Brief Description

This lesson will enable students to be involved in creative story writing using monthly rebus pictures in their story to be published at Story Book 2004.  (A few days prior to this lesson, the teacher should sign up for his/her class to participate.  The Teacher will receive a case-sensitive password for the class and this will be used when the students are ready to submit their stories to the website.)

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 1T-F1. Communicate about internal technology operations using developmentally appropriate and accurate terminology
• 1T-F2. Demonstrate functional operation of technology components
• 1T-F3. Use developmentally appropriate technology resources to access information and communicate electronically
• 2T-F2. Practice responsible use of software
• 3T-F1. Use prescribed technology writing or drawing tools for communicating and illustrating

• W-F1. Use the writing process, including generating topics, drafting, revising ideas and editing, to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
• W-F2. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage, and good penmanship to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
• W-F3.   Write a personal experience narrative or a creative story that has a beginning, middle, and end and uses descriptive words or phrases to develop ideas and advance the characters, plot and setting
• W-F2.   Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage and good penmanship to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
• W-F3.  Write a personal experience narrative or a creative story that has a beginning,

middle, and end and uses descriptive words or phrases to develop ideas and advance the characters, plot and setting

In the classroom, the students will apply creative story writing to publish original work on the Story Book Publishing website.  In the computer lab, the students will be given a web address.  The students will access Story Book from the web to submit a creative story with no spelling errors.  The story should also include the use of the monthly rebus pictures.  The students will submit their original writing for viewing on Story Book.

Academic

• In the classroom, the students will apply creative story writing  skills to publish original work that will be submitted to this publishing website.

• The students will access the website and submit with no spelling errors a final copy of their Rebus Story on the Story Book website under the category Shelf IV- Monthly Story Form.

• Students must have parental permission for computer use in the classroom setting as permitted by the School District Acceptable Use Policy.
• Students must have parental permission to access the Internet   documented by the School District Acceptable Use Policy.
• Students must have general knowledge of the computer keyboard correctly.
• Students must have experience with keyboarding skills (location of Home-row, backspace key, Shift for capitalization and punctuation etc).
• Students must have knowledge of and the ability to access the Internet (must know the location of the URL address bar and how to use it).
• Students must have prior knowledge of submitting original writing work to this teacher prescribed website for publishing purposes.

1. The students will need paper and pencil for the writing of a creative story.
2. The picture book called If You Were A Writer by Joan Lowery Nixon.
3. A rebus storybook or chart with sentences prewritten from which the teacher will read and model the process using pictures within sentences.
4. A large chart for brainstorming ideas, sentences and a short story (demonstrating how to use rebus pictures in a sentence).
5. The students will need a kid-friendly editing tool or rubric for evaluating peer work.
6. The students will need a final draft of the original rebus story that he/she created for publication to the website.
7. The students will need use of a computer with the Aver Key,
8. The students will need 1-2 computer class periods to be used in the keyboarding of their story and submission of it to the publishing website.
9. A television monitor converter in the classroom or a computer projection machine to be used in instruction throughout the process.
10. The students will need Internet access to the website.

• Sheltered English Immersion Students (SEI)-For students with limited English Proficiency skills, the teacher should provide a picture dictionary, additional picture clues from within the classroom, cards with basic sight words, frequent use of a word wall and the rebus pictures for story writing in the initial writing process.  The teacher should also provide one-on-one assistance and or frequent intervention with the SEI student, with a parent volunteer in checking for  ideas, the correctness of grammar in the spoken story, correctness of grammar in the written portion, completeness of the story and no spelling errors prior to submitting it to the publishing website.  The SEI student may take additional time in the prewriting and editing process.  Additional time should be allowed during the regular class period as well as in the Computer Lab setting.
• Special Education Students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)-Special Education students with an IEP should be given small group instructional work with the teacher, teacher’s assistant or parent volunteer in the initial story ideas and formation of character, setting and conclusion.  This individualized time will provide opportunity for students with limited writing capabilities the opportunity to work at a  modified pace with their stories, to work in a capacity that is not compared and lessened from others and to keep up with the stated work time periods for completion and submission of their story to the publishing site.  For students with an IEP, the teacher should assist with editing for completeness and correct spelling. The individualized time with students with an IEP will allow students to work on a modified story.
• Academically Accelerated or Gifted Students-For students who are gifted identified and/or academically accelerated in your school or class, provide time to compare and contrast other stories on Story Book, using a Venn diagram.  Students can compare a character or elements in a story that is already posted on the website. Character or element comparisons should be followed up with some type of written or oral summary on how the characters or elements in the story are alike and different and what, between the two, was held in common.  The Gifted student can also then create a new story that incorporates the characters but with a twist in some way changing the original stories.  A class book can be made of these comparisons and newly generated stories.

Students should utilize a Venn diagram to do this comparison and can share this with the class after the process is completed.

Please click here to view the procedures for this lesson.

Assessment

Technology:
Teacher observation will be used on how the students utilize the computer, access the URL address, and keyboard information to sign up for publication.  The teacher will observe each child’s story prior to submission and observe the student successfully submit their story to the website.  A simple rubric or checklist can be used for students successfully completing these tasks.  If using a rubric, the following scores can be used to assess technology performance:

0- The student needs help with all aspects of technology
1- The student needs some help with technology
2- The student needs little help with technology
3- The student needs no help with technology

Writing:
The students will be graded on their printed story from Story Book.  The student’s pre writing activities will also be included in the final grade based upon teacher observation and intervention.  The teacher can use a rubric that includes the following information:
 

Depending upon the level of your students and their writing, the teacher can adjust the rubric.
 

Teacher Name: Carole Celaya
Site: Wilson K-8
Date Submitted: February 2004