Update 2014

Each year, Ms. Young asks her grade 8 students to write children’s books to give as Christmas gifts to children in the hospital or at the Rosewood shelter.

Students are going to add activities and artwork to create a gift storybook for children at the shelter.

Learning Goal: 

Use technology such as Smart Ideas or Mindomo:  to create a plan, define the elements of a story and organize your thoughts.

Language Arts:   Write a Narrative children’s story using the writing process and distinct voice.

Due Date:  December 2014

Preparation time:  November and December 2014

In Grade two, we are learning about the properties of matter.  We know that matter comes in 3 forms: liquids, solids and gases.

Please try out these games.

Each year, Ms. Young asks her grade 8 students to write children’s books to give as Christmas gifts to children in the hospital or at the Rosewood shelter.

During our weekly computer classes,  students are going to adapt those stories into an interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” type story using powerpoint.  They will also use Smart Ideas to help them plan and outline their stories.

Here is a draft version of the assignment prepared by Mr. McGaughey and Ms. Young

ASSIGNMENT:  Use SMARTideas and Powerpoint to create a choose your own adventure style story.

Learning Goal: 

Smart Ideas:  Use an outliner and brainstorming to create a plan, define a problem and organize your thoughts.

Powerpoint:  Gain confidence in using powerpoint to create slides using multimedia, transitions, hyperlinks.

Language Arts:   Write a Narrative children’s story in a non-linear style.

Due Date:  December 2013

Preparation time:  Once weekly with Mr. McGaughey and maybe more if Ms Young books the laptops.

Success Criteria:

• Creates an outline of the story and choices using SMARTideas.  Should include at least 3-10 parts/choices.
• Writes the full story using power point.  Try to include–  Prose (Words) , clip art, audio clips and transitions.

Resources: 

• Develop an interactive story with Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007  There is a good procedure and howto video here–  Argh!-  It looks like Microsoft has moved this page.  But Mr. McG did find a link to the video on a Google cache of the page.  Video link here.
• powerpoint choose your own adventure – Google Search  Here is where I found the links
• Create a choose your own adventure Halloween story in PowerPoint — Edgalaxy
• Choose Your Own Adventure  This has a good sample powerpoint.
• StudentCreatedMediaProjects – PowerPoint – Choose Your Own Adventure  This also has a good example.

The grade 7/8 class is creating digital stories to educate and inform others about social issues.   In my weekly lessons with the class we have been discussing ‘What is digital storytelling?’ and the tools they can use to make them.

Learning Goal:  Students will apply the creative process to publish a multimedia work in order to educate and inform their chosen audience about a social issue linked to their grade curriculum.

Oct 29:  We watched videos about what is digital storytelling.

The primary tools the students will be Smart Ideas and Microsoft Photo Story.