Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: Toy Invention for Christmas

Content Area: Language Arts (Writing)
Grade Level(s): 2nd Grade
Content Standard Addressed: ELAGSE2SL4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Technology Standard Addressed:

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: KidPub

URL(s) to support the lesson: www.kidpub.com

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:
Prior to giving students the prompt for their writing, introduce fiction narratives, and storytelling. Gather
students together at the carpet to listen to a book. The teacher will read the book Inventions by Alex Frith,
where he is creating all kinds of new toys and machines. Before starting the book, just reading the title and
looking at the cover, what do the students know about inventions and what does that word mean? Then, the
teacher will read through the book with the class. After the book, students will return to their desk with a
brainstorming paper. The teacher will tell the students they are going to create fiction story, about making
their own invention.
After students have brain stormed on invention ideas for their narrative, have students use the KidPub
website to read other students writings under the “Read Stories” tab, before they start their own. After
students have brain stormed their inventions, and read other invention stories, students will get a graphic
organizer to map out their narrative. Then student are able to write and submit their narrative writings to
KidPub, for others to read.
What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
A computer or mobile device that are able to connect to a wireless network.
Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: Students are collaborating within groups in their classroom, as well as with other students
online, sharing their writing works with peers.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): Students are using their own creativity in the creations
of their inventions when composing their writing piece.

c. Higher-order thinking: Students will compose a web entry of their narrative writing and provide
feedback to other students entries.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: Students
are sharing their finished writing pieces with other students within their groups, their grade and their
reading levels.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

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 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities
Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):
☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Students are able to work in groups when creating their inventions, bouncing ideas of one another, which
could help EL students. It allows each student to become interested in their writing, because they are able to
choose their invention, so it is something they think is fun to write about.
Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies:
Teacher would need permission from parents prior to the students submitting any of their writings online.
I as the teacher, would need to send home a permission slip for parents to agree or disagree to letting their
child communicate with other students through the website KidPub. Also as the teacher, I would monitor the
communicate between the students and their online collaborative readers and writers.
Reflective Practice:
I think this is a great lesson to peek student interest, and the ability to use technology helps students to
learn and communicate in a polite and respectful way with other students. I think allowing them to add their
creativity into their inventions and write a narrative on that will show true student writing, and incorporate all
students. Some students struggle in writing simply for not understanding the topic, so prompts like these
once and a while allow them the opportunity to truly excel as others do.

Spring 2018_SJB