember to allow enough additional space to fold over when attaching to the candy bar. I attach the paper with a glue stick and viola! It’s best to plan ahead, so keep an eye out for a sale on these large bars. Walgreens is usually the best, especially if you use a coupon. I sometimes do the same thing on the regular size Hershey’s Bars. I purchase them at Sam’s (in bulk) and then do the same thing but in a smaller version. I have made these for give-aways at parties and for plays with all the information about the play on the wrapper (name, director, choreographer, producer, etc.). If you get them on sale they can be created and sold as a fundraiser. 3-D Pictures Take pictures of your students and then print out several copies of the same picture. Use one picture as the base and cut out the student and possibly another item in one of the other pictures. Use foam dots or glue dots and place them on the back of the cut out pictures. These dots can be purchased at a local craft store. Attach the cut out pictures to the base picture and repeat for the other items. This will give the picture depth. Frame out the photo with a complimentary backing color or glue it to a note card and match it with an envelope. These picture cards can also be decorated with ribbon or lace to add detail or flair. Cut edges look best if filed or sanded and can also be finished off by drawing over the edges with a marker.

Motivational Poster This is a great way to give a student an award or to have students create motivational posters themselves. Go to bighugelabs.com and click on “Motivator.” Upload a picture from your desktop and follow the options allowing you to select positioning, orientation, border and colors. Next, enter the title, motivational text and background. Then click “Create.” You can always go back and edit your poster, so play around with it until you get your desired end product. I have used these for end of the year awards (with student pictures), as an assignment for my English class to create motivational posters of a book we read in class, and as a way for

Sharon Sossin – Adlai E. Stevenson High School – ssossin@d125.org 4

students to call attention to their topic while presenting their Jr. English Research Projects. These can be mounted on card stock and laminated to create a more creative look. Enjoy!

Passports As you study about different geographical areas either in literature, history or reading, you can have your students create their own passports and you can stamp them as they enter (or read about) each location, state or country. Go to bighugelabs.com and click on “Badge Maker.” You can use this as you used the motivational poster and create each passport in an individual way. Have the students take pictures of each other and then upload them to their passport. Students can work in teams to take pictures of each other and to share creative ways to make their passports. Barcodes can also be included. Passports can be made in different sizes and colors, and can be laminated to make it more durable and better able to take the “punch” when students study different areas/locations. Happy travels!

Billboards Once again go to bighugelabs.com and click on “Billboard.” Upload a picture of your student and add the text that you’d like to have at the top and bottom of the billboard. Then click “Create” and you’ll have your billboard creation! Note: After you upload the picture, check “billboard style” which is located just above the text selections. This pull-down menu offers 5 different styles of billboards to select from. They are all different and creative and can be used for a variety of subjects and/or activities. Get creative and have fun!

Sharon Sossin – Adlai E. Stevenson High School – ssossin@d125.org 5

“WORD ART” (Photoshop Elements 4.0)

S. Sossin

TO INSERT WORD ART

Select a picture from a source and drag it to the desktop. Open a Word Document Click “Insert” Go to “Picture” Click “Word Art” Click on your choice of “Word Art” Type in “Your Text” (adjust font and size) Click “OK”

TO FILL BACKGROUND Click on the Word Art you just created Click “View” Go to “Formatting Palate” (if it’s not already out and ready to use) Click arrow next to the color bucket Click “Fill Effects” Select “Picture” Click on “Select or Browse” Chose photo Then click “Insert” Click “OK” You can now adjust the size of the photo by grabbing the squares and stretching the photo to your desired size. * To change the text, just double click on the text. SOS-09