Brief Description

As we near the end of this school year, students are starting to look forward to fourth grade with anticipation and a little trepidation.  To alleviate some of their fears of the unknown, this lesson was designed to introduce fourth grade staff members and provide some information about upcoming events for the next school year. This lesson requires students to learn in cooperative groups.  Students will interview, draft, edit, and publish an article for a brochure that will be distributed to their peers. This lesson was developed as part of the Integrated Curriculum Collaborative with Patti Greenleaf in the 2003-2004 school year.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 1T-F3. Use developmentally appropriate technology resources to access information and communicate electronically
PO 1. Operate keyboard and other common input and output devices
a) Use device in response to software (e.g., point and click, arrow and enter/return keys)
b) Use keyboard effectively (e.g., knows locations and function of keys, begins touch-typing strategies by grade three)
PO 2. Retrieve and save information (e.g., text documents, digital photos)
PO 3. Print documents, text or image
• 3T-F1. Use prescribed technology writing tools for communicating
PO 1. Use word processing to create a document and, where developmentally appropriate, use editing tools
PO 2. Insert a graphic into a word processing document
• 3T-F3. Use prescribed technology tools for publishing and presenting information
PO 1. Use a pre-designed template to publish a document
• 4T-F2. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative communication activities to share products with audiences inside and outside the classroom
PO 1. Plan, design, and present an academic product to classroom or community

• W-F1. Use the writing process, including generating topics, drafting, revising ideas and editing, to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks
PO 1. Generate topics through prewriting activities (e.g., brainstorming, webbing, mapping, drawing, writer’s notebook, K-W-L charts, scaffolds, group discussion)
PO 2. Align purpose with audience
PO 3. Write a first draft with the necessary components for a specific genre
PO 4. Revise draft content
PO 5. Edit revised draft using resources
PO 6. Proofread revised draft
PO 7. Present final copy according to purpose
• W-F2. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage, and good penmanship to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks

In final copy of student’s own writing tasks:
PO 1. Spell high frequency words correctly
PO 2. Punctuate endings of sentences
PO 3. Capitalize sentence beginnings and proper nouns
PO 4. Use standard, age-appropriate grammar and word usage
• W-F6. Write well-organized communications, such as friendly letters, memos and invitations, for a specific audience and with a clear purpose
PO 1. Organize content, including necessary components of the selected format, for a specified audience
PO 2. Place commas correctly in components (e.g., heading, greeting, closing, address) unique to letters, memos, invitations
• LS-F1. Use effective vocabulary and logical organization to relate or summarize ideas, events and other information
• LS-F3. Prepare and deliver information by generating topics; identifying the audience; and organizing ideas, facts or opinions

Academic

• Students will work collaboratively to create an article.
• Students will use the writing process to write an organized article that will include a headline, topic sentence, minimal grammar and spelling errors, and at least three paragraphs with relevant details.

Students will collaboratively use a word processing program to create an article that will be published in a Microsoft Publisher brochure for their third grade peers.  The article will also contain a digital photo acquired by the student(s).

Pre-Requisite Technology Skills

The students should have basic skills in following links, word processing, printing, saving to disks, and using a digital camera. Also, students should have experience taking notes, writing brief articles or stories and summarizing ideas.

Materials

• Computer with printer, Internet access, and a word processing program.
• Paper (or interview sheet) and pencil
• Digital camera with a few floppy disks (in case students don’t have their own)

Special needs students will be accommodated in a variety of ways.  Students will be placed in groups for the duration of the lesson.  The teacher needs to take care to create groups that will support special needs students.  Students with various limitations share their strengths and obtain support from other members of their team.  Students who are high-level readers may be placed with students who are lower level readers. Students who need text read to them will have this option (either by a peer or the teacher).  Specifically, students who are English language learning students will be working with another student who will be able to assist them with the English language. Teams work together to let every student work in their strength area. It might be best for special needs students to be less involved in the writing portion and perhaps more involved in the role-playing, editing, and digital photography portion of the lesson if that is a strength for the student.  Advanced students may be challenged by word processing the rough draft, and/or editing roles of this lesson.

Procedures

Day 1

First, you will need to divide the students into groups of approx. 3 students each.  Be sure to group students with a variety of skill levels in each group.

Tell students that they have been hired as journalists and assign team members.  Introduce the lesson by showing students how to access it.  Using an AverKey or projector, walk through the introduction, task, and step one in the procedure section. In groups, students will make a list of three or more teachers that they would be interested in interviewing. Collect all the lists and assign a different teacher to each group.

In step two, give students a few minutes to discuss skills in the areas of the job descriptions.

Once students have an assigned teacher, they may start drafting a friendly letter using the described format and expectations listed in step three. You may want to collect them to proofread before they are sent out to the appropriate teacher/staff member.

Teachers are providing feedback on preferred times for an interview.  Coordinate your schedule with students, so they can get their interviews scheduled. Once they have scheduled the interview, they should write a confirmation note to the teacher.  This is described in step four of the process section. You should also get the digital camera charged up and ready to go for student interviews.

Review step five with the students. Let students decide if they would like to write their own interview questions, use the sample interview sheet, or add questions to the sample interview form.  Allow students time to role-play the interview process. Monitor and provide feedback on their interviews. Be sure the kids are well prepared before their actual interview.

Share step six of the process section.  Be sure that kids know exactly what is expected of them before they go on the interview.  Give them an opportunity to ask questions.

All the interviews have been conducted and the students have collected their notes and digital pictures. You share step 7 of the process section, and students have decided on who will draft the article.  In the lab, have students sit in their groups to help facilitate the drafting of their article in a word processing document. Remind them about the heading and an interesting topic sentence. Students will save to the computer and a floppy disk, in case they need to finish up on the classroom or home computer.  Students may print 4 copies of their rough draft. Each student in the group may take a hard copy for editing purposes and give the fourth copy to an adult to edit.

Copy the rubric for each student. Share step eight with the students, and specifically show them the rubric.  Working in their groups, students will edit their article using the criteria specified in the rubric, along with proper grammar and spelling skills. Students may want to make revisions on the copy they’ve printed. Students may make corrections to their article on classroom computers, at home, or in the computer lab if it is available.

I created a brochure template in Microsoft Publisher. But, you may create your own to suit your purposes. When student’s articles are in their final draft form, students may bring it to you to be added to the brochure template as described in step 9.  Discuss which picture(s) might add to the article.  My students know how to copy, paste, and insert pictures, so they may do that part themselves with supervision.  When all the articles have been collected in the brochure, print it.  I am going to send it to Docutech (our district’s copy service) to have them printed for all the graduating third graders and another dozen for the registrar.

http://www.amphi.com/~llafaye/lesson4/evaluation.htm

Teacher Name: Lisa LaFaye
Site: Wilson K-8
Date Submitted: April, 2004