Brief Description

Students will write an original shared story and will present this story to the class as a PowerPoint presentation.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

4T-F2.  Use technology tools for individual and collaborative communication activities to share products with audiences inside and outside the classroom.

R-F4.  Identify facts and the main idea, sequence events, define and differentiate characters, and determine an author’s purpose in a range of traditional and contemporary literature.
LS-F3.  Prepare and deliver information by generating topics; identifying the audience; and organizing ideas, facts or opinions for a variety of speaking purposes such as giving directions, relating personal experiences, telling a story or presenting a report.

Academic

• Students will write an original shared story.
• Students will present the shared story to the class as a PowerPoint presentation.

• Students will design and create a PowerPoint story.
• Students will share their stories with kindergarten students in their school.

• Basic computer skills
• Basic knowledge of PowerPoint

• Computer with projection device
• PowerPoint
• Shared story examples

Students should be grouped in mixed level ability to groups so that each group will have a balance of skills.

Procedures

1. In this lesson students will read many shared stories.  After reading and discussing these books in class, they will have made a list of the parts of a story.  This should consist of a main character, supporting characters, a main idea, four things that happen in the story and how it ended.
2. Students should be divided into groups of four students.  Each group will be responsible for creating an original story with a main character, at least two supporting characters and a main idea.  Students should use the story template to list at least four parts of their story and how it ends.  Students should use the books they have read in class as a guide.  They can modify an existing tale if necessary.
3. Students will then write a rough draft of their story using the story template as a guide.
4. At this point the teacher should check the stories of each group to make ensure that the criteria has been met.  The teacher should meet with all of the members of the group to discuss the criteria.  The story checklist can be used to accomplish this task.
5. After each story has been approved by the teacher, the students will convert their story to storyboard slides.  The group should work together to determine how to transfer their story onto 6 – 10 slides.
6. The slide show will be presented as a book, so each slide should resemble a page in a storybook.
7. Students should include at least 3 graphics in their storybook.
8. When the PowerPoint storybooks are completed each group will present their story to the class.
9. The class will make suggestions for any improvements that could be made to the story.  The class will use the improvement guidelines provided.  This can be done orally after each presentation.
10. Any final changes that need to be made should be made.
11. Each group will share their presentations with a kindergarten class in the school.   This can be done as a group presentation or as a center activity.
12. These PowerPoint storybooks can be shared with other classes to be used as independent reading centers.

Students will be assessed as a group using the attached rubric.

Teacher Name: Karen Gutierrez
Site: University of Arizona
Date Submitted: April 24, 2002