Barb - It's nice to hear you say that. It's also nice to hear that you re trying something new. It is so much easier for us teachers to just take our old lesson plans and keep using them. I think that anything that helps students find school more interesting and that relates to their interests outside school is a good thing, as long as they are still learning the basics of reading, writing ... We don't want a generation of illiterates. One of my goals, that I don't meet often enough is to install a love of learning into my students. I think that with projects like the one you just did, does just that.

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Primary foci of the site are writer/reader interaction, peer-review, and improving writing skills, thus providing a context into many fan activities for in-depth inquiry that are aligned with school-based literacy practices (Black, in print; 2005).
When I began reading about Anime and fanfiction I was interested in how this could pertain to the classroom. As I read further I found that in truth it very much lends itself to literacy. I just finished a project with my 6th graders on Ancient China. Wanting to do something different with them I decided to do digital storytelling (thanks to this class). I found the students engaged and excited about this. Some chose to take Chinese folktales and retell them using graphics they found that related. Others chose to research a dynasty and write a story about it. We then used photostory to illustrate and narrate. I found this project produced the best writing my students have done. We have been previewing all the stories and critiquing them. They have taken the suggestions and scheduled time to adjust their story. I have found this to be a wonderful activity that produced good writing, good reflection and wonderful peer-review.
Educators need to think outside the box and challenge students (and ourselves) to go beyond the traditional methods and explore all the possibilities.