Dear Teachers, Do you notice that youth often know how to use new digital tools to get to know the world, express their ideas through multimedia, and create more than we do? They publish pictures and blogs on webpages, share their own videos on Youtube, and record daily life on different social network platforms. Unfortunately, these new digital practices aren’t leveraged as much in schools to promote learning and engagement. Project Imagine the Future (IF) wants to work with you to provide students with innovative and rewarding integrated learning experience. Through this instructor's manual, you can learn about the specific goals and objectives, teaching materials, recommended sequence, and teaching steps for each activity of the IF curriculum. The teaching plan of this particular manual is based on a total of 30 class hours and a length of one hour per class. Of course, we encourage you to make appropriate adjustments according to your own students and teaching context.

Team IF

Contents

Introduction to Project IF 1 Lesson 1: Introduction 3 Lesson 2: What makes a good story? 5 Lesson 3: Multimodal composing 8 Lesson 4: Showtime with Pixton 9 Lesson 5-8: Showtime with Scratch 11 Lesson 9-10: Showtime with iKOS (Wiki) 13 Lesson 11: Design a “cool” house 15 Lesson 12: Redesign the “cool” house 17 Lesson 14: Solar Kits 19 Lesson 15: Build underwater habitats 21 Lesson 16: iKOS tutorial (collaboration and book) 23 Lesson 18: Showtime with MovieMaker 24 Lesson 19-21: Scifi movie 26 Lesson 28: Showtime with Pixlr 28 How to do a good presentation 30 Make plans with the graphic organizer 32

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Introduction to Project IF

Project IF aims to engage middle school students in producing multimedia science fictions through integrated and collaborative learning. The learning goals include developing digital literacies and STEM practices, forming critical and creative habits of mind, and exploring different careers. Over the years, Project IF has been implemented in different ways, including afterschool program, summer camp, and formal STEAM course. The IF curriculum can be divided into three phases: the warm-up phase, the learning phase, and the creation phase. The role of instructors in these three phases is very different:

• In the warm-up phase, the main goal is to introduce the IF curriculum and give students a big picture of what they will do and accomplish, especially the roles they will take on; the main activities include lectures and student discussion/brainstorm.

• In the learning phase, the main goal is to engage students in mastering the tools and knowledge needed to complete their team projects; the main activities include multimedia tutorials, writing lessons, hands-on STEM activities, and artifacts sharing.

• In the creation phase, the instructor will serve as a facilitator and provide constant feedback to students while they are working on their final projects.

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The schedule of IF Sessiona Technology/Lesson Student Activity 1 b Introduce Project IF (e.g., project

goal, activities, sample stories, and roles)

Role survey (for grouping)

2 What makes a good story? Grouping results

Create posters in groups: Story ideas Present posters

3-4 Multimodal composing Preview three main composing programs: Pixton, Scratch, and iKOS

Create Pixton accounts Showtime with Pixton: Me in 20 years (individually) Share comics

5-6 Scratch tutorial

Create Scratch accounts Explore Scratch projects Follow Scratch tutorials

7-8 Showtime with Scratch: Me in 20 years (individually) Share animations

9 iKOS tutorial（Wiki） Create iKOS accounts 10 Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole Showtime with iKOS Wiki: Where do you

want to visit in the future? (individually) 11 TED talk: Emergency shelters made

from paper Challenge: Design cool houses (group) Read iKOS chapter “Global temperature change”

12 Cool house result discussion Challenge: Redesign cool houses (group) Read iKOS chapter “Greenhouse effect”

13 Final artifact: Multimodal science fiction

Group working Group presentation (Role responsibilities)

14 Discussion: NYC white roofs TED talk: How I built a windmill

Solar kits (pair) Read iKOS chapter “Earth’s energy balance”

15 TED talk: The glacier melting Discussion: Melting ice

Challenge: Build an underwater habitat (group) Read iKOS chapter “Sea level rise” and “Impact of sea level rise”

16 iKOS tutorial (collaboration functions and interactive book)

Peer feedback

17 Peer feedback Group working Group presentation (Milestone checking)

18 MovieMaker tutorial Showtime with MovieMaker: My learning experiences in Project IF (individually)

19 Scifi movie: Telescope Group working Group presentation

20 Scifi movie: Wire Cutters Group working Group presentation

21 Scifi movie: Space Between Us Group working Group presentation

22-29 Presentation tips Pixlr tutorial

30 Final remarks Final presentation c

a) Teachers can change the order of sessions to fulfill your own needs b) XXXXXX: Project IF； XXXXXX: Technology training； XXXXXX: STEM learning c) Teachers can organize presentations in the format of gallery walk on campus or community

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Lesson 1: Introduction

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will understand • Overall schedule of the IF project • The importance of collaboration in the project • The science theme in final artifacts and what final

artifacts look like • Responsibilities of three roles in the project

Materials： • Material 1.1: Session 1_Introduce Project IF.pptx (It

includes the overall schedule and important components, such as science theme and roles, in the project)

• Material 1.2: Session 1_Role survey.docx (It is a survey that students will complete after introducing roles and teachers can use the result to group students)

Procedures： This is a lesson in the warm-up phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 40 min Introduce the project with Material 1.1

Students: 1) can change roles; 2) can have multiple roles; 3) need to collaborate with each other.

2 20 min Complete the survey in Material 1.2

Teachers can use survey responses to group students.

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While grouping students: • Students who would like to explore similar

environmental challenges will be in the same group • Each group needs to have at least one designer, one

scientist, and one writer • Each group can have 3-5 students

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Lesson 2: What makes a good story?

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Understand components of a good story • Form groups and understand their role

responsibilities in small groups • Brainstorm initial story ideas and present their ideas

Materials： • Material 2.1: Session 2_What makes a good

story?.pptx • Material 2.2: Posters (1 per group) and Markers

(These are for students to brainstorm story ideas in small groups)

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Procedures： This is a lesson in the warm-up phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 20 min Introduce components of a good story with Material 2.1

2 5 min Show grouping result

Sit with group members

Students will sit with team members in most activities.

3 25 min Create posters to brainstorm initial story ideas

Students can change story ideas later.

4 10 min Present posters

Some groups can present at the beginning of next lesson if there is not enough time.

Teachers should take pictures of these posters for: • Students to recall what they discussed • Students to create videos in the 18th lesson

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The following is a poster from students who participated in IF club:

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Lesson 3: Multimodal composing

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Understand the concept of multimodal composing • Lean main multimodal composing tools

Materials： • Material 3.1: Session 3_Multimodal composing.pptx • Material 3.2: Session 3_Preview three main

composing programs.pptx Procedures： This is a lesson in the warm-up phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 30 min Introduce multimodal composing with Material 3.1

Teachers can stress that: 1) modes are combined for conveying meanings; 2) texts are not necessarily the most effective mode in this project.

2 30 min Introduce main multimodal composing tools with Material 3.2

Teachers can also introduce other tools. Also, teachers can stress that students can show tools that they are familiar with.

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Lesson 4: Showtime with Pixton

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn how to use Pixton to create characters and

comics • Create a Pixton comic that shows what they would

like to be doing in 20 years from now • Understand how to use Pixton in creating multimodal

science fictions Materials： • Material 4.1: Session 4_Showtime with Pixton.docx • Material 4.2: Pixton_Science_Tornado.png (This is

an example of showing science ideas with Pixton) Procedures： This is a lesson in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 30 min Create Pixton accounts, avatars, and comics with Material 4.1

Teachers can model the first step to create avatars and comics.

2 20 min Present comics

Each student should have the opportunity to show products to the class if time allows.

3 10 min Lead a discussion about how

Pixton can be used to show 1) plots; 2)

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to use Pixton in creating multimodal science fictions

dialogues; 3) science (e.g., Material 4.2). Teachers can remind students of the science theme.

Pixton: In Pixton (www.pixton.com), students can create comics easily. The individual version is free, but you need to buy licenses to use the educational version. You can manage classrooms in the educational version. You can also use other comic creating tools, such as Toondoo (http://www.toondoo.com/).

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Lesson 5-8: Showtime with Scratch

Duration：4 hours Learning goals： Students will • Learn to use Scratch to animate the comics that they

created in lesson 4 • Understand how to use Scratch in creating

multimodal science fictions Materials： • Material 5.1: Session 5-6-7-8_Showtime with

Scratch.docx Procedures： These are lessons in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 100 min Create Scratch accounts, explore Scratch projects, and learn how to use Scratch with Material 5.1

Teachers can model how to use Scratch with the first tutorial in the Scratch website.

2 80 min Create animations with Material 5.1

3 50 min Present animations

Each student should have the opportunity to show

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products to the class if time allows.

4 10 min Lead a discussion about how to use Scratch in creating multimodal science fictions

Scratch can be used to show 1) plots; 2) dialogues; 3) science. Teachers can remind students of the science theme.

Scratch: Teachers need to apply for a teacher account before lesson 5. This is the link: https://scratch.mit.edu/educators/#teacher-accounts. Usually, it takes two days to get a teacher account. Teachers can manage classrooms with a teacher account. After getting a teacher account, teachers can create a class and studios for students to share animations. Unlike Pixton, students need patience and practice to get familiar with this tool. The Scratch website provided online tutorials for students to learn the tool. Teachers can also introduce other tools to create animations.

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Lesson 9-10: Showtime with iKOS (Wiki)

Duration：2 hours Learning goals： Students will • Learn to use iKOS to create Wiki entries • Understand how to use iKOS in creating multimodal

science fictions Materials： • Material 9.1: Session 9-10_Showtime with iKOS

Wiki.docx • Material 9.2: Online Video/DVD “Planet Earth” • Material 9.3: iKOS Student Mannual.docx • Material 9.4: iKOS Teacher Mannual.docx

Procedures： These are lessons in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 20 min Create iKOS accounts with Material 9.1

Teachers need to create teacher accounts with Material 9.4.

2 20 min Watch/discuss BBC documentary “Planet Earth”

3 40 min Create Wiki entries in iKOS with Material 9.1

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4 30 min Present Wiki entries

Each student should have the opportunity to show products to the class if time allows.

5 10 min Lead a discussion about how to use Ikos in creating multimodal science fictions

iKOS can be used to create 1) multimodal science fictions; 2) science entries. Teachers emphasize the science theme.

Concept Map (Optional) If time allows, teachers can introduce how to create Concept Maps in iKOS. Students can create concept maps for the posters that they created in the second lesson. This is one example from IF club:

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Lesson 11: Design a “cool” house

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn science concepts about climate change • Understand how to integrate science into science

fictions • Design “cool” houses in small groups

Materials： • Material 11.1: TED talk about paper buildings:

https://www.ted.com/talks/shigeru_ban_emergency_shelters_made_from_paper

• Material 11.2: iKOS science book: http://ikos.miami.edu/TKSS/viewBook.action?bookId=21 (Global climate change)

• Material 11.3: Session 11_Design cool houses in groups.docx

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Procedures： This lesson is in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Watch/discuss TED talk about paper buildings

2 30 min Design “cool” houses in small groups with Material 11.3

3 10 min Read science book: global climate change

4 10 min Lead a discussion about how to integrate science ideas into science fictions

Teachers can stress the science theme: climate change and future buildings.

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Lesson 12: Redesign the “cool” house

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn science concepts about greenhouse effect • Understand how to integrate science into science

fictions • Redesign “cool” houses in small groups

Materials： • Material 12.1: iKOS science book:

http://ikos.miami.edu/TKSS/viewBook.action?bookId=21 (Greenhouse effect)

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Procedures： This lesson is in the learning phase. Students should put their houses outside (in a sunny day) for 60 minutes to test temperatures before the lesson starts. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 20 min Show and discuss test results with students

2 20 min Redesign “cool” houses in small groups

Teachers should stress that it’s not efficient to create a new house.

3 10 min Read science book: greenhouse effect

4 10 min Lead a discussion about how to integrate science ideas into science fictions

Teachers can stress the science theme: climate change and future buildings.

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Lesson 14: Solar Kits

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn science concepts about solar energy and

energy balance • Understand how to integrate science into science

fictions • Build solar kits

Materials： • Material 14.1: White roof project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW2hCCdMKMw • Material 14.2: Moving Windmills:

https://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind

• Material 14.3: iKOS science book: http://ikos.miami.edu/TKSS/viewBook.action?bookId=21 (Earth’s energy balance)

• Material 14.4: Solar kits

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Procedures： This lesson is in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Watch/discuss “White roof project”

2 20 min Build solar kits

3 10 min Watch/discuss “Moving Windmills”

4 10 min Read science book: earth’s energy balance

5 10 min Lead a discussion about how to integrate science ideas into science fictions

Teachers can stress the science theme: climate change.

Solar kits: You can purchase solar kits in amazon. Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/OWI-6-in-1-Educational-Solar-Kit/dp/B00275PRT0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1533208507&sr=8-6&keywords=solar+kits+for+kids

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Lesson 15: Build underwater habitats

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn science concepts about sea level rise • Understand how to integrate science into science

fictions • Design underwater habitats

Materials： • Material 15.1: Greenland is melting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKKYt6fWob8 • Material 15.2: Underwater habitat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarius_(laboratory) • Material 15.3: Session 15_Build underwater habitats

in groups.docx • Material 15.4: Science activity_Melting icebergs.docx • Material 15.5: iKOS science book:

http://ikos.miami.edu/TKSS/viewBook.action?bookId=21 (Sea level rise)

Procedures： This lesson is in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Watch/discuss “Greenland is melting”

2 5 min Set up an experiment: melting icebergs with Material 15.4 ”

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3 5 min Read “Underwater habitat”

4 25 min Design underwater habitats with Material 15.3

5 5 min Read science book: sea level rise

6 5 min Show/discuss the result of the experiment

7 5 min Lead a discussion about how to integrate science ideas into science fictions

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Lesson 16: iKOS tutorial 2

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn to use the collaboration function in iKOS • Learn to create interactive books in iKOS

Materials： • Material 16.1: iKOS Student Mannual.docx • Material 16.2: How to create iKOS interactive

books.docx Procedures： This lesson is in the learning phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Get familiar with collaboration and book functions with Material 16.1 and 16.2

2 30 min Create books and add team members in the book entry

Teachers should stress that the final artifact is a book.

3 10 min Present books

4 10 min Lead a discussion about collaboration

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Lesson 18: Showtime with MovieMaker

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn how to use MovieMaker to create videos • Understand how to use MovieMaker in creating

multimodal science fictions Materials： • Material 18.1: Session 18_Showtime with

MovieMaker.pptx • Material 18.2: Moviemaker tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hblLbpda8fo Procedures： This lesson is in the creation phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Show and discuss examples of videos

Examples are in: Imaginefuture.org->media.

2 15 min Follow the tutorial in the material to get familiar with the tool

3 25 min Create videos with Material 18.1

Teachers should provide materials for this activity, such as taking photos of student activities.

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4 10 min Lead a

discussion about how to use Moviemaker in creating multimodal science fictions

If time allows, teachers should invite students to present their videos. This tool can be used to show 1) plots; 2) dialogues; 3) science. Teachers can remind students of the science theme.

MovieMaker: This tool is easy for students to master. Teachers can also choose other tools to create videos.

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Lesson 19-21: Scifi movie

Duration：20 minutes Learning goals： Students will understand how to integrate different knowledge (e.g., characters, plots, science ideas, design) in multimodal science fictions Materials： • Material 19.1: Wire Cutters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9J15fDAFxc • Material 19.2: Telescope:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yid59_nd9-8 • Material 19.3: Space Between Us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73-573aWfs Procedures： These lessons are in the creation phase. Students can watch a short scifi movie (around 10 minutes). Then teachers can lead a whole-class discussion about the scifi movie in the following aspects: character design, story line, scene design, music, and science ideas. The whole process will take around 20 minutes. The following schedule is based on the material, “Wire Cutters.” One feature of this scifi movie is that background music changes as the story plot changes. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Watch “Wire Cutters”

2 10 min Lead a discussion about the scifi movie

Topics for discussion include major storyline, science ideas, design,

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the function of music, collaboration

Scifi movie: There are three sample scifi movies in the material. Teachers can also use (trailers of) other (short) scifi movies. In the creation phase, students are devoted to creating science fictions. This activity can give students insights on how to improve their own creations.

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Lesson 28: Showtime with Pixlr

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Learn to use Pixlr • Create covers for final products

Materials： • Material 28.1: Pixlr tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaB6D9u8ogA • Material 28.2: Pixlr material

Procedures： This lesson is in the creation phase. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 10 min Show and discuss examples of book covers

Examples are in: Imaginefuture.org->fiction.

2 20 min Follow the tutorial in the material to get familiar with the tool

3 30min Create covers

If time allows, teachers should invite students to present their covers.

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Pixlr: Teachers can also choose other tools (e.g., Pixton) to create posters. Students should create posters in the same size (e.g., 4500 pixel width and 6000 pixel height) so that it’s easier for future prints.

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How to do a good presentation

Duration：60 minutes Learning goals： Students will learn how to do a presentation Materials： • Group presentation tips.docx • Presentation tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEDcc0aCjaA Procedures： This lesson can take place before students present their progress. Section Duration Teacher

activity Student activity

Note

1 5 min Watch/discuss “Presentation tips”

2 5 min Lead a discussion about how to do a good presentation

3 15 min Prepare for a presentation with the provided material

Students can record presentation scripts in iKOS for revisions.

4 40 min Present group progress

Teachers should give feedback to each group after presentation.

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Group presentation: Teachers can decide when to have students present their work, such as once per month.

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Make plans with the graphic organizer

Duration：10 minutes Learning goals： Students will • Understand their multimodal composing processes • Have the habit of making reasonable plans

Materials： • Goal for today.docx

Procedures： This activity should be placed at the beginning of each lesson in the creation phase. Teachers can ask each group to finish the graphic organizer (i.e., Goal for today.docx). In the graphic organizer, each group member set up composing goals for the day. Teachers should discuss the graphic organizer and give feedback to each team after they finish it. Also, students can present their progress while referring to the graphic organizer. Graphic organizer: Goals should be very concrete and specific. For instance, “finish three paragraphs about how the main characters meet”, “create a wiki entry about the difference between oxygen and ozone”, “create a three-panel comic about how the main characters meet.” The following goals are not specific: “finish three paragraphs”, “finish one science idea”, “finish a comic”. Concrete and specific goals can help students finish projects on time and help teachers to understand students’ progress and give feedback.