Have you used the app Chatterpix in the classroom? If not, it’s a must try, for sure. The app allows you to make anything talk…that’s also their tagline.
You can take or upload a picture of anything, which you then draw a line on. After you draw the line, you can record for up to 30 seconds. The spot where you drew the line makes it look as if the object is talking. After this step, you can add eyes, glasses, hats, and other objects around or on the object.
On My Pages Book Talk
First of all, this is an Apple app, which is free from the app store, so before going any further, you’ll need access to iPads.
So, let’s talk about how you can use this in the classroom.
Have students fill out the brief book report (available here). They can talk about the basic things, such as the plot, problems in the story, characters, and the morals or lessons learned. Then have students take a picture of the book they read inside of the ChatterPix app. Have students create a mouth on the front of the book and then record. Because it looks like the book is talking, they should change their POV. They should speak on behalf of the book saying things like…
“My name is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and I am here today to tell you a bit about what is written on my pages.”
Now, the app only allows 30 seconds per video, but that is completely okay. The kids can record the videos in pieces. One video can be the intro, the next about the characters, and the next about the plot. You can have students record as many videos as you would like about the book.
Students can then combine the videos together in iMovie or another video creation app. Students can upload to Google Drive or another platform where they can be shared with other students or with parents!
I Am Poetry
This is one of my favorite poetry lessons. When we teach poetry, we explain that there are a million different ways to write. There is free verse, rhyming, acrostic, and so many other types of poetry. One of my favorite types of poetry is the “I Am” poem. For this project, students can take an everyday, ordinary object and write an I Am poem based on this items feelings, thoughts, and actions. Here is the I Am poem template you can use.
Students can fill in the template and then get to work on their video. They can open the app, take or upload a picture of the item they wrote about, and then record the I Am poem.
This is a great project to teach about personification, as well. Giving the object human-like characteristics and thoughts.
Here is an example:
Country and Animal Research
This is a fun one, as well! If you have students studying a country in Social Studies or researching an animal in Science, this could bring a new twist to your project.
For a country research project, have students find a picture of their country, bring it into ChatterPix and draw the line for the mouth. Have students give facts about the country, from the POV of the country.
So, the kids would say something like…
“Did you know that my capital is Washington, D.C.?”
Just a reminder that each video can only be 30 seconds long, so they may need to record a few videos and put them together in another app, such as iMovie.
You can go through the same process for the Science project with the animal. Students would upload a picture of the animal and run through the same steps. I could also see this working well for other science topics, like cells, or body organs, or weather.
The possibilities are endless for this app and it is SO MUCH FUN! Your kids will love the app and it can definitely be used as an authentic assessment showing what they know in a new and unique way!
Happy Teaching!
-Dan
torrent says
Great post, you have pointed out some superb details , I too think this s a very excellent website. Elsinore Mathias Dehlia