Week Twelve Assignment One

After viewing all of the different links on the website provided, I learned a lot of new things about literacy instruction.  One of the tools I enjoyed the most was the Story Spine. This is a structured outline that takes a story from beginning to end. There are unfinished sentences such as, “Once upon a time… Everyday… But one day… Because of that… Until finally… Ever since then… and the moral of the story…” The author also suggests having the students’ “improv” a story where each student adds a new line to create a truly unique story.

It is also important to have students create a story using paper first. This will allow students to write a authentic story before adding all of the animation with the use of a computer. Beranjean Porter state, “A story should be remembered for its soul and not the bells and whistles.” Porter’s statement is important because it reminds teachers and students that the most important part of a story is the moral or the creative writing within it. Some students mistake the idea that the teacher wants to hear all of the animation going on in the story rather than listening to the moral of the story or learning something new about the story.

One of the authors of the articles that I viewed suggested that when students are struggling with writing should record their oral story using a microphone. I really like this idea because for some students writing does not come natural to them. Instead students that struggle with the written language might find it easier to tell their story verbally. When the students record their stories using a microphone they can playback the soundtrack and write their story from there.

Teachers need to be careful when they are planning lessons that involve a key piece of technology. Some questions that the teachers need to ask themselves are, “How ill I teach with technology? What technology centers will I have this week? How will I manage the center? What will my students write about this week? How will my students illustrate their stories? What stage of writing are my students at this week?” All of these questions need to be answered prior to the production of the lesson. If the lesson involves the use of a computer or a SmartBoard, the teacher should ensure that they have an alternative lesson plan in case technical difficulties occur.

In today’s society, our children need to be computer literate. It becomes difficult to participate in this technologically advanced world if students are unable to efficiently use Microsoft Word or even Goggle Doc’s. Google Doc’s allows students to collaborate with one another from distant locations. In one of my other classes I am using Google Doc’s to work with two other students on one collaborative project. The demand for higher technology is asking our students to learn the latest material and the latest programs. Our students will lead the new generation with the tools necessary to improve our world.