Directions: Students will write a blog post as a book character from a book that they read expressing their thoughts and feelings. The post must be 3-5 sentences and thoroughly express character response to their role in the book they are from. Students must include a picture of their character and initial the bottom of the post so that I will know who wrote the post. Grade Level: 2nd Content Area: English Technology Used (check all that apply):
Blog
Wiki
Other Website Creation Tool (list):
Content Area/Grade/Standards/Topics Addressed:
ELA CC2R13: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. Brief Description of Learning Experience: What learning standards will be addressed? What will students and teachers do? What products will students create? How will the project be introduced? How long will it take to complete? What audience will use/care about the product(s) students are creating? How broad is this audience? Students will read a book of their choosing and pick a character. They will then write a blog as that character expressing them-selves and responding to the story that they were written in. Students will not include their name or photo; just the name of their character and the story they are from. I may have the students initial the blog post at the very end so that I can identify them. I will introduce this project in class during our NBI time by reading aloud a text and modeling a written expression blog on the board in whole group. It should take no longer than 30 minutes to hand write their characters response and type it up. Since this will be published on the internet there is a very broad range of audience. Blooms Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply): See http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating Student Engagement: Which indicators of Engaged Learning area strong and why? (See Engaged Learning and Authenticity handouts distributed earlier this semester.) The engagement is standards-based, challenging, and authentic. Because the activity meets the standard yet challenges the students to think and consider the feelings of another individual and authentic because their work is being published and used and an extraordinary way. Level of Technology Implementation (LoTi): The LoTi level reaches as far as integration. Students are using the technology to complete a finished product. Higher levels of blooms taxonomy are reached, and the learning activity has unpredictable results. Importance of technology: Why is using a website-creation tool critical to the project? Could the project be completed without this technology? What would be lost without using it? What other types of technology, if any, are going to be used in the learning experience? Using technology just gets students that more excited to really put a lot of effort into their work. This project can be completed without technology, but the activity will lose LoTi level justifications and engagement of students. 1
LESSON IDEA: WEBSITE-CREATION TOOLS
Inspiration (optional): If you used existing example as a model for your project (whether in part or whole), include the URL(s) so we can visit. Explain what concepts you borrowed from others. This is the URL for the sample I am providing for my students to follow online. http://tdycus.edublogs.org/2014/12/01/flipped-classroom/ Internet Safety and Student Privacy: Some possible internet safety and student privacy issues may arise when using the internet or making a blog post involving a child. To minimize these issues I would first get parents to sign a permission form stating the CIPA and FERPA laws and that their student has permission to use the internet. Secondly, I would inform students that the only aspect about themselves that is allowed to be in the post is their initials. Describe your personal learning goal for this activity. I have not yet tried to have the students create a real world blog post. I hope they gain a new perspective about character responses as an end result of this activity. Other comments about your proposed activity: