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Teresa E. Giner Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author |
Lessons
On this page you will find:
* the Common Core State Standards for Writing I referred to during my study.
* detailed lessons using a variety of online writing platforms.
* tips for using my story arc model.
* the Common Core State Standards for Writing I referred to during my study.
* detailed lessons using a variety of online writing platforms.
* tips for using my story arc model.
Innovative Writing Lessons Incorporating Digital Writing Platforms
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On this page, you will find a lesson for each of my favorite online writing platforms. These are ideas I came up with throughout the school year, however these writing platforms can be easily adapted to your content and writing objectives. Have fun creating!
Common Core State Standards for Writing
The following activities adhere to the following Common Core State College and Career Anchor Standards for Writing. Types and Purposes: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. Production and Distribution of Writing: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. Research to Build and Present Knowledge: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Range of Writing: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. 
Storyboardthat.com and Historical Fictional NarrativesGENRE:
Narrative, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics ONLINE WRITING PLATFORM: Storyboardthat.com (substitution: Pixton.com) ONLINE WEBSITES FOR RESEARCH: National Geographic Kids THEMATIC RESEARCH MATERIALS FOR NARRATIVE CONTEXT: * Informational science articles about volcanoes and the famous Mt. Vesuvius volcanic eruption of 79 CE. * Nonfiction personal essays or accounts (e.g. Pliny the Younger's letter to Cornelius Tacitus regarding the aftermath of Mt. Vesuvius's eruption) TEXT RECOMMENDATIONS: * Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne * What Was Pompeii? by Jim O'Connor * I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii by Lauren Tarshis and Scott Dawson THE LESSON PLAN: Your students will write a fictional first person account of the eruption of a famous volcano. I've suggested Mt. Vesuvius, however you can chose to research any famous volcano. Take about a week to research and discuss the realities of volcanic eruptions. My class drew large posters explaining the geological traits of an erupting volcano. We also created and posted word walls of domain specific vocabulary. I recommend posting a diagram of the story arc on your board or wall, too. My students continually referred to the story arc poster as they worked on their storyboard. Scroll down for my story arc model. Discuss how these volcanic eruptions affected the people living near the volcano. Discuss their physical and emotional states as they lived through the aftermath. Pliny the Younger's letter to Cornelius Tacitus is an excellent choice because Pliny eloquently describes both the chaos around him, and his family and friends' emotional and behavioral reactions to that chaos. I allow my students to create characters and scenes in their storyboard first. This helps them visualize where the story is going. The meat and potatoes of the story is in the dialogue. I always explicitly teach how to write dialogue. I tell my kids to really think about how people talk. Since graphic novels and comics are dialogue driven, it is imperative that young writers put a lot of information into what the characters are saying, and not rely too heavily on the scenery to tell the story. The Writing Prompt: Imagine that you are a citizen of Pompeii on the day that Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Create a graphic novel depicting how you and your family feel about the sudden natural disaster, and the actions your family takes in the aftermath. Consider how your family will survive? Where do they go? How will they start over in a new home in a new land? 
Storyboardthat.com and Contemporary Fictional NarrativesGENRE:
Narrative, Contemporary Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics ONLINE WRITING PLATFORM: Storyboardthat.com (substitution: Google Slides with Images) ONLINE WEBSITES FOR RESEARCH: National Geographic Kids THEMATIC MATERIALS FOR NARRATIVE CONTEXT: * Informational science articles about earthquakes and famous historical earthquakes * Nonfiction personal essays or accounts TEXT RECOMMENDATIONS: * Earthquake in the Early Morning by Mary Pope Osborne * What Was The San Francisco Earthquake? by Dorothy Hoobler * I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 by Lauren Tarshis and Scott Dawson THE LESSON PLAN: At this point you're probably thinking, what is it with all of these natural disasters? I'm incorporating science and social studies into my writing program, and vice versa. Clever, huh? For this lesson you will follow the same core plan, however this time your students will be writing within the contemporary fiction genre. I explain to my students that good writers look to the past to write about the present. We can gain an enormous amount of background knowledge from first hand accounts. The books I recommended for this lesson are all fictional accounts, however they are very well researched. They make excellent models for students to refer to when they are writing their own stories. Together with my students, I posted student created visuals to help them through the writing process: the story arc, domain specific vocabulary word walls, and informational posters about the physical attributes of an earthquake. In preparation for this activity, I encourage my students to study live coverage of earthquake activity around the world, especially here in California. The Writing Prompt: Imagine that a 4.5 earthquake has occurred in your home town. Create a graphic novel depicting how you and your family feel about this sudden natural disaster, and the actions your family takes in the aftermath. Describe how your family and neighbors help each other cope through this natural event? How does your community rally to help those affected by the earthquake? 
Storybird and Fictional Picture BooksGENRE:
Narrative, Historical Fiction, Picture Books ONLINE WRITING PLATFORM: Storybird.com (substitution: Writereader or Google Slides with Images) THEMATIC MATERIALS FOR NARRATIVE CONTEXT: * Informational science and social studies articles about droughts, dust bowls (i.e. The 1930s Dust Bowl of USA) * Nonfiction personal essays, news articles or first-hand accounts TEXT RECOMMENDATIONS: * Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse * Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley * "The Open Road" by Monica Halpern (Benchmark Advanced, 4th Grade) * "Dust Bowl Refugees" (Benchmark Advanced, 4th Grade) * "Black Sunday: An Eyewitness Account" (Benchmark Advanced, 4th Grade) THE LESSON PLAN: Students will research the events and aftermath of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s through historical and contemporary documents regarding the era. They will create a fictional first-hand account of their experience during the Dust Bowl using Storybird.com. One of the criticisms Storybird often faces is that it literally houses thousands of illustrations, making it tricky for students to find the right artwork for their project. I recommend that students keep their search inquiries as general as possible. For example, I typed "weather" into the search bar after "dust storm," "1930s" and "The Dust Bowl" did not produce any hits. An even louder criticism is that Storybird is no longer a free platform. Students can sign up for a 30 day free trial, but after that the price tag can be a hefty one. The Writing Prompt: Using facts and details you learned from the collection of supporting text, write a first-hand account from the point of view of a "dust bowl refugee" traveling west in the 1930s. Through their words, describe the people around them, their emotions and their plans for the future. 
Writereader and Science-based Picture BooksGENRE:
Informational, Scientific Picture Books ONLINE WRITING PLATFORM: Writereader (substitution: Google Slides with Images) ONLINE WEBSITES FOR RESEARCH: National Geographic Kids THEMATIC MATERIALS FOR CONTEXT: * Informational science articles and books about animals TEXT RECOMMENDATIONS: * Animal profile books: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lists/teaching-content/nonfiction-animal-books/ THE LESSON PLAN: Writereader was developed for the youngest of writers: students in preschool to second grade. However, my fourth grade students loved it. Hands down, Writereader was their favorite writing platform this year. Writereader is an amalgam of the picture book quality of Storybird, the vivid photography of Google Images, and the comic book options of Storyboardthat. It is a very versatile platform. I used Writereader instead of traditional paper reports and posters for our research project. My students researched detailed facts about an animal, and used Writereader to create a picture book version of their research paper. A big selling point for website is that students have the option of presenting their final books to the class via an overhead projector, share their book with the entire class, or with just a few friends. As the teacher, I always get a "in progress copy" of the book, plus the final version. This is a plus when you are monitoring you students' progress through the research and writing process. The Writing Prompt: Select an animal of your choice. Research its habitat, diet, predators and prey, and connection to people. Organize your information into a picture book. My Story Arc Model
TIP: During narrative writing activities, I post the story arc model on the board. My students create story arc models for their stories during the planing stage of their narratives. You can create a graphic organizer for their use, however I prefer encouraging them to create their own using rulers, colored pencils and construction paper. I feel that this method allows the creativity to flow from the onset of the writing project.
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