920FP-Marcellino,+Deborah

Deb Marcellino 5th Grade ELA EDC 920-Final Project Unit: Blogging About Books Overview: Students at my school are required to read 25 books (or book equivalents) each year. While some of these books are shared class texts, most of the titles students read are self-selected. Students are also required to write several Responses to Literature each year to meet the Grade Level Expectations. In an effort to make these requirements more relevant and interactive, I implemented tools such as Reading Response Journals, Think Marks, and Book Talks several years ago. This unit will incorporate several Web 2.0 tools to make students’ thinking further “visible.” The lessons will use technology to encourage student engagement and collaboration, and provide an alternative to standard book reports and analytical essays. Timeline: Approximately 6 weeks Goals: o Students will understand what a blog is and demonstrate how blogging in the classroom enhances their communication skills. o They will contribute to discussions about literature by posting comments to our classroom blog. o Students will create a Webpage review for a favorite book. o Students will learn strategies for successful Internet research and conduct a search for a favorite author. o Working with a small group, students will create an author biography Power Point to present to the class. o Students will create a podcast or digital video as a Response to Literature. o They will demonstrate digital citizenship. GLEs: Writing: W-10 Students use pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and critiquing to produce final drafts of products. W-11 Students demonstrate the habit of writing extensively by writing frequently, sharing thoughts and observations, and writing in a variety of genres (Examples: Journal writing, reading response, reflective writing, etc.) W-1 Students demonstrate command of the structures of sentences, paragraphs, and text W-9 In independent writing, students demonstrate command of appropriate English conventions Reading: R-4 Students demonstrate initial understanding of literary text by identifying and describing characters, setting, problem/solution, and summarizing key plot details; students read widely and extensively (25 books per year) R-5 Students analyze and interpret elements of literary text, citing evidence by making inferences, describing changes in characters over time, identifying narrator’s point of view, identifying author’s message; evaluates literary merit of text R-6 Students analyze and interpret author’s craft, citing evidence by demonstrating knowledge of devices such as imagery, flashback, foreshadowing, symbolism, and figurative language R-8 Students make and support responsible assertions about texts; make perceptive and well developed connections R-13 Students use comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading R-15 Students research by reading multiple sources R-16 Students generate a personal response to reading Oral Communication Standards: Interactive Listening: · Summarizing, paraphrasing, questioning, contributing to information presented · Participation in large and small group discussion · Reaching consensus to achieve a goal Oral Presentations: · Demonstrating skills required in interpersonal, small group, and public exchanges · Providing effective and appropriate feedback to audience and small groups · Using variety of strategies to engage audience · Convey information with a consistent focus ISTE Technology Standards: 1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. 2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. 3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Pre-activities: Prior to this unit, students will have had experience using a Reading Response Journal, and will have developed note-taking strategies to use during reading. They will have written informal and formal responses to literature and participated in discussions about their reading. We will have completed several lessons about author’s craft (figurative language, imagery, point of view, etc.), literary elements, and comprehension strategies. Students will have participated in book clubs and other discussions about literature. Students will also have had prior instruction in using Word and Power Point. Lesson 1: Introduction to Blogs Length: One 65 minute class period Goal: Students will develop a “working definition” of the term //blog//. Guiding Question: What is a blog? Steps: 1. In a quick-write in their Reading Response Journal, students respond to question: What is a blog? 2. Share responses in a small group, then share out with whole class with each group recording a collective response on a wall chart. 3. Using the ELMO LCD projector, show Lee Lefever’s “Blogging in Plain English” []. 4. Take notes during video, recording any new information or questions about blogs. 5. Discuss new knowledge gained from video about blogs with small group. 6. Develop a “working definition” of blog with whole class. Display on wall to adapt as we learn more about blogs during this unit. 7. Hand out permission letters (for using classroom blog) to be signed by parents. Assessment: Reading Response Journal rubric (journals are collected several times each trimester –responses must demonstrate sincere effort and include supporting evidence for ideas); Accountable Talk rubric (a checklist that evaluates student’s participation-students need to show evidence of active listening such as restating, adding on to, or respectfully disagreeing with someone else’s ideas.) Modifications: Some students will be given graphic organizers or sentence stems for the Reading Response Journal (RRJ) activity. Lesson 2: Exploring Model Blogs Length: One 65 minute class period Goals: o Students will develop a blogger’s vocabulary. o Students will explore several model blogs to become familiar with blog features. o Students will collaborate with classmates to establish guidelines for comments to use in our classroom. Guiding Questions: What makes a good comment? What are some guidelines for comments? Why are these guidelines necessary for successful blogging? Steps: 1. Review our definition of //blog// from previous day’s lesson. 2. Using prior knowledge of our classroom expectations, our school’s Acceptable Use Policy, and behavior guidelines in our school’s handbook, students respond to the guiding question in their RRJ. 3. Share response with a partner. Add any new thoughts to response after discussion. 4. Using ELMO, show students several links (I will create bookmarks prior to the lesson) to model classroom blogs. Model how to navigate through various features of a blog. Chart new vocabulary such as //post//, //comment//, //blogger//, //hyperlink//, etc. 5. One resource is Anne Davis’s The Write Weblog: []. Show students how to click on student name to see individual blogs. I will model the activity, pointing out what I notice about the comments. (For example, I will point out comments that are sincere and specific, follow correct conventions, and prompt further inquiry or response.) 6. With a partner, students will investigate several blogs, looking especially at student comments and for evidence of comment guidelines. Several blogs provide links to “Blog Etiquette” pages that students will use as resources. Students will record observations in their RRJs. 7. Discuss findings with whole class. Develop and chart our class “Guidelines for Blogging.” We will post these guidelines to our class blog later. 8. Give students a handout of vocabulary words for their ELA folder. They will study the words for a vocabulary quiz. Assessment: Response Journal rubric; Accountable Talk rubric; vocabulary quiz Modification: Some students will work in small group with a teacher to explore the features of model blogs. Some students will have graphic organizers or sentence stems for RRJ work. Lesson 3: Posting Comments to Blog Length: 1-2 65 minute periods Goal: Following our newly created guidelines, students will post comments to our classroom blog in response to my posted question, “Who is your favorite author? Why?” Steps: 1. Assign a User ID and password to students who return permission letter. They will use these to “sign-in” and post comments. Students will use first name only or nickname, no last names. 2. Using ELMO LCD projector show students how to use the bookmarked link to our class blog [] on media center computers. 3. Model how to respond to question by posting my own response. 4. Writing Assignment: Student will create a Word document to respond to my post. Writing must follow our 5th grade paragraph template. (Topic sentence with engaging hook, at least three specific, supporting details, and a concluding sentence.) 5. Students will share their writing with a partner to get feedback and revise if necessary. 6. I will model how to copy and paste Word document into our blog’s comment section as well, since some students may want to save their work in this format first. Assessment: Checklist created from our “Guidelines for Blogging” chart (although this list will be created by students, it will include ideas such as //No inappropriate language, No insults, Use proper spelling and grammar, Argue facts, not personalities//, etc.); 5th Grade Paragraph Writing Template; Peer Feedback sheet Modifications: Students who have not yet handed in permission letter will print their response, and we will hang them on our bulletin board “blog.” The bulletin board display will support our visual learners and give kids who can’t have access to the computer a chance to contribute. Students who are more proficient at writing or more “tech savvy” may post writing directly to the comments section of our blog, but many will want the comfort of writing in Word first because it is familiar. Enrichment will be posting additional comments, reactions to classmates’ response to the question. Lesson 4: Author Biography Research Length: 4-5 65 minute periods Goals: o Students will research background information on an author. o Students will demonstrate effective Internet search strategies. o Students will evaluate Websites for 5 major criteria-authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency and coverage. o With a small group, students will create an author biography Power Point to present to the class. Guiding Questions: Who are some celebrated authors of Young Adult literature? What was their inspiration for becoming writers? What can we learn from these authors about the craft of writing? Steps: 1. Post a list of celebrated authors of Young Adult literature to the blog. List will include notable authors such as Lois Lowry, Avi, Jerry Spinelli, Sharon Creech, Andrew Clements, Judy Blume, etc. 2. Whole class discussion-Which authors are familiar? What are some of their books? 3. Assign students to a small group for research. Each group chooses an author to study. 4. Model for students how to refine an Internet search by using key words, quotation marks, and Boolean logic (+,-). In essence of time, I will have bookmarked several appropriate sites and provided links on our class blog in preparation for this lesson, but advanced students may want to conduct further research independently. 5. Show students how to open Kathy Schrock’s Website Evaluation page linked from our blog. []. Give students a hard copy of this information for their ELA folders. Students will use this checklist as a resource when looking for information. 6. Students will visit three sources to collect information about their assigned author. 7. They will complete a graphic organizer with questions such as: What interests does the author have outside of writing? What are some interesting facts about the author’s childhood? What awards has the author won? What are some of the author’s best known works? etc. 8. Students will complete a checklist for each site visited, evaluating the 5 major criteria to determine whether information on the site is valuable to their research. 9. When research is complete, technology teacher will lead students through a review of Power Point creation. Links to student Power Points will be posted on our blog. Groups will present their work to the class to inspire classmates to check out these authors. 10. After viewing Power Points, students will post comments on our blog providing peer feedback. Assessment: Accountable Talk Rubric, Power Point rubric, Informational Writing (summary paragraph) rubric, student created Blogging Guidelines, graphic organizers and checklist used for note-taking during research. Modification: Additional graphic organizers, sentence stems, and extended time will be provided for students if needed. Some students will be placed in a group with teacher for extra support. Lesson 5: Book Club Length: 10 class periods (2 weeks) Goals: o Students will participate in small group discussion of a shared text. (Each group assigned a text by authors we researched) o Students will post comments on class blog, responding to questions about literary elements, author’s craft, and literary merit of the book. I will model this procedure for students will my responses to a text we read with whole class. o Students will create their own questions, build on or dispute comments from other students, and deepen understanding of the text through interaction with the blog. o Students will keep track of comprehension strategies used during reading by completing sticky notes or Think Marks. Steps: 1. Students will complete reading assignments for homework. 2. Students participate in small group discussions during class and post questions and ideas about reading to our blog. 3. Writing assignment: Students will complete Book Review Template to prepare for design of a Web page. 4. Students will cite specific evidence to support theme, characters, setting, conflict, key plot details. 5. They will use information from sticky notes and Think Marks to support this activity. They will include details examples of author’s craft, a personal response, and assess the book’s literary merit. 6. Individual Web pages will be added to our school library site, FIBs (Finding Interesting Books.) This site was created by our school librarian and the technology instructor. Students use this site when looking for new books. Assessment: Book Club rubric, Response to Literature criteria, Accountable Talk rubric, blogging guidelines Lesson 6: Book Review Web Page Length: 5 class periods Guiding Question: How does the integration of technology enhance our responses to literature? What is the criteria for determining literary merit? Goals: o Students will create Web pages to review their book club book and add their work to our school’s FIBs site. o Students will hyperlink two pages-their written synopsis of the story and an analysis of the author’s craft. They will be able to add images and music to their pages, change font and background, and change layout. Steps: 1. Show students model Web pages from our FIBs site. 2. Whole class discussion; students will critique using our Response to Literature rubric 3. Technology teacher will teach students procedures for creating a Web page. 4. Students will share their Web pages with a peer editor and revise work. 5. They will publish Web pages on library site. 6. After viewing each other’s work, students will post comments on our blog. Assessment: Response to Literature criteria, FIBs template Modifications: Re-teaching of technology and extended time available for those who need it. Some students will work with a partner on this project. Lesson 7: Creation of a Podcast or Vodcast o Goals: o Students will create and post to our blog a podcast or vodcast in which they read a selected passage from their book club book. o Students will write a summary of the selected passage and explain their reasons for choosing the passage. o Students will use this Web 2.0 tool to encourage others to read their book. Guiding Questions: What passage from our book would make a good read aloud? Why? What is a podcast? What is a vodcast? Preactivities: Students will have had experience creating a Book Talk for the class. We will review Nancy Keane’s guidelines for book talks prior to this lesson. Steps: 1. Show students “Podcasting in Plain English” [|www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-MSL42NV3c]. 2. Using ELMO projector, show students links on class blog to model podcasts and vodcasts from http://www. learnoutloud.com/. 3. Students will use headsets to view/listen to several of these presentations. 4. Students will use computer microphones and headsets or their own mp3s to record selected passage. 5. We will post student podcasts/vodcasts to our blog. 6. Students will provide feedback for each other by posting comments to blog after viewing each other’s work. Assessment: Response to Literature criteria, 5th grade paragraph rubric, blogging guidelines, modified Book Talk rubric Modifications: Students may work together on the podcast/vodcast. Extended time for re-teaching technology skills may be provided.