Pushed a little too far?

Team Awesome 174 has been talking a lot about transmediation as of late.  (Transmediation: the process of translating a work/text into a different medium.  It may utilize more than one media form.)

But I think I may have pushed the team a little too far this week.  Here are some of the things ways we have been transmediating:

1. Reading a text and sketch-noting (drawing pictures and diagrams and labels)
2. Watching a video and taking notes with words and illustrations and labels
3.  Taking a difficult text and acting it out (spoiler alert: this did not go well)

We are currently researching the benefits of Flocabulary in order to present a convincing argument as to why it is worth the money invested.  Here is the document I tried to have them turn into "acting":

Research Summary Link

I was excited about trying this text because I thought it was just beyond their reach but still accessible.  Well, it may have been, but the whole acting thing?  Fail on this round.  

To transmediate information, you have to understand the information in the first place.  This article was too much for them to turn into acting.  "I don't get it." was the cry of the crowd.  

It was one of those moments you think, "Oh, but you will.  Just a few more examples..."  Yah, no.  That didn't happen.  But no regrets here.  I think it might work on a more appropriate text.  I know that acting out a fiction text helps students remember it and understand it better.  Now I want to figure out how to best do that with nonfiction text.  

In this case I do believe I failed forward.  Which is different than failing-because-I-did-not-plan-or-think-things-through-adequately.  

My reflection question is this:  How could I have taken these new concepts and helped my students understand them in a deeper way?  We went over the paragraphs together.  We sketch-noted one of the paragraphs.  I divvied the concepts up to different groups to conquer.  All of those things helped us move in the right direction.  BUT I think maybe these things would have helped as well:

1. Do an intentional close read with the text.  

2. Support complex/new ideas with images, videos, and other multimedia options

3. Give adequate examples for each paragraph.  

We got to where we wanted to go.  But next time I do believe we can go further.  

Joy in our hearts

Joy in the room

Joy in the learning