Artifact 9

Artifact
Create a Story pictures on the web: an online resource that students and teachers can access for grades 2-5. It allows teachers to use computers and the Internet in a sequencing and creative writing assignment. Students can be given the website address to see the pictures. They then must practice their copy and pasting skills to get the pictures into a word processing document.

Context
This web page was developed during my pre-service training at Appalachian State University.

Impact
This lesson is available to teachers everywhere because it is posted on the Internet. The students can access the pictures in the classroom and then copy them into a word processing document. Students will then paste the pictures into the positions they want on the document. Students will then write a creative story about their sequenced pictures. This lesson meets the NC Standard Course of Study in Technology and English Language Arts.

Alignment
This lesson uses the computer skills curriculum to show what students should be able to do with the computer (Tech. Comp. 10.1). Having students demonstrate this ability is an important part of their meeting their NC Computer Skills Curriculum (Tech. Comp. 10.4). When the students demonstrate their skills to be able to copy and paste into a word processing document teachers can assess their students learning corresponding to the Computer Skills Curriculum (Tech. Comp. 10.5). Also, by allowing students to use the Internet to complete an assignment, the teacher is showing their ability to use technology for learning and as a medium for communications (Tech. Comp. 11.1). The story pictures activity is a different way to teach creative writing. Teachers can use this strategy to meet the Standard Course of Study in English Language Arts and Computer Skills (Tech. Comp. 11.4) Finally, by using this activity in their classroom, teachers are showing their understanding of the importance of using different instructional strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills (INTASC #4).