Brief Description
This lesson accompanies a Roald Dahl literature unit. Students will work with a partner to access the official Roald Dahl website (www.roalddahl.com) and gather information from the primary source interview and pictures on the site. First, students will read and listen to an interview of Dahl, and then they will view a photograph gallery of events from Dahl’s life. A rubric will be used to assess student learning as students work with a partner to design and present a six-slide PowerPoint presentation about Dahl’s routines and inspirations for writing. The PowerPoint will include a picture downloaded from the Roald Dahl website photograph gallery.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 1T-E-2 Demonstrate increasingly sophisticated operation of technology components.
• 3T-E1. Use formatting capabilities of technology tools for communicating and illustrating.
• 4T-E2. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing, communication and publishing activities to create curricular related products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
• 5T-E1. Locate information from electronic resources.

Academic Standards

• R-R3. Identify facts in nonfiction material.
• LS-E1. Prepare and deliver an organized speech and effectively convey the message through verbal and nonverbal communications with a specific audience.

Objectives

Academic

• Students will work individually to collect and record a minimum of five facts from an interview of Roald Dahl on www.roalddahl.com. Using the facts they gather, student pairs will complete and present a summary of their information in a six-slide PowerPoint presentation.

 

• Individually students will locate factual information as they access the Internet to read/listen to an interview of Roald Dahl and view pictures from his life on the website www.roalddahl.com. Students will collaborate with a partner as they appropriately format and use the information (including photographs from the site) in a six-slide PowerPoint presentation that will achieve a score of at least a 3 in all areas on the Roald Dahl Power Point Rubric.

Students must have parental permission to access the Internet as documented by the teacher or school district through the Acceptable Use Policy.

Students will have a basic knowledge in Internet usage, including how to access and navigate a web page.

Students will have a basic knowledge of PowerPoint, including how to download and insert pictures, create transitions between slides, and present a completed slideshow.

A copy of the Roald Dahl Interview activity sheet and a pencil for each student.

A Roald Dahl PowerPoint Slide Organization activity sheet and Roald Dahl PowerPoint Rubric for each partnership.

A computer with Internet access for each child to use.

A computer with PowerPoint for student partnerships to use.

A computer hooked up to a computer-television converter for classroom use and/or a computer hooked up to a projector for use in the computer lab.

Access to the website www.roalddahl.com.

A computer with headphones for each student to use.

 

• Gifted Students – Gifted students will be able to use higher level thinking to extend the information they choose to include on the slides. They will also be able to use their PowerPoint skills to include more complex transitions, sounds, pictures, and actions within slides that add meaning to the presentation. These students may choose to download more than one picture from the website to include in the presentation to improve its’ overall quality.
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Students – Being paired with another student for the entire activity instead of only the second portion would be beneficial for SEI students. Listening to the interview questions instead of reading them will provide students with the necessary information without it being too difficult for them to read. Students may also listen to the interview questions several times to help them gather information.
• Special Education Students – Pairing the student with another student for the entire activity would help a special education student. This student may also receive one-on-one help from a parent volunteer, the special education teacher, or the classroom teacher. To aid in reading the material, students will be able to listen to the information. To limit distractions, students may also go to the Glass Elevator and choose the option to turn off the Tour Guide, animations and music. Working with a partner will also allow student to assume different roles. One student may do the typing and the other may present the slideshow to the class.

Day 1 (approximately one hour)
• Pass out and go over the directions on the Roald Dahl Interview activity sheet. If possible, have a computer hooked up to a computer-television converter or to a projector as you go over the directions. This will help you model navigation of the Official Roald Dahl website. (It may be helpful for students to “turn off” the animations, music, and/or Tour Guide using the left navigation bar. These sounds/animations can distract students as they navigate/use the site.)
• Remind students to take notes about at least five Roald Dahl facts. These facts need to be written on their activity sheet and be in their own words.
• Provide students with an hour to an hour and a half (on the classroom computer or in the computer lab) to complete the “Individual” instructions on the activity sheet.
• If you do not have access to computers with headphones, you may do the listening portion of this assignment as a total group.

Day 2 (approximately one hour to an hour and a half)
• After students have written their facts about Roald Dahl, place them with a partner, or allow them to choose a partner to work with.
• Go over the directions for the “With Your Partner” portion of the Roald Dahl Interview activity sheet.
• Pass out the Roald Dahl PowerPoint Slide Organization worksheet and Roald Dahl PowerPoint Rubric.
• Remind students that the first cell is to introduce the presentation and must include their names. Slides two through five must include information from the facts they collected about Roald Dahl. Students need to include all text that they plan to include on the slides. They may also include picture ideas as they lay out the slides.
• Review the Roald Dahl PowerPoint Rubric so students are clear about the expectations and know how they will be assessed on the final slideshow.
• Provide students with 30 minutes to an hour to organize the information they want to include in their PowerPoint.

Day 3 (approximately two hours)
• In the computer lab (or on a classroom computer) have partners begin work on their PowerPoint presentations. Review and model how to download a picture from the Roald Dahl website to save and include in presentations.
• To download a picture from the Roald Dahl website begin by clicking on the picture you want to download. The picture will then enlarge and have the option to Download Picture. Click on the arrow next to Download and the picture will appear in a new window. From here, click on File and then Save As. Have students give the picture file a name and save it to a disk or their file on the server. When students open their PowerPoint they can insert the picture by clicking on Insert, Picture then From File. Students then find the picture on their disk or their file on the server. If students have time, they may insert more than one picture from the website.
• Remind students that they need to include transitions between each slide in their slideshows.
• As students complete their slideshows, have them review the Roald Dahl PowerPoint Rubric to verify that their presentation meets the expectations.
• Have students practice with their partner how they will present the slideshow to the class.

Day 4 (approximately two hours)
• Have student partnerships present their PowerPoint slideshows to the class. Use a computer hooked up to a computer-television converter or a computer hooked up to a projector for the presentations.

• On the Roald Dahl Interview activity sheet, students must have at least five pieces of factual information recorded.
• Students will be assessed using the Roald Dahl Power Point Rubric. Students need to achieve at least a three in all categories.