Artifact #1
Creating Silly Stories Using the Web: An on-line lesson plan for third graders in which they create stories by learning valuable technology skills.
Context
The web page was developed as a part of my Media and Learning
course during my pre service training.
Impact
This lesson corresponds to the NC Standard Course of Study
for both Language Arts and Information Skills; competencies addressed are
listed in the lesson. As a web page, this lesson plan will be available
to any teacher or students. This activity also promotes creative thinking
and writing – there is no one correct answer! Students also have to learn
several computer skills – copying, pasting, and navigating the web and
word processing – to complete the assignment.
Alignment
Creating silly stories using the web requires students
to perform many different skills described in the Computer Skills Curriculum,
including copying, cutting and pasting documents, specifically web based
documents, and word-processing (Tech
10.1). The specific goals of the NC Computer Skills Curriculum that
are addressed by the lesson are listed on the web page (Tech
10.4). Students will be required to write down and review the steps
of the processes, including copying and pasting, that they use to complete
the picture stories in order to provide them with practice for the NC Computer
Skills Assessment (Tech
10.5).
Creating silly stories successfully integrates technology
into the language arts curriculum. Not only are students required to copy
pictures from the Web, but sequence the picture into a story that they
narrate with text (Tech
11.1). During the lesson, teachers should encourage students to use
their imagination to write creatively. By creating a story in groups, students
learn valuable cooperation skills and
can utilize the talents and abilities of different students (Tech
12.5). Students’ knowledge of the elements of literature help them
to create a story that fits with the pictures (Tech
11.4).
Through the use of
an on-line lesson plan, students are able to become more comfortable using
a computer, navigating the web, and creating a word-processing document
through hands-on experience. By creating their own sequence using the provided
pictures, students understand the importance of appropriate, logical text
that follows the same sequence (Tech
11.2).
This lesson requires several different instructional techniques,
including using the computer, working in groups, and the sharing of student
work with the entire class. Creating silly stories on the web promotes
creative thinking, problem solving, and cooperation (INTASC
#4).