Teaching Guide
"Tuned into Reading"
Francine Williams
Web Institute for Teachers, Summer, 2003

Introduction

One benefit of technology is how it can facilitate students' research around customized topics of interest. Using the Internet, teachers can guide their students in research projects, with the results being enhanced motivation on the part of students and an excitement in the classroom as students share and discuss what they are learning. Often, this is done using Internet projects or activities. Web-based searches can build general, background knowledge before, after, and during reading, or they can facilitate deep understanding of a particular book. In many intermediate and upper grade classes, students are not really turned on to reading. Using three popular literary works, students will navigate through related webquests to create and communicate knowledge that allows them to meet and exceed the required grade level standards.

I 

Aim
  To motive students to read a wide range of literature in many genres, complete related webquest to build understanding to meet and exceed Illinois reading and writing standards.

Rationale

Students often read many forms of literature without gaining understanding. My past expereince with students using computers in reading groups revelaed that students like to navigate many windows at once. Presenting grade appropiate literature in a webquest requiring the navigation of multiple window will allow students to learn in their own way required skills in a natural environment.
 

Students read a wide range of literature in many genres to build an understandint of the many dimensions of human experiences

Using technlogy, students use a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate and appreciate text.

Students use technology and media techniques to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences

Recognize and investigate problems; formulate and propose solutions supported by reason and evidence.

Use appropriate instruments, electronic equipment, computers and networks to access information, process ideas and communicate results.

Learn and contribute productively as individuals and as members of groups.

Analyze how characters in literature deal with conflict, solve problems and relate to real-life situations.

Respond to literary material from personal, creative and critical points of view.

Explain relationships between and among literary elements including character, plot, setting, theme, conflict and resolution and their influence on the effectiveness of the literary piece.

Critique ideas and impressions generated by oral, visual, written and electronic materials.

Produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information and display focus, organization, elaboration and coherence.

Compose narrative, informative, and persuasive writings (e.g., in addition to previous writings, literature reviews, instructions, news articles, correspondence) for a specified audience.

Using available technology, produce compositions and multimedia works for specified audiences.

Apply listening skills as individuals and members of a group in a variety of settings (e.g., lectures, discussions, conversations, team projects, presentations, interviews).

Deliver planned informative and persuasive oral presentations using visual aids and contemporary technology as individuals and members of a group; demonstrate organization, clarity, vocabulary, credible and accurate supporting evidence

Use verbal and nonverbal strategies to maintain communication and to resolve individual and group conflict.

The audience for this module is 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students.
 

Prerequisites

Prior to beginning this module, teachers should introduce each book to students through oral discussions.

Students should also be able to read fluently at 6th grade level.

Students should have space on a school server to save information

Teacher and students should be familiar with the workings of a computer.

Teacher should be able to use powerpoint and demonstrate process to students

Students should be comfortable working in groups.

Teachers and students should be familiar with the term link and know how to open a link.

Teachers and students should have e-mail accounts.

Subject-Matter

English Language Arts
 

Teacher should begin this module by "Opening the Door" to books. This should be done by covering a door in the classroom with a large sheet of butcher paper(white). Students will then add activities, pictures etc. to the demonstration. This is done to build the excitement about the project for students.

Students should preview the accompanying webquest for each book as the book is introduced

Invite students to make posters advertising each book that is introduced.

Students should complete the online book test for each of the tbooks mentioned in this module.

Online vocabulary activities, crosswords, and matching activities should be completed at the beginning and end of each module.

Students will e-mail completed writing assignments to teacher to be viewed and included as part of their electronic portfolio.

Students will view a film related to the book. They wll analyze the setting, dialogue and music. This allows the student to tap into their multiple intelligence.

Teams of students will create a powerpoint presentation to show what meaning they derived from the text.

The final project will be the student's electronic entry. This should showcase what they have comprehended as well as writing reflections.

Materials

Paperbook copies of each book

Computer with Internet capability

(Windows 98 or higher)

Scanner, TV, Digital camera

Kid Pix, Hyperstudio or Powerpoint

Student and Teacher E-mail accounts

Assessment and Evaluation

Using a simple survey form teacher can determine if students can identify the title, author, and components of the text, such as the table of contents and chapter headings. And they can identify the genre.

After exploring the "Meet the Author sites online, teacher can determine if students read critically through the examples from the text in their writings that discuss the author’s intentions and inferred meanings, both implicit and explicit.

Using a writing rubric teacher can decide if students can connect text with other texts, subjects, and experiences.

Observing posters and drawings teachers should determine if students have supportive insight and evidence to critique ideas and perspectives found in the reading.

Using powerpoint, students should choose a particular part of the story to act out, such as the emotions of a particular character or what a character might have been thinking and why. If video equipment is available, this would be a great opportunity to use video.

Evaluate story designed by students that demonstrate them organizing their ideas about fictional texts. A story web is a visual way for the child to represent the key elements of the story, such as characters, settings, problem, and solution.
  Evaluating Multi-media presentations:

* Does the presentation present a sequence of actions and events
* Provide explanations for the motivations behind characters’ actions
* Elaborate using details from the story or details enhanced by prior knowledge
* Comment on or evaluate the text

In addition to the assessments listed above, the teacher can conduct one-one interviews with individual students to determine comprehension and understanding.

Designing a rubric (See teacher resources for rubric development sites)

It is my intention to implement this curriculum web as early as mid-September. Last year I met with a group of sixth graders who will now be seventh graders for a newspaper/computer club. As mentioned earlier I am very concerned about the lack of reading these students engage in. In an effort to make reading exciting I plan to pilot this module with these students.The first book will be Monsters. I think it is easy reading and will set the pace for the online projects and presenttion assignments that will be required after each book. We will use the lab every Friday from 12:00 noon until 1:25 p.m. Thirty minutes of each meeting session will be reserved for this module and the other time will be used for Newspaper or computer time. We will complete each book within a five to six week schedule. I feel that I will have to adapt my fun and games page because of the multi-range of computers in the lab. I hope that I will have a more uniformed lab when I return to school in August. At the present I am working with a lab of 11 Windows 98, 4 Windows 2000 and several others that work when they feel like it. The end of each book will be celebrated and shared with other students.

Resources (See Teacher Resource Page)
 
Glossary