Cheyenne Whirley

Cheyenne Whirley

Digital Storytelling Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Title

From Seed to Plant

Objectives

· Students will create a digital story explaining how a seed becomes a plant.

· Students will order the events that take place as a seed becomes a plant, using sequence vocabulary words.

· Students will understand that water and sun help a seed to become a flower.

Discipline and Topic

Science/ELA

Target Population

These students are in first and second grade. They are in the transition from learning how to read to understanding what they read. A great difficulty that they are experiencing is figuring out the order of events.

Curriculum Links

Students have been learning about sequence words. In the last lesson they learned that the words first, next, then, and last are used to show order. In the lesson prior to that they learned about ordinal terms such as first, second, third, and fourth. In this activity they will explain how a seed becomes a plant using a variety of these terms.

NYS Standards:

ESL

Standard 1: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for information and understanding.

Standard 4. Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for classroom and social interaction.

SCIENCE

Standard 4. Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, priciples, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

TECHNOLOGY

Competency 9. Use technology resources (e.g., puzzles, logical thinking programs, writing tools, digital cameras, drawing tools) for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts, ideas, and stories. (3, 4, 5, 6)

Competency 10. Gather information and communicate with others using telecommunications, with support from teachers, family members, or student partners. (4)

Materials Description and Timing

· Flower Sequence Cards

· How to Plant a Flower Digital Story—this will be used as a model so students will understand what they must do when creating their digital stories.

Anticipated Time: 45 minutes

Scope and Sequence

1. Introduction. Ask the children if they have ever picked flowers outside or planted flowers with their parents. Take out a flower and show it to the students. Tell the children that the flower did not always look this way. Show the seed. Explain that a seed turns into a flower. Ask the children how they think the seed becomes a flower. Tell the children that today they will be hearing a story about a little seed that becomes a flower. Explain that they must listen to find out what helps the seed turn into a flower.

2. Read the story “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle.

3. At the end of the story, have the children turn and talk to a neighbor about the following questions:

a. How did the seed make it to the soil?

b. What helped the flower become taller?

4. Make the following statement, having the children do a thumbs up, thumbs down: First, the seed got sunlight. *This statement is incorrect. Students should respond by putting their thumbs down. * Have the children correct the statement.

5. Using the flower sequence cards, have the children put the remaining events in the order that describes how the seed becomes a flower.

6. Once the events have been ordered, have the children explain the events to a neighbor using sequence words. These words will include the vocabulary they have been learning to show order: first, next, then, last, second, third, or fourth.

7. The teacher can demonstrate what this language might sound like. For example:

First, the wind carries the seed into the soil.

Second, the rain waters the soil.

Third, the sun shines down on the soil.

Last, the flower begins to grow.

8. Activity. Show the children the digital story How to Grow a Flower. Then, have them create their own digital stories that explain the events that happen as a seed turns into a flower. The teacher should use the Flower Sequence Card Images attached to this lesson plan. Like the example shown, students should also have text and audio that use sequence words to correctly display the order of events.

9. Share/Closure. Students can share their stories with the class. After everyone has shared, the teacher will ask the students to tell a neighbor two important things that help the seed become a flower.

10. Extension Activity. Give the children a seed that they must plant. After, they can write and illustrate the steps they took to help their seeds become flowers. Students writing should include the sequence vocabulary they have bee learning.

Supplemental Materials.

How to Grow a Flower Sequence Cards. Print the cards, cut them, and mount them to poster board cut-outs.

Navigating Microsoft Photostory Handout. This will explain the step by step process of how o use photostory.

Evaluation of Students

Students will be evaluated based on the rubric below. This rubric measures their ability to explain the order of events that take place as a seed grows into a plant. It also measures their ability to use the proper sequence words when explainng the order of events.

· Check One

Understanding Levels

Beginning. The student shows that they are in the infantry stages of the activity by not ordering any of the events or only ordering one event correctly. S/he only uses one sequence word properly or does not use any when explaining how a seed becomes a flower.

Developing. The developing student exhibits one of the following: S/he creates a digital story that is ordered correctly, but assigns the incorrect sequence word for one or two of the events; S/he creates a digital story where the sequence words appear in the correct order, but one or two of the events are not ordered correctly.

Secure. Student creates a digital story that correctly orders the events that take place as a seed becomes a plant. Student uses the correct sequence vocabulary word to accompany each event.

Evaluation of Lesson

This evaluation is a direct result of the students’ performance level on the rubric. If ¾’s of the class score a secure understanding level, then I know that the lesson requires minor changes. However, if most of the students scored a beginning, or developing level of understanding, the lesson must be revised to enhance student understanding.

Rational for using the medium

According to Bush, the picture serves as an associative aid to constructing the conceptual network that is connected with words. By having students create a digital story they are associating images along with text to gain a better understanding of the the events that occur as a seed becomes a plant.

Low-tech Modification

The students can write and illustrate their own stories. This does not require any technology. However, they must be able to explain the events of the story to the class to make up for the lack of audio.

How to Grow a Flower Sequence Cards

Navigating Microsoft Photostory

1. Once Photostory is open click on the begin a new story option, and then click next.

2. On the screen that appears, click import pictures.

3. A image file browser screen will appear. Browse the files and select the picture you want to import. Click OK and the picture will appear.

4. The picture will automatically appear. Click IMPORT PICTURES again to add the next photo. To do this follow the same procedure as before.

5. Once all photos have been added, click the NEXT button.

6. A screen will appear that allows you to add a title to your first picture. Type the text you want to appear in the text box.

7. Click the next picture and add text to that picture. Continue until all of your pictures have text.

8. Once all pictures have text, click the NEXT button at the bottom of the screen.

9. The narrate and customize motion screen should appear. Click the red record button and begin to narrate the first picture.

10. Click stop to end recording.

11. Select the next picture and do the same thing until all pictures have narration.

12. Click the next button on the bottom of the screen.

13. The add music screen will appear. Click next (we will not be adding music to these).

14. The save as screen will appear. Click the otion that says SAVE YOUR STORY FOR PLAYBACK ON YOUR COMPUTER. Then click NEXT and your completed story will be saved.